Final thoughts on the river...

Well friends, this will be the final blog on the River 2 River site. It's not a bad thing at all, I'm just moving back over to my regular blog (www.geocobb.blogspot.com).

We did what we set out to do and that was raise money and awareness for kids with hearing disabilities. We got the word out that this area of a child's life needs attention. There are over 16 million folks like me called Baby Boomers who have a hearing loss. Some are born with it and others got it from rocking out to their Kiss and Fleetwood Mac 8-tracks. Some, like myself are probably both. Technology is really just kicking in on hearing aids because so many of us are striving to live regular ole daily lives but we get tired of not being able to hear so we pester the companies who make hearing aids and we pester out Audiologist. It's called being an advocate! Find a passion, a cause, a charity and be an advocate! Make a difference. Sometimes making a difference is as simple as a hello to someone and sometimes it's pushing your body until it breaks.

Saturday night our friends and my team mates Rebecca and Chris Irons stopped by our house to pick up a couple of things that had been in the team van. Em was off on a date and Terri and I were about to grill out. We talked them into staying and eating, which wasn't real hard to do! HA! After dinner the 4 of us drove over to Shakey's for "ice cream". It was then Chris and Rebecca unfolded the events that surrounded my struggle to get from Cook's Landing to the hospital. It was really hard to believe they were talking about me. Some things I remember in a foggy sort of way and some are clear, all were tough. I do remember someone pushing me as we climbed the BDB. I do remember a group of guys passing right through the group on the right (you know who you are). I remember the hill by Dillards Corp office that I knew I had to get over. I remember the kids by the hospital on their bikes. I remember a lot of faces from the stop. I remember Keith Moore and Jo Spencer being right beside me talking me through it. Those gave me strength!

The fog: I heard that I ran a red light, that I rode off from Cook's Landing with only Blake riding along while everyone was getting their water refilled. I heard I was tilted to the right. I heard I was almost expected to pass out and there were folks on each side in case I did. I rode the wrong way coming in and rode through a barricade with very little room. I remember Lori taking me to the ER. I remember the nurse was named Emily and always was smiling. I remember Yale being there in the restroom after I barfed.

I also have some very good memories!
There was no rain at the start in Ft Smith! It was 80% chance!
The guy that owns a very respectable bike shop (Champion Cycling) in NW Ark was there to lead us out of Ft Smith.
The funny stuff my family and teammates said on the way to Ft Smith.
Getting cracked up watching Yale taking photo after photo after photo.
The police escort in Ozark.
Talking to Kevin on the Point 94.1 while riding in Ozark. Finding out he played it on the radio.
People telling my teammates they were crazy to do this ride with me.
Friends telling me that if I had called them at 1 a.m. and said I was about to ride the rest, they would have come back out. Now that is true friendship at it's highest level.
People telling me that 1/2 the ride was a major deal.
Telling the team who jumped on outside of Russellville that they smelled good and listening to them laugh. The Ft Smith group was stanking by then! HA!
Hearing Jenn giving some long drawn out excuse why she wasn't allowed to bring her honking horn.
Hearing the same Jenn ask a camero at a stop light in Russellville if he wantd to race and when the light turned green it sounded like he lost his muffler. Brain laughed so hard I thought he's fall off his bike.
Seeing Tom (SoundStart) standing on the side of the road in Conway.
Seeing Erik and the Ride bike shop guys waiting for us in Conway.
Having Rob from Conway pull us into the headwind from Conway to Maumelle.

You see the good memories list is much much longer than the struggling memories.

So what happens now? That's the question a lot of folks want to know. I do know that I'll take a little break from the bike just because. Remember all the day after emails? Well, almost all the ones from riders say, "You've got to get back up on your bike." Oh friends, I plan to do that!

Are you going to ride it again? I don't know about the whole 300 but I will finish the ride. Riding from Burn's Park to Forrest City is only 103 miles. I think I can make it the next 37 to West Memphis. I'm pretty sure a group of us will put our jerseys on and head out some fall morning and knock it out. There are so many scheduled rides for everyone between now and fall that I doubt we could work it in before then. Who knows, we wanted to ride this ride so bad we could be crazy enough to try it again but we'll do it under the radar.

I wanted to leave you with some most awesome news that has come from doing this ride...
On June 28th there was a program named the "George Cobb Amplification Assistance Program"!!! It's a loaner program for kids who need hearing aids and FM devices to succeed in school and in life! So you see my friends, the ride was a success right where it was always meant to be.... all for the kids!

The After Shocks

I'm honestly blown away. I have gotten encouraging emails from people all over the place. In fact there were 200 emails left after I moved the work (hospital) emails.

I slept all morning and got up and returned the team van. Even though I've been sluggish, it's been a nice day.

Terri and I went to the Rave to see Evan Almighty. It's ok but there was a point in the movie where I had to really hold in the tears. There's a part where everyone think Evan has lost his mind building the ark and his wife and kids move out. Evans wife runs into God (Morgan Freeman) would at that moment is playing a cook name Al Mighty. He talks to her about the opportunity she has and standing by her husband no matter how off the hook the idea he has is. I just sat there thinking, yep, Terri has stuck beside me the whole way.

There are so many people to thank for training and riding the ride with me. There are those who are an inspiration just by me being around them.

More later...

The final chapter

Sorry friends , to me it's a long awaited book but the last chapter is an aww crap!

We didn't make it to the river. In fact we didn't make it after the presentation at ACH. Yep, I'm disappointed but it's not a pity party. We did what we set out to do and that was raise awareness and funds for the kids who need hearing aids and Audiology services.

Here what happened:
We made it ACH and if it weren't for the great team I had with me, I wouldn't have made it there. I will never be able to repay you for your kindness.

After the presentation I went over to the fitness center and sat for a little bit and thought if I took a cold shower that would kick start my system and make me feel like I was just starting. I was getting really zoned out. I spoke with my coach a moment and the plan was to shower, get an IV of fluids and then see how it played out. Many endurance folks go this route so I was willing to try it. Things seemed to be going down hill fast. The next thing I know I'm waking up in ACH ER, it's 10:30 and they've already pumped in 2 bags of fluids and started on the third. What I heard was something about muscel tissue breakdown, kidneys and heart rate high.

We finally walked in to the house after midnight and I hugged the girls and told them I loved them and went to bed. I woke a few moments ago and noticed it was daylight. I stood at my kitchen window admiring the beautiful spotted pink clouds and wondered what it looked like on the Mississippi River?

I do have some really good memories and I'll get you a play by play this afternoon but right now I need some sleep.

AFTERNOON UPDATE

Well hello everyone! I just wanted to update yall. We are doing good but it is getting a little hot! We are driving through Conway then we will hit HWY. 365 to Maumelle then to River trail the to the Hospital. We should be arrive there about 5 - 5:30!


I have been trying to put pictures on here but everytime i try they don't work. We will show lots later! Sorry!

Hope to see everyone at the hospital at 5ish!

WOOOOWWW!!!!!

Big Day - UPDATE!

Hey Guys. Its Emily Again! I just wanted to update everyone as fast as i can before i lose service. We are almost to Morrilton and we will stop there for water and cold towels. We have had some traffic so yes we are behind. We should be at the hospital about 5!! PLEASE PLEASE come out and support my dad! He has been planning this for a long time and if it wasn't for all of yall we couldn't have done it. So please come out to ACH about 5 PM to see my dad. He would greatly appreciate it!

I am going to try to do pictures and update again as soon i we get service.


***PLEASE KEEP DONATING***


**AUNT DANA IF YOU READ THIS, TELL BECCA SEAN WILL GET HER MAT. LOVE YA!


EVIE AND GINGER....WE WILL CALL ABOUT CONWAY. THEY ARE ALSO GOING TO RIVER TRAIL TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL SO WE SHOULD BE THERE BEFORE.

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

THE BIG DAY!

