Mountain Biking - pic of a pretty cool bike i came across

Just thought I would share a picture of a pretty cool US Secret Service full suspension Trek that I came across this weekend in my travels... In the background you can see some of the 2006 Trek 8000's that the police were using
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http://home.comcast.net/~silverls1gto/trek.jpg

I love seeing our tax dollars going to good use. Why do they need a FS bike?

Kickstand?!

Its not very "secret" when they have secret service stamped across the top tube.

You know the secret service needs a fs bike just incase there chasing some crazy robber or something and they have to go down a crazy mountain run...you never know what could happen as a secret service guy...you know what i mean?

Man that bike sure is pretty!:D

Meh, it's just a trek fuel.

They need it to chase Bush down the "wicked singletrack" on his ranch. We know these as dirt roads.

My bet is that they put out bids and Bush's Trek CEO buddy made a giveaway offer just so the president would be surrounded by Trek bicycles.

seems kinda silly to have a FS with platforms. Seems like the ultimate cop bike would be a CX or roadie with 25 or 28 armadillos and double sided clipless ie candys or mallet

Why do they need a FS bike?

Look at that fat, out of shape agent that has to ride it.

I'd think a HT would be far better suited to thier needs.

seems kinda silly to have a FS with platforms.

How is it silly? I wouldn't want to be riding a Freeride Full Suspension with clipless pedals.

They need it to chase Bush down the "wicked singletrack" on his ranch. We know these as dirt roads.



Actually our Pres. is in really good shape. He used to do a lot of running, but his knees started giving him problems, so he started riding a mountain bike. A lot of the trails he prefers are pretty aggressive. I give him huge props for being a mountain biker.

Even if you don't agree with him politically, you've got to give him credit for being a mountain biker. What other country can say their leader mountain bikes?

I think it's pretty cool. I'd like to ride with him.

Plus, when he does ride, he still needs the protection of the SS. So, they all had to learn to ride as well. Wow, imaging that, our President introduced at least a dozen other people to our sport!

Actually our Pres. is in really good shape. He used to do a lot of running, but his knees started giving him problems, so he started riding a mountain bike. A lot of the trails he prefers are pretty aggressive. I give him huge props for being a mountain biker.

Even if you don't agree with him politically, you've got to give him credit for being a mountain biker. What other country can say their leader mountain bikes?

I think it's pretty cool. I'd like to ride with him.

Plus, when he does ride, he still needs the protection of the SS. So, they all had to learn to ride as well. Wow, imaging that, our President introduced at least a dozen other people to our sport!


LoL I'm convinced! :D (not scarcastically)

Kind of ironic. The conservatives of America block attempts of local advocacy groups to gaining trail access, yet thier king is one of us :)

Actually our Pres. is in really good shape. He used to do a lot of running, but his knees started giving him problems, so he started riding a mountain bike. A lot of the trails he prefers are pretty aggressive. I give him huge props for being a mountain biker.

Even if you don't agree with him politically, you've got to give him credit for being a mountain biker. What other country can say their leader mountain bikes?

I think it's pretty cool. I'd like to ride with him.

Plus, when he does ride, he still needs the protection of the SS. So, they all had to learn to ride as well. Wow, imaging that, our President introduced at least a dozen other people to our sport!

Yes, yes, the man that posed for this picture prefers "aggresive" trails.

http://www.201k.com/images/bush_bike.jpg

I fully disclose that I really hate that SOB. I do think it's a good thing that he is cycling. I do not think it's cool when his publicists put out talking points stating he rides trails that "would give veterans pause". If he meant Vietnam Veterans missing a leg our an arm ... well that would be true (there is always some "technical truth" to White House talking points).

The president is partial to the double track on his ranch and the paved paths at Camp David. He is also partial to riding out of control and trashing the knees of Scottish bobbies on dry pavement. And of course, he is one of the few living human beings capable of falling off the Segway Scooter. Now how is that such an athletically gifted man was a cheerleader at Andover (an all male institution (double snicker, you don't get to put your hands on the asses of cute girls))?

