Weekend is on!

Our riding club has started a new line of products for the Big Dam Bridge rest stop for next weekend. You will need to ride out 65 miles to sit on this throne!

Our club never says "No drops". Think about that while you look at the photo! HA!

I'm excited about all the event for next week! Tuesday night we have a volunteer meeting at Buffalo Grill. Thursday night is the Sunset Reception (yep, the 75 dollar a pop wine and cheese party). Saturday is the 5K and Sunday is the bike ride. I decided to take Friday off just so I could get things done around the house and to mae sure I have everything in order for Sunday. I really want to spend some time Saturday down at the 5K. Sunday is going to be crazy for me!

I'm getting all the tunes onto a few CD's this weekend and scuring the sound system we'll be using. It's going to be fun but a lot of work too!

Cool weather and thoughts

The temp outside on the employee patio is a nice 72, blue sunny skies and a slight breeze. Yes, a day that I want to one of the grounds guys rather than an office guy. They have begun to plant pansies so you know what that means. Cooler weather ahead. Harvey is our grounds director and an awesome landscape designer and knower of all things dirt and flowers. I watch to see what they do and then go do it at home. They water extra, I water extra. They plant pansies, I plant pansies. One of my favorite things is when they come back my office in the early morning and mow. The first thing I do after they finish is crack my window and smell the fresh cut grass. Then to look out and see the office lawn is carefully cut with the perfection of a pro baseball field. If I could only get my lawn to look half as good and Harvey and the boys do here.

Tonight is considered the last after work club ride. Well, unless you have lights. It's getting dark now around 7:15 so the 6 o'clock take off gives you just enough time for down and back on the north side of the river. I'm hoping to run out there and ride and get home in time to see the new season episode of CSI.

I sent out my request for volunteers for the Cato rest stop that I'll be staffing for the BDB 100 ride next Sunday. Man, it's hard to believe that it's already here. 600 riders already signed up and many more will sign up over the next week as the weather reports start coming out. There are rumors of cut off number. I say let them all sign up! We want big.

Well, back to work, lunch over.

Sunday

Been a nice day and even had a tunderstorm to come through and cool everything off. I was really hot and muggy before the storm came. The TV was warning of winds to 70 mph or more. It got wicked but not that bad.

I downloaded a crop of new songs and made a new play list that takes me down and back on the river trail but adds an around Burn's Park as well. If you haven't ripped down the trail with Jeff Becks "Freeway Love Affair" blasting in your ear then you haven't enjoyed the full effect of the trail. I remember that tune in college and remembered how much I liked it and I ran across it accidently while downloading. I dumped several I thought I wanted as well. Hearing Heart's Baracuda is a great climbing song. I didn't think it would be and I actually put the song in the wrong place but when it came on I was on the back climb of Burns and I passed the horse riders that were on the road. That was funny.

After I got home I crashed on the sofa and Emily went to babysit a few minutes later. The next thing I know I'm waking up and missed small group. I laid there for a bit and Father of the Bride with Steve Martin was on. As I sat there watching I began to have a lump in my throat. There is a moment in the movie where he watches his daughter grow up. Em and I got to spend some Dad/Daughter time together yesterday talking about some pretty serious stuff. Seeing that movie just reminded me that even though she's just 16, Em will be heading off to college, getting married and all that stuff. Tough to think about.

Terri called and she did go to a Pirate game last night and said it was one of the best games she's ever seen. They won but it was down to the wire. She said it was really hot up there (Pits). She said she is in the middle of everthing. Said it's a lot like Denver with all the stuff downtown.

Saturday 9.15.06

Woke this morning and took it easy. I was fun to wake up on a Saturday and not have to rush a breakfast then head off to ride. I had coffee and just tinkered around. It was fun and relaxing.
I watered shrubs said good morning to neighbors on both sides. Ron is funny in that he mows his grass whether it is growing or not. Trust me, it hasn't been growing.

A little while later Terri was up and about and getting ready for her trip to Pits. She went up a day early for a business meeting so she could tour around a new ity a little bit. The Pit Pirates were playing at home tonight so she was thinking of going over to a game.

Max ended up at our house again and Sean won't be taking him home and the Sherwood Human Society couldn't take him either so I'm pretty sure that I'm stuck with a dog. It was so nice that 24 hours we had just Sadie. We were getting used to it and spoiling her. I have to put the kiddie gate back up to keep them out of the back bedrooms. I'm really bummed about this and Em and I talked a long time about it and even though I told her that Sean had to have the dog out of the house by the time I got home from work Monday, I doubt it's going to happen. I told Em that he is dodging responsibilty like a divorced dad. Sure, they had the kids when it works out for them but the real responsibility belonged to others. I know, that was a harsh thing to say but it summed up the problem. This is a tough deal that has caused a lot of emotion.

Em and I went down to Benton to take shrimp and red snapper to the folks and we got the better treat. Barbie had made homemade pizza. It was out of this world. I can't remember the lat time I had homemade pizza. A bit later she asked us if we wanted Oreo pie. Did i die and go to heaven. Well of course I had... I was at my momma's house! HA! We ate pie and held our breath thrugh the last seconds of the Arkansas v. Vandy game. A very sweet win (Ya hear that Jim? Houston Nutt's circled wagons paid off! HA!)

Speaking of my nephew Jim. Sherry, my sister and his mom came over to mom and dad's house. She has lost 25 pounds and looks awesome! I saw her pull up in he drive and hop out and walk briskly to the hpuse. She hasn't walked like that in a long time. Once again, loosing weight has proven to have huge benefits. She used to couldn't even sit through a movie because her legs would hurt and she was all excited that small things like that are starting to hppen now that she is loosing weight. I'm really happy for her! She has twin grandbaby's coming soon and she'll get to be a great grammy to them and feel great too! Keep it up sis!

