Cycling with Bush

A rarity from The Guardian today - an article about President Bush that is light and almost totally lacking in cynicism. Cycling correspondent Matt Seaton is impressed with Bush's cycling equipment and it's not just all show.

Last year, a journalist from Associated Press joined the president on a lap of his Crawford ranch. Bush's heart rate, Scott Lindlaw reported, peaked at 168 beats per minute during the 18-mile loop. For a man of his age (59), that's likely to be about 95% of his maximum - which is the sort of intensity only elite athletes train at. According to AP, Bush completed the ride in an hour and 20 minutes. That's more than 13mph, which may not sound all that fast, but for an off-road cyclist, believe me, it's shifting. His resting pulse - a good rule-of-thumb indicator of fitness - is down in the 40s. On this form, Bush could not only hold his own in age-related cross-country races, he'd win some.

Seaton comments that the President's jacket was baggy, but when I saw that picture over the weekend I was wondering if he had on his bullet proof vest underneath the jacket. I had figured that if there was one place he wouldn't need it that would be in China.