Alaska’s largest newspaper appears to have caught the state’s favorite musher – four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champ and beloved outlaw Lance Mackey – starting The Last Great Race the old-fashioned way – by hoisting a cold one.
The Anchorage Daily News (ADN) described the behavior as the fabled dog driver hydrating as he headed up the trail.
What he appears to be hydrating with is a can of TRULY Spiked & Sparkling, an alcoholic beverage produced by the Hard Seltzer Beverage Company, LLC, an affiliate of the Boston Beer Company.
It is possible Mackey was drinking some other hydration beverage that starts with the letters TRU and has graphics just like those of TRULY, but an internet search could find no such product.
(Craigmedred.news was directed to the photo by a liquor store clerk.)
Drinking used to be something of a tradition during Iditarod. When ABC-TV’s Wide World of Sports covered the race in the late 1980s, there was a “hospitality tent” at Rohn in the heart of the Alaska Range with a bar.
During that era, the late Jerry Austin, a popular musher from St. Michael on the Bering Sea Coast, used to regularly pass a bottle around the Finger Lake checkpoint then centered around the cabin of Gene Leonard, a one-time Iditarod musher.
He owned the alcohol for decades before it owned him, and he drank himself to death. He was a friend of the author and a friend of almost everyone on the Iditarod Trail for a long time.
Changing times
Views on alcohol use in Alaska have shifted significantly since the start of the new century. Advocacy groups concerned about Alaska drinking habits in 2014 financed a series of stories in the ADN that tagged Alaska as the “State of Intoxication.”
The Iditarod tightened down on alcohol use along the trail as Alaska views on drinking shifted. Mushers dropping by Mcguires Tavern in McGrath, a tiny Interior city, to celebrate crossing the Alaska Range came to an end.
But the Iditarod did not ban drinking.
What the rule now says is this: “Alcohol or drug impairment, the use of prohibited drugs by mushers, and positive results on drug or alcohol tests administered during a race are each prohibited.”
Iditarod rules define alcohol impairment as a .04 percent blood alcohol concentration(BAC). That’s half the limit for drunk driving. Moderation Management, a website that advises on alcohol impairment, suggests that it would take at least two 10 to 12 ounce beers of 4 to 5 percent alcohol to boost the BAC of someone as lean as Mackey close to .04.
Race officials have the authority to test mushers “whenever a race official reasonably suspects that the musher is under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the rules say.
“Breathalyzer testing will be used to detect alcohol impairment which is defined as a .04 percent BAC. Discipline may be imposed immediately by the Race Marshal in the event of a finding of alcohol impairment.”
There were no reports of Mackey being impaired.
Where Iditarod keeps its breathalyzer during the race has never been disclosed. Known as a party animal, Mackey was arrested for driving under the influence in Fairbanks in 2013. The musher has a rather lengthy history with the Alaska court system, but most of the problems have involved petty crimes and marijuana not alcohol.
The Iditarod banned marijuana in 2009 because some mushers thought Mackey’s use of the drug was giving him a performance advantage. Mackey had at the time won three races in row, and there were some studies suggesting that regular marijuana users might function better than non-users when sleep deprived.
Being able to function well after days with but hours of sleep might be the most important factor separating Iditarod winners from the also-rans. Mackey told Fairbanks News-Miner reporter Matias Saari at the time that the drug “helps me stay awake and focus on what I’m doing,” but the musher voiced his opinion it was not a performance enhancer.
Mackey argued other mushers wanted it banned solely to handicap him in the 2010 race. Though Mackey had a medical marijuana prescription to deal with lingering pains from a battle with jaw cancer and might have qualified for a rule exemption to continue using the drug, he promptly went out and won the 2010 Iditarod drug-free to show the competition.
It was his last Iditarod victory.
Mackey has struggled ever since. He was running 48th of the 52 teams at 10 p.m. Sunday as his team left the Yentna checkpoint 50 miles into the race.
Despite those problems, Iditarod cleared him to race this year. Mackey has hinted this might be his last race. He has struggled since that 2010 victory. He suffered significant frostbite along the trail.
Two of his dogs died during the 2015 race. He dropped out of the 2016 race and sat out the 2017 and 2018 races.
Given the long, difficult road he has been down, he might have had good reasons to celebrate with a cold one, and the photo can only add to his legend as an Iditarod outlaw.
