TGIF several times over!

Ok, where to begin...

It's been a fast week but man I’m glad it's Friday! Let's see, where to start... We had a storm at the house while the hospital had sunny skies. The power was out for about 4 hours. But Terri and Emmy went to US Pizza to eat with her folks and I had picked up my bike and was going to go ride but a big dark cloud came over the house and I decided against it. I went about a mile from where the ride was to start and hung out at American Pie Pizza with the Arkansas Bicycle Club.

My club was like I said just a mile or two away and experiencing the biggest show of riders to date. Over 40 riders. Holy Shimano Batman! And it was the most muggy, hot, bug sucking blood out of your body if you stopped afternoon if there was one. Chris said they added 5 new members to the email list this morning. What's going to be funny is that when the members don't use the digest version in the email settings they will suddenly become flooded with emails if something is going on in the club... and trust me, something is always going on in the club. That's not meant in a bad way at all. We are just a social bunch. By the way, I won a cool Giant bike cap at the ABC meeting last night for knowing the date of the BDB100.

Hey the jersey is done and being made! WooHoo! It's very cool looking and I got an email from them at 11 last night saying... now are you sure? Any more changes? I wanted to send them over the edge and say, yep, change the colors to brown and gray. Our jersey is really awesome with hot pink as the base color but most of it is dark gray, almost black and grads to a bright blue inside the flames. No it doesn't look like a total chick jersey but it be warned it does have hot pink. We should have them the week before the MS150 so everyone can wear and wash before the ride.

Speaking of the MS150. Now these guys have got the idea right! I signed up on line last week to ride with FGSG group and I get an email from the website. Then yesterday when I got home, I had a small package in the mail. OH COOOL!!!! MS150 socks and a newsletter about training and stuff. Now this is a very smart move on the MS150 coordinators part. All the riders singed up will be out sporting the MS150 socks BEFORE the event. Rolling billboard-ettes. Seriously, think about it, how many events would get even more folks if they would but promo stuff in the hands of riders, runners, etc. BEFORE an event? I know Hotter'n'Hell brings in 12,000 riders to Wichita Falls Tx but think of how many guys and gals would have their HH100 2006 t-shirts on while traveling to the event or out at the local Home Depot or something. I hope Cranford (advertising agency) and the Big Dam Bridge event staff do something like this.

Ok, so I've been off the bike right? It was in the shop plus I've had something to do around the house but you know what's been nice? Folks saying, "Hey man, where are you? Come out and ride with us. We miss you." It's just nice... I feel the love! HA! I've seen a couple of times on the club emails that JBar who has taken a few days off the bike as well has been missed too. I think the club is just weaseling out and want JBar back up there to pull 'em. HA!

There was some discussion about some of our club memebers have actually crashed their bikes into garages. Some bike racks are on top of cars and you forget they're up there and ooops! Honestly, I always thought this was just a cartoon. I didn't know it really happened.

For Saturday I'm looking at heading out on a 75 mile ride and actually it could be even longer if Terri needs the car in the morning since I would have to ride to the ride and ride home from the ride. I've had it the past several weekend mornings and her mom's in town so they may have shopping on the brain... or looking at houses. Anyway, it starts at Cook's Landing and goes to England and back. I love this ride! It's country roads, little traffic and just enjoyable for me. The pace out will be slower than FGSG ride but usually with when Charlie is leading a ride he will cut the front loose and say see ya at the cars as the group gets about 30 miles from being back. I enjoy riding with Charlie, he's a great guy with a sense of humor. He just can't help it that he's a politician. We all have our faults ya know!

Sunday is looking like the usual down by the river ride. I thought about riding in the evening after small group leaves our house about 6-ish. I don't know, I'll just play it by ear. FGSG is riding a big ride and as much as it sounds fun, it just doesn't work for me on Sunday mornings.

Well lunch is over, my slice of pizza has been eaten, my water drank.... y'all have a great weekend!

Not really a lot to blog. Bike wasn't ready. I spent most of the day in meetings. Blah blah blah... But I will tell ya that I got an email from my nephew and he was telling me how he could see snow covered mountains from where he lives but could ride over to the beach if he wanted to. Fresno, CA sounds like the place to live!

Oh yeah the jersey is almost a done deal. Should be in the printers hands in the next day!

Ride tomrrow night at 6!!! Whooo Hoooo!

Emmy minus 4 teeth

Emmy got her wisdom teeth out yesterday and did great. No swelling but had a little pain. She slept most of yesterday and most of the morning today. The rest of the day was spent on the couch sleeping off and on. She seems to be coming to life tonight as her and Terri "had" to get out of he house and go to Sonic for a diet coke. Sorry, she said no photos allowed. Nothing to see anyway since there was no swelling.

I worked from the house today and that was sort of nice. I kept wanting to go outside and do Saturday stuff but figured I best stick close. I watched 7th Heaven and Gimlmore Girls with her and was about ready to pull my teeth. All I needed was some herbal tea and small cookies. Right Mrs. Doubtfire?

Our club jersey is just about ready to wrap up. Since the club is called Fast Girls Slow Guys the jersey will be screaming pink with these cool flames that go from black to bright blue. The proofs are cool looking. Trust me, they'll stand out! HA!

I sent a thank you note to the Church of Christ in Wichita Falls, Texas thanking them ahead of time for opening their doors to allow cyclist to camp indoors as an alternative lodging option when 12,000 cyclist arrive their in a couple of weeks. What a great why to show you care by opening your church for a bike event. If their was ever anything like that in Sherwood I would beg our guys to open our church. That's just an act of kindness... pure and simple.

Speaking of church. I read on my nephew Jim's blog that he leaves for a speaking engagement the day his family arrives in Fresno. He has been out there for a couple of weeks and Mandy and the girls have been in Marble Falls, Tx getting ready to move out to CA. They are like a little ant farm huh?

