No, I actually read it. I used to do a lot of cycling as a kid. I was a ski racer growing up in Maine, and cycling was a great way to do what they call dryland training. One of the guys who works on Grey's Anatomy, [chief lighting technician] Peyton Skelton, would always bring in cycling magazines. So it started a few of us going, "I gotta get a bike. I gotta get back into it." We'd talk about what was going on in the racing world, and with Discovery, and I got his old magazines.

I got involved with Breakaway from Cancer, which is the charity part of the Amgen Tour of California, and I felt like, okay, if I'm going to go do this, I should start riding again. So I did, and I started seeing immediate benefits.
I race cars--our team, Hyper Sport, was second last year in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge. I noticed last year in the Rolex Sports Car series that the stamina that cycling provided really helped me. Now I just have to up my weekly mileage. Typically it's very difficult getting it in, with the show, but with the writer's strike I have been able to get a lot more time on the bike.

Originally, I went down to Cynergy Cycles, in Santa Monica and bought a Specialized Roubaix. Then Specialized became a sponsor of my car-racing team, which has been great--I went with them to the Tour de France last year. Now I'm riding the new Tarmac SL. When I first got on it I felt like Superman. It took me a while to get used to the speed, and the carbon-fiber rims with the brakes and everything.

It does. I find that the hand-eye coordination on the bike, certainly on the descents and watching the line and things like that, it really helps you with driving. Both cycling and car racing require very keen situational awareness. On a bike, you have to be constantly on the lookout. It keeps your senses alive. That's one of the best things about riding, and it translates when I get to the track.

But then, just in terms of staying in shape, cycling is ideal because the conditioning really makes a big difference in the race car. Since I started I've lost 12 pounds, down to about 161. I've been able to put in about 100 miles a week lately, but I'd like to get it up to 200. Now I just have to stop working my upper body so I can get that lean racer look.

I know, and Matthew McConaughey has nothing to worry about from me.