Wednesday

I know, boring title. We had a Code Green (Outside of hospital disaster) drill today at the hospital is it was for a bomb that went off in a town about 45 minutes south of here. By the end of the drill it had 13,000 victims. Spooky stuff. Being in HR I didn't have a role but we had some lively discussion at lunch. They have to do these fake press releases as well so one said the situation was under control. I would bet stacks of 100 dollar bills that the staff would be under control and doing what they are trained to do but outside the hosital would not be under control.

I ordered some new FRS stuff a few moments ago. I got the chews! Hey if the chews work anything like the drink, I'll be a customer of theirs for life. Since I have the orange drink I thought I'd try the Lemon-Lime chews.

Tomorrow starts the beginning of the hospital itness challenge. I have the least amount on my team (25) but they are 25 coworkers that I know will do some sort of excercise 3x a week for the next 90 days. Last year I tried to get a lot of folks on my team then after they signed up, got their t-shirt and did the first all hosital walk then they didn't do nothing else. So I had this huge drop out rate and lost. This year my team won't win but I wan't have a drop rate either! there is one nurse that has 214 people on her team and that's awesome! I told me team we were in it for the fun!

The late edition

WooHoo... It was a rocket boy ride home. A little longer than I expected but still a lot of fun. I left the office at 5:15 and rolled in at 6:28. I didn't realize it was that much longer. I even rode about 200 yards on a really busy road but (Thank you Lord) there were on about 5 cars that passed and all were nice. No horn honking and this 200 yards is all up hill. there are a couple of parking lots so I'm able to pull over and let folks by. I had my reflective road worker vest over my backpack and had my rear flasher light blinking so I was visible. This will certainly be a training habit. Next Sunday when the time changes it will be so much better.

Ok, I admit, I'm an FRS snob now. I LOVE this stuff! I drank it about 30 minutes before riding and I was pushing 18 solo into the wind and wasn't tired. How sick is that?!

Life is good!

Tuesday 02.27.07

Ahhh, some folks talk about the beach being paradise but we’ve got it here in Little Rock! Another beautiful spring day!

The bike in down in the employee kitchen and I’m riding the baby home! I’m almost giddy with excitement! I'm planning to ride over to the capitol then down the river trail, over the BDB and back through a couple of neighborhoods into Sherwood.

Sorry for the short entry but lunch is about over. Check back later tonight for the ride home edition.

While munching on lunch...

It's a beautiful day here in Arkansas and as I sit at my desk munching on my lunch you can tell that spring is here. Folks are out, the air is cool but it doesn't matter because the sun is shining. Ah, just makes you glad to be alive!

I kept meaning to talk about an observation I made the other day. We, Mrs. Geo and I, had to make a stop at Kroger on the way home the other day. She asked me to just pull to the curb so she could dash in and pick up some stuff to grill out. As I was sitting there watching all the people coming in and out, I got bored and played a man game. Guys, you know the one… would I go out with that lady, would I marry that lady, and sorry honey but you are not for me. Did you know every woman that walked out of the store was in the “sorry, you are not for me” category. Then out came Mrs. Geo… oh my gosh, she’s a keeper! Serious! The way she walked, what she had on, carrying fresh meat in a plastic bag… man, she was.. gee, no words could describe it. Serious! I’m always reminded over and over why she was the one for me!

Yesterday was one of those perfect days! I went to church, went to my parents and had momma’s cooking and even got home in time for a good 3 hour ride! I rode later than usual for a Sunday afternoon and saw a lot of folks I’ve never seen before. Also saw a bi-zillion families on the BDB enjoying the afternoon. As I was coming back over the BDB I noticed a large group of folks had completely blocked the bridge and then I saw a bike laying down. Oh man, first thought was that a bike and a person had collided. There was a lady sitting down leaned against the rails and I made my way through the crowd and asked if everyone was ok? I know, dumb question. I thought if it was a biker, I meant know them. I didn’t but a man asked if I had some sugar. Seems she was a diabetic. She got a couple of espresso gels. Oh yeah, I bet she was rocking about 30 minutes later. She seemed to be ok and I headed on with my ride. The whole ride was solo but that was good since it was for training. I didn’t need to draft. I needed to have the wind try and push me back (headwind) and that it did. Then it times it pushed me forward (tailwind) to the point of wanting to yell out, “I’m rocket boy! Weeeee!” HA! Some days are just like that.

