truespode

Moderator / Wheelie King
Jun 30, 1999
7,980
249
Should Adderall, EPO, Testosterone and other “PED’s” banned?

Is it for safety? Is it to prevent unfair advantages?

First, I don’t see PED use as dangerous when done properly and when done improperly it is as dangerous as riding a CRF450 on an MX Track that hasn’t had any maintenance done in 100 hours. Once that crank locks up it is lights out.

How do you prevent the crank from locking up? You take precautions and do preventative maintenance by a properly trained mechanic. Backyard mechanics can keep things running but not optimally and not completely safe.

PED safety is argued a lot and the concern of “kid’s” getting PED’s and dying is a real and understandable concern. However, if your child is participating in sports of any kind and you are not a partner in understanding their diet, supplements and hydration then chances are you are not going to help prevent them from taking banned PED’s either.

So, the trick to safety for kids is to do your job as a parent. If you have a kid with the potential to be the next Ryan Villapoto or Eli Manning or Lebron James then PED use (if legal) is no more dangerous than the proper diet. The parents are responsible for getting the best trainer, diet advice and medical supervision so PED’s can be used that maximize the athletes capabilities.

It is the same with PED’s as it is with hydration. If you hydrate correctly you can train better, recover better and perform better.

As to unfair advantage… that is ridiculous. Sports is about unfair advantages. Not cheating but natural ability being more than the next person. How a person responds to the PED’s is part of their natural makeup. Some athletes respond negatively to a PED that another can get great results from. This is because the PED is fulfilling something lacking in that person that allows the athlete to perform at the absolute maximum level.

With training there is more maximizing of the natural ability. Same with a proper diet. Proper hydration. Proper medical advice so recovery and training is done at an optimal level.

With that type of involvement then why not allow PED’s?

Lance Armstrong took more PED’s than anyone and he isn’t ending up like Chris Benoit (for those that don’t know him he is dead). He did it correctly and maximized his performance more than anyone. He won 7 TDF’s and didn’t get so much as a chest cold during that time. He stayed healthy and performed optimally.

PED’s didn’t make him an ass but it did make him a Cancer survivor. EPO is commonly used for those undergoing treatment.

The unregulated sports energy drink industry is more dangerous to our youth than Adderall, EPO or Testosterone treatments done with medical supervision and sports energy drinks do not enhance any level of performance.

I don’t believe PED’s should be banned. Instead it should be allowed with the proper medical supervision. There will still be mis-use just as there is mis-use of wood bats (corking) because people do that. You can’t stop an Alessi from trying to find any and all advantages they can mechanically, psychologically or physically to try and match the speed of their competitors and whether it is riding wide or improving performance through a quality training plan that includes vitamins, supplements and other enhancers that are legally prescribed for an accountant in a bicycle club it is all fair.

In the end, no PED is going to give an athlete the heart to gut out a tough mud race or to climb that hill after 80 miles of pedaling. The heart of a champion is something you can’t “enhance” or synthetically create.

While we are at it... bring back Works Bikes!!!!!

Note: All opinions expressed are mine based on my personal experience, medical research and general opinion. If you don’t share the same view that is fine and I welcome your disagreement but don’t be a jerk.
 

Offroadr

Ready to bang some trees!
Jan 4, 2000
5,227
25
Will never happen.IT will be a tough sell to say 'in this sport drug use is ok, but not in this one'
 

Okiewan

Admin
Dec 31, 1969
29,555
2,237
Texas
Tough one. I haven't spent enough time considering PED's to comment. The blood exchanging deal that Armstrong did? I sure don't see a problems with that... it was his own blood after all? I think it's kinda like rehydrating, or eating the proper diet to perform. But again, I haven't studied it, so I may be way off base.

I'm certainly for hormone therapy and NOT just for women. I'm not a believer in young males that already make more than they need (witness pimples and "difficulties walking most of their waking hours, lol) but there is a stigmatism in society that test is "steroids" ... there is a standard (a couple actually) that indicates "normal" levels at various ages, there is no reason aging men shouldn't be brought back up to moderate levels if need be, they would feel MUCH better, physically and emotionally. That's fact. I read somewhere that a man in his 70's makes less test than a 17 year old girl.

When women's levels drop or get out of whack, they fix it. When a man's level get's too low, they say "welcome to old age". That needs to change.

I had a discussion recently on the very subject... seems the docs will give out depressents/MAOI's, valium, whatever, like popcorn. As long as it makes you a zombie, or at the very least, "calm & content" they are all about it.

But any drug that stimulates or causes INCREASED brain function / ability to concentrate or increase energy / activity levels, particularly in men; it's like pulling teeth, forget convincing a doc to prescribe test, even to an elderly male, at least at levels / frequency that make sense. The rules, regs & laws passed down by the feds cause most docs to just say no.

In the end, I'd say the food they "allow" McDonald's, etc. to peddle is worse for us than the majority of available drugs. But hey, a fat zombie is a good citizen.
 

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