^FATHER^

Hey everyone! Its Emily (Geo's Daughter - the offical blogger of River 2 River) We got off and running at 5am on the dot. Everyone is feeling great and the weather is BEAUTIFUL!! We are stopped for a moment at the FinishLine store in Ozark. There was a sheriff that turned around and was coming very close to Yell's car (that i was driving...VERY NICE). He ended up asking me where we were headed and asked to escort us.


^Yell and Rebecca^

Thanks The POINT! WOOOOWW!!!!!
Kevin...Email me (shbears8890@yahoo.com) and i will give you numbers to talk to dad or get you another update.)

Hey Evie and Julie And Aunt Dana and Angie! Thanks for covering my groups while I'm out!

Check back in a little while... Gotta get back on the bike!

Send in you donations now!! (PLEASE!)


We will be in russellville about 10 a.m. at the McDonalds! Come Join Us!!!!

I will update soon and thanks to everyone for your support!
Please please please donate!!!

Fort Smith

We made it to Ft Smith and no rain! I hope I don't curse us but there is blue skies peaking through. We just finished dinner at Varsity and it was great!

We have been treated like VIP's at Holiday Inn. I got to meet Becky who kindly arranged the rooms for us and her son is also a Dr. Dornhoffer fan! She went on and on about the difference Dr. D made in her son's life.

Well tomorrow morning will come early... good night y'all!

Sitting on GO!!!

Well aww right here we go! I'm at the house with the HUGE van. I think I could get half of my neighborhood in this thing. I havw to say thank you to Chris and the folks at the downtown LR Enterprise office for this! This will make our life so much easier over the next 48 hours.

I had a package from Energizer on the front porch! There are cases of batteries! I have enough hearing aid batteries now to last the rest of the year and then some. Shout out to Serge! Thank you friend!

These guys also sent down the Energizer Bunny to say howdy to the kids! They even sent big foam pink bunny ears! It was a hoot. The kids loved it! I know I talk about the celebs that come to the hospital but if you have noticed, I only do it after the fact and the celebs are always long gone by the time I put these out. I simply can't put it out there in advance due to the safety of our patients and staff. After today I will be like all the rest of the staff and hardly ever know who came and went either. I just got lucky to find out about the Kiss mobile because it was parked in front of the hospital at lunch time. Mickey and Minnie... I just lucked out on that one but they were long gone when I found out. We have an awesome Child Life group here and they really watch out for our kids best interest.


Gotta load the van!! Come back later and I'll update!

Tick tock tick tock tick tock

I feel like I'm about to have a baby. Ok, I don't know what that feels like and some girl is gonna give me grief over it but anyways...
Here's the latest mind dump:
Tech check is in the works.
All lights are powering up.
I'm making too many lists
There will be something I will forget but I will blow it off
We pick up the van tomorrow at noon! Thanks for the upgrade Enterprise! Chris you rock!
I have to do my big eating tonight.
Everyone has a way up to Ft Smith tomorrow.
Everyone has a room.
Stress level is going down now.
I'm blown away by the giving spirit of everyone.
Speaking of spirit... to all of you who said, "I'll be praying for you." that's worth more than gold!
Bets are being made on how many times Ginger the PR Queen will call my cell phone.
I'll get tickled after a while and start laughing.
My riding bud, Yale, will call more than her.
Emily will still get the most calls (teenager female = 500 calls)
We had 50% chance of rain today and it was beautiful blue skies.
I heard there will be a police escort in NLR!!
There could be delays due to rain but that's OK
I know that I'll get this ride done
I know it might take longer than I think
I know I'm very happy to have a BUNCH of friends riding with me!
I know without them, I wouldn't be on this ride.
I know sometimes I forget I was deaf a few weeks ago.
I know Dr. Mary Martha Henry is the best Audiologist there is
I know without Unitron and Phonak I would have never heard what Paula Dean sounds like.
I know Dr. Dornhoffer is my hero
I know Brenda Speed is my heroette
I know Dr. Jason Smith was there and played Robin.
I know there is a kid out there that really needs a hearing aid
I know I will be thinking about them during the ride
I know life is just really really good right now!

KKPT Point 94.1

Here's a couple of shots of my buddy Kevin Clay at the Point 94.1 during our interview. Kevin is an all around good guy and what you hear on the radio is really what he is like in real life. Just as happy with life as sweet tea on the front porch.

Check them out! http://www.point941.com/pointweb/

News report link

Here's the news report link to last night's story KTHV did about the ride.
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=47973

By the way, KTHV have always been a huge supporter of ACH and we thank them!!

Monday Quick hit...

Howdy! I'm giddy. Serious! It's the week of the event. I'm rocking to go.

The Ginger PR machine is going in full force! (Ginger is our ACH PR chick)
I got to hang out at the Point 94.1 this morning and talk live on air with Kevin Clay. We had a good time and even got invited to return NEXT Monday to talk about how the ride went. As we were walking out I saw a office door sign that said, "Jocks Office".. I stole it! Then I felt bad and put it back. It was too funny.

Then around 10 this morning KTHV came over and we shot in front of the hospital. It should air tonight during the newscast. Once it's aired then they usually put it out on the website and I'll load a link to it.

Be sure to keep reading this week because especially from Wednesday morning on we'll be doing a lot of blog updating.

Funny story: Remember a week or so ago I was talking about the new drink at Java City? My friend Kelley got one and she was saying how it wired her system! Hey it's got a triple shot in it.

One fo the riders for this sent out an email letting everyone know to start drinking a lot of water now, etc etc... then there was some tag about cutting caffeine. I laughed! Dream on sis! If I cut back on caffeine you'll find buzzards finishing me off.

Thoughts on video...

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

WELCOME TO RIVER 2 RIVER WEEK!!!!

WELCOME TO
RIVER 2 RIVER
WEEK!!!!

Shout out to Jeff who rode with me this afternoon. I really was just going to take it easy today but I was bored out of my skull. So I rode...

Terri did make it in from her convention complete with stories of Ft Smith happenings. Let's see there was a sprinkler system rupture around midnight and it released who some said was about 5,000 of water on the 3 floor which made a waterfall down to the indoor courtyard of the hotel. It rained almost every day in Ft Smith last week. But she was in good spirits and even wanted to go out to dinner last night.

Got up and went to church this morning and there is a senior couple that sit in front of us. She is going a little slower these days and he is her biggest fan. Mr. and Mrs. Sherril are a huge inspiration to everyone around them.... they always have been. If you know a senior person or couple that's an inspiration to you, why not let them know? Tell them or send them a card. It will brighten their day!

Had lunch over at Olive Garden (Yes, I did have a take home order of ter-a-mah-sue! HA!) Y'all know I don't do Itilian without the stuff... yep, I know too that a serving equals about 1300 calories... and your point is? HA!

I had planned to hang around the hut today but just like Giligan, I got bored! So I loaded the hot rod into the Explorer and headed down to the river for a flat ride. Just moved the legs a little was all I planned to do. Say hello to my friend the wind! She was sort of messy today and a pest at that. As I was riding along I rolled past another rider and mentioned the wind. Next thing I know me and another Sherwood homeboy have rolled along to the BDB. He was doing a recovery ride from yesterday's Hotter'n'Hell training ride (70 miles). It will be his first one. He was smart and made his reservations last year for this year's event. If he is already riding at 70 miles with a couple months still to go then he'll have not trouble at all with the 100 there (unless Mother Nature sends the fireballs to Witcha Falls again like last year). Shout out to Jeff... it was great meeting you and getting to ride along this afternoon. I am finding out more and more folks who live in Sherwood are riders.

Well, heading over to the valley to hang with friends and have dinner!

Thanks for reading!
Geo.

Saturday 06.23.07

Before and after the clippers! Coworkers said, "Geo, you look like a little boy." Sort of looks like a dog that just got a big haircut if you ask me! I love it though! I could feel the wind on my head all morning long and but did it feel great!

