The Floyd Fairness Fund, created six weeks ago to help Landis pay legal defense costs, isn't generating the amount of cash he hoped for.

Appeals like this involving hot-button issues might be expected to result in a flood of initial donations. People tend to jump at the chance to show their support.

But as of this week, only $150,000 has been received by the FFF, according to Landis spokesman Michael Henson in a report at cyclingnews.com. The fund's goal is $2 million.

Landis says he has spent about $350,000 of his own money so far to prepare an appeal against drug tests that showed testosterone abnormalities after the 17th stage of the 2006 Tour de France.

The defense is costly because the stakes are so high. If Landis loses his appeal -- founded on alleged irregularities in the French doping lab's procedures -- he will lose his Tour title and prize money and be banned from competition for two years.

On Tuesday Landis admitted in an ESPN interview that he has "pretty much written off" the chances of racing this year. He said he's ridden only about 800 miles (1,300 km) since the Tour, due in part to hip resurfacing surgery but primarily because of preparing his defense.

"I spend the same amount of time and energy trying to gain whatever resources are necessary and trying to learn what I need to learn, trying to solve this problem, as I spent trying to win the Tour," he said. "Every single day."

Landis is hoping to boost the low FFF response by appearing at numerous fundraisers in the coming months. Donations are accepted at www.floydfairnessfund.org

According to Henson, there will be "town hall-style meetings in Southern California and across the nation where Landis will discuss his legal defense and raise money through auctions and by signing autographs."

Landis recently hosted 23 amateur cyclists who reportedly paid $3,000 each for a weeklong training camp in California. Floyd is said to have ridden with the group six times, doing about 300 miles (480 km).

His hip seems to be doing much better than his chances of rejoining the pro peloton anytime soon.

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