From Maine Today: A close encounter with President Bush over the weekend left three Mainers covered in mud and, it seems, with a new bicycling partner.

"He was actually surprisingly fast," said Billy Vandervalk, the shop's service manager. "The president can really get it done. He was moving along at a pretty good clip."

Two Secret Service agents came into the shop about a week before Bush's arrival and asked Vandervalk about off-road trails that might be good for a presidential bike ride. Vandervalk showed them some, including trails in the nearby Massabesic Experimental Forest that would be wide enough for all-terrain security vehicles to follow. The forest lies in Alfred and Lyman and contains stands of old-growth white pine and red oak.

That led to an invitation to ride along, under the condition that Vandervalk and his friends would be discreet for the sake of security.

"They said we could tell whoever we wanted after the fact, but we could tell no one before," said Brandon Gillard, the shop's owner.

The men were warned ahead of time that this would be the president's workout time - not his work time - so politics was off-limits. The closest the conversation came, they said, is when Bush mentioned the anti-war protest being staged later Saturday in Kennebunkport and his concern that his presence might disrupt people's vacations and his cousin's wedding.

The no-politics condition was no problem for Bush's guests, they said. "I don't usually talk about politics on mountain bikes with my friends," Vandervalk said.