I don’t have anything to add regarding RS, but it reminds me one episode in my formative years. I started climbing at school, we had one of those DR walls: rocks cemented into blocks in the wall and a pocketed concrete overhang. There was also the Nottingham wall, which was a more modern affair. After a couple of years I was getting reasonably proficient at this climbing thing. A new guy joined the school in my year, a strong climber apparently. He’d sometimes come and hang out at the DR wall and shoot the breeze on climbing – or rather, regale us with big talk about the things he’d done down at the Nottingham wall. He was getting a bit of a reputation for tall tales in other areas of school life, but I didn’t have any reason to disbelieve his climbing claims, after all he’d never actually pulled on to demonstrate his abilities to us. Tired from one of his cellar sessions at the wall, I suppose.Yes, the cellar in the Nottingham wall was where the real connoisseurs dwelled. A basic steep board down in the dark, dusty bowels of the building. The kind of board with holds fashioned from bits of old chair leg, all varnished, pulley-busting globules. Climbing to the top of the thing by any means was desperate. Amongst the problems recorded in the cellar’s crinkly notepad, one stood out that was given the barely imaginable grade of English 7a. The physics of it looked impossible. But our new school colleague had repeated it – amazing! In fact, he bragged, it had only had two ascents: one by him and one by his mate – I shit you not – Si O’Connor.
There is an addendum to this anecdote. One of the other claims this chap made to burnish his hard-man reputation was that he was a drug dealer and could get us various substances. We could all see this for the bluster it was of course. Until, that is, the police turned up, broke into his locker and recovered various substances. At which point he was expelled. So maybe it was all true?
Going back to the off thread bit. Armstrong was using PED’s before he got cancer. He first admitted using to one of the doctors treating him. There is also an incident pre cancer where he buys off a European rider in order to win a three race series with I think a million dollar prize fund.Pre cancer he was a good one day rider but not very good at stage racing even with drugs. Post cancer he stepped up the drug programme to something even the Russians would have been envious of.
Anyone who is laissez-faire about performance enhancing drugs should watch Secrets of the Dead
Quote from: webbo on October 21, 2021, 09:55:12 pmReading this again I wonder what Ben Heason did to upset, offend or wound him.I’m dredging the memory bank a bit here so could be wrong on some details but IIRC Ben was on the Frankenjura trip and called bullshit on his Action Directe ‘ascent’ so it was a case of attack is the best form of defence.
Reading this again I wonder what Ben Heason did to upset, offend or wound him.
I'll mirror kingys comments about being disappointed with the whole affair really. I think when I was younger and watched the likes of the real thing and then Simpsons stuff, I just thought I'd climb on a board and get well good. I climbed on a board a lot, but rather than well good I ended up thoroughly broken.
Quote from: jwi on October 22, 2021, 02:05:07 pmAnyone who is laissez-faire about performance enhancing drugs should watch Secrets of the DeadSeeing the harm caused to the athletes by drugs is upsetting viewing, frankly. Like you say, anyone who is blasé about the impact drug use has should rethink. It’s horrible.
Ive climbed and trained with Tyler and Mickey, I've seen euro wads and etc; no one is as strong as Rich on a board. So why did he lie? I askKeith shrugs. I don't know.This is the strangest part for me, was he impatient? What? Bonjoy has said the most illuminating things here, obviously RS was a troubled chap, searching for something through which climbing was a conduit. And where is he now, a lot older. Perhaps he's had therapy and improved as a human.
Being strong at basic power problems and being good at rock climbing are not quite the same thing.