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WASHINGTON -- Swapping his running shoes for bicycle pedals, President Bush bid adieu to painful runner's knees and transformed himself into a devoted mountain biker _ and high-tech gearhead.
Even with elections looming, the cyclist-in-chief made time earlier this month for his ritual mountain biking on weekends. He changed into biking clothes and muddied up his newest ultra-pricey mountain bike given him by a manufacturer, a $5,000 Cannondale with a custom red, white and blue paint job. The 2007 model was put in his hands even before it had been shipped to stores.
Such a passion it is: he also went biking Thursday while spending the Thanksgiving holiday at his mountaintop retreat in Camp David, Md.
"He's an avid rider, a fanatic," said Matt Mannelly, president of Bethel, Conn.-based Cannondale, who hadn't publicized but confirmed what he called an unsolicited gift to Bush a month ago. "We also made it very clear we wouldn't do anything to market this. To give it to someone like the president, who's actually going to use it a lot, means a lot to us."
Bush already has two Trek mountain bikes, one worth $5,500, the other $2,700.
The president likes super lightweight carbon frames, trail-absorbing shocks front and back, a light but supportive seat, top Japanese components and special paint jobs. But they are essentially stock bikes, similar to what ordinary buyers can get.
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