We got home and I went down to the river for a ride. I was surpsied to fine roadies out this close to dinner time on a Saturday night. Guess their wives were gone on business trips too. I plugged in my tunes and had a great ride and kept it 20-22 mph. I telling you, riding with tunes is awesome! I rode the river then around Burns Park then along the river some more.

Got home, kicked back and enjoyed the evening. Not a whole lot really but boy did I have fun.

It's 4:30 and the weekend is about to start...

This is copied from an email someone sent me and it's just funny and weird stuff that was said in their office over the past couple weeks.

We offer no explanations. And rarely ask for one. We only write down what we hear.
"Tomorrow I will not wear my bathing suit to work."
"I just have this phobia of being like the biggest geek."
"As long as I get all of the accounts that endanger wildlife, I'll be happy!"
"You bet, but I'm the flowery, pretty odor."
"I'm gonna print out a big "A" in Helvetica Black and beat you with it."
"Your heart is embedded in your chest."
"I need someone who can rub the hell outta me."
"Is Koom-Bye-Ya My Lord a religious song?"
"Circles...yah, they're fun. They're like breaking out of the box of everyday life."
"'I'm simply a gong booming with love."
"This cake is sweating."
"You don't have to be hungry to eat cake and M&Ms"
"Why are you doing that breathing thing?"
"Why are you smelling the dusty dinosaur?"
"Why don't you go back in your cave troll boy?"
"Dogs don't ever spit things out...are you kidding?"
"You're gonna be in big trouble if you pop one of those."
"How tight are your thumbnails?"
"Jennifer here...here is a fur ball."
"Who smells like dog biscuits around here?"
"I think you're rubbing on my cerebellum."
"I have some extra lips if you need some."
"Erin, do you want this recipe for scrubbed tongue?"
"Never mind, I'll just go bleed silently."
"Oreos help me find my center."
"She's pretty, she's very pretty. And she's soft too. But she's yucky, yucky, yucky."
"Hey look, if I can maintain with a rat on my desk..."
"I need to tell you sometime about the leech boy."
"All right who has the biggest head?"
"Yes, But first a beer."
"Did you know that cats can say 8 consonants, all the vowels, 2 diphthongs and 1 tripthong?"
"Now you got me singing 'Frosty The Snow Man', Bill...I hate you."
"Yeah, I sit there and ha and stink at the same time. And I shed."
"So there we were comparing nostril size."
"I want to be lied to, he'll just tell me the truth."
"That's why we're here, to remind you, you have a hairdo."
"My lungs are glued together."
"I'm blonde Bill, but I'm not that dumb."

Just a dandy sort of day

You could not have lived through a more perfect day weather wise. We woke this morning to beautiful sunny skies and a temperature of around 60. The day at the office was nice as well. I cracked the window and let the fresh morning air filter through. We had a couple of interviews to conduct and one out of 3 made it. Suddenly I'm ambushed! 6 different positions needed to be referenced, background checks and filled. 2 of the directors were leaving for vacation and wanted it wrapped up ASAP. No prob! Door closed, big breath of fresh air, latte loaded and hit the phone. By mid afternoon I'm winding it down. Directors happy. Hire buttons pushed. It's shaping up to be a dandy Friday!Terri came by to pick me up at the office. It's really been great carpooling with my wife. We decided today that one Saturday we are going to just hop in the car and find some little town along an Arkansas highway and explore the town, have lunch and come home. I know it sort of sounds retire-ish but who cares. We always read these articles in Southern Living about towns in Arkansas and it's one of those, "I didn't know that about this town." Hang around and maybe I'll have some fun story about some chintzy little community.We got home and Sadie jumps up to peek in the back door so I walk over to let her in and what do I see? Max! Nooo! Not again! Will we ever get rid of that dog? What now? Come to find out that Sean had Max out in his backyard and he didn't fix the fence good enough and Max got out during the day and hung around the neighborhood. So Max was brought over here and left in our backyard. Guess what? It's 9:30 and he's still here. Free dog to good home... want him? Give me a call! Guess what else? My stress level went straight through the roof! I wanted to blow a fuse. I told Terri I was really upset about this and took a deep breath. Not her fault and I certainly wasn't going to be ugly around her either. I knew I needed to blow off some steam so what do I do? Hard guess huh? Yep, I'm going to go ride. Terri and Em were headed to a girls night out at Murrays so I was going to be home alone anyway.I dress out and debate on loading the bike for a ride. I keep thinking to myself, "Why am I driving to ride? I have a bike so go ride it." I choose the other, I drove to the riverboat parking lot and parked, hooked up my tunes and off I rode. Lots of bikes. Small groups and solo riders. I catch the few riders that were ahead of me. They went straight, I turned to climb Ft Roots. Mike Mitchell came down the hill as I was starting up. We did the "Hey" thing and I keep on my way up. As I turned I noticed he had turned around and was heading back. I had had the tunes on "tunes only" but flipped the switch to Tunes and Mike. Yes, that's really a program in my new hearing aid "Tunes and Mike". Ok maybe not but it made fun reading huh? Ha! I didn't slow my climbing much and before I knew it Mike was right beside me and we climbed at about 10mph. It felt good to ride that speed and be sociable. It was cool too that the song playing was Aerosmith's "Don't want to miss a thing." You see, Mike is a bit younger that me but he's one of my all time hero's. He's as good as they come. He takes time for what's important such as family and friends. He didn't have to turn around and ride the hill again.We crested the hill and he was telling me about hiding a baggie with food or reading materials in it. It was a baggie with something but the wind was blowing a bit in the hearing aid and I wasn't getting the whole story until we turned around the loop and he was talking about how the overlook would be a great place to have quite time. I agree and have stopped there for moments of quite time on many solo rides. It is a beautiful place up there and you do feel relaxed and it peace. We talked about Men's Fraternity that Fellowship has and I was asking if 1st Assembly had one but they didn't. The reason I had asked was because it sounds like it's about to start back up at Fellowship but I was trying to find something a little closer than west Little Rock and I think it starts at 5:45 in the morning. i hear it's awesome though.As we started heading down the hill the FGSG group was heading up. We exchanged "heys" and Mike and I headed on. We were both enjoying this ride. He was telling me about going down Batesville Pike and hitting 58mph and how the bike was shaking and was telling me that was probably the most frightened he had been. I told him I was the same about my ride in Branson. I made me gun shy of flying down hills.As we got to the forest I asked him if he remembered he first time we rode? It was one night when the rest of the club ended up riding over in LR due to an ABC meeting. I remember riding up to Cooks and there were several riders out the in parking lot and these two guys just had that look like, "I wonder who this guy is we're supposed to meet?" I rode up and said, "Are one on you John Van Pay?" Sure enough, it was John and Mike. After we rode and got back to Cook's it was getting dark but we stood there and talked a bit then I told them I had to get back to the other end. It was now really getting dark and they were concerned. I told Mike I sang as loud as I could as I rode though the forest that night because I didn't want to run over anybody or anything. It was a funny night that I'll always remember. It was also a night that began a great friendship.We rode over and looked at the bridge and it really looks like you could ride over it right now. All in good time. We started heading back. Mike was telling me about how some friends you don't have to worry about or warm up to. He said "You know there are folks you invite over to your house and then there are those other folks that you invite over but everyone is comfortable and you can take your shoes off or put your feet on the coffee table and everything’s fine." We have one of those sort of friendships. No smoke or mirrors, just buds. We rolled up to his truck and talked for a few minutes while he loaded his truck then I head back toward the sub.I flipped the switch to tunes only again and cranked the volume. I wanted to see what the attraction was to riding with music. Now I know! I made it from the soccer field area all the way back to the sub in 2 songs! I looked down and was getting a 22 mph reading and it felt easy. Music was making a difference. I'll be "tuning tha ride" a lot more in the future. I need to rearrange my play list to go in sync with the ride from the sub to Cook's and back. Warm up, fast, easy, warm it back up, heavy metal guitar frenzy, slow it down a bit, then roll in with some Braveheart movie theme ending. HA!All in all it's been a nice day!Oh big high school game... Sylvan Hills v North Little Rock at Sylvan Hills. Go Bears!