Had a great ride this morning. Had planned to "sleep in" but sure as the sun will rise, I woke up at 5:30 something and I wanted to go ride. That is a good sign for me! I took my time this morning and did a couple things around the hut then headed out to the river. It was a nice morning. Funny story: When I had just started and maybe two miles in I felt a drop of water run down the side of my head. I thought I was sweating already but had forgotten that I washed my sunglasses before I left and didn't get them all dry.I buzzed along North Hills Blvd in North Little Rock and over the bridge as the traffic of I-40 went under me. Not a lot of traffic this morning. I noticed a car was behind me and I was ready the bike lane and then looked up to see my buddy Charile Hight go by. He was on his way out to Cook's for the ABC ride. I spotted them later. I'm looking forward to returning to some of those rides later this summer. They rode out to Scott and loaded up on fresh fruit at their break. They are blogging about how great the plums were.

Rolled along the river and came up on a transition area for a race. I went on but got lucky on the return when most of the racers were coming through the transition. Man, that's fun to watch. There's a half Ironman in Arkedelpha in August that some folks are going to do. I hope to go down and cheer them on. Someday I plan to go see a full blown Ironman event.Spotted several groups this morning out for rides and I got behind one guy who reminded me so much of myself when I first started riding. He was looking around at the trees and really enjoying the ride. Oh, I still do that but just not as much. I always seem to be in the training zone these days. Nothing wrong with that either. I spotted several of our club coming back in from their screaming fast ride in the country. These are the guys that pace about 23-25. there was talk of their ride last Tuesday night going over 30mph at times. Crazy stuff!

I wonder sometimes what the racers of the Ironman think the week of their race? I'm doing my best to stay focused and positive. There's that nervous energy that is sort of there. I have no doubts that I can and will do great on this ride. I have awesome support and I really enjoy riding with the folks that I'll be in this event with. The only thing that's in the back of my mind that I'm wrestling with is getting to the hospital by 4. There are a lot of factors involved like rain, wind, rider conditions, bike conditions. I have it in my mind that if we are delayed, well then we are delayed. If we are delayed at lot then we'll ride right on through because no one is expected to hang out for hours waiting on us. But all in all... I think it's gonna be AWESOME!!! I'm sitting here thinking, ya know, this time next week this will be over. WHA???!!!

Em and I went over to Firehouse subs for lunch and by Academy Sports for gels, cliff bars and I even bought a couple of 6 buck headlights. I know what you are thinking but they could come in handy. Energizer is sending cases of batteries to power us along the ride. Those guys are awesome!

Terri arrives home around dinner time from her convention. This is one happy guy here but she will be exhausted to no end! It's at the same hotel we will be staying at Wednesday night and here's the weird thing. It's been raining in that one section of the state all week. We did have a nice storm come through here just minutes ago but it's broken up and the sun is returning. Oh boy, an Arkansas streamer!

Have I mentioned that my son, Tyler is going to be with us as support in the team car?!! I'm really excited about that in a huge way! I remember the 'round the state ride I did and he was in Denver at college. I remember him saying, "Dad, I missed your biggest day." No, kiddo, this will be my biggest day... you'll be there along with Terri and Emmy! What more could a dad ask for?!

I'll leave you with a couple of photos I took along the ride this morning....

Aren't these flowers beautiful? And they had a rose smell that was out of this world! The leaves are shining and healthy. It's just one of those plants you just have to notice.

But back up the frame and look at the whole picture! Can you believe this beauty is the ONLY thing living at this old boarded up house? The grass has been killed, there is a beer bottle discarded out in the yard. Windows busted out and boarded up. I have thought about this house almost every morning for months now. It's on the way to my office. I think it's very symbolic of life. Here everything around it is gone yet it thrives and grows like it's in one of the finest kept gardens around. You know what else I think? I think of a child who can't hear and how they would do the same if given the chance. They would grow and their beauty explode to capture the world around them. Please, donation to the River 2 River ride today and help us get the equipment needed to help a child hear!

If you would like to donate on line please go to http://www.archildrens.org/ and click on the Donate Now button. It is secure and tax deductible.

If you would rather send in a check, please send it to:

Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation

ATTN: Geo's Ride

800 Marshall St

Little Rock, AR 72202

Thanks for reading!

Geo.

Friday night at American Pie

Guess what? I'm using this really cool air card and this is great!!!

Met a bunch of the team at American Pie over in Maumelle. If you've never been there and had the chicken cheese dip then you are missing out. Yep, I thought it sounded weird too until I ate some! The gang was all there and everyone in a great mood. Shawkitty was in top form dishing out prize after prize.

If you'd like to donate to the ride log on to www.archildrens.org

If you'd like to send a check in for the ride:

Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation

TTN: Geo's ride

800 Marshall Street

Little Rock, AR 72202

Later! (I just wanted to test the air card, showing Emmy how to use this, and checking blogging speeds).

Geo.

Friday quick hit ... Guess who came to see the kids??

Just a Friday Quick Hit.

Y'all know how I am always telling you about celebs coming and seeing the patients? Look who came yesterday!!! Serious! It was really them!

Photo by Kelley Cooper: ACH

To everyone at Disney and Disney Radio... thanks for helping us spread Care, Love, and Hope!

Thursday 6.21.07

ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!!

What a fast and crazy week this has been. I seriouslly can't believe it's just one week away! I'm excited as can be! I'm ready too! I've planned and my friends are right there with me to help make this happen for the kids of ACH!!

Ironman, Ironmaiden, Yale, Razz, Mark, Robb-o, Keith, Jo, JBar, JMar, Shawdawg, Shawkitty, Rabiddawg, Coach Mark, DWonn, Patrick, Jenny, Brandon, JohnEEE, Paul, Mike, Charlie, Carti Training riders, ABC riders, BACA riders and the will go for miles... to all of you, thanks for getting me here... now y'all ready to go for a little ride?!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!

This is taper weekend so not going to be doing a lot of riding. I've spent every free minute working details and going over details and plans and redoing, etc etc... I've got the equipment I need for the most part for the night section of the ride thanks to my buds! I have to make another list this weekend and start a pile somewhere of the stuff that will be going.

Terri is in Ft Smith right now and even staying in the same hotel we are going to. She is the convention director/planner for their associations summer convention. The weird thing is that it has been raining in Ft Smith most of the week but nice pretty much everywhere else. A sprinkler broke next to the secretary's room on the 3rd floor and flooded her room. Bet Terri will be ready to get home and crash a minute or two. I miss her.

Emily showed interest in the bike races last night when she came to get me. She even wants to go back when we return from FL. I think that's cool that she has an interest in it. I think the guys coming up to register liked having her sitting at the table too. HA!

So what's the plan for the weekend?? Well tomorrow night I get a buzz haircut. It might be the shortest I've ever had. Shock and awe for the ride! HA! Then I head over to American Pie for a club get together. Saturday morning I'm taking my time getting started. I might not go out to ride until 8 or 9. Just a big circle from the house to the river and back. Then I'll work around the house/yard and Terri should get back around dinner time so I'll unload the stuff at her office if that's the plan and then she'll crash. When she returns from a convention she usually crashes hard and fast.

Oh, I get the air card for the laptop so I'll try and do some video and photo uploading with the card. Should be really cool.

The jerseys are selling like wildfire! Everyone is saying they are the coolest jersey they've ever seen. That means a lot to me.

I'll write more this weekend and put some video and photos in for your viewing pleasure.

If you want to donate to the ride you can donation on line at www.archildrens.org.
Or if you want to mail a check:
Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation
ATTN: Geo's Ride
800 Marshall Street
Little Rock, AR 72202

Thanks and have a great Friday!!
Geo.

Wednesday lunchtime quick hit

Busy day!!! I really haven't eaten due to getting t-shirts to folks around the hospital. I'll hit up Java City for yogurt later.

