My French friend, Magali, once shrugged her shoulders when the subject of Lance Armstrong came up. She took as a given that he was doping. Apparently, in Europe, this was not really a contentious statement. This was some ten years ago.

I held on.

But I always knew I believed he didn’t dope because that was what I wanted to believe. The same way I believe in the Loch Ness monster. I know the direction the evidence leads, but I’d rather believe otherwise. So I do.

Now, I can’t do that, can I?

But I still love to watch the Tour de France. Watch it long enough and you can see the strategy and tactics behind it all. I guess that’s something I still have.