Moldy Peaches

At least President George W. Bush is serious about one thing - cycling. Bush, an avid mountain biker, got a chance to test his mettle against cycling superstar Lance Armstrong on the weekend.

The seven-time Tour de France champion joined the president for a two-hour, 17-mile trek through the canyons and river-crossings of Bush's 1,600-acre Texas ranch. Armstrong, a fellow Texan and Bush friend (who nonetheless disagrees with the president on the Iraq war), called it a "dream scenario" to cycle with the president.

Bush, on his annual August vacation, took up mountain biking after a knee injury forced him to give up jogging a couple of years ago. He has, however, taken a few well-publicized spills, including one in Scotland last month when he collided with a police officer.

The president is in "superior" condition for a man his age and takes pride in his six-day-a-week workout regimen and just last week he showcased the statistics on his heart rate monitor for a group of reporters who rode with him. The monitor showed he burned 1,493 calories in a two-hour ride, also 17 miles.