You have to hand it to Mike Friedman.

Amid the concern over political protests and air quality, hard upon the huge and mysterious entity that is China in the 21st century, and set against the backdrop of Olympic competition among athletes who are the best in the world at what they do, Friedman offers a contrasting image:

When the cyclist was there in December to race, he and two friends visited the Great Wall.

And goosed one of the wonders of the world by careening down her storied slopes on "a sled-like piece of wood we found," Friedman divulged last week.

Never mind that it was snowing, no one else was around and it would have been more treacherous to try to walk down the icy, worn stones where the Wall was steep.

Who couldn't love that kind of gusto?

Friedman, 25, a Peters Township High School graduate, will pack the same mentality for his return to Beijing next month for his first stab at the Olympics.

Two weeks after just missing an automatic spot on the U.S. team when he finished second in a qualifying time trial, he was chosen in early July to compete in the Madison -- a track event scheduled Aug. 19 that seems to suit Friedman's go-getter personality.

It's a 50-kilometer tag-team, points-based endurance event not too unlike a controlled version of roller derby on two wheels. Friedman will be racing with Bobby Lea, 24, a Penn State graduate from Easton, Pa.

At the exchange, riders often grab hands and the one taking over gets something akin to a slingshot send off.

"It's a race of wit, endurance, guts, speed. It's very exciting," Friedman said recently.

"You've got one guy on the rail, one racing. Then, the guy on relief dives down the track to gain speed. Then, you change inertia at, sometimes, 40 miles an hour with people all around you."

Friedman figures he and Lea will go hard in the early sprints to try to stockpile some points, defend for a while, then go hard again toward the end.

With 20 teams, the 40 men sometimes get too close for comfort, especially on the sprint laps that count.

"In the Madison, the race is not just physical ability and how well prepared you are. There's a lot of luck," Friedman said. "A lot of times, there's accidents. Sometimes, it's not if you're going to crash, but when or how you're going to crash."

Which is not something that seems to scare Friedman.

Some first-time Olympians take a safe approach -- they train and strive to do their best, but they also think about setting a foundation for future Games.

Not Friedman.

"We are certainly in medal contention," he said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be going. I wouldn't waste my time just for the experience."

Refreshing, isn't he?

Friedman lives a double life.

He races on the track under the umbrella of USA Cycling and within the Olympic pipeline. He was the 2006 national champion in points race, team and individual pursuit and the Madison.

This year, he was fifth in the World Cup.

He also is a pro road racer with the Slipstream team with aspirations of racing in the Tour de France.

"It's been a long road," he said.

"It's hard to go back and forth between the track and the road. One weekend, you're in a 300K road race. The next week, you're on the track."

Friedman is just zany enough, and dedicated enough, to pull it off.

But even a Penn State dropout with panache can have a level head.

"After the Games, I'm going to still race the track and the road and aim for 2012 [the London Olympics], but I need to think about what's after," he said.

One thing he's considering is public speaking. Through cycling, he has traveled the world and seen and learned a lot.

He also has a personal story to tell about late 2006, when he developed a blood clot in his leg after he had surgery for a troublesome saddle sore and then spent a lot of cramped hours driving home from the national training center in Colorado Springs. The clot eventually traveled to his lung, requiring a life-saving trip to the emergency room.

Time off and blood-thinners got him back on the bike, but the discovery of a genetic predisposition to blood clots means for long flights such as those to China he must follow an aspirin regimen, wear compression stockings, stay hydrated and move around on the plane.

Might as well just deal with things head-on and enjoy the ride.

Kind of like that winter day with only a few fearless -- or foolish -- tourists at the Great Wall.

"I thought, 'Better make some lemonade,' " Friedman said. "I made the better of it and went sled riding."

Of course he did.