Contributing Editor Daniel Coyle began his career with Outside as an intern in 1989 and graduated to Senior Editor before leaving the ranks to pursue a career as a full time writer. He's the author of Hardball: A Season in the Projects, which Sporting News named book of the year in 1994 and more recently, he penned the novel Waking Samuel, about a nurse who works on a coma patient ward. Coyle has been honored twice with National Magazine Award Nominations for his work in Outside. In 1998, he was nominated for a NMA for feature writing for his profile of Joseph Hazelwood and the Exxon Valdez disaster, entitled "The Captain Went Down with the Ship," and again in 2003 for his profile on snowboarder Roger Carver, called, "Boy Wonder." Coyle is currently working on a book tentatively titled Armstrong's War: An Epic Obsession, a Furious Will to Win about Lance Armstrong's pursuit of a sixth consecutive Tour de France title, slated for release in June, 2005. He lives in Homer, Alaska, with his wife Jen and their four kids.
The New American in Paris
From his offbeat stunts (he once drank 15 cappuccinos in one sitting) to his anything-goes demeanor (see Exhibit athe fur coaton page 4), Floyd Landis is the anti-Lance in every way but one: He'll stop at nothing in his quest to finish the Tour de France wearing the yellow jersey.
Street Fighting Man
From prologue to Paris, DANIEL COYLE followed the reigning champ throughout the 2004 Tour and all the way to victory No. 6. Now he's written a true-life sports thriller about how the Armstrong machine smashed the opposition. In this exclusive excerpt from Lance Armstrong's War, the author chronicles the brutal turning point of Lance's greatest triumph.
The Agony Is the Ecstasy
Hideous crashes? Shattered bones? Tyler Hamilton smiles through it allwhich is just what he needs to beat you-know-who.
Peerless
In the Church of the Moment, that swaggering and sacred place just beyond the steep couloirs of Whistler, the congregation knows no fear. Save for that silent penitent in the corner, who knows it well, honors it wisely, and then beats the living devil out of it.
The First Law of Gravity
Namely, that that which rises must eventually fall. A law that even the king of the Alaskan bush pilots probably can't ignore forever.
Better Environmentalism Through Killing
Ted Nugent, seventies rock relic, loves the wild outdoors. Loves to seek out the earth's creatures, large and small, and shoot them. Loves that he could be the conservation movement's most valuable ally. Which is to say, he loves irony.
Balloonatics
They're swashbuckling billionaires and absent-minded dreamers, all chasing one of the last great adventures: 25,000 miles around the globe by jet stream and Icarian wing. No stopping, no sploshing.
Speed
They are human bullets. Their world is defined by 100-meter lengths of track. Their goal? To run as fast as a body can. Then faster.
Are You Trying to Seduce Me, Mrs. Chenoweth?
To fall under the spell of the conservative right's dusky siren, to entertain her environmentally suspect vision, well, nothing seemed more unlikely. Then she - belipsticked, besilked, beguiling - entered the room.
Tony Little Saves Tonga
Tony Little (I'm the World's Number One Personal Trainer!) travels to Tonga (it's a monarchy, right? you just stop the fatty food from coming in!) and whips the island nation into shape (holy shit, these people are huge!)
The Captain Went Down with the Ship
PREMISE ONE: Eight years ago a drunk Joe Hazelwood piloted the Exxon Valdez into a reef. PREMISE TWO: Eight years ago Joe Hazelwood martyred himself out of pride. RESOLUTION ONE: After much suffering and introspection, Joe Hazelwood has found peace. RESOLUTION TWO: He's resolved absolutely nothing.
The High Cost of Being David Brower
He rescued some of the West's hallowed lands. He became one of the most influential environmental leaders of the century. In the process, he sacrificed friends, family, and anyone who couldn't keep up. Now, alone in the twilight, how does the archdruid make peace with it all?