Categories: News
One drink does not a drunkard meet. I’m sure early mushers over the Chilkoot and other routes took an energizing nip now and then. (Of course, if the Iditarod rules forbid alcohol, it should not be drunk.)
Here is a look at what happened to Petit’s team on the way to Koyok: http://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/french-musher-was-leading-iditarod-but-then-his-dogs-quit/
i hate it when that happens. if i speak to the dogs in anything louder than a whisper, they lay down and i can’t get them up for hours.
I hear you Craig. My dogs loved to go into Minto to get supplies back in the 80s and they would hate to go back home (perhaps too boring out in the bush). They would start to slow down when the trail headed away from Minto road and if I got upset with those with slack tuglines the whole team would slow even more. It was hard to do but I had to just grit my teeth and wait for a couple of miles for them to settle down and things would pick up.
Also, sort of related, when I got to speak with the late Bill Vaudrin in the 70s he mentioned that dogteams that had never been driven would be all done if things got too tough. We never got into what he meant by “driven” but I suspect that some sort of switch they were used to could be used under those extremes that could come up. Those Iditarods were not the groomed trails of today and I can’t imagine anyone needing to break out a switch (or whip) because of extreme conditions (other than perhaps that blowhole heading to Safety).
I suspect Petit’s dogs remembered his issue from last year as they are creatures of habit and remember things too well.
In case anyone’s interested, Lance got into Kaltag recently and Rayme Smyth has just left Kaltag after spending 6 hours there. They are in 24th and 16th places respectively.
Here is Lance after arriving into McGrath: https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Iditarod-champion-Lance-Mackey-back-from-injury-We-made-it-to-McGrath-it-cant-be-all-bad-506819571.html
He sounds, to me, like he is having a good time and hardly like someone abusing that alcohol he may/may not have started the race with. And, other than on this page, I’m not seeing anyone else getting their panties in a bunch over this.
could it have anything to do with the alcoholic drink being disguised in the reporting elsewhere, Bill?
I don’t know the reasoning Craig. I suspect that nobody else is concerned, namely because the drink can was not something of common knowledge (say like a Michelob) and nobody else sought to investigate this “nothing burger” (to quote Bryan). Do you know that others knowingly disguised this in their reporting?
As far as I know you and Finally are the only folks concerned over this. Had Lance tipped a recognizable alcoholic beverage, as a flippant giving the finger to all, I suspect that other media would have described it as something other than “hydrating.” That’s clearly not what occurred and nobody else gives a chit. Further, I don’t buy the bit about being concerned that Lance might become a role model for our kids-this doesn’t pass my smell test.
As of this morning Lance is in Grayling in 24th position-pretty clear that he is only running on those alcohol fumes from his gassing up at the start almost a week ago.
Bill: i would be very careful of reading anything into one’s performance either way related to their drinking. i once knew a national-caliber runner with a serious drinking problem. and i grew up in a world where it was said of the many farmers who died or were injured in various accidents: “it probably only happened because he was sober.”
high-levels of performance from people who drink a lot apparently aren’t that unusual. to wit:
“Maraphen
“RE: Running collegiately as a functioning alcoholic 3/28/2017 7:44PM – in reply to RaceWeight
“I abusively drink and have for a number of years, last year I ran a 2:29 Marathon and i got wasted 4 times a week that entire cycle. I have a really addictive personally, i suspect that’s why i’ve had moderate success in running, i just do it a crapload like I handle the rest of my addictions in life. I started running 3 years ago from a base of a pothead/cig smoker and drinker, I had never run (other than PE growing up) prior to that.
“I plan to quit drinking soon (i hope.)”
i don’t know about Lance’s drinking habits. i do know about those of my old, dead friend Jerry Austin who drank a lot on the trail back in the day and was always a contender. nobody thought he had a problem. he was just a guy who had a drink now and then on the trail until the bottle took over his life, and he drank himself to death.
i hope Lance doesn’t have a problem, and whether he does or doesn’t, isn’t the issue.
the Iditarod is trying to promote itself as a “professional” event. mushers drinking on the trail might be a good look for the Iditarod, and it might be a bad look for the Iditarod. i don’t know.
what i do know is that if Tiger Woods tipped a TRULY strolling down the first fairway at Augusta National in a truly professional event, it wouldn’t be described as hydrating, and it wouldn’t go unreported in the mainstream media, and whatever national discussion that followed as to the drinking habits of professional golfers on the course would be what they would be.