There is nothing wrong with trying and falling. But there is something wrong with the perpetual wave of BS that comes out of the White House trying to make Bush out to be some kind of great athlete. There is no shame in being a clutz (I'm one myself). There is shame in pretending.

Yes, yes, the man that posed for this picture prefers "aggresive" trails.

http://www.201k.com/images/bush_bike.jpg

I fully disclose that I really hate that SOB. I do think it's a good thing that he is cycling. I do not think it's cool when his publicists put out talking points stating he rides trails that "would give veterans pause". If he meant Vietnam Veterans missing a leg our an arm ... well that would be true (there is always some "technical truth" to White House talking points).

The president is partial to the double track on his ranch and the paved paths at Camp David. He is also partial to riding out of control and trashing the knees of Scottish bobbies on dry pavement. And of course, he is one of the few living human beings capable of falling off the Segway Scooter. Now how is that such an athletically gifted man was a cheerleader at Andover (an all male institution (double snicker, you don't get to put your hands on the asses of cute girls))?

There is nothing wrong with trying and falling. But there is something wrong with the perpetual wave of BS that comes out of the White House trying to make Bush out to be some kind of great athlete. There is no shame in being a clutz (I'm one myself). There is shame in pretending.



One rule for Peloton One: Don't pass the president
By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY
CRAWFORD, Texas — The leader of the free world is now leading a Boomer Generation fitness trend. At age 59, President Bush is ripping around on a mountain bike, beating stress — and his fellow riders — with aplomb.
President Bush rides his bike with a group of journalists at the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, on Saturday.
White House photo by Eric Draper

Bush invited me and a few other reporters for a mountain bike ride on his 1,600-acre Texas ranch Saturday.

His escapades on the bike have been well documented: an over-the-handlebars crash here at the ranch and a wet-pavement wipeout in Scotland that injured a pedestrian policeman.

But the truth about the Biker-in-Chief is that the man can really ride. Over the course of a two-hour Tour de Crawford, Bush humbled every rider in Peloton One with a strong and steady pace over scorching hot paved roads, muddy creek crossings, energy-sapping tall grass and steep climbs on loose and crumbling rock.

"This is not a race," he insisted at the start of the ride. "This is a chance for me to show you a little slice of heaven, as far as I'm concerned. You know, some guys go on their ranch and ride horses — I like to ride my ranch on a mountain bike."

Follow the leader

But there is one rule: don't pass the president.

No problem. Keeping up with Bush — whose fitness level was recently rated in his annual physical exam as being in the top 1% of men 55 to 59 — was as difficult as any race I've entered.

I started out riding next to him at the beginning of the ride, but when we left the dirt trails and hit the rolling asphalt the pace accelerated to more than 20 mph, which is pretty good for road bikes but absolutely blazing for heavier, knobby-tired mountain bikes. And did I mention that the only factor mitigating the mid-80s temperatures was a very strong headwind?

"I like speed," says Bush, who wore a red-white-and blue helmet and a Western-style bike jersey, complete with pearl snap buttons. His loose-fitting black shorts bore small rips from his crash in Scotland. "There's something exhilarating about heading down a hill at 35 mph on a mountain bike — or trying to grind up a hill at 9 mph."
Ride with Lance next for Bush
WACO, Texas — President Bush gets to hit the trails with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong told ABC's This Week on Sunday that he'll travel to Crawford, Texas, on Saturday to ride mountain bikes with the president. "It's a dream scenario for me," Armstrong said.

It also must be a dream scenario for Bush to ride with Armstrong, a fellow Texan and cancer survivor who last month won his seventh Tour de France.

Armstrong is impressed with how seriously Bush takes the sport: "I know people who have ridden with him. I can tell you he's one very competitive guy. Very competitive, there's no talking. A few minutes of warm-up time, a little chitchat, then you go."

