The Start Line

In this chapter, Armstrong introduces us to his early history. He explains his non-relationship with his father and describes the special relationship between him and his mother. He tells about what kind of boy he was and how he discovered that cycling was "his" sport.

a. The lesson that his mother always tried to teach him, to never quit and always culminate something that he began. Perseverance is something that has enabled him to be where he is now. (Flavia)

b. Armstrong describes a very special love between his mother and him; for example, he was completely individual in his life, because he knew his mother needed to earn money. Moreover, his mother and he were very open with each other. The most important thing is that Armstrong never lied to his mother. I can entirely understand how much he loves his mother when he found out about his stepfather's dishonesty to his mother and Armstrong kept this secret. (Jennifer)

c. For me this story is extremely incredible. Perhaps it was because I knew something before about Lance Armstrong. Also, I love sports, and that is another important reason. About this chapter, I was excited mostly about the victories he had at such a young age, and also, the adventures he had when he was a teenager, and also his relationship with his mom. (Aziz)

d. Even though his mother was in adverse circumstances, she showed love for her child. The best impressive sentence is "We`re proud of each other as a family." (Jinwoo)

e. What impressed me the most is the strong relation between the mother and the son and how they trust each other because it's really hard to find that these days.(Nasser)

f. The thing that most impressed me is the love and trust between Armstrong and his mother. Armstrong has a great mother, a brave mother and a unique childhood. They supported each other to get through the hard times. Armstrong’s mother never quit, and neither did Armstrong. (Fei)

g. This chapter is about relationship between him and his mother. Most people, including me, think that Armstrong is a hero. It is because he can overcome his cancer by himself. However, this chapter shows me that his victory depended on his mother’s effort. Unless his mother taught him like that, he couldn’t have helped himself. (Dae Gun Kim)

h. The most impressive fact was the love between Lance and his mom. In this chapter Lance explains how hard and tough his life was, especially since he was raised by just his mom because his father was out of the family. I really like this chapter because it is related with my life in a way. Also, Lance expresses how much he loves his mom and how he appreciates everything that she has done for him. (Greivis Vasquez)

i. This chapter is about how the author and his mother deepened the bond between parent and child. The author completely trusts his mother and really worries about her. The bond between him and his mother made him strong as an athlete. (Makoto Nakayama)

j. The author, Lance Armstrong, focuses on his childhood and his family structure; he mentioned that his father, who gave him the DNA, “the genetic information,” represents nothing in his life; also he tells the readers how he got his family name, Armstrong, and as the story progressed, it was obvious that his mother was the most important factor in his life, and he shows how she struggled to rear him. She gave him emotional support, and he is proud of her. He said, “I was completely loved by my mother, and I loved her back the same way, and that felt like enough to both of us”. (Mohamed Ali, Feb 10)

k. The strong relation between Lance with his mom really impressed me--how they trust and love each other. I also feel surprised at how mature Lance was when he was just a kid. He was always considerate of his mother. His mother is admirable. She did whatever she could for Lance, and gave whatever she had to him. (Hsingchuan 2/12/07)

1.Could you explain " Impatiently, I hit the gas.(final sentence, #32)"? (Jinwoo)

Answer: "hit the gas" means to press the accelerator (the pedal in a motor vehicle that feeds gasoline to the engine, making the car go faster). So Armstrong means to say that he speeded up quickly. (Nina, 2/3/07)

2. What does "I promise you, he's going places."(in line 24, page 36) and "I was named to the U.S. national cycling team"(in line ten, page 40) mean? Fei

Answer: "He's going places" means "He is going to succeed."

Being named for the national team means being selected for the team. (Nina, 2/3/07)

3. When I read chapter two, I find a word, “Cat”. I search it on my dictionary but it says that Cat means just a animal like a lion. I think it means Category. Is it right? Also, I wonder whether Category means a race track or program. Please give me your opinion. (Dae Gun Kim) What is the page, please? (Nina)