Lance Armstrong is living an unbothered and positive life 18 months after confessing to using performance-enhancing drugs, the disgraced cyclist said.

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and banned for life from racing in 2012 by the US Anti-Doping Agency after it accused him in a report of engineering one of the most sophisticated doping schemes in sports.

The investigation and later admission to doping destroyed Armstrong’s reputation and career but the 42-year-old American says he has been able to go about his daily life without being taunted or heckled for what he did.

“I never get crap, not once, and I’m surprised by that,” Armstrong was quoted as saying.

While day-to-day life is good for Armstrong, the cyclist’s problems are far from over as he and his team of lawyers prepare to face several civil lawsuits that could drain the fortune he accumulated as one of the world’s most popular and successful athletes.

In June a federal judge rejected Armstrong’s bid to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that he and his former cycling team, which the US Postal Service had sponsored, defrauded government in a scheme to use banned drugs.

A still defiant Armstrong, however, claims the US Postal Service benefited hugely from the exposure it got from its sponsorship and that the lawsuit had been brought too late.

“I’m very confident that that’s a winner for us,” said Armstrong.