Tuesday, August 08, 2006

I'm the Wiz! And noooooobody beats me!

Another tip from the wonderful Dan Froomkin: he caught this creepy filing from Reuters' Steve Holland...
Confident that a U.N. resolution on southern Lebanon was essentially complete, Bush broke away from his ranchhouse for a spin around his 1,600-acre (647-hectare) Texas ranch, across single-track trails that he helped hack out of the dry, dusty environs.
While some of his Democratic critics have complained he spends too much time on his bike, Bush said the exercise helps him deal with the pressures of the presidency.
"Riding helps clear my head, helps me deal with the stresses of the job," a sweat-soaked Bush said after an hour-and-20-minute ride that shot his heart rate up to 177 beats per minute at the top of one climb.
The president set a brutal pace for his accompanying riders, who included two Secret Service agents, White House spokesman Tony Snow and this reporter, who managed to gasp his way through the 12 1/2-mile (20-km) ride.
"What I would give to be 16 again!" Bush yelled out at one point as he mashed the pedals of his Trek bicycle through a wooded area.
In fact, Bush does not ride quietly, constantly shouting out in his Texas twang the names of trees and geographic features and yelling at himself to pedal faster.
"Air assault!" he yelled as he started one of two major climbs, up Calichi Hill, which he named for the white limestone rock from which it is formed.
Air assault?! Jeebus, that's f'd up.

And while we're at it, what was a Reuters journo doing riding along with Bush? Want to join his towel-snapping frat? Why?

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