I agree Craig, that whether/not Lance has a drinking problem is not the issue but my point is that, in this field of mushers, there is not a chance in a carload he is abusing alcohol in this race. I don’t think any competitors will be complaining about his advantage at the start, either.
Finally, there is a Bill that Steve will Byran over.
From a study of people dealing with night shift work schedules and the related lack of sleep issues: “Marijuana attenuated some performance, mood, and sleep disruptions: participants performed better on vigilance tasks, reported being less miserable and tired and sleep a greater number of minutes. Limited negative effects of marijuana were noted. These data demonstrate that abrupt shift changes produce performance, mood, and sleep decrements during night shift
work and that smoked marijuana containing low to moderate-THC concentrations can offset some of these effects in frequent marijuana smokers.”
https://psychology.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/publications/Hart%2C%20CL%20-%20Smoked%20marijuana%20attenuates%20performance%20disruptions%20during%20simulated%20night%20shift%20work.pdf
Double edged sword.
“Am I prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition in Alaska due to my using any marijuana?
Yes.”
This geezer kicked years of Tramadol with low THC and high CBD cannabis. A godsend, truely.
Here are Lance’s reasons for running: “I’m going to run the Iditarod in 2019 for the fans, for the sponsors, for the state sport, for the people of the villages,” he said, “but more importantly, I’m doing the 2019 Iditarod because I can.”
I see no tragedy here and I see no reason he would not be able to “take care of his dogs.”
Were something to come up that he hasn’t foreseen, he just scratches and goes home. Norman Vaughan started (and scratched) several times in his later years-few considered that as “tragic.”
actually, Bill, the last time Norm ran he didn’t actually scratch willingly. it was a dog care issue. i happened to be there.
Norman had his issues that’s for sure.
In 82 he was in a bind to leave Rohn after another musher had left earlier with his bunny boots (Norman had two different size boots). He left and ended up destroying his sled and having to scratch-don’t know if his boot issue caused him this problem but his sled caught on a root (in the burn) and came apart.
I suspect many mushers asked to scratch don’t agree with the decision but, in the end, some authority needs to take control (especially with a dog care issue). Norman’s accomplishments with dogs, as a young man, are legend-he was still pretty tough in later life but even he needed some help, then.
I remember a lot of hand-wringing about what it would to the race if he were to die during it. We never got to know the answer.
Norman had his issues, especially in his very last years. reporters sometimes covered for him; sometimes even helped him. Iditarod reporters (myself included) have over the years covered things and covered things, if you get the drift.
that’s a whole other can full of those good-thing, bad-thing worms.
still, when Mackey tells a reporter that he can’t put socks on his kids feet because his hands are such a mess, shouldn’t that reporter at least ask him this: “with your hands that bad, how are you going to bootie your dogs?”
hell, there might be a great story there. maybe he’s taught the dogs to put on their own booties, or found some new way to bootie that could be useful to a whole lot of neophyte mushers who fumble through the process.
or maybe he’s found a bunch of dogs with tough feet, a trait once coveted in Iditarod dogs but which seems to have gone out of favor in the quest to breed with a focus intently on speed and endurance.
I don’t know Craig, but he supposedly got two new knuckles in a recent surgery. That may have been reasoning for his stating that he’s doing it “because he can.”
The tragedy here is that a guy who is too beat up to adequately care for his dogs is running the Iditarod for the sponsor money. It’s sad. It’s desperate. And it’s not about the dogs, and that’s the problem.
I liked this essay. Maybe because I like losers who are (were) winners. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to look at his way of being to be an attribute, but I think I’d have no problem being in a fox hole with him.
Agreed,Let the guy have his last shot, theres far to many people like lance, who’s pursuit of passions just won’t play well with the bills due for the last 30-50 years of life.
The fallacy of youth is thinking that the good times will never end.Only for a very very few is that true.Being a misfit tends to limit your economic options at times
What the tragedy here is that Lance is doing one more for the sponsor money. His body is beat up, his fingers have arthritis from the cold and he is self medicating all the way to the finish line, at Nome. He is sacrificing his personal health for his family. If that is how he wants to end his career, that is his business. We do not have to draw public scrutiny to it. We can do better than that.
Lemmesee, a guy who started mushing with the equivalent of a rusted out Edsel and a no-name team, won 4 Iditarods & some Yukon Quests back-to-back, always stops to help mushers in distress & once rode two dog teams into a checkpoint coz he couldn’t find the musher of the stranded team, made a come-back from cancer and looks like a bag of bones with a new set of ill-fitting teeth, and people are outraged he’s mebbe having a brewski before the race?
