Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

5-23-90 . . . It’s time to prepare for Saturday’s 100-kilometer race in Canton, so I went out this afternoon on a training ride. My aim was to do a fifty-five mile Cowpath route, which takes me into Midlothian, but as I reentered Lake Ridge Parkway on my way home I heard a familiar voice. “Keith!” It was David Loggins. He, too, was by himself. I crossed the median and caught up with him as he pedaled into the wind toward Cedar Hill. His plan was to turn around at the end of the parkway, but when we got there he wondered aloud whether he should climb the hill. “I’m willing to do it”, I said. So we did. I hit forty-six miles per hour com­ing down. On the way back, with a nice tailwind, we talked about past and upcoming bike rallies and about David’s future as a com­petitive bicyclist. He’s still a baby as bicyclists go, so I en­couraged him to work hard and strive for excellence in the next few years. “Don’t end up like me”, I said: “thirty-three years old and lots of regrets. I wish I were twenty again, like you, knowing what I know about bicycling.” The distinctive thing about David is that he is mentally tough. He not only has the discipline to ride regularly and hard, but he has a consuming passion to win. That’s essential if one is to reach the top ech­elons of bicycling. The 198 riders who start the Tour de France every year are of comparable physical ability. The riders who do best, including the rider who wins, are those with the strongest mental constitution. It’s a cluster of desire, discipline, will­power, and passion for excellence. That’s what makes Greg LeMond such a fantastic bicyclist. He wants to win.