Looks to be a good week ahead and I have my fingers crossed that I’ll ride the bike home from the hospital tomorrow. Mrs. Geo has a reception after hours so I can either bum a ride or I can bring my bike to work and ride it home. It would be my first ride home since the BDB opened. I’ll only have a short section of road (Camp Robinson) where there will be traffic and traffic there will be! But from here I can ride all the way to the BDB and then some on the NLR side before I ever have to get on the road. My thinking is that by the time I get on the busy roads it will be about 5:30 or a tad later and most will have already gone through. Weather is light breeze, sunny and lower 60’s. Does that not sound like the perfect commute home weather?!

Later on Saturday

Well the storm came and tore up the littel town of Dumas. Sad, that little town is a stopping point whenever we go to Terri's folks in Navarre, Florida. Our little Subway and Mickey D's is gone that we would stop at. The errie thing about the big storms in Arkansas is that they always seem to hit just around March 1st.

I worked around the house and then climbed up on the horse and spun for 2 hours and 10 minutes. Had a nice average and felt strong through the whole ride. I had the tv going on Rugby which is a wicked sport! Man, I loved it! Then I rod while the Tour of California was on. That was a great race! I'm not going to spoil it since some guys read this blog and record all the races to watch later.

Several of the club are headed to Mt Magazine for training tomorrow. There is also a Carve ride right by Mom and dad's house. I hope to spot them when we go down for lunch tomorrow. My schedule calls for a 6 hour ride today and 3 tomorrow but I flipped it and rode 2 today and will ride hopefully 4 tomorrow. I've not seen my parents in a few weeks so that is taking priority tomorrow. With daylight savings coming in 2 weeks, I'll be riding home from the office some days. It's nice now with the new bridge because I can ride the LR side, come over the bridge and then cut throught he back of the neighborhood. I do have to get on Camp Robinson for a stretch but hope that most of the rush hour traffic would already have gone through.

Remember that FRS stuff I was going to try? Oh man, that's the best stuff I've ever used! It's a great steady energy source unlike coffee/sugar buzz. I think that's why my last 3 rides have been strong. Like today, I felt great the whole time on the spin and everytime I looked at my speed it seemed to be 17.2. Heart rate was good too. I'm considering asking them for a sponsorship for the June ride. Even in-kind sponsorship would be great.

Geo out!

Stormy Saturday

I woke extra early (5:30am) in hopes I could ride before the forecasted rain and storms got here. The deck was already wet but it wasn't raining at the moment. I noticed my neighbor's motion lights were on on her deck and I stood watching for a moment just to be sure as she is a retiree who lives alone. I spotted 3 HUGE raccoons coming off the top of her house and down the trellis on to her deck. These must be the same guys that Saydee goes nuts over when we let her out sometimes at night.

The plan has me scheduled for 6 hours on the bike today but not going to happened with the storms. I actually considered going down to the river and riding easy flat miles as long as the rain wasn't hard but (Flash and BOOM)... ok maybe not. The strange thing is that it's 9:45 now and that was about 8 and it hasn't flashed or boomed since. Got a downpour for 5 minutes. It is a dark day out there though.

I painted a couple more of the cabinet doors and have my fingers crossed that they dry today!

More later...

Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday

It's Mardi Gras day! Fat Tuesday! The kids were having a ACH Mardi Gras parade today and even threw beads at us! What a hoot! I'm proud of how the staff get together to make hospital stays as fun as they can be.

Even though I'm not Catholic, one of my coworkers that used to work across the hall from me taught me a lot about lent. I think it's a good think to give up something for 40 days. So until Easter I vow to give up something that will be very hard. My coworker said that it is to be a personal thing and not something you broadcast.

I took yesterday off the bike as a recovery day from Sunday's ride. My quads were shot after that ride.

I got home from the hospital and jumped on the bike for a fast and hard ride through the neighborhood. Coach told me to work on speed and less hills but I have nothing but hills around here and I wanted to get some time in before the sun went down. I pushed as hard as I could and got home to find an average of 18.2mph!! WooHoo!