You rock, Lance! Love ya forevah. Have as many dam beers and puffs as you want on the Trail, coz I know you will always care for your canine team first and help out anyone in trouble.
Amen.
Guess u wouldnt have enjoyed the depravity (sp?) that was considered normal at Rosie’s bar in Pelican,back in the day
i did.
Let me just add that I see several sponsors in that one picture. There TRULY might be more to the story.
Few of Lance’s sponsors:
Canada Goose,
ONT
The High Expedition/T.H.E. Pet CBD
Dr. Carson’s Pet Supplements
Lupine Headlights, PA
Dr. Bob Sept/Bering Sea Animal Clinic
Integrative Pain Center of Alaska/Dr. Nancy Cross
SeaFur Sewing/Robert Miller
Joanne Woolever
Club Paris
Right on, Canada Goose. As I know, one of their jackets costs $1,700. I’m Canadian and I don’t even get a discount.
With Lance’s past drug and alcohol abuse, I’d venture to say his celebratory symbolic toast is a “nothing burger”. More “journalistic” silliness.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bodYQHBHaJk
Wait until this year’s drug test results come out. Hopefully Craig doesn’t help cover that up.
Bill, why is it a cheap shot? Is there any thing in the piece that is factually not accurate?
Mackey’s “in your face” conduct shows a degree of disrespect and flaunting of the rules. With his history it would not be surprising if he had more than one of those “hydrating” beverages. But what is most concerning is the message it sends to all who participate or want to participate in the sport. And with his history of abuse, Mackey demonstrates some stupidity.
Do you really care whether/not he had “more than one of those?”
You must be really bored today.
Bill, I do care about the message that Mackey sends when he engages in the conduct depicted. Are you not bothered in the least that kids see this behavior?
And, Bill, I politely ask again, what facts in the Medred piece were not accurate? Whether artices on Medred’s online broadcast are newsworthy is up to the reader. As you said “IMO” I believe the piece was indeed newsworthy. That you feel differently is ok too.
I am rarely bored Bill when reading Medred. Reading comments to his pieces sometimes challenges my boredom meter, however.
Finally, what do facts have to do with anything here?? All I did was call it a “cheap shot” that doesn’t mention anything about facts-in fact Craig’s article doesn’t specifically say Lance was even drinking an alcoholic beverage (only that it’s possible). And if it’s difficult for an adult to see just what Lance was doing, it would surely be more difficult for kids to know what behavior is going on here.
You are a solution looking for a problem, here and Craig is in the same boat IMO. Craig at least suggested he may mistaken and you took the bait.
Loon is the right take, here (and it’s not Lance).
Are you suggesting that Mackey was drinking a health drink? Really?
If it looks like a duck, quacks like one, walks like one and flys like one, well?
Or put another way, if the musher in question has a history involving alchol abuse, has been charged with substance or alcohol offenses, has his picture taken with a can that has a label that includes alcohol content then it is quite reasonable to conclude he is drinking alcohol right before starting the race. And with many observers witnessing the event. And that is a bad idea on so many levels and imo is news. The race already has a bad image arising out of dog doping. It does not need evidence of alcohol use / abuse by its mushers.
But, you are now correct, i am getting bored.
For someone who bores easily (Finally), you sure spend a lot of time on this. Even going to the extent of blowing up said picture to show alcohol content on label of that can. Whew!
I also noted all the kids watching from that treeline behind Lance and they are so shocked they are (evidently) on the ground at such depraved behavior.
As for all the other witnesses to the event, can’t you just see the disgust on their faces-you might need another blow-up of that picture but I’m sure you are capable.
Finally – Lance is a 4x Champ. A legend in Alaska and the race. Win or loose ALL cameras and attention will be on him. He will be the “winner” regardless. Sponsors know this. Everything that man touches will get exposure right now. One can only assume Truly might be an undisclosed sponsor. I think some are reading way too much into this or it might be a middle finger to those that doubted Lance or thought they were better than him in the past. Who really cares? I know I am tired of hearing about soft children.
