Accident-prone George Bush admitted today he should start "acting my age" after crashing his mountain bike into a policeman.
The US president came to grief as he cycled around the grounds of the Gleneagles Hotel, the G8 summit venue, on his 59th birthday on Wednesday evening. Mr Bush was left with cuts to his arm and hand while the luckless officer was taken to hospital for checks before returning to duty.
"It goes to show I should act my age," he told reporters yesterday morning. The president is a keen cyclist, known to listen to his iPod while in the saddle.
Mr Bush compared his mishap to American Tour de France competitor David Zabriskie, who dramatically crashed in the final moments of Tuesday's stage, but admitted: "He's a better bike rider than me."
Mr Bush blamed a rigorous workout and the damp conditions in Scotland as he appeared at an early-morning press call with Tony Blair. "When you ride hard on a mountain bike, sometimes you fall, otherwise you are not riding hard," he said. "It was the end of a good, hard ride and the pavement was slick."
The president was bandaged by a White House doctor but showed no signs of his injury as he posed for the traditional "family photo" ahead of a banquet last night.