Lance and I ...

... first met last June, when he joined me at the starting line of the Trek 100 charity ride near Pewaukee, Wisconsin. We made eye contact, and there was a very brief moment of mutual acknowledgment. If at that moment I had stuck out my hand, we surely would have sealed our friendship with a handshake. But the moment passed, and soon Lance was busy posing for photographers and signing authographs. During the ten minutes that remained until the start, however, I had his back, standing close enough to spot some light hairs on his calf. I later reported to my other friends that apparently my friend Lance wasn't a rigorous shaver any more, and maybe not a very serious athlete any more either. Shows you how little I had gotten to know him, because this week there was the announcement of his return to the peloton. I should have had some idea, because after they sent us on our way back in June, I was on his wheel the entire way out of the parking lot. And he looked sharp. I'm sure he'll hold his own just fine, next year.