Contributing: Associated Press

Need for speed

The president does prefer the speed zones to the technically difficult traverses up and over loose limestone and mud, but his abilities in that area are increasing rapidly.

He began riding two years ago when a knee injury ended his running routine, but his skills already are quite advanced.

"I love the outdoors," he says, straddling his $3,000 Trek Fuel mountain bike. "If I'm not exercising here, I'll be fishing over there. If I'm not fishing, I'll be working with the chainsaw. I really enjoy being outside, and mountain biking is a way for me to spend a fair amount of time — four or five days a week — outdoors.

"I love exercise. Prior to learning about mountain biking, I was a jogger. And then, like a lot of baby boomers, my knees gave out. I believe that mountain biking is going to be an outlet for a lot of people my age. I'm 59, and people are going to realize you get as much aerobic exercise — if not more on the mountain bike — without being hobbled."

His observation is borne out by the experts. According to Freddie Fu of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sports Medicine, one of the nation's leading orthopedic surgeons, boomers are suffering knee and other leg injuries brought on by years of pounding the pavement. Fu recommends that they take up soft-contact sports, such as cycling. Fu even sponsors his own cycling team.

"Riding a bicycle gives the cardiovascular benefits of running without the impact," Fu says.

Chris Carmichael, who coached Lance Armstrong to seven Tour de France wins, says the president is doing the right thing.

"He's a shining example of the benefits of having an active lifestyle," Carmichael says. "If you stay fit for all of your life, you can switch sports and also maintain a high level of performance."

Carmichael is familiar with the trend: more than half of the athletes who use his online coaching service are age 40 or older.

"The president is wise to emphasize his aerobic training: heart disease is the leading killer of American men. That should come before resistance (weight) training."

Good spin on benefits

Bush's physical exam also showed that mountain biking has been beneficial for him in several areas. His resting heart rate was 47 beats a minute — the adult male average is about 68 and pro racer Armstrong clocks in at 32.

During the Saturday ride, Bush's heart rate will average 139 beats a minute, with a maximum of 177 on one of the hill climbs. He will burn about 1,500 calories — enough to erase a McDonald's Big Mac, large fries, milk shake and apple pie.

But you won't find those items on his personal menu. He weighs 191.6 pounds, 8 pounds less than a year ago. His body fat percentage is 15.79, down from 18.25 and well below the "normal" range of 16.5-to-20.5 for his age group.

"Baby boomers who were exercise folks are beginning to realize that there's got to be a better way to get exercise than running, because we are pounding ourselves," the president says. "And I'm hurt — not terribly, I don't limp — my right knee. The doctor said, 'I can fix it for you, and then you can run again. And then I'll replace it.' And I would rather not, at the age of 60, have a knee replacement."

The president recently began using so-called "clipless pedals" that attach a rider's bike shoes to the pedals with a mechanical system similar to ski bindings. The downside is a steep learning curve that can be brutal when the rider can't release out of the pedals.

"They told me that I could be 15% more efficient with them," he said. "I was a little nervous at first — you know, kind of being stuck to the pedals made me worried, since I had fallen before."

Despite the seemingly flat Central Texas terrain, he took Peloton One on a very scenic route that included a secluded waterfall and eight creek crossings. He seemed to take particular delight in announcing his pet names for each spot.

Achilles Hill, for example, is a rugged ascent where he once crashed and gashed the back of his ankle on his bike's chain rings.

Balkan Hill, another climb on Saturday's route, got its name because it's "where Condi Rice gave me and Laura a lecture on the history of the Balkans."

Climb 'outside the bubble'

The president acknowledged that there are those who feel his time should be spent on more pressing issues.

A few miles from where we rode, peace activists were demanding that he speak with Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in the Iraq war.

President Bush poses with USA TODAY reporter Sal Ruibal at a waterfall during their two-hour ride.

"I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say," he says. "But it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life.

"The people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live, and will do so."

Judging by the big grin on his face the entire ride, he truly enjoys the sport.