Feels sort of weird not being out on the club ride tonight but the bike is still in the shop. I mentioned that i was going to ride with some other guys this Saturday to sort of mix it up. Charlie and Tom are leading a pre-HH100 ride this Saturday from Cook's to England and back for a flat 75 miles. I love that ride. I've riden with Charlie and Tom before and they are a hoot to ride with. When I put it out on our club board that I was looking at riding this ride one of the Fast Girls Jo reminded me that that was when we first met last year. I remembered then also remembered what a good rider she was and still is. I'm hoping that riding a tad bit slower will improve my riding attitude.

I'm looking forward to the road trip to HH100 and then BDB100 on Oct 1st. Good rides ahead!

A day without riding...

Since I put my bike in the shop for a tune up and wheel truing then I was bikless for the first time in a long time. We went to early church and it's fun to get out by 10 and have the whole day open. We were having small group from church over at our house tonight so what that means is that the 3 of use had to do a bunch of "company's comin'" type house work. I already knew I would be working around the house so Emily and I put this heavy traffic carpet cleaner on the sat in the floor and laughed and cut up while we scrubbed the carpet like slaves. It really looks good. Got the vaccumming done then I told Terri I would be outside for the next couple of hours. Front yard mowed...check. Back yard dog toys picked up...check. Mowed...check. Cleaned garage floor..check. Washed Explorer and Honda...check. Spray off sidewalk...check. Terri said I was like the engerizer bunny today. I felt really good and I think it might have something to do with taking a break from the bike. I used to spend the whole weekend working around the house and yard back in the days before bike riding. Sometimes it seems that the riding has taking over. I think I'm probably going to cut back after we return from Wichita Falls HH100 ride. I'm thinking I may have burn out. I've been riding serious for 2 years and all together it's been 3 years since I started riding. I'm not saying it's not fun by no means. I'm saying I just think I might pull back a bit. I go out with these guys that are in their late 20's and 30's and try to hang with them the whole time and end up dropping like a rock. Oh well, chicks dig it when we all ride by. HA!

Oinking and riding.

A beautiful cool morning just outside of Conway. Mist rising from the valley.

The ABC group got to ride with for a while.

The rest stop was manned by the Adkins 4H group. There was another little girl that was out on the road making sure all the riders were taken care of with water, cookies and fruit.

Below are some storm damage photos.



I've got to stop doing these early morning weekend rides. I woke at 4am and worried I'd not wake up in time to get to the ride this morning. Thing didn't even start until 8:30. We were to meet at Cooks Landing at 7 and carpool up there. The parking lot at Cooks was packed at 7 but not all of those folks were riding the Oink. We sae Monty, Jess and Tim out there getting ready to ride out to England.

We all piled into the cars and trucks with bikes mounted we looked cool. Very team-ish. HA! Heading out to the main road we turned and a tool box goes a flying and tools everywhere. Several cars stop and pick them all up. Wayne had left the box on his bumper while searching for a tool for Keith. Back on the road in 5 minues or less.

I was hoping Yale was going to spot the Starbucks in Conway but no luck.

Into Morrilton we go through the drive through at Mc D's and on over to the ride. Lots of bikes out there. We head over to the registration table and I had sent in my check a couple of weeks ago so I didn't have to stand in line but for a second. I got my goodie bag and began to walk back to Keiths truck when him and Paul Phillips (as in Dr. Phillips at ACH). I opened the bag and awwww now this is crap-o-la Morrilton! I mean ready come on! It was an ugly heather gray sleeveless tshirt and you couldn't even see the logo. Only 4 sponsors on the back. Nothing else in the bag. So lame Pig Out organizers.

So we all head to the start point and everyone seems in a good mood and there are jeresys from everywhere. We take off and there is a big mixture of rider types and styles. The lead group is gone and after a few miles we spread out and FGSG's began to form a paceline. Looking good but we were running up on slow riders that where ahead at the start and it was causing so slow down speed ups. There were a couple of times I just went over in the other lane to pass folks. All systems go.

We rode awhile and I kept having a weird feeling something was wrong with my bike. It doesn't seem to have the smooth roll I like. I check the brakes and nothing rubbing. Guess it's just me. We turn and take the hills and again, there is something wrong in Denmark. I began dropping. What on earth is going on with my riding this year? My mind goes into the "am I sick?", "Is the bike broke?" Sadly I got out of the pace line and watched the club whiz on by. It hurt that I was dropping. What is the difference between this ride and the ride I felt 200% even with the wreck on July 1st. Other than the hills? It's not making sense but I continue riding. A few other groups that I had passed are now passing me. Their thoughts are something like, "Yep, you shot out of the cannon too fast and now your paying." I found another group of older guys (actually guys my age) and they were pacing at 17-18. Ah, now that was a lot better. We enjoyed conversation while keeping the pace steady. Some other guy were waiting on them so they stopped and I rode on.

I jumped on groups here and there but never got back in the groove I needed so I rode solo. At time I would rde slow just to see if anyone else would come along and I'd jump on their train but no such luck. I got to the rest stop manned by the Adkins 4-H club. Nice folks and they worked hard for the riders. Ian, Will, Denise, Ian, Holly, Diane (JBar's wife) all came riding up as I was about to leave. I was glad to see them. We all left together and the pace was 18 most of the time. We were moving along nice then for crying out loud, I was blowing again. What now I kept asking myself. Was this a mental ride? I was dropping out in the milo fields. Diane had dropped too. The group was getting smaller out on the horizon. I rode solo from here on in. As I came to Morriton I was beginning to notice tree limbs on the ground here and there. The closer I got to the city the more there were then there were trees down and folks working in their yards and folks just sitting on their porches. No power. I stopped to talk a photo in front of a house and a lady came out with her 2 little scotty dogs. She said that they are saying straight line winds but the neighborhood thinks it's a tornado. I beleive her. She said she was on her way back from Mississippi and had to drive through it 2 different times. She said it was rough. I asked if her home was ok and her family and all was good but no power. I told her the power trucks were just around the bend and they were working. That made her smile. I felt sorry for them and I hope things get back to normal soon. It's a pretty neighorhood.