Great ride today! Warm temps and longer daylight! Yep, it's all good!

Note to my Aussie friends...

Rodney, Chris, all of you readers from Aussie land. I got a hold of Tim Tams! Oh yeah baby... those are gooood! So cool that you can suck coffee through a cookie! Give me some more ideas of stuff to go get at the Aussie store! They have a bunch of candy and foods.

G'day!
Geo.

Almost a week since? Had no idea!

It's been almost a week since I blogged? Guess I was busier than I thought... or lazy. Let me see, Terri went to Dallas (or some city around there) and she's back. Em went to TN and she's on I-40 between Memphis and home. I started a major project in the kitchen and took a break from it today. The sun came back out and the temps today were nice. Winter might be leaving soon as the temps are on the up and up all week. Saw where we might see 75 degrees by next weekend!

The tour of California has started and I'm sort of bummed I didn't get to go out for some of it.

Tyler came over and hung out Friday night. Granddog Zero came over too. Funny little dog! Tyler bought a house around the Park Hill area! Nice little place for a first house! He closes in 2 weeks. Yep, he and Shalyn are still friends but no wedding at least not anytime soon.

I got to ride with the club today! The riding was good! I saw and spoke to a lot of guys I haven't caught up with in a while.What's in store for this week? Like I said, warmer temps and longer daylight. We do have a storm day about mid week I think with winds of 20-35 mph. Afterwards I think that's when life as we know and love it returns. I'm turning off my hospital card privilege at Java City so the sole purpose of getting out of the latte habit. I love the stuff but added up my habit and the calories attached. Thanks but that will help the tummy to go away faster! By the way, the jersey I had on was a small today. No kidding. I very relaxed fit small.

Funny article in the paper today. The LR Marathon is coming in a few weeks and the hospital is a major sponsor of the Little Rockers. It's where the kids run 25 miles over the course of months and then run their last mile at the marathon on a different course. It's huge! I mean a bi-zillion kids. Anyway they asked me last year if I'd ride in front of the runners and I did and it was fun and those kids can run a lot faster than I had given them credit for! So I'm reading the article and it says that I'm going to be riding as the lead out for the kids. Cool. then it says and he will be wearing a bunny suit?!!!?? WHA???!!!!!! A bunny suit? Buh ha ha ha ha!!! Oh, this is going to be a hoot! I'll do it since it's for the hospital and for fun but how did I ever agree to a bunny suit? Excuse me, I probably need to turn up my hearing aid! HA!Y'all have a great day!

Spoke-un

The ride yesterday took me to a hood I've not riden through in a long time. Big houses, tennis courts, swiming pools and water falls. Also a few speed bumps. Nothing like zooming down through a hood feeling the love and hitting a speed bump and snapping a couple of spokes and knocking the wheel untrue. Got the wheel over to the bike shop right after work. I love those guys! Asked me if I wanted to wait for the repair but it was also closing time so I didn't want to be one of "those" customers. Everyone wants to go home at closing time! It'll be ready by the time I get off work tomorrow.

Sean had riden his bike over to the house the other night and broke the chain as he was leaving. I fixe that for him after dinner and luckily it's raining tonight so he'll put it in the back of his SUV and take it home. Told him to test it out after the rains near his house to make sure I got it linked back tight.

Love is in the air... ya got your "other" a Valentine yet. Man, you better turn this thin off and head for Hallmark!

Way to go Vince!

Vince Cucco made it across the state on his bike Saturday. Here's the link to the story and video.
http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=41446
Way to go Vince!!

On the latter or on my butt

I have spent ALL day in our kitchen painting. I've either been on the latter on on my butt sitting on the floor. I have to say though it's really looking dandy! Terri is looking for new art, bar stools and different chairs for the kitchen eating area. The cabinets are really going to look cool! They'll have some sort of crackled look. The whole thing is supposed to have some "Tuscan cafe" feel to it.

I missed getting to ride a little bit with Vince today as he came through. I thought about him all day. He started at 3am this morning in Fort Smith and was riding across the state today. Close to the same route I'm doing in June.

I got a very nice surprise email today! Yale had collected money for the River 2 River ride! Has a stack of loot to donate. It was one of those times when you just sit and stare at the screen to be sure you really read what you think you read. The kindness of my friends has always overwhelms me. Thank you Yale!