Open the windows!

I tell you this new hearing aid is the bomb! I am constantly flipping the switch to listen to tunes! You just have no idea! I forgot how much I liked the Rush tune "Tom Sawyer". It's a hoot to walk through the office with tunes blasting in my head and watching what happens. The soundtrack of my life. There have been times that I've busted out laughing because a certain song would be on and a coworker would be doing something and the song goes along with the moment. My favorite one so far has been a ticked off coworker that couldn't find a report on her desk and she was trashing her desk and Bob Segar was singing "Turn the Page". She just looked at me laughing and said" This is not funny!" If she only knew! I just have to remember not to bob my head during a meeting. I can see it now, "Geo, would you please tell us the latest status of..." Everyone looks at me and I have my eyes closed playing the air drums. Ahhh, human resources at its finest! HA!

Oh, the weather is awesome today! I have my office window cracked a bit and the fresh air is blowing through. The morning drive was a crisp 63. I just had a quick bite of lunch out in the courtyard with other outdoor craving coworkers. Sounds like the temps are slowing going up toward the weekend then back down.

Dog drama: Sean was supposed to take his dog home yesterday but had car trouble on the way home from the university and Em ended up taking him over there. Then I wake up this morning to find a note on the bathroom counter. Yep, one of those teenage girl "Dear dad, I need a favor" notes. Guess what, Max is back at the house today. Ugh! I'll never get rid of that massive dog. He is just supposed to be there for the day... yeah right!

I was reading a blog from another bike rider and he was talking , actually a rant, about going to a booster club meeting and one of the parents saying something about "being able to still run." Lance runs, bikes, the whole bit. I read their blogs for inspiration and entertainment! Anyway, the blog was about making time to exercise. Sad so many folks don't. There’s work, the kids, etc but when it comes to taking care of themselves they sort of skip that part. I know that I’ve missed something’s due to my riding but if I didn't ride then I'd look like Jobba the Hut too. Another blogger that I read a lot made a comment on Lance's blog about "hail damaged thighs are not normal." I busted out laughing. I've never heard that saying before.

Now all that said, I've got to watch it close. I've decided to take a few days off the bike and give the club riding schedule a rest. But you know what, I've been eating since the weekend like a nuke is going to take us out and I'll never get to eat. Geesh, slow down bud! I swore I would never ever wear waist size 36 pants again but gee, brownies, chips, big lattes. Just writing that is sick! It's going to be interesting to see how I feel Saturday afternoon when I climb on the bike again. Something tells me while I climb a hill i will be telling myself, "Geo, how's that brownie feel now...huh... get yer fat butt up that hill and quit you whinning!" HA!

Lunch over... Geo out!

Monday thoughts

What a day of mixed emotions. Yes, it’s the 5th anniversary of 9/11. I sleep fitfully last night. I awoke from 3 nightmares. I don’t know if I’ve ever had 3 in one night before. One was a 9/11 nightmare. Yes, I saw the building blow up over and over on one of the 9/11 shows last night so I know where that one came from. One was a bike wreck. I know where that one came from. I read an email just before going to bed that some of our guys crashed during Sunday’s ride. More on that in a moment. Now the third nightmare was just plain weird. Hey hey hey, cut it out guys! It had nothing to do with going to work in my underwear and no one notices. But for some strange reason I dreamed or nightmared (is that a word?) that I opened the door that leads out to the garage and there was a guy standing on top of my Explorer. He jumped off like a gorilla and ran out of the garage and down the road. Ok, I don’t even want anyone to analyze that. HA!