We talked in our weekly huddle this morning about "Presentation". Margie did a great job presenting and she said something that really made since. She was talking about how our lobby here at ACH is a stress reliever. It really is! It’s a happy open place with fish tanks, water falls, shops and, a welcoming center. Before you even walk in there are beautiful flowers that line the area. Serious, our hospital is really a showplace.

I rode some last night and the knee is in good shape! Thanks to all my buds and the docs for keeping me on the bike for this. I worried a little. I’ll have a couple more training rides before the big one. Sounds funny but I’m looking forward to sleeping in a tad this Saturday morning. Ok, sleeping in for me means until about 6:30.

Word has it the NLR Mayor will be riding a little with me next Thursday! What an honor! My bud Charlie Hight is going to be out there too!

Well, back to work! We’re on a hiring frenzy right now! Yep, that’s a very good thing!

Hey, I still need some donations for these kids!
Online donations are at: http://www.archildrens.org/

Mail in donations are at:
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation
Attn: Geo’s Ride
800 Marshall Street
Little Rock, AR 72202

Take care!
Geo

Monday 6.18.07

First of all.. shout out to my bud Blake!! CONGRATS on the time trial championship! Gold metal and the state champ jersey!! Mom Lori works for ACH! Remember the name Blake Mc!! You'll be hearing it a lot in the coming years... trust me on this one!!

It was a busy day at ACH! Fun and good but busy!

I have to send a shout out to Dr. Hardin! Dr. Hardin runs our Sports Med program at ACH and took a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to talk with me about the knee. We have a saying at ACH about going above and beyond and we call it "Crossing the Creek." Dr. Hardin is always crossing the creek for someone. Thanks man, you're the best!

The other shout out flies out to Dr. Brent Sprinkle! He's not an ACH doc but a great doc just the same. I've gotten to ride with him quite a few times. He is a strong rider that can cut loose on a wild sprint that will eat you alive. Brent was also the one you told me about drinking chocolate milk after a ride for recovery. Ok, any doc that tells me to drink chocolate milk is a lifetime friend of mine! HA! Thanks Brent!

Awwright, let's see, I got the bike all cleaned up last night and was looking forward to checking out the adjustment of my cleat to see if that was going to help the knee issues but we got rain showers rolling in about 3 and boy did it ever rain! By the way, ever heard Silver Rain Fell by Evanscence? Great instrumental tune!

Funny thing happened just before I left the office for the day. My coworker, Charlotte, who has the office next door stopped in my doorway and said, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?" She loves the movie as much as I do! We laughed! I told her I was going to go back and get that statue and get her one too.


Hey check this out! My sponsor FRS sent me a swag pack and I have the t-shirt on! I'm still in awe that the same group that sponsors Lance Armstrong is one of my sponsors. I feel like that guy on the American Express commercial... "Arms folded?" HA! How do you act, what do you say? HA! Thanks FRS! I'll make you all proud!

I got final word from Enterprise and the van is secure! Thank's Enterprise for helping us out!

Above: Just the plants getting a good watering.

Below: One of my biggest fans!

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation towards the River 2 River ride you can go to our hospital secure site at http://www.archildrens.org/ or you can send a check to:

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation

Attn: Geo’s ride

800 Marshall St

Little Rock, AR 72202

Saturday 06.16.07

This is a lawn statue at a store in Keo.

Again, I went right past it but then the
light came on that it was the little girl from

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
I'm not ashamed to say that's one of my favorite

all time movies and I don't have a clue why

but when I watch it I laugh til I cry

An Arkansas summer with miles of green fields.

I flew past this sign then realized it was one of my sponsors signs
so I turned around and came back to shoot it. Thanks Delta Grow!!!

The day on the bike started at 7 and the plan was to ride to the river then out to Keo and back, evaluate the legs then repeat the course. As I was riding to the river I spotted a couple of neighbors with their bikes loaded on the car/trucks and heading the same way. Got the "howdy beep" from them as they passed. Both were a big part of the Carti group I've been riding with and then it dawned on me that there was one more Carti ride, a post event ride. It was announced before we took off that Carti's Tour de Rock brought in about $50,000. That's so awesome! Jennifer and the crew put on a first rate event!

Paul Bentley and I rode together a bit then we broke off at the top of the heights. He had to be somewhere at 10:30 and I was riding way to hard to make it go all day like I needed to. We made our way back to the boat ramp at Burn's and bidded each other farewell. I was going to start my Keo training ride. While we were talking JohnEEE came up he was going to ride some intervals this morning. We rode along at a social pace and he is an awesome rider and all around good guy. I was asking him if he had ever had knee issues and after explaining were the pain was (Yes, it's back again today already!). Sounds like I need to drop the seat a tad. Plan to do that and ride maybe Tuesday night easy and see what happens. It goes away really quick after I stop riding but today by the time I rolled back in it hurt so bad I was on the border line of barfing. Yes, serious, the pain was that bad. I was so glad I took the MP3 player because when I listened to the tunes my knee was secondary.

Funny part was that by the time I rolled in, I hated the tunes I had loaded. I wanted to pop Ted Nugent up the side of the head. Stop screaming at me!! HA!!! I told Terri later about this and she smiled then I told her what I really wanted to hear was some nice soft jazz... you know the kind of music that reminds you of your momma pressing you up against her bossom so tight you can't breath and she rubs your head and tells you everything will be awwwright. I thought Terri was going to spit tea! Ya jest never know what's gonna come outta my mouth do ya?! Well, it makes life a lot funner!

Oh yeah, I saw my first live and moving snake on the road today. I rolled right by him and lo and behold the monster started moving!! He was a big un! Looked blackish with a pattern.

I played with the video upload last night and it works but I didn't think y'all wanted to see a video of me chasing Sadie, our dog, around the house. Good video's will probably be posted tomorrow.

Thumbs up to the JB Hunt crew again today and thumbs up to Oakely Trucking of North Little Rock! Both trucking companies gave me lots of room. I was lucky to have a wide shoulder for most of the ride.

Terri and I are heading down to Bosco's for dinner with Chris and Rebecca tonight! Mouth is watering already! Chris and several others will be riding the time trials tomorrow. Good luck everyone on your race! Rock the race!!

Finished the day with a sad 74.41 miles at 16.6 mph average. It's tapper down time for the next couple of weeks. I can not believe the ride is almost here!!

Thanks for reading!
Geo.

Friday night and almost in tears

Yep, it's Friday night and I planned a low key night and it's so low that I'm watching the sprinkler water the grass. I got bored with that pretty quick and came in as the skeeter spray truck rolled by. I found the Phonak equipment and decided to test it tonight. Where I thought the on/off switch was, wasn't. So I found the instructions online and the next thing I know I was hearing so crystal clear I was in shock. Right now I'm typing in the office which is at the other end of the house and I'm listening to a comedy. It's on TV. Now don't laugh but it's a cooking show called Paula Dean. I have never really heard her before. Oh man, what an Southern accent!!! I laughed and laughed!! The Phonak equipment is putting the TV right into my hearing aid. This is blow away cool! I went walking around in the yard, flipped the switch and there was the TV. What am I going to do with something for cool??? I love this new hearing technology.

All I can think of now is training my butt off tomorrow so that maybe someone will donate a good sum of money so a kid can get one of these systems. They cost about $2,500 each but think of how a kid would succeed in life with one of these!!

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation towards the River 2 River ride you can go to our hospital secure site at http://www.archildrens.org/ or you can send a check to:
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation
Attn: Geo’s ride
800 Marshall St
Little Rock, AR 72202

Thanks for reading!
Geo.

Thursday 6.14.07

Look at that kid smiling!! Got that new jersey on and everything.

Ok, ok everyone settle down. The FedEx man cometh and delivered the goods. I opened the box and it was a **GASP** moment! I first saw the rich colors and knew these was gonna be something to behold and let me tell you... it is! I serious, I am blown away. I never knew it was going to look this good. I took it over to show my buds over in Audiology, PR, and Transport. They all went nuts. Everyone wants to buy one now. They are limited.