I rolled in going about 11 mph. I was just glad to be done. I wheeled over to get a finish line drink and there were a couple of cups and a water cooler?! I guess the pigs got to there first. Man that was bad because there are still a lot of folks out on the ride that haven't come in yet. Once again the Pig Out organizers could have done a better job.

Keith told me my back wheel was out of true which means it's bent. I took it over to Arkansas Cycle and Fitness and it will be getting the cleaning as well so I'll be set for Texas.

Keith and I headed back to LR and both of us were planning to eat and nap. He said he was gong to work in his yard and I wa actually going to do some stuff outside but after I woke up Terri had bought me a late lunch when she and Em came in from shopping and Tyler came over soon after and he showed me some thricks for Photoshop. I have just gotten this software and knew some but he was blowing my mind with his skills. I can't wait to play with it and design some really cool stuff.

I think I'll just ride...

Sometimes things seem to get weirded out when you work with a whole group or a committee. Simple life seems to get sort of uh, how do I say this... muddled up. They are all with good intentions but jeeze louise it's turning into a pain in the butt mole hill. Y'all know what I'm talking about so I'll leave it at that.

Now on to the better things. We got rain today and a bunch of it. Flash floods. Wind. Lightening that kicked my building out of power but I had to wait for Terri to get off so I was the last one out of the building. That wasn't a big deal because I could go through the stack on my desk that was the not so important stack. My desk is clean so when I walk in Monday I'll have a clean desk and no phone messages.

I did want to say something about the ride the other night. I was late getting there and I pulled into the parking lot where I start which is a couple miles from where the club starts. I ride to the ride from there. I park there because it loosens me up before I actually have to ride with the young guns. As I was saying, I was late and riding toward them. I knew they were out there and heading straight towards me but somewhere around several curves and out of sight. As I got closer it was like a storm coming. You know it's out there and you note the change but you must wait. The storm comes to you an all you can do is perpare for it to hit. Several other cyclist go by and more roadies coming towards me. Small groups. Then on the horizon, I see one of the coolest sights I had witnessed in a while. A perfect line of bikes smoothly moving in a beautiful paceline that would make Roll, Liggett, Sherwin and Trout speechless. It was flawless. Beautifully colored jerseys, bright colors bicycles moving toward me like a giant snake. I just coasted along and enjoyed. A few seconds later they were flying by and the speed and mass of this group sent a gust of wind my direction. It was as if I was back at the Joe Martin stage races during the crits. I hear my name in various ways.. "George!" "Geo" "Homey" "jackass!" (ok I made the last one up). It's one of those moments sort of like when you used to watch the TV show called "Cheers" and the bar was filled with people that enjoyed themselves and they knew your name. You all were friends. Sometimes you hated their guts but most of the time it was family love. The end of the line passed and I spun around and pedalled like a mad man to catch up. Remember what I said at the first of the story... the "young uns"? Pedal as I may but I don't catch up until the first regroup. That's really not that bad because I got to experience the thrill of watching the paceline for miles and miles. That my friends is a sweet ride... on the back.

Thursday night

The meeting was to start at 7 but it was already standing room only by about a quarter til. Judge Buddy V. was the guest tonight at our BACA (Bike Advocacy of Central Arkansas) meeting. Monty was sick so Ron conducted the meeting. He did a good job. Judge Buddy V. spoke about the Big Dam Bridge opening and all the festivities that will happen. One of the cool things was that they are going to tr and get all the big boats to come and dock in the area. Lots of us signed up to volunteer for at least one part of the celebration. I'm going to ride the BDB100 but I'll be helping with events prior to such as the reception and such. Someone told the head lady I was the life of the party and so I got put in on the Thursday night party. Hey no prob! There will be food!

As I was heading over to the meeting I had to cross Broadway bridge and spotted JMar, JBar and Robb with 2 B's heading over. I was wondering where the rest were. Keith and Will got to the meeting just before it started and said there were about 20 or so out there riding tonight. I missed being out there but figured I should be at the BACA meeting since I missed the last one.

Hearing aid story: Ok, so I go over there and Steve as going to hook me up and they had a child that missed up their appointment and needed the room. No prob there at all. I was glad to give it up but I did get to see it and hold it. very small compared to my hearing aid I have now and very very lightweight (Yep, bike buds...it was carbon!). So I go back over this afternoon when they called and I put it on and everything is echoing. Sound mechanical. The aid is in my ear but also hooked to a computer to program it at the same time. Very cool. I can hear the fan in the computer. I can hear people talking in the hall. I could hear someone walking... on carpet. I could hear a child crying. It was very strange to hear what "normal" people hear. We went for a walk down the halls to get into some real environment. I voiced my fear of crowded noisy rooms and not being able to hear but I could. We walked to the front of the hospital and I could hear the expresso machine from far away. It was really funny because I was asking Steve about certain sounds and trying to figure out what they were. I told him the sound was much like the first time I put a hearing aid on when I was in the first grade. It was sort of one of those "Ohhhh!" moments. You just don't realize the gift of hearing until it's given back to you. Steve had this tupperware box and said pick your color. I really like the carbon colored one mainly because it has a bluetooth look rather than a hearing aid look. There was also purple, royal blue, browns, blacks, flesh and tanned flesh shells. It was funny. We got back to the office and Steve said he wanted to do a hearing test with the aid one just to see. The results, not bad but we could do better. We ordered another model. I was bummed but I kept telling myself that I could have a 1977 Pinto or I could wait a couple more days and have a Porsche. At my age, if I'm going to buy something, it's going to be one of the best.

