So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it's meant to improve us.

Nobody needs to cry for me. I'm going to be great.

We sped on, across the plains, toward Metz. I hung back, saving myself. It is called the Race of Truth. The early stages separate the strong riders from the weak. Now the weak would be eliminated altogether.

I wanted to live, but whether I would or not was mystery, and in the midst of confronting that fact, even at that moment, I was beginning to sense that to stare into the heart of such a fearful mystery wasn't a bad thing. To be afraid is a priceless education. P 99

Motivation can't take you very far if you don't have the legs.

I guess if I looked at it from an athletic standpoint, I don't really need to win another Tour. Seven Tours for me was a dream, six broke the record, so that eight doesn't really mean much.

My actions and reactions, and the way I treated certain scenarios, were way out of line, so I deserved some punishment.