So the 9/11 day? I made me feel sad. I think it’s good to remember that day even though I didn’t personally know anyone there. It made everyone think a little different whether good or bad. We thought different. I never really thought about Muslim’s that much until then. I know that the few Muslim’s I do know are peaceful people. I know that they hate what the terrorist are doing in the name of the Muslim religion. There are also so called Christians that are extreme that do dumb things in the name of Christianity but I don’t agree with them. Anyway, during lunch I clicked over to CNN on the web and watched the 9/11 morning 5 years ago unfold. I remembered those images. I remember pulling into the parking lot and Eric on the Point was announcing that CNN reported that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. I just kind of continued parking thinking, “Wow, how did they do that?” I walked into the office and told a coworker about it and we thought it was a small plane. We went upstairs to another co-workers office that had a TV and then like everyone else we stood in shock. I remember the second plane hitting and the co-worker covering her mouth and tears begin to flow. It was compassion for another human being. It was sadness for another family who lost someone. Like everyone else, we all felt the pain in one way or another. I remember going to church that Wednesday night and the auditorium was packed. There are days I think about this even when it’s not 9/11. I think about how everyone puts God aside until we really need him like when a 9/11 happens. Don’t you ever wonder why we’ve gotten so politically correct? What’s it for anyway? So we don’t hurt someone’s feelings? I’m all for not hurting anyone’s feelings but to kick God out of everything is pretty lame don’t ya think?

There was a big crash with the group yesterday and I hear we had a couple of guys (Keith H and P Britt) are down with broken collar bones. Sounds like JBar crashed but walked away. I’m starting to think Keith H. needs to take up Dominos or something. He’s had a tough few bike weeks.

Hey, we got rain sweet rain today! WoHoo! I’ve kicked on the sprinklers hard and heavy since Saturday to see if I could revive my yard. It’s looking a little west Texas if you know what I mean.

Oh, did I tell you a neighbor bought the house and land next door? It’s going to be really neat because they are turning the house into a rustic looking log/lodge cabin style house. The closed on it last week and he had already taken off the whole back screened in porch by the time we got home from work. No 3 story zero lot houses next door! Yes!!

Well, that’s about it for today! Y’all stay dry out there!

Been there done that

I woke at the illegal hour of 3:30 and told myself to go back to sleep. I had he alarm set for 5 a.m. but I could only catnap until 4:16 and then said, "That's it. I'm up." I got up and shaved, showered and had a light breakfast and was out the door shortly before 5. It was a beautiful late summer morning with a crisp temperature of 63 degrees and a full moon. Looking like the perfect day or a bike ride.

I was surprised how many cars were on the road for a few minutes after 5 on a Saturday. No they didn't all have boats or 4 wheelers. I had emailed the guys leaving from Cook's to tell them not to wait but forgot to turn my cell phone on this morning and hey hadn't read the email. No big deal they only waited a few minutes then left. The ride was nice and I got to Morrilton quick. Petit Jean was only 12 miles away.I got to the bottom of the mountain and pulled over and grabbed the chalk and jumped out. The fun was beginning. Just before I got out, Keith and Brandon pulled up. We spoke for a few moments and then i had to get to work. Chalk in hand I began to scribble messages or my friends. I let a dozen messages on the mountain and then headed to register. Still had a little over an hour before the 8 o'clock start. I spoke with several friends and then found out we were going down that hill not up. Crud, almost all the messages are on the wrong side. I got out to the car and flew down the other hill that we would be climbing and then began to write messages. Mission accomplished

I got suited up and down to the staging area where Fast Girls and Slow Guys would be the biggest group! It was a festive feeling! After a couple of announcements I rode down to the dining area and quickly filled my water bottles. Back to the club zone. A couple o the guys looked at me funny and said, "Geo, are you just going to ride with one glove?" In the rush to get to the staging area I had put on only one glove. I laughed! In Texas I was forgetting to take my bike and on Petit Jean I was forgetting to put on 2 riding gloves.The ride was on! Of course several o my club shot out of the start like a cannon. Most kept up the pace the whole ride. I caught up with them at the lunch stop but of course they were leaving as I was arriving. I have a bite of pasta salad to eat and refill bottles and leave with Keith, Brandon and another guy. We ride a good ways hen I began to drop off. Brandon looks back and I motion for him to continue on with the others. I know where I am and have no problem riding the last miles solo. I see the guys and others have stopped at a rest stop but I continue on. I'm not going fast at all but I'm moving steady. They all pass me a bit later and then Paul Creel and his crew come by and tell me to come on. I did for a while but dropped. I was looking around enjoying the scenery. There was a reason for me taking my time on the ride. It would be my last long distance ride of the season.

I'm still going to ride but I'm not going to be glued to a thought process that tells me I have to be out there every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoon. Saturday rides can be in the afternoons now and Terri was excited when I told her because she can come ride with me now. I'm looking forward to that!

It's been a fun summer of riding. Actually it's been a fun 3 years of riding but I have come to taking my hobby a tad to serious. I have ridden around the state. I've ridden from Ft Smith to Cook's Landing in a day. I've ridden the Ride for the Roses in Austin Texas. I've ridden Hotter'n Hell in Wichita Falls, Tx. I've ridden Section 30a in FL. There are still rides I want to do such as the Mississippi bike trail. I still want to ride the Pacific highway in CA. Yes, I will still ride.I'm also looking forward to slowing down on my rides. There are lots of friends that won't ride with me because I ride too fast. Most of them ride around 15-18 mph. I can do that.

