Lifetime ban from Kissena for anyone caught doping is probably unnecessary. Shouldn't the club have some leeway to make a judgment call on a per-case basis? I mean what if someone goes down for weed or allergy medicine or some other non-serious infraction?

Well you'd have to find them first because he doesn't really have a pair. 

""It wasn’t for money, and it wasn’t for winning,” said Anthony, a three-time winner of theTour of the Battenkill race in upstate New York. “It was about being relevant in the group, which was pretty addicting.”

I'm realizing this is sort of an odd, circular statement.""

It might be odd, but it might not be wrong.  I even think there might be some social science behind this.  That is, people do things for groups.  Plenty of people do things in order to get in good with those they want to be around.  DA's happened to be doping.  Maybe it was proving he was a (not aging, not over-the hill) man.  Maybe he burned with a desire to hear a "good racin'" from the guys on BH.  There are no shortage of people who make fun of others for being slow--becoming the fast guy even for a race often gives an entre to the mean girls table, or at least not be criticized by them.  Even the comment Keith referenced demonstrates that. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Joe Papp wanted to be with the dopers.  Several reports I heard had him bragging in Spanish to certain riders about what he was taking.  He apparently was pretty open about doping if you were in the right circle--one such report had him standing on the start line telling another rider about what he had just put in his body.  Likewise, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons Jared Bunde got involved in doping was to have an in with the right group. 

this isn't to write that if you look for people who have nothing in their lives other than bike racing, you'll only find dopers.  Jonathan Chodroff, who seemed to have an even faster rise to the pro ranks than Neil Bezdek, didn't from the outside, fit this profile.  He started doping when he was on the Yale Crew team.  He was a skinny cat III who couldn't ride in a straight line and couldn't corner, but he could fly in time trials.  It seemed like he was a tech guy as he was always in compression socks and using an SRM.  Only a year or so beyond winning a national championship and turning pro was it revealed, and it was a non-analytic positive.  

Which kind of  brings me back to what Keith wrote.  I don't think you should lose sleep over  questions like who is who isn't.  So in taht way, I agree with him.  On the other hand, I was already convinced Jared was a doper before he was busted, and I was pretty sure Lisban Quintero and Melito Heredia were, too.  It didn't change the way I raced, other than to know they were faster than me.  I had seen all these guys race week in, week out for years, so I had a pretty good sense of what they capabilities were.  Sure, DA seemed kind of pudgy and jowly for a guy climbing so fast, but I hadn't seem him race or ride at all, so I assumed he had an amazing lung capacity or an incredible ability to suffer.  

7/30 Update: A more complete story is still forthcoming, but DA asked me to post this fuller apology in the meantime.

Last week, I announced on NYVelocity.com that I had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).  Since then, I have heard words of support from friends and former teammates, as well as some rather pointed comments directed toward me personally, and an even greater amount of unfounded speculation toward my former team, my coaches, and those close to me. To everyone – to the BH Garneau/ComedyCentral team and sponsors, to CRCA, to race organizers, to my competitors, to my coaches, and to my friends – I want to make a sincere, unconditional apology for my actions and for the negative impact it has had on you and this sport. I want to be very explicit that I acted alone, and without the knowledge or complicity of others.

The reactions and comments to my admission have been varied, but nearly all of them have asked the right questions: how did this happen, who knew, when did it start, and why? Those affected by my actions have a right to know the answers to these questions, and I have tried to be as forthcoming with these details as possible. First, I have supplied explicit details of my case to USADA concerning from whom the PEDs were procured and how they were administered, and have spoken at length with CEO Travis Trygart and the USADA staff. I have been working with a former teammate (and full-time journalist) known to many in the local peloton on a full and objective accounting of the details of my case – including timing and usage – and intend to release this for broader distribution on NYVelocity.com in the coming days. One thing that you will not see in my accounting, however, is a roadmap for how I doped--the last thing I want is to provide guidance on how to go down this destructive path.

As for the “why”, many readers and anonymous commenters have made suggestions as to my motivations; some of the comments fair, and others not. The “why” is something that ultimately I alone will have to answer. The objective reality is that it is an extremely empty and damaging experience all around. To be clear, I am not asking for understanding or forgiveness for my actions. During my two-year suspension from racing, I will work with USADA and racing clubs to educate cyclists about the dangers for those racers tempted to begin doping, as well as a pathway out for those who want to break free of the same destructive cycle that I allowed myself to slip into. Once again, I sincerely and deeply apologize to all those that my actions have hurt.

If I ever see this idiot in a Kissena kit, I'm going to fight him.  And then vomit on him. 

the battle of LA