First thing I did when I got home was tried one on. Ahh good fit. Loaded the bike and headed for the river to ride a little of the club ride. My training takes me on these long weekend rides so I have to keep it a bit slow on the regular rides so my legs will be fresh for Saturday's century to wherever ride.

Got a really nice email from my contact at LG (jersey maker) that said they were all watching as they were being stitched together because it was one of the best jersey's that had produced. Now mind you this is a big company and for them to say that made me day even more!

It's sort of a tos up right now as far as the route. Maybe from home to Searcy and back for 90 miles or doing a double shot Keo ride for about 140. I could ride the out and back for 70 to Keo hen see how the legs were feeling and take a short lunch break and ride it again. I do know I'm getting real MP3 crazy these days on these long rides.

Ok, for the persons who sent me the emails wondering what's on my IPod, well don't be shocked but here's a sampling:
Ozzy Osborne - Crazy Train as well as Bark at the moon
The Archies -- Sugar Sugar (Yes, I'm 100% serious and shut up man, I know you have secret tunes too!)
Wolfmother - Guns and thieves
Led Zep - Rock and Roll
Jeremy Camp - Run
Rascal Flatts - Life is a Highway
Rascal Flatts - Fast cars and freedom
Bob Seger - Turn the page
Some Foo Fighters, some jazz, some techno -new agey stuff
There's about a hundred tunes on there.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation towards the River 2 River ride you can go to our hospital secure site at http://www.archildrens.org/ or you can send a check to:
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation
Attn: Geo’s ride
800 Marshall St
Little Rock, AR 72202

Thanks for reading and come back because we're about to take the ride of your life!
Geo.

Wednesday 06.13.07

Sorry for not posting but it's been sort of recovery since the weekend.

The t-shirts have arrived and they look awesome! Color print on the front and my wonderful sponsors on the back. Get ’em while you can! Shout out to Larry and the crew at Applied Graphics for all their hard work!

The bike jersey will be arriving via FedEx (shout out to my buddy Keith Hill) and I’m giddy like Christmas morning! It will be one of the coolest jersey’s seen around Arkansas and beyond this summer.

We got word from Energizer that the big pink bunny is coming to ACH!! Looking like it will be here the Wednesday (June 27th) morning before the ride! I can’t wait! Energizer has gone over the top for us and we are very thankful to have them as a part of this.

Someone asked me the other day if I really used the products of my sponsors. Trust me, this is no brown nose thing. I use all of them! Energizer makes the best hearing aid batteries around.

We got an email from FRS (www.frs.com) yesterday and they want to help out too! Ok, if you have been reading a while you know I’m an FRS snob! Love this stuff! If you want to become an FRS snob link over to them and you can get FREE stuff from them to try. You just pay for shipping. The orange stuff is really good to drink and it doesn’t hurt my tummy when I’m really hot and tired. They have these chewable candy stuff that reminds me of Starburst and the Lemon-lime ones or tha bomb! Hey FRS… you guys are alright!

Oh, if you have a Java City nearby, try their new drink!! Espresso Frio! Mick Jagger is singing Start Me Up in the background. This mixture has a horse kick! TRIPLE SHOT baby!! Uh-huh, you heard me!! 3 shots of espresso mixed into this drink. I had one the other afternoon and was buzzing big time by the time I got home and mowed my yard, cut tree limbs, and cleaned the garage. Everyone knows I live for my walk across the parking to our awesome Java City in the hospital lobby. I remember the day Java City opened like the day my kids were born! Ya think I’m kidding don’t you?! I remember walking over there with coworkers and walking right up to the counter and ordering a Mocha Javalanche at 9 o’clock in the morning. I remember my coworkers joking with me about how I already knew what it was when it was the first day they opened. Hey, I do my coffee café homework! HA! We are able to use our badges and have it taken out of our checks and once I checked to see how much I used over a course of 6 months. Y’all don’t even want to know. It was several Ben Franklins! Once I ordered and punched in my number and it kicked back out! I over charged my limit! Everyone laughed and laughed… including me! It’s just a small part of your paycheck but I was on my 2 a day kick.

Looks like the weekend will take me to Searcy and back early Saturday morning for a 90 mile ride. Might keep going if the day’s plans allow. This will be the last long ride before the River 2 River. Oh, I’ll be out riding but just not for hours on end.

More and more friends are giving the thumbs up and jumping on the ride! I’m floored by the number who want to start in Ft Smith! Folks are taking the day off to come ride for the kids who have hearing impairments! It’s just the coolest thing!!

Ok, the midweek tornado siren just went off! It’s noon on Wednesday which means the week is half over! It’s down hill from here kids!! It also signals the end of my lunch break... bummer!

By the way, we need some more money to help us to the goal of $15,000. Please donate and help a kid who has a hearing impairment! You’ll be a hero!
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation towards the River 2 River ride you can go to our hospital secure site at http://www.archildrens.org/ or you can send a check to:
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation
Attn: Geo’s ride
800 Marshall St
Little Rock, AR 72202

(Be sure to note on the memo line on your check that it’s for the bike ride)

Thanks for reading!
Geo

LR to Forrest City

Last year I sent a congrats note to our Chief of Staff, Dr. Bonnie Taylor on her finish in the LR Marathon. She sent a note back and said, "Thanks, I finished but it was an ugly finish." That's exactly how I felt yesterday after rolling into Forrest City to meet Terri. Yep, ug-lee finish.

I started the day with about 600 other cyclist in Burn's Park at the Carti ride. That was an awesome event! My coach (Mark) and I rolled out with group "C" and hung out with Mike Mitchell and several others. The majority of my group pulled their shorts up tight and jumped up to the front group which rumor has it that they averaged a screaming 25 mph for 50 miles. There were a few local pro's embedded in the group and they had to get back so it was sort of a "Let's go knock this out right quick." HA!

As we rolled along it was funny because the "C" group was to average 16-18 which is a normal pace for most weekend road warriors. Everyone was talking and having a good time and I looked down to see us going 22mph. I cracked up. Most of the group were guys and seems most were trying to grab a spot in the group. I ended up at the back and was happy as a loon back there. Mark was mid-pack and started easing back as well and we headed on down Hwy 70 rather than turning with the group onto Hwy 161. I think one of the volunteers was sort of flipping out when we did it. Most knew what we were about to do.

Rolling down 70 was easy and the traffic was really light for the most part. We stopped in Lonoke for water at Daylight Donuts and the city was having it's free fishing weekend and it looked like Riverfest over by the catfish ponds. Oh yeah, shout to the guys working the fish farms around Lonoke. Some didn't just wave, they wave big.

We rolled on out and through Carlisle and then made a stop at Hazen. OK, there are some towns that I have ridden through that are places I would move to in a second just for the friendly folks who live there and Hazen is up on that list. The guys who work in the c-store, the folks putting gas in their cars, folks sitting in their cars waiting for family members to run in the store right quick. All gave a big smiling "Howdy, how y'all doin'!" It was genuine and it would take me through the day. Thanks Hazen! Y'all are awwwright!

Rolling on we got to the real country where cars didn't pass to often and we could even ride side by side and talk because you could see for miles both directions on the flat farmland roads. Next up was Biscoe. It was a one store town and folks waved from their porches. Ok, the scene is about to change like nothing I've EVER rode my bike through. There is an exit at Biscoe that puts cars over on 70. There was road construction going on on I-40 and many took 70 as the "get around" road. What they seemed to have forgotten was that 70 is not an interstate! Now take that and remove the shoulder of the road! Serious!! Here we are riding through the woods on a highway with no shoulders and trucks buzzing us. There was one time that my bike jerked so hard I really thought I was going down. The sign had read, "Shoulder closed next 6 miles." Wanna guess how long it's closed? 14 miles! Honest y'all that was the most intense 14 miles I have ever ridden my bike. For those of you that went to Hotter'n'Hell last year in Texas.... yep, it was mentally harder than that!