One of my neices (Britney) had a healthy little baby boy today! Congrats and welcome to the family little guy.

Several of us will be riding our de Oink Saturday morning. It's just a 40 mile ride in Morrilton but it's a lot of riders and it's fun. We are considering riding it 2x for 80 miles as a training ride. There is also a 20 mile family loop and what we might do is ride the 40 then jump on the 20.

The inlaws are coming back up from FL next week or the week after and I told Terri the borders are closed unless they bring fresh seafood. They will probably come right about the time Hurricane Chris plows into the gulf coast, if it does. I hope not so bad. Those folks just can't take anymore. Stll recovering from the last ones. I mean the Navarre Beach road to P'cola is still closed. They are just now rebuilding the dunes.

My nephew Jim has made it out to Fresno, CA to the new church he will be preaching at. He sounds excited on his blog but at the same time you could read he misses his wife and 2 daughters. They will move out there soon.

Nothing much else going on... catch you later

With a Rebel Yale we are gone gone gone....

Hey everyone! This is Yale. I ride with Geo. Actually I pull his lazy tail for miles and miles. I hacked into his blog and since he hasn't posted last night's ride report I figured I'd do it myself.

2007-08-01 Tuesday’s Great Ride!
I’ve always been amazed at the quality of people in cycling and this group is exceptional.
We had some complaints both inside and outside of our group about the lead-out being a race. We brought the issue to the surface and every one of you responded magnificently.
Outstanding…Thank You Very Much – You Make Me Proud to be apart of this group!
Before the start of the ride we addressed these very important issues/events:
Safety – It’s important for us during the lead-out to maintain an 18-22 mph pace line thru the forest past Burns Park. This allows us to see the traffic along the River Trial and for all the families to see us.
Hotter N Hell 100 T shirts for $5…Yep but you have to bring your own WHITE T shirt and give it to Becca McIntyre. Tuesday the 8th is cut off for you to bring your money and T Shirt.
MS 150 – Rebecca Irons is leading the charge on one of the greatest cycling events in Arkansas and it is all for a great cause. Fast Girls Slow Guys has set largest team as its goal and we are prepared to hammer down on membership. If you want to join one of the most Fun & Friendly (I’m not sure how serious we are) social clubs for the MS150 please contact our team captain Rebecca Irons at libra2relaxu@yahoo.com
New Folks – Darrell brought two new folks to the club and one of them is going to Hotter N Hell with us.
When we left Cooks Landing we had 27 folks with many of our core off golfing, schooling, and vacationing. The start of the ride was exceptional and the pace line (18-22mph) was perfect. I would hug & kiss each and every one of you but I would probably enjoy it way more than any of you!
Once we got to the designated stopping area (aren’t those shade trees great-it’s like God made that place for us to stop and rest) before we go over the Broadway Bridge as a group. I kept thinking everyone had arrived but they just kept coming and by the time we hit Little Rock we were up in the mid thirties as to the number of folks riding tonight. This is amazing and exciting for our group.
Now for the good stuff:
We had Hunter & Liz ride with us tonight…you talk about Fast Girls N Guys…Now I’m getting excited!
Anyway, we stroll through the city of Little Rock, the baseball park, and then we line out the pace line. It’s going to be fun…Patrick does his "I got to be first" like he is shot out of cannon thing and off we go. The front group is clipping along at 27, now 28, (JBar & Rhen close the gap) oops I got to switch gears (dang I brought my old bike with down shifters and forgot to go up instead of down to change to the right gear) and off Liz, Hunter, our new guy Jason Gates, and the front of the pace line GOOOOOOOOOO… Jason told me later they were up to 32 but I didn’t get to be any part of that fun.
Anyway, I decided to slow roll it a bit and a few folks came by me and I let them go. Then, Alison (these new people are just killing me with the talent they have) comes by and says come on Yale…so here I go. She cruises along and then it’s my time to pull. I’m thinking I’m doing her a favor. We are getting closer to Overlook she goes around me and starts pounding out 22 plus and I’m just a hanging on….You Go Fast Girl!
We stop for awhile and wait on Dr. Mark to show for the drinks…we wait & wait, & wait! I finally give him a call and he doesn’t answer. I leave him a message that we are all concerned (not so much about him) but that if he doesn’t show we won’t get our drinks! He has spoiled us! He and Keith leave from the other side about 5pm and meet us at Cooks. Dr. Mark bringing water, Gatorade, and chocolate has turned out to be one of the best parts of the ride! He finally shows up with this "Somebody Had A Flat Story". So he passes out all the goodies and everybody is having fun with some great drinks. Dr. Mark, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate you doing this for us! If you have not donated to Dr. Mark, please do. This cost at least $20 each time we ride to the other side.
John has a flat so while we are waiting on him to fix the back tire JBar, Rhen, a few other folks head up Overlook. I mentioned to the Fast Folks to go on and we would catch up. I guess they thought I was kidding because no one moved…do you really think we couldn’t catch ya?
Off we go (this is going to be even more fun), we are all lined out in the pace line but no one is really wanting the lead. I keep waiting for Liz, Patrick, or Hunter…somebody to take off. Then this Lisa (itry4fun) girl takes off, then Patrick, then Liz…we are rolling and before I know it I’m in the middle of a three wide peloton. Oh what fun it is to ride on the inside of one of those!
Anyway once we get to the end, I wave and bid Liz a good farewell…Thanks for riding with us!
I stop to wait on Geo, Becca & Marvin. This is the first time this year I get to ride with Marvin so I wanted to spend some time with him. So the three of us along with John and Charles play sweep on the way back to Cooks. JBar wanted the job but I told him we could handle it.
I have a flat on the way back and that takes awhile. We get to see the sun way low while we ride back along the River Trial. It was really a nice pace and reminded me of when the group first started when the talent level was for old folks.
When I get back to Cooks I see our social club just talking and having fun. It’s a great site. Jenny had brought some drinks for the crew and as she was driving off said someone gave her five dollars. I yelled out that they had left it for me. She turns and looks into her seat…then back to me. Oh, it just flew out the window and off she goes grinning from ear to ear! What a funny honey!
Anyway we stand around and talk some more and Patrick is trying to convince me Wayne was the first one back…I’m still not sure but later Wayne came over and said that he was…Wayne if you were the first one back congratulations…You’ve come a long way BABY!!!
We miss some of our core folks tonight. I finally look at Patrick and tell him I think our group is becoming codependent. He agrees it’s a good thing, we giggle, and off we go!
Thanks for being apart of Fast Girls Slow Guys,
Yale

Thanks Paul! You were our favorite!