Finally, I would agree with your observation if it was made in California, Oregon, or Washington. A beer would send those loons into a tizzy and their poor kids would be scared for life. We are talking the 1,000+ mile Iditarod that covers some of the harshest land on our planet. We are talking men, men who play hard, men who still chase women, and men who drink. Do I care if Lance or anybody else feels the need for a beer on the trail? Hell no, they earned it. I trust those men are professionals and hopefully know their limitations.
Appears we have those “loons” up here, too.
No disrespect to all the hard charging women in the line-up this year. You go girls. I’d say this Buds for you but, seems some would be offended.
Cheap shot IMO.
what’s a cheap shot?
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cheap-shot
Also often referred to as CS. That’s how I read it Craig-you feelin good about it?
Bill: i try not to let my feelings get in the way of news.
do you think that if Tiger pops a Michelob on the first tee at Augusta National this year the media will take a photo and describe it as Tiger hydrating?
If Lance had popped a Michelob, instead of a non-recognizable beverage can, Daily News wouldn’t have described it as hydrating either.
My experience with folks drinking, in a dry village, was that the drinking didn’t stop for many but took the form of putting booze into a coke can. We have no idea what was in that can but you feel it’s news.
I guess my point is that your feelings come into play in your deciding it’s “news.” And this is your show!
Bill: you know this how? you have a direct line to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News? you called him to ask what they would have done if this was a Michelob?
my feelings didn’t come into play here, but my judgment sure as shit did. if you can find me some product other than TRULY that comes in a can that looks like that please do. i couldn’t.
the store clerk who pointed the photo out to me and sells a goodly bit of the product was 100 percent sure it was a TRULY. there’s little doubt Lance was starting the race by tilting back a can that usually contains the latest in trendy, beer-like alcohol products.
the evidence is that the can is a TRULY can. end of argument.
but this could be your Coke-can scenario in reverse. Mackey could have poured out the booze, and filled the can with water because it was the only container he had handy in which to put water.
then it’s simply an Iditarod image issue not an Iditarod drinking issue. is this a good image for the Iditarod?
i frankly don’t have any more of an opinion on that than on whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing for drivers to be consuming alcoholic beverages while on the runners. the state of Alaska has a law against an open container in your car because somebody decided drinking while driving was a bad thing.
but 11 states see it differently, although only one – Mississippi – makes it legal to actually drink while driving. in the others, you can have an open container, but you can be ticketed if you are caught in the act of drinking from it.
Mackey’s behavior is “news” because it raises interesting questions for both Iditarod fans – “should mushers be drinking and driving?” “is this a good look for Iditarod?” “should the race be more ‘professional’ or is it cool it’s this laid back?” – and for average Alaskans who aren’t Iditarod fans – “are Iditarod mushers role models?” “should Iditarod mushers be role models?”
i will freely admit that i wouldn’t want Mackey to be a role model for my kid. Mackey has managed to somehow succeed in spite of his behavior. his behavior as documented in court files isn’t very good. most people who behave like Mackey don’t succeed, which is why i wouldn’t want him for my kid’s role model.
but that’s my personal view.
i’m sure there are others who feel exactly the opposite. Mackey has promoted his image as an outlaw. there are a lot of people who’ve embraced that. there are people who’d clearly like to see more outlaws running Iditarod and fewer buttoned-down professionals.
that alone makes this a “news” story.
i’m confident there are people who believe the Iditarod would be “better,” and certainly more entertaining, if there were more mushers like Mackey on the trail instead of less. and they might be right.
i’m guessing the interviews with Seavey and King and a few others would be a lot more fun if you plied them with a few beers and a joint or two before turning on the video.
How about if it was a Formula One or oval track racer chugging down one of these “ hydrating” drinks at the start of the race? Or an adult teacher drinking one in front of students and then driving away. It doesn’t look good, reads bad, and not helpful to the Iditarod race image that is already tarnished.
Bill, you can say it was what ever you want: a Gatorade, vitamin drink, or whatever. But we all know, including you, that it was a can of “TRULY” containing alcohol. Mackey’s history of alcohol and drug use should lead any reasonable person to that conclusion. Having a drink immediately before starting a grueling and dangerous trek involving many others doing the same is simply dumb and wrong in many ways. How is it different than chugging one right before an Iron dog race Bill? Or do you think one drink
can’t hurt anyone and should be ok to everyone who saw it or learned about it?
Not saying Mackey is a bad guy. But he did something stupid and was photographed doing it.
Finally, you are reaching here-and even your “grueling and dangerous trek” is suspect.