When we finally got to Brinkley we pulled into to first c-store we could find. I was mentally blown! I pulled up to the curb, unclipped and sat in a daze on the curb in front of the store. Mark went on in the store and I just locked my eyes on a tree and regrouped. Minutes later I told myself that yes, it was taxing and yes, you are mad but it's time to get over it and get back to enjoying the ride. I grabbed some V8 and water and we were rolling out again. Luckily we were in the middle of the town and the speed limit was 35 so the trucks and all the classic cars rolling through had to slow down. Then the clouds parted and the rainbows sparkled! We got to turn off and all the traffic went straight. I think I smiled from ear to ear!

From then on it was farmland and trees. Mark let out a hoot when we got to Palestine because that was the last community before Forrest City. As we rolled me knee went south. First time I've ever had knee problems on a bike. If I stopped pedaling it was fine but when I would pedal more it would scream at me. I started playing games with myself and thinking of my buds who push their bodies to the limits and keep going. So here's the list I have to thank for telling me tales of suffering to get through an event: Dr. Taylor, Dr. Lyle, DWonn, Mike Mitchell, Yale, Chris I., Rebecca, Shawkitty, Jo, Vince, Comm, Tracy, Bolder, Boomer, Wes, and JBar. Yes, I really did think about each of you and something you had said that stuck in my mind Thanks for the pull!


We were riding (or in this case limping) along and we spot the bridge on the horizon (you can see it in the photo), the most beautiful site I've ever laid eyes on! Then an even more beautiful site comes rolling up... Terri, my wife! We told her we just had to ride to the bridge and Mark's car was stashed at a store right there. Suddenly I had energy and felt much better. It always charges me up when I see Terri during my rides. Actually, she charges me up all the time. Yep, I'm a lucky guy! Between seeing her and Mark hooting and hollering life become good again!
We rolled into the parking lot and Terri had cold drinks and Mark had iced down Gatorade in his car the night before. It was so cold and felt so good.Bolder, hope you don't mind but I'm gonna steal an idea from you. Bolder has a Good, Bad, and ugly section on his blog so I'm going to have one this time.

Good: Coach Mark, Man I cannot thank you enough for all you do! You're an awesome coach!
Carti ride and the energy of the riders and volunteers! Great Job!
Hampton Inn in Bartlett, TN. Spotless and friendly as every Hampton Inn I've been to.
Hazen, you guys rock!
JB Hunt trucking, thanks guys for slowing way down and getting in the other lane. You guys are true pros.

Bad: No shoulder on Hwy 70 for 4 miles. What's up with that?!
The bathroom in Brinkley. No doorknob and the bathroom is in the front of the store. Yes, there was a huge hole where the doorknob was supposed to be but I was passed the caring stage! HA!

Ugly: A certain trucking company that I have written a stern letter to... it's back to driving school for a refresher course.

After getting cleaned up at Hampton Inn in Bartlett (2 thumbs up!) We had dinner at Bahama Breeze (2 thumbs up), spent some time wandering around the mall and Barnes and Noble. Then finally the day was done! Terri told me this morning that she thinks that was the fastest I had ever fallen asleep. She said I was out cold within 60 seconds....she was serious! Hey, I was a tired but happy puppy!
Distance: 103.53 miles
Average speed: 16.4

Clock's ticking....

Well here we go folks... clock's ticking towards the weekend! I'm hearing Loverboy's 80's hit "Everybody's working for the weekend!" Yeah yeah yeah, call me Mr. VH1 I don't care! HA!


I'm flying solo for a couple days this week as Evie is on vacation this week and Julie flew to Orlando for the Child Life conference. They are great though because they had everything all lined out before they left so it's been really busy but things are running smooth!


I'm going to pick up my packet for the Carti Tour de Rock today at lunch. The ride is tomorrow and the reregistered number of riders is a mind blowing 530!! Way to go Carti! I have a huge respect for Jennifer and the crew over there. I'm glad that ACH is the sponsor for the Family Ride tomorrow with them. ACH and Carti... yep, that's like world peace right there!



You know I told you about all the celebs we have that come to visit? Well yesterday one of my favorite came! Oh yeah, this one is so fine! Like a piece of dark chocolate! Oh wait, it was dark chocolate!! You got it .. the Heresy Kiss Mobile came for a visit! After lunch Dee and Margie from Benefits and myself walked across the parking lot and took it as a photo op. Thank you Heresy for making the day of some kids at ACH!
Ok, the ride plans for the weekend: Start with the Carti ride at 7:30 in the morning then jump off the route about halfway and work it over to Hwy 70 for a ride to West Memphis. Coach Mark and I are driving over to Forrest City after work to take his car and he will ride to there tomorrow. I'll ride another 37 miles to West Memphis if the buzzards don't carry me off first. Terri will pick me up in West Memphis and we'll wine and dine over there and return home Sunday.
Oh the new ACH jersey is due to arrive next week as well as the event t-shirt! I'm giddy as a kid at Christmas! WOOOHOOOO!!!!
Y'all have an awesome weekend and thanks for reading!
Geo

A note from Chris Irons

Chris and Rebecca Irons

A note from Chris:

The opportunity to participate in a great cause, doing something you love with great people, doesn't come along often. I have ridden many miles with my good friend Geo. I can't think of a better reason for the two of us to add more miles to this friendship. Arkansas Children's Hospital provides the greatest of services. I have a close family member who spent time working in the Emergency Room. She would talk about the heart breaking moments when the children would arrive. It would bring a tear to your eyes as you listened to those stories. The stories about the miracles performed were just as emotional. What greater cause can you support, than one that takes care of our children?

For those of you who don't know, Chris and Rebecca will be riding the River 2 River with me. He and Rebecca are as good as you get! Some of you UAMS folks might recognize Rebecca... Residents, y'all remember those chair massages? Yep, that's her. They trained with me a lot getting ready for the ride and they've taken a few days off to go to the Ozarks and ride the mountains. Yep, they're a little nuts too!

From the bottom of my heart... Thank you Chris and Rebecca!

THE ROUTE

River 2 River route
Milage
A Ride for Arkansas Children's Hospital
From Fort Smith (Arkansas River) to West Memphis (Mississippi River)
June 28th Start time 5 a.m.
Holiday Inn
Turn right out of drive and continue down Rogers Ave to Arkansas River
Over the bridge and under.
Stop or unload in warehouse area
Over Arkansas River Bridge into Arkansas
Fort Smith:
Turn left on 11th Street (This is one way and will turn into Hwy 64)
Over bridge into Van Buren 6
Mulberry 19
Ozark 14
Altus 5
Coal Hill 5
Hartman 3
Clarksville 9
Knoxville 10
London 8
Russellville 8
Atkins 13
Morrilton 13
Plumerville 6
Menifee 5
Conway 9
Mayflower 10
Maumelle 9
THE BDB 6
Down Rebsamen on bike route 0
turn right on North Cross 0
turn right on Capitol 0
turn right on Woodlane 0
turn right on Maryland 0
Go to front of ACH 3
Head back to Broadway bridge 0
North Little Rock 2
East Broadway 0
turn right to Lynch Drive 0
To Faulkner Lake Road 0
To North Walkers Corner 0
turn right onto Hwy 70 0
Lonoke 23
Carlise 9
Hazen 10
Brinkley 25
Biscoe 14
Wheatley 20
Goodwin 5
Forrest City 15
West Memphis 37
In West Memphis turn right on South 8th street and follow to river. 2

TOTAL MILES 323

Wednesday morning buzz...

Quick hit before heading to the office this morning.

I rode the north side of the river last evening and had a nice solo thing going on then I had something happen that completely blew my mind.