Just a quick blog.

Everyone's favorite Sportscaster, Paul Eells, died in an automobile accident on Monday night. We had all just watched him all excited as he reported from a golf course in Fayetteville where he spoke with the coaches about the upcoming Hawg season.

The last thing he said to his viewing audiance was we'd see him back in Fayetteville for media day next Monday. Man how I wish it were true! Everyone knows I'm not a big football and basketball fan but I enjoyed watching his segments of the sports.

Arkansas O Arkansas

This was an email sent to me and just too funny not to share it.

ARKANSAS
Once upon a time in the kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael the Archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God. "Where have you been?" God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance." "Balance?" Inquired Michael, still confused God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth but cold and harsh while southern Europe is going to be poor but sunny and pleasant. "I have made some lands abundant in water and other lands parched deserts. This one will be extremely hot and while this one will be very cold and covered in ice." The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land mass and said "What's that one?" "Ah," said God. "That's ARKANSAS -- the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful beaches, streams, hills, and forests The people from ARKANSAS are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent and humorous and they are going to be found traveling the world They will be extremely sociable, hardworking and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace." Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God? You said there would be balance!" God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the idiots I put in PINE BLUFF." _______________________________________________
A ARKANSAS BLESSING
Note: If you are not a resident of ARKANSAS or never have lived in the hot, humid South, you may not understand the weight of this blessing!

Bless this house, oh Lord, we cry.
Please keep it cool in mid-July.
Bless the walls where termites dine,
While ants and roaches march in time.
Bless our yard where spiders pass
Fire ant castles in the grass.
Bless the garage, a home to please
Carpenter beetles, ticks and fleas.
Bless the love bugs, two by two,
the gnats and mosquitoes that feed on you.
Millions of creatures that fly or crawl,
in ARKANSAS, Lord, you've put them all!!
But this is home, and here we'll stay,
So thank you Lord, for insect spray.

HOLD IT............there's more.................... ____________________________________________________
YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN ARKANSAS IN JULY WHEN. . . .
The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
The trees are whistling for the dogs.
The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
Hot water now comes out of both taps.
You can make sun tea instantly.
You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron!
The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little chilly.
You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.
You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.
You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.
Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.
The cows are giving evaporated milk.
Ah, what a place to call home.
God Bless Our State of ARKANSAS!!

I'm fine...

Just a quick note to say thanks for all the emails. I'm fine, I laughed this morning when I read my blog I wrote last night. I was really tired and it was funny to read with all the typos. Some of them I even had to stop and try and figure out what I was trying to say.

As my normal self, the POP ride would have been great fun as it was for the other folks. In case you were wondering what the acronyms are:
POP = Perryville, Othello (sp?), Petit Jean
Epic = Every Pedal Is Challenging

