Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesLance Armstrong clearly has a need for speed.
The disgraced athlete has announced that he is returning to cycling just six months after admitting during an interview with Oprah Winfrey to using performance-enhancing drugs.
Armstrong will take part in The Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa later this month.
"To be honest, it's not a statement, it's not an experiment," Armstrong told The Register regarding his comeback. "It's just me wanting to go ride my bike with what in the past has been a friendly group of people who share the same interests."
While it is Armstrong's fifth time participating in the event, it marks his first major public appearance since his doping confession in January, which forced Armstrong to give back all seven of his Tour de France titles and millions of dollars in prize money. He was also banned from professional cycling for life.
"I'm well aware my presence is not an easy topic, and so I encourage people if they want to give a high-five, great. If you want to shoot me the bird, that's OK, too," Armstrong told the paper.
He added, "I'm a big boy, and so I made the bed, I get to sleep on it."
Since his admission to Winfrey, Armstrong is reportedly facing as much as $135 million in liabilities from several lawsuits.
"I'm committing to working through them, and whether it's settling cases or whether it's fighting some cases -- because some have merit, some don't," the 41-year-old noted. "But I'm committed to the process, and that's probably as much as I would and could say about it. That's a tricky area there. Unless you have $135 million you want to let me borrow, or have?"
Of course, Armstrong isn't the only famous face to make an effort to turn things around as our Celebrity Comebacks gallery can attest.