I got another surprise email. I had a cousin from when I was little that I really enjoyed when we got to get together. As we grew up I have lost touch with many of my extended family. So I asked my mom where she thought Rick was. She gave me a good idea but he wasn't in that town anymore. Then I got wind of another place he might be and sure enough I got a reply! He and his wife of 30 years were about to leave on a cruise for their anniversary. He caught me up of others in the family. Rick, if you're reading this, I wish you and Gloria many more years of happiness!

Razorbacks (baseball) lost to Troy today. Bummer! Hawgs are #5. Now Hawg baseball is something I keep up with. Now when baseball games start you know spring is getting a little closer!

Tyler is at the ADDY awards tonight getting his first for a video he did! It's a swanky event where all the ad agency's mix, and cause drama. I'm so proud of him getting this top award after graduating with his degree just barely a year ago!

Tomorrow will be a ride afternoon! Yeah-izzzz!!! HA

On top of the world!

I'm on top of the world! I met with the PR group at the hospital and they are excited and full of ideas for the River 2 River ride. The room was crowded around the big conference table and everyone was in the mood. The ride is going to be so awesome and as we get more stuff wrapped up I'll tell you the details. One of the really really cool things is that it will be live streaming video. You'll be able to watch it as it happens! Technology is so awesome! There will also be a lot to do with hearing impaired children and I'll be including them as much as I can!

Coach has me on the recovery this weekend. A 3 hour ride is it. Next weekend it doubles. The training is really about to up the bar.

I'm having the time of my life these days!!

Geo out....

Midweek celebrations!

It's lunchtime at midweek! You know how I know it's exactly midweek? Because the test sirens blast every Wednesday at noon which signals we are officially on the downside of the week barreling towards the weekend!

Great day so far! Had my yearly eval and scored my highest in the 12 years I've been here! What's even better is that it was actually due in Nov 2006 so there is back pay all the way back to Nov 1st!!! WooHooo!!

Weather intermission

We had a winter intermission day today! Beautiful clear skies and the temperature was a balmy 62 degrees! Even right now at 8:30 it's 59 but as it cools tonight it goes back to it's regularly scheduled winter. Bummer!

I talked Terri into picking me up at the office a few minutes early so I could ride the hood. Had a great ride and pushed as hard as I could. Serious. I kept telling myself that Coach as already gave me the warning that this weekend is a recovery for some serious riding next weekend and I could only ride for 3 hours. He said to resist the urge to ride more. Next weekend is a 5 and a 6 hour ride. Yo baby the training is kickin' in now. While I was out I moto'd a car. It was awesome because I was going uphill as hard as I could. The guy in the car was waving me to keep up. I did for a little bit but geesh louise I was pushing a sick 20mph. I dropped off and cut off through the neighborhood on quiter streets since it was getting to dark to play outside much more and I knew Terri would be on the front porch yelling my name across the valley to come in for dinner.

I got a package delivered to the front door! I ordered some FRS (www.frs.com) drink and the website allowed you to pick from an assortment of stuff for shipping cost only! I got the orange antitoxin energy drink mix. The bottle is huge and I should get about 10 water bottles of drink out of this! I mixed up one and Sean and I tested it. I just had enough to see what it would taste like. Sean actually drank all of his. College kid's gonna be up all night! I plan to try it out this weekend on my ride. The idea is to actually eat while riding too. I read this from several different long distance riders. They would sit and spin on the bike and eat a meal so their stomach would be accustomed to the eating/riding gig.

Thought you might like this photo. It's Em right after I came in from riding. I was about to hug her but she got arm-pitted instead. I know, what a mean thing to do.

Later friends!

The beauty of Arkansas Children's Hospital

Last Friday we had snow and this is a collection of photos by Kelley Cooper of Arkansas Children's Hospital that shows the beauty of our facility. Enjoy!

This is one of the gardens that you see while you wait in our General Pediatric Center

This is the creek that continues outside the lobby. The creek really runs through the lobby. It flows down to a very peaceful reflecting pool. That's the Arkansas State Capitol on the horizon.

Much like many of our patients. They fight the toughest battles and thrive!

