It is a long way from the community of Mennonites, a branch of the Christian Anabaptist church in Pennsylvania, into which the ace was born.
The Landis home had phones and electricity but no television. Young Floyd was longing to escape to discover the world and fulfil his passion for cycling.
Also see: The Great Survivor
He bought his first mountain bike at 15, started to train after nightfall, won the first mountain bike race he entered and was crowned junior national champion in 1993.
The second oldest of six children, he left home for California, when he was 19, with his mountain bike and the quest for personal glory.
'I had to get out -- that life wasn't for me,' Landis said later.
He gave up mountain biking for road racing because he found it wasn't 'tiring enough.'
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