chimpy celebrates earth day
Bush dodges muddy obstacles in Earth Day bicycle ride
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, April 22, 2006
(04-22) 14:39 PDT LAS POSADAS STATE FOREST, Calif. (AP) --
President Bush marked Earth Day with a lung-busting mountain bike ride high above Napa County wine country, dodging {and also causing} ruts that sent several partners crashing into the mud.
The president spent Saturday morning with a small pack of riders in this foggy redwood forest about 90 minutes north of San Francisco. He relished the swampy conditions in the remote state-owned tract, returning repeatedly to huge puddles and streams running high after weeks of rain.
...
"We're able to enjoy the beauty without really disrupting the pristine nature of the place," the mud-splattered president said after the 65-minute ride. "It's a classic way for mankind to enjoy God's gift. Plus, we get some exercise."
The ride started at an elevation of about 1,700 feet above sea level and dropped steeply for several miles, prompting a bit of anxiety in the president. He is not accustomed to the sustained drops and climbs of California's mountains, having ridden mostly in the Washington, D.C., area and on his ranch near Crawford, Texas.
Riding Mountain Bike One — a blue and white Trek Fuel bicycle emblazoned with the presidential seal — Bush glided confidently over loose rocks and deep gullies carved by rain runoff. He recovered from a near spill on a fast downhill, but four riders behind him went down in a Tour de France-style pileup, leaving them caked with dirt.
...
The president set the pace throughout the ride, with four Air Force men, a White House legislative aide and Secret Service agents tightly bunched behind him. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., began the ride with the president, but quickly sensed he was not up for the rugged terrain and fast pace. He peeled off and pedaled solo.
"I'm used to riding in the flats," Lungren said later.
A long convoy of SUVs and off-road vehicles rumbled behind the group, carrying medics and security agents with machine guns.
One of the bicycle-borne agents had mapped out the route, and he alone knew where to turn when the road forked. Bush, however, made plain he was in charge. "Drop back," the commander in chief ordered the agent, with a thumb over his shoulder.
The president explained later that he cherishes both the solitude and the social aspect of mountain biking.
"Generally when I ride it's the one time when I feel alone, even though I know people are behind me," he said. "I ask people a lot of times not to be in my line of vision because all I can see straight ahead is, you know, space."
Often, he said, when he is riding with his usual group near Washington he plugs headphones into his ears and cranks up his iPod, "and it's like I'm alone."
...
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, April 22, 2006
(04-22) 14:39 PDT LAS POSADAS STATE FOREST, Calif. (AP) --
President Bush marked Earth Day with a lung-busting mountain bike ride high above Napa County wine country, dodging {and also causing} ruts that sent several partners crashing into the mud.
The president spent Saturday morning with a small pack of riders in this foggy redwood forest about 90 minutes north of San Francisco. He relished the swampy conditions in the remote state-owned tract, returning repeatedly to huge puddles and streams running high after weeks of rain.
...
"We're able to enjoy the beauty without really disrupting the pristine nature of the place," the mud-splattered president said after the 65-minute ride. "It's a classic way for mankind to enjoy God's gift. Plus, we get some exercise."
The ride started at an elevation of about 1,700 feet above sea level and dropped steeply for several miles, prompting a bit of anxiety in the president. He is not accustomed to the sustained drops and climbs of California's mountains, having ridden mostly in the Washington, D.C., area and on his ranch near Crawford, Texas.
Riding Mountain Bike One — a blue and white Trek Fuel bicycle emblazoned with the presidential seal — Bush glided confidently over loose rocks and deep gullies carved by rain runoff. He recovered from a near spill on a fast downhill, but four riders behind him went down in a Tour de France-style pileup, leaving them caked with dirt.
...
The president set the pace throughout the ride, with four Air Force men, a White House legislative aide and Secret Service agents tightly bunched behind him. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., began the ride with the president, but quickly sensed he was not up for the rugged terrain and fast pace. He peeled off and pedaled solo.
"I'm used to riding in the flats," Lungren said later.
A long convoy of SUVs and off-road vehicles rumbled behind the group, carrying medics and security agents with machine guns.
One of the bicycle-borne agents had mapped out the route, and he alone knew where to turn when the road forked. Bush, however, made plain he was in charge. "Drop back," the commander in chief ordered the agent, with a thumb over his shoulder.
The president explained later that he cherishes both the solitude and the social aspect of mountain biking.
"Generally when I ride it's the one time when I feel alone, even though I know people are behind me," he said. "I ask people a lot of times not to be in my line of vision because all I can see straight ahead is, you know, space."
Often, he said, when he is riding with his usual group near Washington he plugs headphones into his ears and cranks up his iPod, "and it's like I'm alone."
...
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