The latest tour for Lance Armstrong is a USO tour of US military bases in seven countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe.
Armstrong is joined on the Road to Kabul by biking buddy Robin Williams (both at left), comedian Lewis Black, Kid Rock, Miss USA Rachel Smith, and Irish tenor Ronan Tynan.
They're all on a non-stop six-day 14-show tour that started in the heat of the desert but soon was flying into swirling snow in Afghanistan. Armstrong is posting blog entries from the trip at the Lance Armstrong Foundation website. On landing in Kabul:
“You would think that a guy who has ridden a bike down the hairpin turns of the Alps in the rain at breakneck speed wouldn't be scared by much … but there I was in a huge cargo plane approaching an icy and snow-covered runway. The massive plane was being flown by a really intrepid kid who seemed far less unnerved by the total lack of visibility. We couldn't see the ground until we got to about 500 feet above it. And we were surrounded by 25,000-foot mountains.
“That was how we got to Afghanistan — arriving in a blizzard after being delayed by the bad weather.
“Before arriving here to Kabul, we traveled from Kuwait to several bases in Iraq. We have been to Tikrit, Al Taqaddum Air Base in Fallujah, Camp Ramadi in Al Anbar and Balad Air Base.”
In an article in the Scotsman, Armstrong said he was introduced to the USO by his friend, Williams. He said debates about the rights and wrongs of the war on terror were not relevant to what they were doing.
“I feel like it's important for us as entertainers or sports figures to support our troops regardless of what you think of the conflict.”
More at DOD press releases.
Armstrong is expected back in the Middle East in 2008 to help celebrate Israel's 60 years of independence. The 7-time Tour de France champion accepted an invitation to help dedicate a bicycle trail that rolls between the coastal city of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
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