While crossing the long wooden bridge down by the Burn's Park boat ramp I had a guy fly past me on the right... on the bridge. Man, that was some careless and dangerous riding!! All the good local riders know that bridge is barely wide enough for one bike and to zip across and go under a rider is plain stupid! Here's the weird part. I looked back before crossing the bridge and there was no one behind me then whoa, there he was. If he is reading this... hey fella, that was just lame riding on your part. Wise up before you hurt someone out there!

Ok, I'm off the soapbox now... the rest of the ride was fun. Lots of families out and spotted a couple of ACH folks out riding and saw a lot more heading to the Travelers game last night. I had forgotten all about that it was the rescheduled ACH night at the Travelers game. Hope you guys had a great time!

06.05.07 Check out UNITRON!

Hey River Readers!

Check out this awesome web site! It's the kids section from Unitron. these guys made my hearing aid and changed my life! They do awesome stuff for kids!
http://www.kidsklub.unitron.com/kidsklub.html

Also if you think you may need a hearing aid these guys have some of the coolest technology around. Check out the hearing aid called Moxi (http://www.unitronhearing.us/ccus/professionals/products_us/moxi.htm)!! Very high tech looking.


I love how everyone walks around these days wearing ear pieces and calling them cell phones! I've been wearing ear pieces for years now! HA!

Quick hit Monday

Nothing since Saturday. Serious, I was blown after that ride. Happens sometimes. Took today off and spent the day in Benton helping my parents. Mom had cornea transplant last week. She is doing great but it was like being in a room with someone who has a hangover... dim those lights! HA! By the end of the day she was doing a lot better and even reading the newspaper. Dad and I sat out on the front porch and talked all afternoon and watched the word go by. When I got home tonight I checked and had 28 voicemails and 89 emails.

Should be out on the bike Tuesday afternoon for an easy ride since I'll do mega miles on Saturday.

Saturday 06.03.07

Beautiful Arkansas morning! Left the house and rode over to the Burn's Park socceer fields and met up with a bunch of riders to do the last Carti training ride. Sort of sad that this was the last one because it's been a lot of fun! Chris Irons stood in the back of a truck and preached to the riders. They even had these great lamanated cue cards for everyone.

Ran into a couple old ACH buds in the crowd. Dr. Paul from the ACH Eye Clinic was sporting a awesome Orbea Orca test bike from Chainwheel!! Oh man, let me tell you! It was a beauty and fast indeed! Also in the crowd were James Gaston and Keith Moore. Both are strong riders and always fun to ride with.

We rolled out and headed toward Keo and the group was on fire! I worked my way up toward the front and was determed to stay with the front group. I did fine until we got to the train tracks and I have to snail speed across them. I flipped a couple of years ago on these same tracks doing end over end at 27mph. I've been gun shy crossing them since.

Once I crossed the tracks I pressed on and did my best to regain my spot but several passed me at the tracks. By the time we had our first rest stop I had done ok but never made it to the pull position. One friend said when we stopped, "I looked down and I was going 26mph and I thought to myself, why?" I just grinned and said, "Becuz itza lotta fun!"

When roll out and head toward Keo, our mid-way point a break away group formed and I just sat in the second group. We were doing great but that guy thing took over. I pulled out and sprinted to catch the breakaway and I hit 33mph and was still not catching them. Geesh! I kept it at 25 for what seemed forever and then I blew. Blew so bad the second group caught me then passed me. I sat on the back for a moment then me and my bud Brandon (Our hospital Alltel rep) rolled along at a social pace to the mid-point.

On the way back we rode together at a social pace (18mph) and talked. I've known Brandon and his family for years and they are as good as it gets.

Note to Coach Mark: I know, I know it was supposed to be recovery.

Next weekend is gonna be great because I start with the Carti ride on Saturday morning and break off and ride to West Memphis then Terri and I are going to hang out in Memphis for the night.

All in all it was a great ride!

Friday quick hit

About to head to the office for a busy day but took the night off from training to go see Cirque de Soleil's Delirium at Alltel last night. So cool! I took Emmy with me and we had a blast. She kept telling me thanks for taking her.

Plans are falling in place for the weekend and it looks like a CARTI training ride and this weekend will be recovery weekend menaing a max of about 4 hours tomorrow and 3 on Sunday. Should end the weekend with about 70 miles total.









Next weekend things are falling in place to start off with the Carti Tour de Rock (http://carti.com/index.php?fuseaction=p0010.view&mod=50&rec_id=14) but jump off in mid course and ride on to West Memphis where Terri will pick me up and kidnap me for the rest of the weekend over to Memphis! Coach Mark will be riding with me to Forrest City it looks like.

Bring on the weekend!

Sort of sad how I live for the weekends huh?! Nah!

Awww right, here's the rest of the week stuff.

Thursday evening: River trail riding with the gang. Coach says, "I don't want to see you out there hammering! Save the legs for the weekend."

Friday: Bike cleaning if my wife and I don't have a date night... we usually do. Hey, y'all ever been to Roma in Jacksonville? Oh man, it's tha bomb!!!

Saturday: Last CARTI training ride. 8 a.m. at Burn's Park soccer fields. Next Saturday is the Tour de Rock that CARTI does and it's an all out blast! ACH also has a family ride in connection with it. This last training ride will be for 45 miles. The course next weekend for the actual ride is 50. This has been a lot of fun to train with because some of these riders are riding their first 50 mile ride. That's so awesome! It's the Little Rock Marathon on bikes for them. I so proud of those folks!

After the CARTI ride I'll either keep riding for the remainder of the day or I'll ask my coach to flip my recovery weekend and let this be recovery weekend and next weekend ride to Memphis. I would start with the Tour de Rock but jump the course and keeping on riding. Just like my sponsor dudes Energizer... just keep going and going! I need to ride that part of the course and Terri and I have talked about her picking me up in West Memphis and jumping the river and playing in Memphis for the weekend. I guess I could go really crazy and ride back to Sherwood. the next day.

ACH story: The other day I was walking over to Java City (Y'all stop laughing!) and there was a guy sitting outside in the reflecting pool area. He was talking on the cell phone and had his head down. He was crying. Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a parent cry. I guess sometimes folks think we all just get used to it but we have too much compassion and there are many of us who have been at ACH for years and still get choked up. That's what makes us the best!

Thanks for reading! If you are just jumping on to reading the blog...welcome to River 2 River!

Later y'all!

Geo.

To donate go to www.archildrens.org and click on "DONATE NOW"

or send your check to:

Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation

River 2 River Ride

800 Marshall Street

Little Rock, AR 72120

Then later that day...

Hey River Readers!

Yep, I still feel great even after yesterday! I've heard from all but one of the riders and everyone seems to be doing great! We all agreeed that it was good to have had a real long ride to iron out kinks and listen to what our bodies were telling us.

Here's some things we learned:
Keep a nice social pace and you can ride forever.

Eat light but eat often

Drink up!

Make sure those shorts fit.

Sunscreen is a beautiful thing! Just don't wipe your hands on the back of your shorts or your have white hand prints on your rear.

Sunglasses are a must. You should see my eyes today! Dracula red! Bad Geo bad!

Laugh and sing songs.

Laugh at yourself.

Surround yourself with good people and you won't notice when you get tired.

Take a friends advice.

Folks, I am getting so excited now about the ride! The training yesterday just boosted my confidence level 100%

We did it! Training ride to Russellville and back!

Jack, Me, Rebecca, Coach Mark, Chris, Jim, Razz, Marvin, Keith H,

Shawdawg, Shawkitty, Everyone's Mom and Yale

Heading out from Cook's Landing

Proof that we were really there!

We did it! We went to Russellville and back yesterday and I logged 147.87 miles!

12 of us started out at Cook's Landing and rode through Maumelle, Mayflower, Conway, Menifee, Plumerville were we were met by Yale's mom and her husband Jack. They are the most awesome folks! We had cold drinks, and fruit as well as cold water soaked towels.

Several were only planning to ride to Conway and back but everyone was feeling so good they stayed with us until Plumerville. 5 of us headed on out and by the time we got to Russellville it was the perfect time to stop. We all felt great but were ready for a break.