"There's a great sense of exhilaration," he says. "Running up one of these hills is fine, but nothing like riding a bike up. It is fun. It brings out the child in you. I think it's OK for a 59-year-old guy to still seek that youth, chase that fountain of youth. And I hope to be mountain biking for a long time."

He didn't crash this trip, but a few reporters — not this one — hit the dirt. But in mountain biking, crashing is not a negative. It is part of the experience and fodder for post-ride stories.

By the time sweat-soaked and mud-spattered Peloton One made its way to the finish area, we were ready for the ride to be over.

In true mountain biker fashion, we guzzled water and shared tales from the ride.

The president pulled out a cardboard box and passed out Peloton One bike socks to the participants, then posed with each rider for the official White House photographer.

In keeping with his pet name habit, he referred to himself as "Bike Guy." It is clearly an identification that has great meaning for him.

"For me, this is a chance to feel like I'm outside the bubble," he said. "Whether it be here in Crawford, or Quantico, where we ride, or at Camp David or at Beltsville, Md. — I get the sense of freedom."

Sal Ruibal is a 51-year-old sportswriter for USA TODAY who has covered the Tour de France six times and ridden most of the Tour's mountain passes. He is an experienced mountain bike racer who finished fifth in the Masters category at the 2002 World Championships of 24-Hour Solo Mountain Biking.
http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/9651/inside2bushbikepn0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I guess this was all bull****.

Kind of ironic. The conservatives of America block attempts of local advocacy groups to gaining trail access, yet thier king is one of us :)

Actually as much as I hate the President and his Right Wing Nut Job synchophants, I don't think this statement is accurate.

I have noticed that the opposition to trail access mainly comes from shrill uber-environmentalists on the far left. They try to blur the lines between motorized vehicles on bicycles. They contort arguments and try to make mountain bikes out to be a threat to land and wildlife habitat. The conservatives don't seem to care much at all for protecting wild spaces. That is, unless your mountain biking around one of their strip mines.

On this we can probably all agree. Mountain bikers are a crowd for the respectful low impact utilization of wild spaces. Such utilization gives these spaces meaning and a group of protaginists who actually CARE whether it is bulldozed. We are stuck between folks who don't want any humans there whatsoever (except themselves to "monitor" it). Such is the nature of advocacy, almost all positions are to the extreme. There is no such thing as a "moderate" PAC.

I think if I ever get to ride with him, I might have to attack 2 miles in. I think I can take him.;)

Even if you don't agree with him politically, you've got to give him credit for being a mountain biker.

No you don't.


What other country can say their leader mountain bikes?

Who cares? It doesn't have any relation to how well he occupies his office. I shudder to think there's still people out there who support this absolutely incompetent failure of a president based upon the gut feeling they'd like to have a beer with him, or in this case, go for a ride with him. I'd take a parapalegic with a half a brain over an incurious man-child any day.

Whoa now, we don't want this thread getting moved to P&R or something.

No you don't.



Who cares? It doesn't have any relation to how well he occupies his office. I shudder to think there's still people out there who support this absolutely incompetent failure of a president based upon the gut feeling they'd like to have a beer with him, or in this case, go for a ride with him. I'd take a parapalegic with a half a brain over an incurious man-child any day.
I do give him credit for being a mtber. Your right it doesn't have any relation to how well he occupies office. It has relation to him as a person. Some people can set aside that maybe he was a failure as a president, and wouldn't mind riding with him casually. I know I'd ride with him.

It has relation to him as a person.

No it doesn't.

Somewhere right now in scuba.com forums or, weekendclown.com forums, people are talking about how scuba-diving, or being a clown on the weekends, really says something about someone's character because scuba divers this and weekend clowns that, and the drive to scuba-dive really speaks to this and the desire to dress up as a clown on the weekends really shows that, and blah, blah, blah. And meanwhile over at underwaterbasketweaving.com everyone's laughing because they all know only those people truly stoic and forthright enough to weave baskets underwater can be called "heroes".