I told Terri tonight that I feel like I have 2 years of chores to do around the house. I used to wash the cars on Saturday mornings before anyone was up. I used to have nicely mulched flower beds now I have a side yard full of weeds. Max goes to his house tomorrow so I'll get the backyard cleaned but up, scrub the deck and make it livable once again. No, it's not all Max's fault but when he and Sadie chase each other they would send the patio furniture flying so we had to push it all up against the house and it looks terrible. I have to touch up paint as well as finish painting the kitchen. I need to tidy up the attic. Hey, it's after Labor Day so I might as well bring down the Christmas stuff right... wrong!!

Well, enough blogging for tonight. Time to spend time with the family...

Returning to a mountain

I'm about to go to bed but wondering how easy sleep will come. I have a early drive in the morning to Petit Jean Mountain for the MS 150. It's a charity ride of 75 miles each day. I will be riding tomorrow but I doubt I will be riding the Sunday edition. After tomorrow my heavy scheduled riding will be over. I'll still go out and ride but it won't be the center o my life. I'm going to be busy the next few weeks getting volunteers lined up for the "mega" rest stop I have been asked to manage for the BDB 100. I'm glad to be a part of this as a non-rider. I got an email today from Fred and I'll be ordering fruit for the stop. This is where Terri will help me (I hope). She knows all the ins and outs of getting large crowds fed and happy since she does convention planning.

Tomorrows ride time should be about 64 degrees.

And tomorrow is already Wednesday!

Brandon and Will cruising along the river trail.

This afternoon was another photo night before the ride because it was the first club ride with the MS150 jerseys. Sad thing was a lot of the members were out working or getting over a nasty stomach bug that hit. The weather was really nice and as the ride started I stopped for a second to talk to Robert on of our new riders about the jersey reorder. Then John Martin was just sort of riding in a ircle and come to find out he was waiting on Allison who was pulling in the parking lot. Matthew pulled into the parking lot and was asking about picture night and I said it was a quick one because the crew had to get the ride started since the sunsets earlier. Matthew gave me a great progress report. He can walk without crutches and plans to ride on the Big D-Bridge ride on Oct 1.

Our newest Jr. rider!

This FedEx rider tried to slip in and go unnoticed amongst the Fast Girls Slow Guys group. Nice try Keith!

Here's a part of the

Fast Girls Slow Guys MS150 team.

Just thinking about life and MS Word on a peaceful Sunday morning

It's funny is it... life I mean... with all of it's ups and downs, laughter and tears, hard work and kickin' back times.

I know, you're thinking, Ok Geo, what does MS Word have to do with this? Mistakes. Yep, it fixes some of your mistakes. I told a friend of mine I would not write an more until I had MS Word to correct grammar and spelling mistakes. When I write these blogs, I just pound out and hit publish. Nope, I rarely go back to check. He told me if I did it would ruin the Geo-ness of the blog. The funny thing is that he wasn't the first to tell me that.

One of the mistakes I can't correct was a mistake on the new club jersey (Crowd gasps!). No you won't see it on the jersey because it's not that kind of mistake. I misordered by 2. I ordered a few extras but in the rush of things I missed a couple. The even worse part is they are not part of the extras I ordered. I need the big sizes. Someone is not getting a jersey until we reorder and there's nothing I can do about it. Yep, I had all the emails and and even verified the orders but even some folks sent several emails changing their orders which is perfectly fine because we want everyone to be happy. Dang, doesn't that make your stomach hurt when you do that. Did you ever make a mistake you can't change?

Ok, on to better things. We got Tyler moved yesterday and he and Shalynn's apartment is beautiful. Serious. They can step through double french glass doors out on the balcony and see the Arkansas river. There are lots of eating places within walking distance. We got the truck loaded and his buddy Nate, a FedEx loader no doubt came to help us get the stuff up to his new place. We had 2 flights of long stairs. Man, the sweat was pouring and the kids kept saying, "Dad, please sit down. You're breathing hard." It was funny. Nate could throw a dining room table over his shoulder and waltz up the stairs whistling Zipp-a-dee-do-dah. Stoutest kid I've ever seen and just an all around good guy. He also was hit on his motorcyle a few weeks ago on Cantrell when a lady ran a yeild sign. It was really interesting to listen to him talk about motocycles and cars and the way folks don't watch for them with all the hills we have around here. I quitely sat there thinking, Yep, I do know exactly what you're talking about. Cars vs. 2 -wheelers, whether its a motorcyle or a bicycle, most people just don't get it.

We got everything loaded and I drove home while Tyler and Nate took the rental truck back. It wasn't until I got out of the car that I realized how hard I pushed it moving stuff today. I didn't feel bad just tired.

I got Emily and Sean to pick up some Hunan for dinner and before we called in the order as I looked at the menu I wanted something good. Something I hadn't had before. Oh yes, there it is! A combination of seafood and chicken with vegatables. The name of the dish? Happy House of Golden Jade. Emily accused me of ordering that just so she would have to say it when she called it in. Serious, it was what I wanted. I can't help it if they have names like that for their dishes. Some our our favorite American restaurants have some funny dish names too. Go to Shakey's and read Joe's menu. Or the Purple Cow. One of my favorite funny dish names is the "Dog Pile". It's just another name for a hot dog and french fries.

We watched the game until I finally nodded off and the kids laughed at me. It was 7 to 14 USC. I told them I was going to bed. 9:30 on a Saturday night? Isn't the a law against that somewhere? I told them that I hoped it wasn't going to be the game of the century and I missed it. When I woke this morning it was front page news, trust me, not the game of the century. We lost 50 to 14. Come on Hogs! We know you can do it. My nephew out in Fresno will start hammering on us way to early in the season and we don't want that. HA! Even though we might have lost there was certainly fire in the Hogs eyes and the fans in Fayettevlle were completly rabid!

