Couple that internal feeling with the fact that dopers are going to get all the positive feedback from their social circles and the prestige (whether large or small scale) that comes with that kind of thing, and you’ve got yourself one hell of an addictive “drug” (e.g. social media “validation”)
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There was a rider in my old club that people suspected of doping. He was even accused of motor doping. I defended him against that one - like where’s the big honking battery in his SL6?
I honestly don’t know if he pharmaceutically enhanced himself but he had the mentality for it. Club riding wasn’t this fun activity for him, it was his arena to crush others. He fancied himself a sprinter and his races were the one sprint point on the Saturday club ride and the final sprint of our Wednesday night worlds ride.
His mentality was win at all costs. It’s a war. No honor among thieves. He got banned from the club for brake checking someone. He’d show up for group rides without tools or spare tubes as if he was in a race with sag support. He’d wear a skin suit on club rides.
He may or may not have doped but his mentality towards cycling left no doubt that if he did, he would not feel any remorse whatsoever.
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I only know one for sure doper…ehr…patient at an anti aging clinic. His performance is literally “take the magic medicine and lead the group up the climbs” with no additional training or weight loss. Went from getting dropped to dishing out the pain. He’s one of those guys who has to give blood once in awhile to keep his hematocrit from getting too high from the T so he’s probably at the “most benefit” end of the spectrum. His feeling is that he isn’t racing and he’s just “getting his body back to what it is supposed to be” so why not?
(Just a single account, could be a spectacular responder, I don’t know)
Joe
I’ve worn road skin suits to club rides in the summer. When its really hot and humid I find it more comfortable with one less layer of fabric and no straps over your shoulders.
Guess I’m going down the slippery slope to doping?
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That would be frustrating. Especially in today’s world, people probably would have made YOU out to be the jerk if you would have raised a stink.
I also mostly wear skin suits and prefer them compared to two piece kits. I don’t see any comparison to the type of kit being used and cheating.
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he sounds like a complete dick, especially brake checking people or other dangerous activity.
That said, I don’t see the connection of the other things to doping. Some people put their hearts and souls into whatever they take up to do their absolute best. This does not mean they’d cheat!
I can get a little carried away myself… not because I need to beat other people… I am past that. I need to beat myself or meet my own challenging expectations of myself. It isn’t a negative thing for me. I think a lot of people that compete have this same mindset. Doesn’t mean they cheat.
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I agree, I don’t see the connection as automatic either. I am SUPER competitive and will take any legal advantage I can WITHIN the rules but would never dream of cheating/doping (I even check all my hayfever meds and ezcema creams even though not been racing much lately!)
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That balding but ripped 47 year old guy in your office? 75% chance.
That super fit looking Cat 3 40 year old who’s been stuck in the fours since he was 26 and “just now made the commitment” 50% chance.
**** ALL percentages are made up.***. TRT is allegedly really easy to get, medically, once you 1. demonstrate low T and 2. find the right clinic… You know what can cause low T? Age, but also high training volume.
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You do know that a leading cause of balding is naturally high testosterone levels?
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If a male athlete is diagnosed with low testosterone, why is it not ok for them to be perscribed testosterone by their doctor to bring their levels to normal?
I take a HRT (to coumter act the menopause symptoms).
It is not a banned substance for women who need it.
It seems a bit unfair, as(I believe) low testosterone can cause health problems.
There are not the funds available in UK to start testing the amateurs. I think we must focus on Professional athletes and make sure testing is carried out at all pro events.
If i were a pro I would be furious if I got beaten by a doper. As an amateur, I would be annoyed ,but I’m not losing sleep and money over it. After all, it will catch up with them in the end .Heart failure/stroke /liver failure etc etc
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It is totally ok…just don’t race in events where it’s clearly against the rules. All decisions have pros and cons, not racing is part of the decision of taking T
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I think with TRT/HRT it is quite different between the US and UK/Canada. Much more difficult to get on TRT in UK/Canada and my understanding is one needs to be outside of the reference range to get a prescription. I feel confident in the US I could find a clinic that would give me a TRT prescription after a blood test showing I’m below the median of the reference range, so not hypogonadal or clinically low serum T levels. Just below ‘average’. And not below average for my age group but below average in a range that includes high T 18year olds.
I started following some bodybuilding channels a couple of years ago and was bombarded with ads for HRT/TRT clinics. The ads were all pretty much about ‘if you’re in your mid 30s and starting to notice you aren’t as spry as you were in your 20s and recovery takes longer, we’ll hook you up.’ There’s this unrealistic expectation among some that people should be feeling like 20 year olds for their entire life instead of correcting a health issue or hormonal deficiency.
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reading this thread has given me a different outlook on the entire situation. My earlier posts here supported TRT if it was medically necessary. I likened it, like some other people did, to any medically necessary treatment to maintain quality of life.
It looks more and more like TRT doesn’t really fit into that category as well. Testosterone naturally declines with age, which is why there is age group categories. I also spoke to my doctor about this… she said that TRT has its own problems, and it isn’t really cut and dry to the level of testosterone someone is supposed to have.
Testosterone can be abused. A knee surgery or hip replacement doesn’t get abused. The risks are too great. If in the future people are removing perfectly good, yet older limbs to get robotic limbs installed, I would also call that cheating. Right now, I don’t consider a prosthetic to be cheating.
Anything that gives or has the potential to give an unfair advantage, if organizations don’t allow, and I want to partake in said organization, I have to follow the rules.
Contrary to popular belief, nobody is losing sleep over this like people are claiming. I don’t believe everyone beating me is doping. I assume they aren’t. But, if people are doping, I hope they’re caught or at the very least read threads like this and reconsider.
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Something I wonder about with more prevalent use of TRT/HRT in the US is long term effects. Our bodies have complex feedback systems and cascades of hormones. I haven’t seen the longitudinal studies showing the lack of long term health risks and ability to hop off the TRT train (where it is not medically necessary.). That said, if someone has hypogonadal T levels and is outside of the reference range I have no issues with them hopping on TRT, bring there levels up to an appropriate level for their age and would not be bothered if they got a TUE (as long as they didn’t go from say below the reference range to the top of the range.)
I’ve also seen some information recently that makes me question the safety of long term use of birth control by women. What I saw was in a body building context, but IIRC it suppresses T and boosts SHBG and messes with other hormones that impact ability to build and maintain muscle mass. I wonder about other long term health impacts of those kinds of hormonal changes.
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That’s a myth, I’m afraid. It’s linked to androgen receptors present on the hair follicle. Not testosterone levels.
You could have low testosterone levels but a high presence of receptors on the hair follicle and it would cause baldness because the signal gets through. If you’d high T levels and no receptors at the follicle - no signal would get through, so you’d keep your hair.
Genetics is cruel like that! 
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As a physician (in the US) I review the patients medications with them when they come to the ER. You would be amazed how many are on testosterone. When I ask them why they state “oh, my primary care said I was “low normal” and started me on it” or "I went to the “center for men”. When I review the values they were at the appropriate testosterone levels for age. There are so many quacks in the US that are advertising testosterone to promote their own “men’s wellness centers” or “rejuvenation centers” etc - which is basically cash pay $$$ for the quack. These patients are the same ones that I see with the Iron Man tattoos and T-shirts given out at the most recent road race etc.
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You mean before starting TRT they were at appropriate level for age?
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Yes. They would be told “your testosterone levels came back low”, but the honest answer would be “your testosterone levels came back on the lower side of normal”… for example a level of 300-400 is considered normal, but is at the lower range of normal.
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