Health & Fitness

How I Used a Performance-Enhancing Drug And Won...Sort Of

I used a performance - enhancing drug and won. (Sort of)



In 1996 French cyclist Jérôme Chiotti stormed to victory in the world mountain-bike championships in Cairns Australia. He dominated the race from start to finish. Four years later he confessed to using glycoprotein hormone erythropoietin - more commonly known as EPO. It was the first recorded case of doping in mountain biking. There have been other cases over the years, all of which have been met with the usual moral outrage.



But how many cases go under the radar? In a technology driven sport where a lighter bike with better suspension can mean the difference between winning or loosing is bio hacking really that wrong? Who are the victims?


I used a performance - enhancing drug and won. (Sort of)

Around the same time Chiotti got done for doping I was also retiring from the sport, but for different reasons. The technology had progressed to such an extent that the sport was unaffordable. For the next 14 years my life would be a mess. I tried all sorts of different drugs in an attempt to recreate the thrill I got from mountain biking. I never thought of drugs as something that could enhance my sport of choice. One of the best places to get drugs is off the NHS, they are cheap and good quality.



I had used methalphenidate aka Ritalin aka kiddie coke as a child and as a teenager. But I never raced under its influence as I was young and couldn’t handle drugs. Mostly it just made me feel sick all the time. The drug in question was the performance enhancing drug of the 80’s it helped riders train harder for longer and it improved race results. As an adult I used it to get stuff done, I had recently moved back to my hometown in the countryside surrounded by some of the best mountain bike trails the country has to offer.



Methalphenidate gives you a cokey speedy high without and belligerence or wasted feelings. For a functioning drug addict it is the perfect drug. The only problem is getting enough of it to function.


Mountain biking on drugs is a bit like sex on drugs. The feelings of ecstasy and euphoria are augmented to the point where they become intertwined and indistinguishable. Methalphenidate (like it’s illegal counterpart cocaine) floods the brain with dopamine and neurophenephrine. Then it blocks off the exit points leaving you feeling alert and invincible. When you get on a bike you think you are the best rider in the world and thinking equals believing.You send the impossible gaps, rail the off-camber turns, float over the soapy roots like they aren’t even there and the best part is you have boundless energy and stamina. I was co-morbidly addicted to adrenaline and speed.



Unusually for a drug addict I was in good physical shape, I was thin toned and tanned. I started dating a beautiful girl, even moved in with her, keeping my drug addiction a secret of course. She introduced me to some of her friends who were into biking too. They were impressed with my perceived raw talent. They helped me out with equipment and even got me a job at my local bike shop.


How I Used a Performance-Enhancing Drug And Won...Sort Of

Life was pretty sweet. I had access to the best equipment at trade prices and some of the best technical advice in the industry. Something was missing though. I needed a purpose, a goal. So I decided to take up racing again. I signed up for a full season of cross-country mountain bike racing.


I adopted a rigorous training regime for the upcoming season. It mostly consisted of high intensity roadwork in dark icy mid winter conditions. On my days of I would go mountain biking, my girlfriend protested so I dumped her and moved back in with my parents. I had never won anything before in my life and had become obsessed with gold. I even bought a KMC gold chain for my bike.



There was a problem though, my drug of choice wasn’t having the same effect as it used to. I had already asked my doctor to increase my dosage twice in the last 6 months. I needed to get more into my system. So I started snorting it or dissolving it under my tongue, bypassing my digestive system and sending straight into my bloodstream and into my brain. At first it was great. It made the highs higher - my riding was faster and I felt invincible. The lows on the other hand were lower, my legs and back were in constant agony. I couldn’t sleep and I was restless and depressed. I needed to relax a little in my downtime. That is when I discovered etizolam.



Etizolam bought a peaceful carefree happiness into my life it took away the pain and replaced it with feeling of serenity. In high enough doses it soothed and relaxed my muscles enabling them to grow faster. A few months later I found myself on the start line, ready for my first race in 15 years. I had so much confidence going into that race I bought a bottle of champagne on the way to the venue. The gun sounded and I was off, no one was getting into the first technical section before me. I was in the zone, a couple of shmucks tried to keep up with me but they soon crashed and burned. I won for the first time in my life. It didn’t feel how I expected it to feel though. I thought it would change who I was and how I felt about myself but I didn’t feel any different. I just wanted more. When I raced everything felt sped up. I was accurate and fearless with an inability to feel pain. I was on drugs.


How I Used a Performance-Enhancing Drug And Won...Sort Of

Throughout the season the competition got harder so I trained harder and more training meant more drugs. I grew stronger and faster every week and I became a bigger monster with every win. I became arrogant and fell out with all my friends. I became violent, punched my boss in the face and lost my job. The etizolam wasn’t working as well so I started using a valium analogue called diclazapam. Normal methalphenidate wasn’t enough so I started using a stronger fluorinated version.



By the end of the season I had won everything but lost my sould and my health was starting to fail me. I wasn’t having blackouts often I went without days without being able to remember things. I would forget passwords pin numbers and I would loose track of how much I was using. To make matters worse I was falling off my bike lots and my arms and legs were shredded. Eventually I overdosed. I was so wrecked I couldn’t talk and the doctors in A&E thought the cuts and grazes were self-harm. So they locked me up in a mental institution. I came round after a few days and they realised I wasn’t crazy. Just had a lot of drugs in my system. When I got home I started using again.



I eventually stopped using after seeing the state my equipment was in and looking in the mirror and seeing what I had become. I was pale and scarred. Wasn’t eating much so my body had started to consume itself. I couldn’t even stay upright on my bike anymore. I cried for the first time in years. The fluorinated tears stung my eyes. For four weeks I sat in my room and shook violently. I couldn’t eat or sleep. Training was out of the question and by the time the new season came around I was in no fit state to race.



Getting clean after a prolonged period of drug abuse doesn’t make things better it makes things worse. Most days I feel burned out and depressed falling in love is out of the question. I’m still riding though here and there. Each time I ride I ride a little further.

How I Used a Performance-Enhancing Drug And Won...Sort Of
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