I think I'll go ride now...

More HH100 photos

There is a guy in the Stillwater area that always takes tons of photos. So these are his photos. Thanks Kincannondale!

This is where everything starts getting exciting! Almost there!

Jose's SRAM car. We'll miss Jose until next May when we bug him at the Joe Martin Stage races(Right Jenn?)

Before the start. Look down in the lower right hand corner and you'll spot Paul Creel with blue and orange jersey and John Reese with teh white and yellow.

The offical greeter at the start line. Yep, he looks like he's saying, "Y'all have a nice trip."

Rest area #2 where I spent an hour waiting for the mechanic to work on my bike. If you look just above the girl with the orange jersy you'll see me with the blue and yellow on.

Heading into rest area 2. The blue and yellow jersey is Diane Barton.

This was a great rest area. Beach Boy tunes were blasting.

We even got to ride right through the air force base. Got to see several planes and jets. Their rest stop was awesome when it came to customer service!

This was a common site towards the end of the ride.

The skyline of Wichita Falls was the best sight! Most saw the skyline but just couldn't pedal any faster. Just get me there was the main thought.

The blasting water at the end of the ride.

Jerseys are here!!

Our new club jerseys are here! We'll be stylin' for the MS150 new weekend!

They came, hey broke in but they didn't get anything!

Just as the day was getting festive I got a call that our house had been broken into. It seems the jerk or jerks got in but saw the alarm pad blinking plus the dogs going nuts at the back door and knew they were had. Nothing was taken.

I know I know I know... I'm slacking

I know, I know, I know... I'm slacking on the blog.
Yes, there is still more of day 2 to write.
There is still day three.
There is last nights ride.
There is a FedEx truck in town right now with my jerseys!
There are tons of photos to upload.

I'm wide open tonight so I'll finish it....maybe

What day is this?

Just a quick blog as an update.

I hit the ground running when I got home from HHH. I was dog tired but we are having a Marriage Matters seminar at our church and I really wanted to hear this. It's been really good and funny! Lynn Jones (the wife) has a Texas accent and her husband Jerry Jones is non stop cut up. Some of the wise cracks he makes I can't figure out if he just made it up or if it's part of the show. Either way it's a hoot. There is one more night tonight but I'm blown and have got to crash out a moment.

The upcoming 2 "chapters" of my HHH road trip should be out on the blog tonight. They are long!! So I hope you'll enjoy the reading as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I'm glad the tropical storm didn't do much mainly for those folks down there but also because our new jersey's are ready to be shipped out from Plantation, FL. Yep, I'll post a photo of them as soon as they come in.

Gotta get back to work...

Hotter'n Hell 100 Road Trip -- Day 3 Sunday

John enjoying the morning news

Keith and Chris. Keith had on a great t-shirt. It was something like, "I'm a superhero but without powers or motivation."

Hey Geo, enough with the photos man, we gotta go!

Most of the crew on the morning after

The bronze yee-haa statue outside our hotel

Yes, this was "my space" for the ride. It wasn't as bad as it looks.

Mr. Cafe Americano

It least we didn't have this during the ride!

Run Toto Run!!!!

DUDE! That was an awesome road trip! Yep, ya know it's been a good trip when you visit the hospital and wake up the next morning not knowing where you are and finding you only have one lens left in your glasses! Party on!

Road Trip day 3

I woke around 6:30 or so and pushed the coffee button. Gimme caffine and now! I quitely began to pack my things and put up the sofa bed. I had slept like a baby after yesterday's ride and excitment. I walked down to the paper box and got the next to the last paper. Several stories about the ride. It was fun to get a paper packed full of bicycle stuff. This is what every Sunday paper should be like.

John and Diane woke and came in the den and headed straight for the coffee. Then John took my paper and made himself at home. Ok, maybe not. I was finished with it. I went out into the indoor court yeard and saw Yale and Jo and we took a table in the corner. A few moments later more of the crew were walking their bikes to the cars and soon everyone was loading up. I went to the room and as I was coming back out Jenn walked by and I half expected her to yell, "Fast Girls Sloew Guys".

As we were all about ready to leave it began to sprinkle. Oh yeah, Keith was looking like his old self. He had color. I lugged a container of Gator and a container of water.

First stop was the c-store to get more newspapers. Everyone wanted an issue to take home. Several loaded up with cokes but I was going to hold out until we found the Starbucks. On the road again and heading toward home.

I kept looking for the fake Wichita Falls but somehow I missed them. Oh well, maybe next year.
We got our little auto pace line going on and most of the cars seen had bikes on them.
Headed through Lawton then on up to OK City and stopped at the Starbucks. Java Chip Frap! Oh yes! I can feel it hitting my viens. Sweet caffine. Several went next door to Wendys and got lunch stuff and we all ate out on he patio of Starbucks.

Back in the cars and next stop was 20 miles west of Ft Smith for lunch. I don't remember the name of the town. Several went to Subway and the rest to Arby's. I was part of the Arby's gang. I called Terri to let her know where we were. We had been riding in the rain most of the time.
We rolled over the river and through Ft Smith and then we seemed to head into harder raines. It would come and go but when it rained it rained hard now. As we got to Russellville it began to really pour. Enought to make us slow way down and use the flashers.

Soon we were heading through Conway and the clouds began to break up. Finally!

We got back to Cook's Landing and Terri arrived shortly afterwards. We said our goodbys and headed to the house.

It was a good road trip and honestly one of the best I've had. I was a whole lot better than the Ride the roses trip to Austin last year.

