Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong joined President Bush at his ranch in Texas Saturday for a mountain-bike ride.
The two men - both Texans - rode for two hours, covering 27 kilometers in their tour of Mr. Bush's 650-hectare ranch in Crawford, Texas.
The president, whose physicial fitness is well known, has been an avid biker since knee problems forced him to give up running a few years ago.
The 33-year-old Armstrong, who retired from professional cycling last month, has dropped several hints that he may enter politics, but White House aides had no comment on whether that subject - or any others - came up during his ride with the president.
Armstrong did not meet with reporters but stayed at the ranch for lunch and a swim in the president's pool. In the days leading up to Saturday's ride, however, the cycling star said he admired Mr. Bush as "one competitive dude."
One of Armstrong's main interests lies in a foundation he founded to help cancer survivors and fight the disease, which nearly killed him before he went on to record-breaking performances in the Tour de France.
The cyclist usually declines to take a position on politically charged issues, but when a reporter asked him last month about the United States' involvement in Iraq, Armstrong said he felt the war has diverted too much of the federal budget away from cancer research. In Armstrong's words, "That has to change."
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