POP --- the Epic ride

Well where does one start writing about a ride like this? Oh before I start, the pictures are in the 2 blogs below this. I posted them as large so it took up 2 blogs so this is he reading blog and the next two are the "my summer vacation" photo blogs.So I woke at 5:15 this morning via a poking from Terri after the alarm clock went off. I stirred a little and tried to go back to sleep. I'l ride something else today I thought. She poked me again a few minutes later. Ok, it's a sign (or maybe a direct order) that I was to go ride. Showered and in the kitchen for a small breakfast and out the door. I was the first to make it to our Starbucks meeting place. Ordered a vanilla latte and waited just a few minutes and John Martin pulled in. The top of his car sported a brand new bike he just bought from Robb at Arkansas Bike and Fitness yesterday. A great looking ride. Cool red and black color scheme.JBar pulls in next, then our Air Force base riders Rob and,,,and...aw crap, someone email the other guys name and I'll plug it in. Sorry man! Ok, pay attention close because there are multiple people in our club with the same name. Robb with 2 b's is Robb that works at AR Bike and Fitness. Rob with 1 b is the Air Force guy. Anyway, Yale arrives and the gags all here and it's time to take a little road trip to Perryville.Yale and I rode together and we had a good time laughing on the way out there. He asked me if I had been a flower child. I was cracking up and told him I had been and in fact there is nothing in those VH-1 I Love the 60's and I love the 70's that I didn't remember. I even told him about 3 fingers for 15 bucks. Lots of good laughs.We got to the start point just as ride leader Robb (That's with 2 b's...ya catch that? Good!) was just getting there. The gangs all here...phone rings, Yale answers, "Uh uh yeah ok." The says Rebecca and Chris ae late... again! Yep these were the same 2 kids that live in the luv shack and don’t get anywhere on time these days. I heard someone say after Yale announced the hunny-mooners where on there way that "they were really making a name for themselves". I cracked up!So we take off and everyone is looking good and the pace line is moving well. Robb is moving up and down the line like a good leader does making sure everyone's doing good and letting us know what's ahead.After awhile it's my turn to pull after some great pulls by the other guys. Riding along at 20 and I get the hold up a little. What's this? Telling the old guy n the group to hold up a little. What's wrong? You young whipper snappers can't keep up with old guys 20 mph pace? I love it! AAPR Rulez! HA!We slowed a bit and waited for the group to regroup. We start again and I end u riding with Chris and Rebecca. We have a lot of fun and laughing a lot. Rebecca said she wasn't worried about staying with the front group since we are going to climb some "notable" climbs. I told her that see just wanted to taunt the guys on the climbs and she said, "So they can call me a do-do head like you do?" I like and told her that they were younger than me and would use the "real" word. I told her and Chris about the time I got in trouble for trying to start a cussing club at church. Good times!We got to a regroup area and the fun was about to begin. It was a hill that I had not heard about before and it was a booger! Up up and up. The view from the top was great. I was started to feel a bit tummy ache but just blew it off since there was a store just down the road.We came out on Hwy 10 and I was on the same stretch of road that I was on a little over a year ago when I did the state tour ride. I was riding in between to groups and solo and began to think about how I felt on this road as I was riding home for the final day. I really got choked up for a moment and counted my blessing. It was a weird bust of emotion. The I past one of the beloved chicken houses and the emotion went away! HA!Chris and I ride together for a while and I quiz him about his 2 mountain ride yesterday and his weight loss program. He has dropped a lot of weight and looks great. John Martin has done the same but through cutting out sugar and cheese. We get to the regroup and Chris will be riding a different route and wife Rebecca will be conquering Petit Jean. We began to ride and here we go again. Up up and more up but this is just the base of the mountain. We will hit the real mountain soon enough and Yale and I ride together. We climb and climb and climb still more. The sun is being a royal pain and zapping the strength right out of me. But there is still more climbing to do. As I'm not far from the top I spot Rob on a rock taking a break. I think of riding over there and just falling over in the grass but if I stop on the climb I won't get started again. I make it to the top of Petit Jean and I unclip, lean the bike up against a tree and walk (actually stagger) over to one of those big rocks under a tree and the indentions in the rock are the perfect fit so I lay there. The rock was actually cool. I fall asleep. Robb walks over and wakes me up so we can get moving. People are asking if I'm ok and I think I'm just really tried from climbing the mountain. I get on my bike and realize this is a bit more than tired. It takes me forever to get a mile down the road to the c-store. I opened the ice storage box outside and stuck my head in. Ahh cool air! I go in and buy the group ice bag and me some water and Poweraid. It's announced that Chris will sag the c-store in Odello (sp?) at the bottom of the mountain. I leave before the others to keep from holding them up with my s-l-o-w riding. I'm shaking and on the verge of barfing. I never did but came really close a few times. The guys all pass me a few minutes later. Yale hangs back with me and we start off down the mountain and I tell him that I'm taking it slow and he said he was too. We had to pull over a couple of times to let cars pass.Down at the bottom there was a craft store and I was hoping that was it but it's still miles away. Yale and I ride along and Chris comes by and says he'll return and pick me up. Yale and I continue to ride and a blazing 14 mph if that fast. I know at times it was 9mph. It was hot and I was weirding out. We stopped on the side of the road and rested a moment and then continued riding. At the moment I was hating this ride. I've gotten really tired but nothing like this. A few minutes later Chris picks me up and Yale continues to ride. The c-store was just a mile or 2 from where I got picked up. We stopped to pick up Rebecca at the c-store and return to the start point which is not far at all but has a huge climb. The deal was I would go get the car and go pick up Yale but I think my buds didn't really want me driving. Thank you! "Friends don't let friends drive BONKED!" HA! JBar went after Yale who refused the lift and climbed the hill. It was an awesome display of endurance. Hey Yale, thanks man for hanging back with the sick kid today! You're a good guy.The temperature at the end of the ride.... 102!!!!So I made it home, showered and Terri made dinner and I ate it all. She went to run some errands since I had the Explorer all day and I was going to sleep. I of course couldn't go to sleep but I can barely keep my eyes open now.Oh by the way, Tyler bought a house today! Engagement ring, buy a house, looks like this wedding/marriage thing is for real! We love y'all too!Yes, I'll crawl out of bed in the morning and find big ole latte someplace and see if I survive the day after!

POP ride

POP POP POP POP Ride

The Big D-Bridge

Yes, it's the big bridge that goes over Murry Lock and Dam. It's really called the big dam bridge. I know, I know but that's what they called it.

Well it's Friday night and Terri and Emily have gone over to shop a moment. Terri and I both had a good day at our workplaces so we were in the mood to go run around. We headed over to Corky's BBQ for dinner and Emily and Sean met us there. It was Ok but nothing really to write about. I won't go into all the details but I'll just say we won't be going back at lease for a while.

After we ate Emily went to Sean's so he could play his video game. I suspect this won't last a lot longer before she tells him she's not going to sit there every night while he plays his game. She's just not someone who would take that for very long. So she met Terri back here and they went shopping. I also told Sean at dinner tonight that he needed to take make arrangements to take his dog home. It's just too much to have 2 dogs and Max growls at Sadie all the time. This isn't what we were expecting when we got a dog, let alone another dog (boyfriend's dog). Maybe I would see it in a different light if Sean helped with him a lot more but it's sort of like a divorce dad set up. You know, see them a little, help just enough. We've paid for all the dog food that I know of, Emily cleans the backyard and gets up with them at night or early morning. It's just not a good thing so some changes are coming. Max is a good dog if it were just him but he is terriorial and that's a problem.

Ok back to good stuff.... so Terri and I went to Home Depot and they had throw rugs for 99 cents so Terri had to nab a couple. I picked up a new air conditioner filter and light bulbs for the lights by the garage. Oh man, I forgot garage door opener batteries! Crud!

We then went to Barnes and Noble and I got a Java Chip Frapp and we sat in the cafe (all the good lounge chairs were taken) and read books. Terri bought hers. I picked up a book I started at the Barnes and Noble in Denver back in December and even found the chapter I ended on. Terri told me she would buy it for me but I said it would ruin it because I was going to keeping picking that same book up and read the next chapter the next time I'm in a Barnes and Noble. Since we might go down to the beach for the Labor Day weekend then I might pick it up in Destin and read somemore. Maybe i'll finish it in a few years. Fuuny, quirky little adventure with a book huh?!