Blue skies and snow

The theme of our hospital is all natural so there is plenty of room for little feathered friends out in the gardens.

*******

But the photo below sums it all up!

This my friends, is what Arkansas Children's Hospital is all about!

I hope you have enjoyed a quick peek at "my office"

Tagged ...

I got tagged from Chris Lewthwaite (Australia) .

6 weird things huh?

1) I have the Archies "Sugar Sugar" on my IPOD (comes on right after Wolfmother)
2) I rarely have my shoes on when I'm at my desk working here at the hospital
3) I rode my bike around the borders of the state of Arkansas (1150 miles)
4) I hate spooky movies
5) I love to go out before an event an "text message" the roads for riders or marathon runners
6) I have a BAD habit of thinking I have to have an Almond Roca latte every morning at the office.

Sunday

Geese enjoying the Sunday afternoon sunshine along the river ride.

Another nice day! Got up and had an easy start, woke the girls and headed to church. We have a running bet with another church that every year on super bowl day we can pack the pantry more than they can and we won! It's a massive amount of canned foods that goes to the homeless shelters. It's gets more competitive every year!

Got to spend the afternoon riding and saw several buds and rode with a few. I got 8 hours of training in this weekend. Coach ought to be happy about that. I got to talk to Yale and Wayne for a few moments. Spotted a Carve Elite riders out for some training. Hooted when one of The Ride team riders came screaming down the hill I was climbing. I saw a guy I would have swore was Brice Jones. Is the Jelly Belly rider in town this weekend? Doubt it but man it looked like him. The afternoon ride was great! Very light winds and sunshine! Hope we have that next weekend!

Ok Super Bowl game... rain makes it a fun game! Hang on to your luggage man! HA!!! I just knew Princes dancers were going to fall and it was going to be the thing everyone was going to talk about but Chicago running that first play was a riot! Speaking of riot, there are some funny ads! I love the Bud spot where they stop and pick up the hitch hiker guy with the ax. And did you notice how many talking animals were in spots? Fun year for commercials!

Saturday Evening Post

SPRING IS COMING!!

Note to Terri: You know I would have picked it for you but it was on federal property. It's the thought that counts... right? Ok, I'll go pick it tomorrow! Love you!

The friends that made a huge difference today!

Chris, Christopher and Rebecca... THANK YOU MY FRIENDS!

You have no idea what you did for me today!

Saturday evening post ( I know, that sounds like a painting)

What an absolute awesome day! From the beginning is was setting up to be a grand one and it has been! I've gotten all my errands done including the haircut (Note to Jim: Yep, Sport Clips is a great place... use 'em all the time! Get the MVP someday and you'll think you died and went to heaven when they get finished!). Right next door to Sport Clips is Blue Coast Burrito. Fish Tacos for lunch without Emmy telling me how gross they are. Then got stuff done around the house and remembered to record the X-Terra Games! Went out in the garage to sweep up and kept thinking it's really nice out here, think I'll go for a ride. Fast forward to 5:30 this afternoon and I'm finally getting off from my ride. It was sort of one of those "Awww mom do I have to?" sort of endings. I felt alive today!

Started about 1:30 and the temp at the bank was 52 degrees. Fine afternoon I tell ya! Out riding along and not many bikes but lots of runners getting their training in for the marathon next month. I get close to the dog park and three juvenile hoodlums ride by yelling my name. I turn around and close the gap. It is Chris, Christopher and Rebecca! Rumor was that Jenn (Chris' wife) was holding down the couch. Bless her heart! I sneak up behind and ride along without a word just to see how long it would take. Sort of sealth riding! Rebecca looks back and starts laughing then the others. We had a great ride. Ya got to watch those girl riders they are FULL of it! Rebecca was pulling into the wind and doing a great job then drops back. Says something about not riding in three weeks, blah blah blah. So we take a short break under the bridge by the riverboat then head back. Rebecca out front pulling , then Christopher, then Rebecca again, then Rebecca drops off and she and Christopher ride together a little ways back. I got into some zone and locked my eyes on the back of Chris' wheel and went with it. Now Chris is one of our elite screaming fast young 'uns! This was giving me the mental push I've been needing since the first of the year. Chris points to turn so we'll be climbing Ft Roots. Just as we start to climb, from out of nowhere and I guess back from the dead comes a flying Rebecca! "I knew it, I knew you were going to pull something!" She laughed and started climbing like "Well, Lah-dee-dah!" Chris stood on the pedals and I did as well. Then something happened that hadn't happen before. I started climbing with Rebecca! WooHoo!! Right foot left foot right foot left foot faster. At one time I saw 13! I was getting a charge like no other. She was still ahead of me and she stayed ahead the whole way but I kept up with the "doo-doo headed mountian goat". The nickname is out of love. I told her thanks once we made it to the top and I meant it.