I suggest you take up your outrage with the Iditarod folks, as they have an alcohol rule that appears to be lower than that for operating a vehicle even. My opinion is that you would need more than a beer to get over .04% alcohol and I know of no study showing performance issues with that level of alcohol in one’s system. Further, people/mushers do stupid things all the time and, other than be chastised by you, they seem to survive just fine.
Not sure what we would do without your concern, here Finally. Keep it up and you may just grab a gold ring on your next pass.
Craig, I clearly should have added IMO to my comment about how ADN would have described Lance tipping a Michelob. On the other hand had it been a recognizable liquor can, I can’t imagine those folks describing it at hydrating-maybe you can. In fact, I suspect those folks did not know of Truly either but I don’t know that either.
You seem to be the only news source that’s covering this as a drinking thing. Perhaps some more will get on your bandwagon, now that you’ve opened all our eyes to what “hydrating” is.
You might want to ratchet back on the snarky responses Bill. Just because someone disagrees with you does not justify them. Sometimes when a person does not have the facts or necessary info they resort to a type of name calling or insulting words which makes it clear that they have lost the debate at worst, and at best, lost credibility for what ever else they say. Occasionally I have found some merit in some of your posts. But when you get personal whatever else you say means very little. Reasonable minds can differ on this subject so long as they say on subject and not personalities.
Finally, you’ll have to get more specific on those “snarky responses” you refer to. I’ve pissed off several regulars on here but few are due to my snarky responses-they mostly just disagree with my takes.
Bill,
I’m having trouble following what you’re trying to say. Your first post you say “cheap shot”, what are you calling a cheap shot? The picture of Lance drinking out of an adult beverage can, the article saying he was hydrating while drinking out of an adult beverage can, or this article that points out it was an adult beverage can he was drinking out of?
Seems like from the rest of what you wrote you don’t particularly care if he was drinking and adult beverage or not, so then how or why would it be a cheap shot?
He’s a grown man not breaking any laws or rules going on an adventure that most will never even contemplate, if he wants to drink and adult beverage, good for him.
In a nutshell Steve-O, the article.
I agree Lance hasn’t caused any harm and the outrage faked by a few here is unwarranted. He used to tok up from time-to-time (he was a medical mj user) and his competitors got that outlawed, perhaps because they felt it gave him an edge, but that was before we legalized it (recreational, that is).
An adventure it is and I’m in favor of letting him be as long as he continues to break no rules.
Craig is right. I sure wouldn’t want Mackey being a role model for my kids. He had made some terrible decisions in life, drugs, drinking, financial, etc..
I wouldn’t be surprised if something stronger than medical marijuana played a role in his past victories. Also, it used to be customary for men to habe a toast before departing on dangerous journeys. But, like I said before, with Lance’s past abuse problems one spiked seltzer would do nothing to degrad performance. Also, TRULY could have some skin in Mackey’s game. Just a generation ago, during the Vietnam War, beer and combat went hand in hand. Marines or soldiers in Khe Sanh or Da Nang would have balked if they were told they were forbidden from knocking back a cold one. Not sure anybody gave a chit about beer image back then.
Ok, I should have left this out. 1,000 pardons..
“I wouldn’t be surprised if something stronger than medical marijuana played a role in his past victories.”
Say Bryan, did you want that correction because it was no longer your opinion or your thinking the “thought police” might be offended. Heheh!
It’s looking more and more like the concern here is that (somehow) Lance could become some sort of role model for our kids and thus needs to be nipped in the bud. I find that absurd, frankly. But whatever floats your boat.
Bill, combo of “thought police” and a bold assumption on my part. But, one does wonder how the human body can go days with little to no sleep.
Bryan, my own experience was that it takes training to be able to go without sleep.
A former Iditarod champion (Dean Osmar) mentioned that his experience commercial fishing was instrumental in his being able to go without sleep. After I started fishing in 85, I knew what he meant.
I guess I just don’t see the fuss, a guy riding a dog sled on a week(s) long adventure drinks out of a can that may or may not be an adult beverage but it sure looks like it might could possibly be an adult beverage.
I got a lot more out of Craigs article, historically speaking, than it being a “cheap shot” but I didn’t get that Lance was a role model or should be one. I don’t think sports stars or movie actors should be role models either. More than anything I think it’s funny that a guy riding a sled towed by dogs would drink a fufu sparkly water type adult beverage drink than just drinking a beer, maybe that’s what you meant by it being a cheap shot.