The man they called “the Cannibal” is still hungry. Eddy Merckx, perhaps the greatest cyclist of all time, led a 35-mile charity ride through scenic Marin County to benefit the Oak Hill School in Marin City (www.theoakhillschool.org) for children with autism and other neurologically based development issues. Right before leading the pack out on the road, Merckx talked one-on-one with PEZ.

At the Tour of Courage in late September, I got to live a cyclist’s dream of riding with Lance. I’d been thinking about it for months, dreaming about it, and had planned my training for this final peak of my season…