The four of us rode back to Cook's Landing where they were parked but not before we spotted a group of riders screaming around the corner by the golf course. There are very few bright orange helmets in town and Yale owns one of those but the guy riding wasn't Yale. Whaaa???!!! That IS Yale!! OMG!!! A skinny Yale. This guy is about to have one of the most awesome seasons of cycling he's ever had. He has turned into one mean lean riding machine! Man, I'm proud of that guy! What dedication! What inspiration!

We turned around and continued back to Cook's. I bidded them farewell and then returned to riding my hours. I roded around Burns Park a couple of times and one more Ft Roots then the air began to cool so I called it a day. The bank tells me 44 now. Yep, the air cooled alright!

Ya know somedays you just sit back at the end of the day and smile... really big!

Saturday morning post

Beautiful clear blue skies! The kind that make to greet the day with a big ole smile. Warm coffee with lots of vinilla creamer, fireplace going, Sadie laying on my feet keeping them warm, new book, yep, a great Saturday morning!

Terri and I had dinner at Saddle Creek last night. We've really grown to love that place. Service is always great and the food is the same. We hit up Pier One afterwards then Barnes and Noble. I bought a new book last night called Ride the Blue Moth by Bill Hancock. It's a journey across the US on his bicycle after the death of his son. The trip takes him right through Arkansas. I've read a bi-zillion books but the first chapter of this was one of the hardest chapters I've ever read. Bill Hancock is the coordinator of the NCAA Final Four/March Madness. He talks about what all is involved in his job down to being sure there is a storeroom with carpet big enough for the cheerleaders to warmup. His son was on the plane that crashed in CO with the OK basketball team aboard. Trust me guys, if you read this book, read the first chapter in a room without any distractions... you will cry. If you have a child, you will cry more! Ok, maybe not sob but you'll get all teary eyed and if you don't then you need to have your heart checked. This will only last one chapter then chapter 2 will get you into the bike ride part.

It's a crisp 19 degrees outside but weather guy is saying 42 for the high about 3pm this afternoon so I'm outta here to knock out the chores then get a ride in! Oh funny story right quick. One of the blogs I enjoy reading is a guy in MN and he was talking about running last week and the temp was something like 5 degrees and he list all the clothes he had on and it sounds alot like the little kid in The Christmas Story. 2 caps, something like 5 tops layers, 3 bottom layers, 2 sets of gloves. That my friends is a dedicated runner!

Not bad... not bad at all...

This Afternoon...Partly cloudy. Highs in the lower 80s. Mostly south winds near 10 mph.

Tonight...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Lows in the lower 70s. Mainly south winds 5 to 10 mph...Becoming variable. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Saturday...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Highs near 80. Winds becoming north near 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Saturday Night...Becoming mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows near 70. Winds becoming northeast near 15 mph and gusty. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Becoming windy. Highs in the mid 70s. Northeast winds near 20 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.


Ok, it's not for here but I was trying to cheer myself up... (it's the Key West forecast)

Friday morning snow

Across the valley

My ski slope

Thursday and the big (cough) snow storm

We did get a little snow but Terri and I had zero problems getting to work. All the schools were closed yet the roads for the most part were completely clear. Sort of felt sorry for the kids because it was a snow days minus the snow.

They closed the fitness center today but it wasbecause they use it for a rest area for personnel who stay at the hospital working straight through the inclement weather. My VP stopped by my office about 3:30 and said for me to get out and go home. WooHoo, sort of like Christmas!

I'm doing a lot of work on the River 2 River ride stuff tonight so this is a short one...

Geo out...
Fade to black......