I know I know...

I know I know... I've gone into blog-slackerville! I'll update this afternoon... I hope.

We interupt this silence with a post...

So gang, it's been a busy time at the office and Em was using the home laptop for school work.

Ok, update since Saturday's ride, lemme see...
I woke Sunday feeling like I hadn't ridden the bike the day before. I felt great! I really wanted to spend the afternoon out riding but I knew I needed to work around the house cutting grass and cleaning the garage. Y’all ever do that? I didn’t think so! HA!

Last night it rained – yep, another one of those pop up afternoon showers.

I was asked to speak at the Soundstart conference this afternoon. What an honor! It’s a conference for parents with deaf or hearing impaired kids. My part was the, “Don’t let a hearing impairment stop your child from being whatever they want to be!”

Team Rubicon is parked right out here in the parking lot right now! They are in visiting the cancer kids! I haven’t gotten to met them but they will host a ride at 5:30 today. I’ll be there! I see them now!! They are heading to the van.

OK, y’all aren’t going to believe this. When I went home yesterday they were right beside me but the team car says “Russ” on the side. I thought it was another team in town. Dang, they were in my neighborhood! Geo, you dork!

Oh well, more tonight…

Great day for a ride!

It was an awesome training day! I left the house and rode down to the river then out to the farmlands. I rode through England then planned to ride even further out but it was getting sort of like it was trying to build those spotty rain showers again so I headed back to North Little Rock. The corn was knee high, the wheat was ready and the rice was just starting and the snakes were everywhere. I've never seen anything like it. All kinds and sizes. All dead in the road. There was a swamp that I passed and I'm not sure what the splash was but it was a big animal. I kept thinking it might have been one of the alligators the Game and Fish have been talking about. we have them so bad now that there will be a first ever alligator hunting season this fall. But the air was filled with Magnolia, honeysuckle and several other smells that just made me so glad to be alive and able to enjoy the ride. Funny story: while I was out on the farmlands I could hear something and glanced over my shoulder to what I thought was a oncoming car but it was a whole herd of Carve riders ou for their training ride. They had a huge group. Always a bunch of friendly guys. They turned on Honey Road and I went straight to head on out to England.

Just as I get back to the river the BUZZ BBQ was in full swing! Oh man did it smell good! I rode a bit longer then stopped by my office and dined on Cheese Peanut butter crackers and an oatmeal cream pie. At first I thought the Little Debbie snack was going to make me ill because my tummy kicked a few seconds afterwards buy I strectched out for a few moments and was was well. I got back on the bike and headed out. 82 miles, not bad. I was in the office 17 minutes but it seemed like a lot longer.

I headed back over the Broadway bridge and over to the soccer fields to met up with friends for the CARTI training ride. I was feeling really refreshed and ready for more riding which was a big confidence booster! There are 2 groups and my buds talked me into going with them. When we hit 20-22 mph I thought this was a bad idea. I told Shawdawg and Shawkitty (yep, they are married) than if they dropped me not to wait. Dawg gave me the smile and said they weren't planning on waiting! We laughed and I told him I'd put a garage sale sign in their yard! They just put there house up for sell about an hour before they came. I hope it sells fast for them!

Any way we had a great ride and even went through a bust rain shower that lasted about a minue and a half but it was fairly hard. I stopped under a tree to drop my hearing aid into a zip lock. Nope, not getting that thing wet!

I rolled over 104 miles by the time I was home. I felt good all day. I mean ready good! When I got home and cleaned up I was feeling the love. I had a juice glass of Java Chocolate milk which set a little off with the tummy. Guess I ought to cool off a tad before drinking that stuff. But once I showered I felt good. I wasn't expecting that at all. I didn't feel any where near this good last Saturday after the ride.

Here's a few things I did different. I kept my gears in the small ring on the front most of the day. This was a coach trick and I think it worked. I love the big ring but it seemed to tire me out a lot faster. I drank FRS as my supplement drink. Yes, I really believe in the stuff. I rode solo all morning and kept it around 17 except for a short stretch on the farmlands where the wind was beating up on me and dropped to 14 at times. Wind is wind and if your solo riding it's going to slow you down. I rode with friends in the afternoon which seemed to help build up my confidence as well as allowed for a draft and get my speed up a notch. Jenn, Chris, Yale, Keith, Marvin and Razz... thanks friends!!