After our date we returned home and Em pulled up right after us and her and Terri are shopping at whatever stores stay open after 9pm. I did get to catch a little of the Larry King Live with Floyd Landis. He's innocent and they'll prove it. Just watch and mark my words.

Am I riding tomorrow? You bet but not sure when and where. It will be in the morning and it will be sticky humid. right now it's 85 outside with 77% humidity so the heat index is 95 at 9:45pm. I walked outside while ago and I beleive it. Yuck.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Landis busted and it's raining too

CNN Breaking new, Velonews, Cycling News, ABC breaking news, friends, coworkers, family...
about 30 emails in a matter of minutes because "sample A" tested positive on Floyd Landis for higher level of testosterone. He will make them check "Sample B" now. Come on Floyd don't do this to us. We all have these cool looking GO PHLOYD Phonak t-shirts. Don't make us use them as car wash rags.

It's also raining and will probably rain off and on until tomorrow. That will make me 3 days off the bike. At least the legs will be fresh for the weekend rides. There is a ride starting Sunday morning and will conquer 3 mountains. Real big hills I tell ya. I'm wanting to try that really bad.

I also have a chore list that seems to be growing by the day so I've got to get it done before I go play.

Cream horns and a 6 DVD set

I'm confessing, I'm not going to lose the weight I want to lose before HH100. I was given a box of fudge made by my daughter's boss today. I could have eaten the whole thing. I had tacos for dinner then vanilla cappo and a cream horn. PLUS... the Next Generation 6 DVD box set was in my mail box. (www.meccasports.com). It's the story of the north Arkansas Champion Cycling team. 30 races. Parts of it are really quirky like the 2 girls that are the commentators have the last names of Liggett and Roll. They read the script cards that are over the camera so they are not looking at the viewer but... if you can get through that part seeing a lot of familiar faces racing on TV (such as Hunter East of CARVE who attacks and wins the race... classic East style) is really pretty cool. And there is a Wichita, KS race and at the end there is a guy standing on the road as the riders come through and the wind has got to be at least 30mph...at least. His clothes were flapping so hard. I watched the first two and it's sort of like watch the Tour de France as in you know you need to get up and do something but you can't stop watching. I hope these guys continue to make DVD's like this.

When I sat down on the sofa after dinner my wife and daughter just sat there and stared at me for a minute and finally Emmy Say, "Dad? Are you not riding?" I said, "No. I know, it's been 2 days now." Hey, I might as well have said, "Gibb-a-di-dookie-do-dah" from the look I got. They seemed to think I'd lost my mind. Oh well, if it's not raining tomorrow after work then I'll be out there.

My neice and her husband have picked names for their wins. Keaton Gardner Halford and Elliot Emery Halford. Very cool classic names. I really wanted them to name them something like Meryan and Rylissa.

Toyota-United kickin' it!!

Post Tour blues have hit! Then I checked www.velonews.com to see the guys of Toyota-United are still winning and winning!

Friedick (left) and Haedo celebrate their one-two punch. I'm hoping to go to CA to visit my nephew in Feb 07 while the Tour of California is going on. Then these guys will be back in our state in May 2007.

It's really been fun to watch these guys from the beginning last winter. I've about worn out my Toyota-United t-shirt that I got when they were at Joe Martin Stage races in Fayetteville this past spring.

We'll live with it though....

Not all liking VA hospital gate
Cyclists upset road access cut; system stresses security aspect
BY JAKE SANDLIN ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
A gate recently added at the back entrance of the Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center in North Little Rock has a city alderman fending off complaints from bicyclists who use the road for training. The gate, erected July 14 on the Veterans Affairs hospital’s property, is a security measure for the medical campus, said Laurie Driver, a spokesman for the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. Before the gate was installed, she said, the hospital coordinated the closure with North Little Rock emergency responders, including police, fire and ambulance services. “We have had a few security issues,” Driver said. “The atmosphere of open campuses has changed over the last few years and we have had to adjust with that.” The gate is located at the campus entrance where Hill Road comes up from Fort Roots Drive, which can be accessed from either 18th Street or Paul Duke Drive and Julian Street. The gate is closed between 6:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and all day on weekends and holidays. Bicyclists usually use the hilly, twisting streets for rides and road training during the evenings and weekends and continue through the campus. Pulaski Technical College is on the north edge of the hospital grounds. “I am getting complaints, yes,” said City Alderman Charlie Hight, an avid bicyclist. “There are riders who ride every Thursday night and utilize the Fort Roots hills for training. Bikers love it because it’s a place to train. Also the view overlooking the [Arkansas] river is spectacular.” Hight added that he wants to work with hospital officials to see if the gate’s hours could be extended to 8 p.m. “Some of the bicyclists like to go that way because it’s a pretty stout climb for training purposes,” said Bob Rhoads, the city’s Parks and Recreation director. Driver acknowledged that some “bike folks are not happy about that.” “We’re not saying bikers can’t use that entrance, it’s just that the back gate is closed after hours and on weekends and holidays,” she said. The hospital granted an easement to the city through another part of its property years ago that is fenced off as a bike path, Driver said. The road isn’t part of the city’s River Trail bike path along the Arkansas River.

While y'all were out ridin'

The city officials are doing a deer count in town. This bike was seen on the river trail at sundown.

Honey, that ain't no water hose, that's my bike! Very cool huh?

Yep, either a stunt gone wrong and the rider washed down stream or it's a stolen and trashed bike.

Chris and Jenn Shaw's clothesline. Friends you know I'm not lying!