Hotter'n Hell 100 Road Trip -- Day 2 Sat (The Ride!)

I woke at 4:40 a.m. not really knowing what time it was. You know those hotels always have lights shining at the windows. The inside of the Remington Hotel is like an indoor courtyard. It's really nice but it's also lit 24-7. I laid there before I looked at the clock on my cell phone wondering if it really "time". I felt like an expectant mother... "Harold, It's time!!" As I started t get up I noticed that I could see a shadow going by the window then others. There already people in the courtyard? Yep, in fact there were lots of folks eating already. We still had plenty of time. I have coffee and Diane's awesome oatmeal cookies and we talk while scurrying around.
I pushed the start button for the coffee since John had set it up the night before and began to check things yet again. Everything was fine. We all got kitted out in our Arkansas Bike Club finery and started for the door. John turned and said, "Geo, you might want to take your bike." No man, I ain't nervous! HA!

We head across the indoor court yard past the masses of final stage carbo loading cyclist. We looked really good too! Serious! We all had on our matching duds and they thought we were a pro racing team. You know they did! We proceeded to the backdoor and out into the hot morning air. It's pitch black out here but it's also like a colony of fire ants. People everywhere! Cars coming and going. We met over by Yale's car and wait a few more moments for those guys like Keith Hill and Christopher Irons that had to "do hair". Everyone smile for the group photo. Flashes of light then you hear the "Oh, hang on! One more!" Jenn wouldn't let anyone lve until she has your number and makes sure you have the sheet with everyone elses. I didn't get one yesterday when she gave them out because I thought she was just giving them to the drivers. No biggie, I've got several folks numbers in my phone. If I crash in the west Texas desert, the buzzards don't care about the phone anyway.

So we all head down the street a couple of blocks to the starting area. We look about 75-100 yards from the start but then I'm bad with guessing lengths. I can tell you this. When you turn around there are already blocks of others behind you now. Man, this is a crowd! We all prop up on our bikes and talk. Some just stare wondering what their life will be like 4 hours from now. Some are an A.M. life of the party. Christopher and Rebecca Irons were next to me and the boy is usually a quite person whenever we start rides early but he was a grabbering manaic this morning. Laughing and carrying on. He told Rebecca he had to go to the rest room and asked if she would hold his bike? She was laughing and said she got to touch his Madone (the model of his bike). I just this is something she isn't allowed to do much or purhaps a form of foreplay between them. Who knows? They just got married remember?! HA!

You could see flashes of light going off everywhere as everyone was really begining to pack it in. There was a large bank building a few blocks away and it gave the time and the temp. It was like a hot version of Times Square at New Years Eve. Closer and closer to 7 a.m. we got. Exciting. Nerve wrecking. Gotta go whiz sort of scary. You name it and all the emotions are on fire! It's getting a to be a little lighter now and the giant inflatable guard of the hell is visible. It's evil looking hulk thing. Everyone has been talking about the start.

It's 7 a.m. and time for the gate to open... tick tick tick... The national anthem is played and everyone turns around as two fighter jets fly over. I got chills. Not from nerves but from knowign the we have freedom to ride. We can ride without road side bombs. That so many people have given up so much for this country.

B-O-O-M-!!!!!!!!!! The famous cannon fired and the ride is on! Lots of hoots and yells. Then we wait. It takes several minutes before we even start to move. Do I clip one foot and push along with the other? Do I just walk my bike? Yes, I'll just straddle my bike and walk it. The pace picks up a notch then faster as we get to the starting point then stop. Everyone is trying to move and clip in. I didn't see anyone fall but there were some wobbles going on. We get to the gate and off we go. Yesss! We are riding slow and there are hundreds of folks in front of us. Over the bridge and I see a couple folks from Bike Journal go by. I see various Texas club jerseys coming by. Oh and yes, I actually do pass some folks. As we make it over the bridge the pace picks up and riders are working to get their clubs together and paceline it. Chris Irons had told me the secrect which was to get in a paceline and then as a faster one comes by get it in and keep doing that until you're comfortable. So I work on that. Man, some of the pace lines that came by were blistering fast. As they passed I wondered to myself if they kept that pace throughout the day.
I hook up with Tim V for a little while and he was keeping a great 20mph pace. He pulled and I pulled. We talked a little bit and I told him I felt bad about all the crap that had happened with bike boards and emails this week. We both agreed to let it be over with and have a great time riding and that's exactly what we did. We turned and train tracks?! No not train tracks! I slowed down but the tracks were much less threatening than our local tracks. Yale and Becca and Wayne come by and I began to speed up and ride with them. Folks were doing the speed up and slow down gig and it was making several nervous. I have a new hearing aid remember? I can hear folks dissing each other now. HA!

After going through the neighborhood we head to the open road. I'm riding with Will now. Man, lots of flats already! There's been a crash up ahead and they are off to the left. Looks like several bikes. We all slow and someone is blowing a whistle. Just as we pass I feel the dreaded movement of my back end. No!!! I'm flat. I work it over to the side and lucky that I have a driveway to change it in. Several of my guys ask if I need help and I wave them on. Diane rides by and she stops until I get moving again which was fairly quick. Thanks Diane! It stills feels off but I'm riding and I know there is RS #2 just ahead. While I'm riding along David Kincannon, Talima (sp?) Tammy and HiGuy from Canada ride by. They are bikejournal.com folks. David is swinging hes camera bag around like a rock star with his guitar. I start speeding up because I wanted to say howdy but man my bike is sluggish. Just about that time a paceline begins to pass me and then another on the outside begins to pass them. It was pretty cool to watch then suddenly the outside paceline starts moving in to the right. The other paceline is trying to hold their line but it's getting tight. There are slower riders on the right and two pacelines coming through. This is insane. Even more insane when one of the guys in the middle paceline gets a backwheel shrew caught in the slow riders wheel then bang the middle pace line guys bike bounces on the back and the rider is unclipped and catches the bike and was able to remain upright. The slower rider looks stunned but he did nothing wrong. The outside line was riding too agressive in my book. How one one went down is amazing to me. The all stopped except for the fast paceline and they barreled on through.

