An article I read in the Dallas Morning News......

I just had to post this. I read it in the Dallas Morning News and thought some other people might like it. Great story. I especially liked the quote "I guess you have to be a cyclist to understand the madness."Hell in uniform: Nothing was going to stop Don Lobmeyer from riding the HHH.Not the wind. Not the heat. Not the sand.And not the fact that he's currently stationed in Iraq.Spc. Lobmeyer, a 37-year-old Army mechanic with the Kansas National Guard, staged a Hotter 'N Hell Iraq to coincide with the anniversary. He rode the real ride in 2003.On Saturday, he rode 117 miles in six hours and 18 minutes around a secure area near Baghdad."I went through 12 liters of water, four liters of Gatorade, six bananas, two apples, four energy bars, 16 ounces of pickle juice and a couple of small packages of mixed nuts," he wrote in an e-mail.Training on a nearby route garnered some interesting stares as he cruised around on his borrowed Schwinn Sierra GS wearing a bright yellow Army jersey."People think Lance Armstrong is in Iraq," he wrote.Iraqi soldiers cheered him on and gave him a thumbs-up as he whizzed by, he wrote. He made friends with Iraqi children by fixing soldiers' discarded bikes and giving them to the kids.His fellow soldiers questioned why anyone would want to ride 100 miles, "let alone do it in these conditions," he said. "I guess you have to be a cyclist to understand the madness."Several obstacles stood in his way, starting with persuading Army officials to approve the ride. He had to eat balanced meals based on whatever the chow hall offered, and find time to train. And, of course, there was "limited riding space as we are in the middle of a war zone," he wrote.Sure, it was much different from riding in Wichita Falls with snacks galore and bike repair stands at the ready. But in some ways, it was quite authentic.In Baghdad on Saturday, it was nearly 120 degrees.