I have a t-shirt that says this on it. It has a picture of a phat cruiser bike with long handlebars ("Easy Rider" style) that is popular in some Mexican cultures. I'd have to say that in light of my current situation - I'm bluffing. I love the sport of cycling and more specifically I love racing my bike. But if that is taken away from me, I'm not going to give up on life or play the victim. Life is too full of OTHER cool and exciting things that I can dive into head first. It's also far too short to dwell in the past and be miserable. Typing these words is much easier than putting their message into practice but I'm confident that if it comes to that, I can do it...with the continued support of my kick ass network of friends and family.
On a lighter note, I also have a t-shirt that says "cycling is dope" which I still think is a great shirt. So great, in fact, that I wore it to the opening and testing of the 'B' sample in Utah. Bad form? I thought it was funny, and I'm in need of laughs these days.
Thank you to all of you who have shown your support through emails, calls, texts, and comments on this blog. It means the world to me. And to those of you who think I'm a lying cheat, I can't say that I blame you really. It was always my first reaction to news of another positive test. But hopefully we can find and prove the truth in the coming days, weeks, months. Oh, and there was a comment deleted on my last post after the press release that I can only assume was really nasty with f-bombs and such because I never even got a chance to read it - it must have been flagged and deleted by the server. Thanks blogger.com!
Happy New Year everyone.
24 comments:
That was one of the most mature, balanced, and classy f-ing posts I've ever f-ing seen. Maybe you've got a future as some kind of f-ing guru if the bike thing doesn't work out.
tom, would you contact me?
thanks!
--kim west
515.669.8318
http://www.keepcalmandcarryon.com/pages/history
great to read your thoughts... stay the course and carry on Zirbelicious.
keep on keepin on Tom... you are classy! --Lucky Pete
I wish you the best of luck Tom! You're a great guy!
I've watched you race, gotten your autograph, and cheered for you. I will continue to do that. Keep your spirits high and know that many of us are rooting for you. You need to get on Twitter. You will find much support there.
There are a lot of people out there who support you and believe in you - it is so much easier to catch people who dope accidentally than to catch those who do it on purpose, as those who mean to cheat also know to hide it.
Tom, I am American. I believe you are innocent until proven guilty. I appreciate your comments and wish you the very best. I hope that the truth will come to light AND you can continue your first life choice. If not, you are right, there are many great pursuits in this all-to-short life. If you do it with the dedication that cycling requires, you should succeed greatly. I hope you get the chance to clear your name without politics or money hindering your pursuit. Fight the good fight rider!
Reading some comments here, I can tell from the headless fan who think there are bad cyclists and good dopers... Life is just not that way and I am pretty sure you know that. The reality is that only a pure natural athlete can come clean. A non doper is still loaded witha sit load of substitutes, power drinks, shakes and vitamins... and that my friend is the culture of mindless black magic.
Athletes (I can think of one Texas who fits that bill) should be critical of all the fake natural enhancers out there that so call can help you feel less tired, hogwash, if you feel tired, get some rest, if you are ferritin depleated, go see a nutritionist. No magic pill will help you on that, at worst it will set you back like it did for Tom. I hope that you find what you are looking for Tom and when you do, that you scream loud and clear, reguardless about sponsorship money about all the bullshit of recovery wizardries in powders or pills, even the so call natural ones. That is the fine line of wanting not to dope.
Oh and by the way, this inlcudes your first endurance endorsement of crap. Folks should understand about the real cost of making these so call endurance potion, the first cost is the cost of sponsorship, probably half of it is in marketing. The other cost, is the cost of raw incoming material sourcing for the main ingredients, let me tell you, if there is melamine in them milk powder, expect a bit of shiat in them endurance pills. Take my word, I know the industry, go get yourself a banana and some poridge... Shame that we never condemn this stuff, money talks I guess
Tom - thanks for putting forth one of the best, most straight forward responses to your situation - I'm glad to see you're not taking the 'hide and wait' approach.
Your originally from my part of the country and went to a small LA college like I did - usually means you've got all sorts of moral fiber.
I wrote (my most highly read) a blog post about your situation and presumed innocence and was happy to get email from all sorts of people who still had faith, hope and belief in you.
I sincerely hope it works out for you and an explanation comes about. Once the dust has settled, I'd love the opportunity to get your side of it.
Best,
Jeff
Ciclirati - ciclirati.wordpress.com
Good for you Tom! Hoping all works out for you. Dan
Good luck Tom. You have been an inspiration over the past few years and its been great following your career. Hope everything works out so that you can continue with your Pro career but as you stated, there are other things in life worth doing too....... Well said.
Ethan
Best of luck!
Tom,
As a cycling fan, you have and will be a joy to watch. If for some unknown reason you must take a two year vacation, please come back. Cycling needs you..........
David - Texas
Best of luck with all of this Zirbeast. Regardless of the outcome, we're in your corner. Stay positive, and, know that we're rooting for you.
You know that we are 100% behind you and always will be. And some of those things to do other then cycling should begin in the Boundary Waters. If you're cycling I'll be there to cheer you on, if not, I'm available to guide your boundary waters trip and we can take guests. It's one of those places everyone should see at least once.
Tom;
Bicycle.net has always been a supporter of yours and hope that you come out on top of this. Please contact us and let us hear your thoughts. Our readers want to hear.
Email us at: jatrock@gmail.com.
Good luck and all the best.
JT
Publisher
Bicycle.net
Tom -
If you have the opportunity, please read the comments below my original post on you. Reason I'm asking is comments were left by someone stating they're your parents. If the comment is valid, great. If not, I'd like to remove it.
Thanks!
http://ciclirati.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/
Hey Tom,
It's Jeff Vibert. I have been out of touch a long time but I am always cheering for you and following your success.
Just wanted you to know I am rooting for you and wishing you the best.
Take care
Jeff
I don't know you, but you seem like a cool guy and a great bicycle racer. I'm just wondering why/how you would ingest any type of supplement without scrutinizing them when your career/goals can so quickly be compromised.
Pro cycling is not MLB, the NBA or NFL where big money unions and owners pay lip service to performance enhancing drugs.
In cycling, you are guilty until proven innocent.
Good luck.
ErikG
I have been a fan of yours ever since the last stage of 2008 ToC in Pasadena in the soaking rain. Everytime you rode up the riser, where we were sitting, I would say to my girlfriend, "Damn he's big on that bike!" But I am about your size, so naturally I cheered for you. Epic effort that day dude. Good luck with all this crizzap.
Tom,
I, like you, Wear the NI SPIN uniform and Wish you the best of luck. It was great meeting you this year at the Tour of Missouri, Hopefully everything works for the better and We will continue to see you strive to reach your goals. Best of luck
It’s a shame that Tom Zirbel is being vilified by the keyboard jurors of the cycling web. One of the most self effacing and talented riders in the US peleton is now on the black list. Zirbel, a world class rider who gave Zabriskie a run for his money should not be kicked to the curb so easily. Not all the riders caught in the drug crossfire are cheaters. If the sales of supplements go down as a result of this fiasco, it would be a good thing.
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