I think the rear suspension makes sense on those bikes because it's not hard to imagine how they may have to descend a staircase or something like that, especially in monument-heavy DC.

No it doesn't.

Somewhere right now in scuba.com forums or, weekendclown.com forums, people are talking about how scuba-diving, or being a clown on the weekends, really says something about someone's character because scuba divers this and weekend clowns that, and the drive to scuba-dive really speaks to this and the desire to dress up as a clown on the weekends really shows that, and blah, blah, blah. And meanwhile over at underwaterbasketweaving.com everyone's laughing because they all know only those people truly stoic and forthright enough to weave baskets underwater can be called "heroes".

I think the rear suspension makes sense on those bikes because it's not hard to imagine how they may have to descend a staircase or something like that, especially in monument-heavy DC.
We like the fact that he's a mtber, because we are too. How does that not relate to him as a person, and how can you think it has ANYthing to do with his accomplishments or lack thereof. This has NOTHING to do with him as a president, so stop trying to make this into a pnr thread.

so stop trying to make this into a pnr thread.

+1 back on topic! Has anyone actually seen a police officer/secret service pursue somebody on a bike? I just think it's funny to imagine...I'd like to see a high-speed bike pursuit!

When I was working in a shop, we had the repair contract for the county's police bikes. We all kinda made some snide remarks about a Cop Criterium Race and Donuts being the Preems for laps...etc.

They were having a 'training' day and I was invited. Most (not all) the riders were in good shape and had good skills. The had to learn to dismount quickly and how to brake properly...etc. They probably knew more about riding skills because they were being taught, than most riders I rode with who learned from trial and error.

I went riding with several on some local trails and they kept up without any problems.

Props and respect to the Men in Blue on Bikes (in my County Green, but you know what I mean).

seems kinda silly to have a FS with platforms. Seems like the ultimate cop bike would be a CX or roadie with 25 or 28 armadillos and double sided clipless ie candys or mallet

I always figured the platform pedals (at least on police bikes ) were so the officers could wear shoes that would allow for a foot chase also, say the guy they are after goes over a fence and a foot pursuit is engaged. But I could be totally wrong, it's just an assumption on my part:rolleyes:

+1 back on topic! Has anyone actually seen a police officer/secret service pursue somebody on a bike? I just think it's funny to imagine...I'd like to see a high-speed bike pursuit!

Ironically enough, there is a NO ATV sign posted at one of the trails I ride at. Take a wild guess at what Waterford's finest use to patrol those trails :mad: ?

I got pulled over by a she cop on a bike once.... hanging my head in shame.

What were you doing to get pulled over?

When I went to Toronto in the early 90's I saw bike cops chasing messengers...but these were cops riding road rigs not bearclaw munchers on low end mountain bikes.

Denver 16th Street Pedestrian Mall cop rides a YETI. Now there's a serious waste of $. I'm hoping YETI donated them as a tax writeoff.

Here's a repost of a pic of a riding buddy of mine:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v246/pinit/ride/53881de3.jpg

COPS had a bike cop episode, they had a few riding tackle shots, but most chases were bike cop vs perp on foot, they'd corner him and dump the bike and chase him.

First off, that SS bike has a wicked kickstand and secondly, cops on bikes is a total joke, they only patrol safe areas like malls, beaches, etc. You never seem to see bike cops deep in the 'hood in South Central Los Angeles. One thing the COPS TV show has taught us, is you can easily avoid an encounter with the police by simply wearing a shirt.

+1 back on topic! Has anyone actually seen a police officer/secret service pursue somebody on a bike? I just think it's funny to imagine...I'd like to see a high-speed bike pursuit!

Ha, reminds me of that show from the 90's, "Pacific Blue"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2brDsO-PBU

It’s reminiscent of 'Gumble to Gumble' from Family Guy.

Oh man, I forgot about that show! Well, looks close enough to real life to me, I'm convinced...