We crowded around an outdoor picnic table at McDonalds. I was as nervous at that point more than any other time on the ride. I usually can't eat a meal on a long ride. My tummy hates it but I knew I had to eat something so I got a fish sandwich without the tartar sauce and drank a Sprite. I worked with no problems at all!

We then reloaded our water bottles with cold drinks and hit the road for the ride home. One of my bottles had water and the other had green tea. I love that stuff and it has a calming effect on me. I usually drink it with my lunch at the office. Sweet tea does the same thing.

We rode into the wind and worked as a team taking turns at the front pulling. At times we would be rocking along at 18-20 then others when the wind would gust we could be seen going 14mph. The ride ended with and average of 16.6mph. My actual ride is set at 15 mph so I really felt good about that.

I did get a cramp just outside of Morriton but it quickly went away as I took a replacement cap.

As we rolled into Morrilton everything was closed except the Big Star grocery store so we loaded up on water and ice and Yale picked up a 6 pack of small V8 drinks. He stands by those as the drink to have when riding long rides. Again I decided to experiment with something while hot and getting tired. I drank the V8 and it was awesome! I had no idea those tasted so good! I'm hooked! Thanks Yale!

My coach had also given me a drink mix to try. It was great and I could tell between the drink mix and the V8 that I was going to do good the rest of the ride. Thanks Mark!

We rolled on pushing through the winds. They weren't wicked but just enough to make you wish they weren't blowing. I was excited as we rounded a curve to spot the hill that takes us back into Conway. It was one of those "almost home" feelings you get after a long trip.

We stopped at the Citgo (sp?) station on Tyler and Hogan St and we were all just having a great time. Everyone was still feeling good with over a hundred miles already behind us. Yale's mom comes driving in and what do they have? Cold drinks!! I had another almost frozen V8 drink and I was so good!

We then headed toward Mayflower and stopped on the side of the road for just a moment and rolled on to Maumelle. I remembered the hills just before Maumelle and the last one before the turn onto Maumelle Blvd smacked me up the side of the head. I was glad that that would be one of the last hills on the actual long ride on June 28th!

We got back to Cook's Landing and everyone was smiling from ear to ear! We had done it! Yale opened the back of his Element and there sat an ice chest! We had cold drinks and Yale made turkey sandwich halves with a thin slice of dill pickle. I laughed and told him it was the best sandwich I had ever eaten! We chased it with huge strawberries and blueberries!

All in all it was a fantastic day with great friends... great memories and great training! My hat's off to the greatest friends in the world for coming out and riding this! Yale, Ironman, Rebecca (Mrs. Ironman) and Razz... they stayed with me the WHOLE ride. Shawdawg, Shawkitty, Jim A, Coach Mark, Keith (Hey, you smell really nice! HA!) H., Robert, and fearless Marvin ... you guys rock!

Sunday

Great weekend so far! Met up with friends and rode some of the Carti training ride but a few of us had a late roll out due to a flat among our group. We caught up with the back of the group and then we got off track somewhere along the way. Still had a good time.

This afternoon I drove from Maumelle to Conway to check the route I will be riding tomorrow. There are several of us going out in the morning and riding the day out on the course. I'm looking forward to time on the actual course.

If all goes well then I will log 142 miles tomorrow. Tough day ahead but it's a good route that almost runs right along the interstate and there a small c-stores dotting the route as well so if anything were to happen to any of the riders it wouldn't be hard for a family member to pick him/her up.

Memorial Weekend just ahead

Well awwwwright! The weekend is about to start so this is a quick hit!
Tomorrow finds me at 8am at Burn's Park soccer fields to meet up with riders doing the CARTI training ride. We've been having a lot of fun on these rides! Planning on riding out to the farmlands toward England. I have a great sponsor out that way -- DELTA GROWS. Everyone who knows me knows I love the farmlands.

Sunday is an easy ride and then... Monday....
143 mile ride from North Little Rock to Russellville and back. I love it love it love it!!


Have a great Friday y'all!
Geo.

Honored

Remember when I was laughing about the Governor's Office calling mine? Look what came in the mail yesterday! It's the appointment letter from Governor Mike Bebee for the advisory board of infant hearing. What an honor!

5.23.07 Part II

Work day over and clipped in and rode to the house. Well not straight home. I rode along the river and got 15 in before heading to the house. Saw JBar out crankin'. Good ride and good wind most of the time. The one real climb on the way home was met with a pushy snot headwind. Nothing like a shoulderless road, lots of traffic, a hill, headwind, and the Cow God. But hey, I survived. I keep telling friends about riding to the Cow God. I'll take a photo of what I'm talking about this weekend and post it. There is a meat warehouse on top of this hill and it has a huge black angus cow on the roof. One day a year ago I was really hot, tired and bonking to the hilt and it was like the cow was putting some evil curse on me. It was one of those sweat in your eyes and stinging like crazy sort of days. Since then I've called it the Cow God. When I climb that hill I won't look up because it's head turns a looks at me and it's eyes turn red. Ok, I'm lying but it sounds cool huh?! Speaking of things comin' to life -- Transformers the Movie comes out July 4th! Oh Yeah!!

Anyway, the ride home was good and it was one of those rides where when you stop and every sweat gland explodes. I was sweating a river!

Ok so the weekend plans (hey, it's Wednesday night! Long weekend is almost here!)
Coach tells me to save the legs... I tell him he's a pain in the butt some days. So I'll save the riding for the weekend... maybe. (I see Coach M. rolling his eyes! HA!)

Thursday: Maybe easy spin
Friday: No ride
Saturday: House -- Carti Training Ride -- not with the front group since I'm saving the legs.
Sunday: Easy spin
Monday: (Fasten the seat belt baby cakes here we go!!!) Cook's Landing and on wheels at 7am for a ride to Russellville and back for about 143 miles. Several folks are going. Some all the way out and back and some part. It will be steady and easy pace due to the distance. Ya wanna ride with us a bit? Come on out and feel tha loooove!

Hey, check this out -- Coach M likes Blue Coast Burrito's Fish Tacos and Baha Tea. I knew there's was something about this guy. Blue Coast owner lives just down the hill from us too. I need to get them on as a sponsor. My family thinks I'm the only person that likes fish tacos.

Don't forget to go over to www.archildrens.org and make a donation to the ride or send a check to the hospital for the ride! Man, it's a tax write off and you know you need it so send a lot!

Well awww-right, I'm outta here!
Geo.

Wednesday 5.23.07

Rockin' Mount Nebo!

The Rock and Republic pro racing team is awesome!

Sorry, forgot to post Sunday. I went to Mt Nebo to watch the pro's race. Found a new team to cheer on -- Rock and Republic (www.rockracing.com).

Monday -- Pop up rain shower. Weirdest thing happend. I was sitting in the den and started to get up and I couldn't. Serious, on my knees couldn't sort of stuff. Felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat. I'm all bent over and walking like an old person. It was sore most of the night but I was able to sleep and woke without any pain. Maybe it was just a catch or something. Never had that before and don't want it again.

Tuesday -- Plan was to ride home from the hospital. Storm came up. Daughter's car in the shop,they called and said 4 days and over $1,000. I gave her my Explorer and Went to Enterprise and picked up a truck for the week. Yep, I'm a manly man now with a truck. Only the truck bed is too short for the bike so I had to turn the wheel and lay it down. I was able to get out and ride after the storm past. It was one of those cool, humid rides and a fast 24 miler.

Today -- lunch almost over and I'm riding to the house after work if no rain. Plan to get some miles in and maybe ride tomorrow too. In-laws coming in from FL (They live there) so plans may change.

Oh hey Phonak will be here tomorrow with test gear! Oh yeah!!!

Funds are coming in for the kids and we are 5 days from the 1 month count down. I have one more large batch of letters that need to go out and will work those over the long weekend.