We headed down to see my folks who had just come in from FL today. They had a perfect trip thanks to Cathy and Doug and perfect weather and water. Both seemed rested and happy. My sister Sherry came over and brought mom the biggest mothers day card I've EVER seen. It was poster board sized! She's a third plotter!!! (Family joke). It was just really nice to hang out with the folks and Shery and my little bratty sister Barbie and her husband Tim. Never a dull moment.

Ya'll call your momma or think of all the good things about your momma!

Quick hit heading into the weekend...

Ok blog-o-nites and blog-o-nettes here we go with the weekend... Starts in 20 minutes!

Eat out with the wife for dinner. Go to Home Depot and maybe to Barney Nobels.
Home and check over bike. If eat and then home then I'll mow the yard then tell the neighborhood he needs to mow his. He he he.

Goal for the night: Stay away from the sweets!

Check over the bike. Bottles in the freezer. Put gear in the office so I don't wake anyone up in the morning.

On bike around 7 to Cook's, then out around the Cartin training loop or maybe longer. Back to the river. Stop by Murray Park to say howdt to BACA folks I've not seen in a year. Now that's really sad huh?! Over to the office if needed to break a moment and eat lunch if it's time. Back to river and ride until start of CARTI training ride (it's on Saturday at 2 this week). Then just ride out the time until stopping at 10 hours. Yeah baby! 10 hours on the bike tomorrow! I will feel the love by the time it's over! HA!

Then I have to head to the house and go to Benton to see my mom if they are home from Florida. I saw a couple of live cameras from down there this week and the beach was perfect! The water looked like a pool! Super clear!

Let the weekend begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!
Have an awesome weekend friends!
Geee-oh!

It was just a pishhh shower

The river trail

The river is raising but you can't keep the fisherman off the point.

It was really prettier in person. It was one of those spiritual looking sunsets where the rays of light shoot across the sky.

The family just hanging in the grass and chomping an occasional bug.

It turned out to be one of those pishhhhh showers. You know the kind that is sort of like when you turn the shower at home for a few seconds. Rained at the hospital but not at the house. Awww ya gotta love those summer showers.

So I geared up and headed out to ride. The womens running club was out and there most have been a 100 women running.

The river is way up and flooding a little. I was wondering if it was going to be over one of the smaller bike path bridges but everything was clear.

I did spot a small group of riders that it looked to be the Fast Girls Slow Guys club ride. They are now going so insanely fast that most folks can't really ride with them anymore. They are a racing club through and through. There is nothing at all wrong with that but they are way to fast for me and many of he riders from last year. I did see quite a few of last years riders out tonight.

I had been telling folks about all the duckings or gooselings or whatever you call baby geese. They are everywhere. I also saw a goose that looked as if it had been tangled in fishing line for a long time. It was limping pretty bad and I tried to get closed but it hopped away. I thought about calling my niece with the Game and Fish and ask them to see if they can retain it for a moment and just cut the line off. Just sort of pains me to see an animal in pain like that when it would be so easy to correct.

I rode down and back and down at a comfortable pace since coach will get me if I get caught riding fast just before an long weekend training ride. I plan to get an early start on Saturday morning and ride all day. I'm taking stuff to my office so I will have a place to stop and eat and take a short recovery. I'm looking forward to the training. The weekend calls for a 10 hour ride. Weeellll doggie, let's saddle up!

Tomorrow is TGIF and not a moment to soon!

Later y'all!

Geo.

Another afternoon shower??? Ahhh now come'on!

Can you believe this mess? Every afternoon it has clouded up and thundered and blown and rained. I don't want to sit on the spin bike tonight and watch TV. I need to feel the air, smell the honeysuckle, blah blah blah!

Another afternoon training busted by storms

Storms popping up. In fact loud thunder and big rain outside the office window. Bummer!