I picked up some new replacement cleats for my shoes during lunch today and of course it couldn't be something easy. There was a 6 car pile up on I-630. Folks just standing around in the interest just after it happened. After I got my cleats I headed back down and right into the traffic jam. 20 minutes snailing through traffic.

Ok the truth is I spent some time reading blogs from UK, Aussie and some I didn't even know what the words were and I stoled all these photos.

I found another website called www.wreckedexotics.com and it's all really nice cars that have been wrecked. Sort of like watching Spike TV. Manhood at it finest! HA! Funny story: I was half typing and half watching TV and typed in exotics rather than wrecked exotics and boy oh boy.... wrong site...

81 degrees and tons of bike

We are have some nice weather right now and nobody is complaining! Last week I was riding with bank displaying 105-109 and this afternoon is was displaying 81. This morning I drove to the office with the windows down and loving it. I wished I didn't have to do the presentation this morning or I might have been (cough cough) tempted (hacking cough) to call (making myself sound sick) in. Tomorrow morning is supposed to be 65! Enjoy it while we can.

I took a ride down and back 2 times on the river trail for 30 miles. Lots of folks out riding. Saw friends and stopped and talked to folks here and there. I did see one nasty accident scene just after it happened. Going up the curvey hill a guy went off the path and his road bike hit the gravel and he hit the pavement. He had a nice stream of blood running down his arm. He had freinds with him and I stopped to check to be sure he was ok. He would be. It was probably his first real crash and that's always a shocker. Just as I got out of the shower Terri got home and had Friday's Pecan Crusted Chicken salad for me. Oh man, if you've not had one you're missing out!

There did it go? How did I make it?

Hey, I meant to tell y'all that my mother in law came to town Friday afternoon but not without bringing gifts. And what do inlaws bring when they like at the beach? Fresh seafood! Last night for dinner we had crab cakes made with fresh crap that my brother in law and neice caught. We also have huge fresh shrimp. I ate way too much and tossed and turned all night but man was it worth it. I found a freezer bag full of shrimp in the fridge and homemade cocktail sauce and had some for lunch today. My mom in law also made her key lime pie and let me tell you no one makes a better one than her. It's out of this world and the cool thing is that she taught Terri the secrets yesterday afternoon.

After lunch I went out in the garage to fix my weedeater except it has a flywheel that I can't get off so I'll take it to the shop and hope to get it back by fall.

But while I was out in the garage I moved my bike and front tire was completly flat!? It was fine when I rode yesterday and rode home from the ride. I looked more closely to find a big crunk of my tire missing! How on earth did I get home from the ride? It must have happened just seconds before I got to the driveway. Also yesterday afternoon when I rolled the bike from the front porch into the garage I don't rmemeber it being flat. This is beyond me! I pulled out the folded tire that I had bought last summer for my tour and I opened it up and am letting it form a little before putting it on. I was planning to get new tires before HH100 anyway. After last years Ride the Roses diaster (3 flats) I will never ride a long ride out of town on "seasoned" tires. I have gotten a little over 3K out of that tire so not bad.

If I ride today it will be at sundown due to working with the church this afternoon doing the homeless cookout. Thank goodness it cooled off because I really thought I was going to be working outside at the cookout in the innercity in 105 degree heat.

Oh yeah... how about our man Floyd!!!!!!! Way to go PHONAK!! (Yes, friends, I've had coffee so no Lloyd's today) HA

Ladies and gentleman, Yale Funk has taken over my blog...

What a fun ride! Yale did a write up and sent it to the group wth these photo's so here's the low down on our club ride this morning. Thanks Yale, these are great photos except for the ones of the fat kid with the ACH jersey on.

Oh I accidentally loaded the photos in reverse order. The photos start with the end of the ride.

JBar, Geo, Jen Shaw, and Paul Britt

Happy campers at the end of the ride.

Wayne was pretty dang excited about it too!

Jen was out riding with us today for the first time in a while. Hubby (ShawDawg) was in Fayetteville.

Mark, Paul, JBar, Fat Geo and Keith. When I lose a bunch of weight I'm going to use this as my fat picture.

Oh gawd ya'll, ya been married now a week, lay off all the smoochie poochie stuff.

The whole crew about to head out.

Jo and Monty stylin' in their ABC kits

John and Jo

Mark and Geo

Wayne, Monty and Jen

See they were all lovey dovey even before the ride started. Oh yeah and they were late! (Wink wink)
2006-07-22 1st HH100 Training Ride
Have you ever woke up and felt like you shouldn't get out of bed...
We had a total of four flats before the ride even got started. By 10am, we had fought a hellacious head wind, had a crash, another flat and had a grand total of 25 miles. We decided at this pace we might be in by dark so we cut the ride down to just fifty-five miles to make it in by noon.
We have found a new superstar in Mr. Paul Bentley. He had a heck pull into those winds and you could hear Jennifer behind him telling him how bad we needed him at Hotter N Hell. Paul, you might as well pack your bags. She doesn't give up easy!
A special thanks to Mr. Monte Cole (President of BACA) for riding with Fast Girls & Slow Guys. He had a nice pull himself.
Also, if you didn't make this ride you missed the best rest stop of the year. Paul & Candice Wright (Wayne's sister & brother-n-law) showed up with ice cold drinks, watermelon, grapes, oranges, bananas, pickles, & Famous Amos cookies. Plus, they let us draft behind the Ford Expedition at 30 plus miles per hour. Now that was fun!
Robb, you're up next on 7/30th Sunday morning at 8am for Hotter N Hell training...see you there!
Thanks a bunch,
Yale D. Funk

What world am I in today?

I must be having a senior moment. Yes, I am old enough to have those. I called everyones favorite for the TdF Lloyd rather than Floyd this morning and even went as far as to put it in the team colors of green and yellow.

If that wasn't bad enough I called John's wife Denise rather than Diane.

It's the heat... yeah, that's what's causing this... the heat.