I finally get to the rest stop but no longer see the anyone I know.

I spot a bike mechanic tent (Plano Texas cycles) and roll over and get in line. 3 folks ahead. One was the guy that just caught the shrew. Maybe this won't take too long. The Asian guy who just got nabbed was not looking too happy at all. He had a nice Colonago (sp?) bike with a special paint job that included sponsors. He really looked like a racer that was just out for a ride today. The mechanic looked at the busted spoke and told him they didn't have any like that?! Man, what kind of gear was he riding because the mechanics had a truck loaded with stuff. The rider then told the mechanic about what had happened and showed the mechanic the crack. Oh man, this guys frame was cracked from the accident. Not a cheap frame at all. Asian dude is P.O.'d big time There is nothing that can be done and it's not ridable. It is but it will soon break. He has to leave the bike there and tols to go over to the radio tent and call in so they can take him back to the start.

The two mechanics are working hard and moving the crowd. It's my turn and I tell him whats wrong as he puts it on the stand. The over to the side comes one of their regualr store customers. They stand and talk about the ride and I smile and be nice. Then the guy works on the line cutters bike. Hell-o! He finishes quickly and back to my bike. He made and adjustment then another regular customer comes through the side and cuts the line. They talk and then make adjusts on his bike. I would like to be at Hell's Gate by the noon cut off and time is slipping fast! He starts to put real air on my tire and another guy comes up but this time I tell him that I'd really like to get riding again. I think he catch the tone of my voice. At least I hope so. I got the bike and knew I would have to hump it now. I quickly spotted the restrooms and walked over and the line was all women?! The I spot the guys section and laugh out loud! The guys section is between two 4x4 pickup trcks that has a blue plastic tarp half way half way up for privacy. There was a line of guys all the way down the fence line just a whizzing away and I joined the whizzers. As you walked past the truck the was a handmade sign that said "Guys only! No Women! Please don't pee on my wheels!!!" I love the hmor these folks have. As I was walking my bike back to the course a guy at a water table said "let me fill your bottles right quick before you go." Gee thanks minister! You made my day!

I'm getting back on the road and it has been a flipping h-o-u-r!!! I see all these people star and then stop and get off their bikes and stomp. It was funny. As I clipped in I then knew what they were doing. I couldn't clip in either. Red clay mud caked the bottom of my shoes. I stopped and got off joined my follow riders in the ancient Texas Cowboy Red Clay dance. You stomp 2 times then stomp the other foot 2 times then you look and the bottoms of your shoes then repeat. This is also the cow pile dance step as well.

So off we go pedaling like there is no tomorrow. There is no one I know but hundreds of riders. The pace is quick and everyone had just taken a break so good to go. I jumped in and rode with several guys from Tusla. They were taking about the pace and we needed to pick up more but the gate should still be open. Suddenly it was like some of our Fast Girl sprints. They were moving! I hung on for a bit then thought best not to blow it all because stil a long day ahead. I drop back to a comfort 20 and the wind was nice and pushing us along. I got in a group that was moving the same as me and we were enjoying the ride and everyone seemed comfortable and took turns pulling. This was great! We came to an intersection and blasted right through. A few moments later I began to really began to have a feeling that I missed something along the way. All the signs only said 100K. Where are the 100m signs??? I realized at that moment that I was now on the 100K route. I missed the turn at the insection. No one turned there. I sort of felt bummed and then told myself, you know it doesn't matter what distance you ride, you are here to have fun and enjoy the day so enjoy! I stayed with my group which is getting smaller and down to about 6 of us. Everyone seemed to be away from their groups but we all seemed to comfortable riding together. No one was running with scissors or eating playdoh.

As we rode along there were more and more folks on the side of the rode fixing flats or having mechanicals. Almost all had another person near or stopping and we continued on. A few moments later I pulled off to the left as I took a break from the pull zone and as I dropped back there was another guy that had joined our group. I small gray headed guy. Gray headed as in old. He told me I pulled great and that alot of the lines in he been in were doing the speed up /down down. I have always liked it with someone more senior than me tells me I did something good.

We get to the next rest stop which is blasting out becah boy tunes and giving everyone lays (however you spell that). I'm doing good and had just sucked down a gel and wtaer was in good shape and I can hear ice still inside. I continue on my way. I'm alone and see no pcelines to jump in. I look around and enjoy the scenery. It's really pretty country. Different but pretty to visit. I see a couple of riders that look like they are coming well but watching them much longer and I can tell one was struggling. We do have a little wind but feels more crosswind. I ride by and notice the front guy speeds up and gets behind me. No problem. I'll pull since I was ridng this pace anyway. A few minutes later I look back and they are nowhere to be found.

I'm solo again until I ride up on a big guy in a yellow jersey with one of those hook up bikes that allows a kid to ride along and pedal as well. Yale and Braxton ride those sometimes. I wished we would have had those when Ty was little. I did ride him in a bike bucket seat when he was little. Anyway, I said to the kid, "Tell you daddy to pedal faster." Wrong thing to say because big daddy did exactly that. The next thing I knew we are riding a pacleine with daddy pulling. 20mph. This little group came up to 2 more dads with sons riding the same type set up. Now how cool is that? We all ride for a long time.

I see the next rest stop and pull in for a piece of pickle, chunk of banana and some ice. The stop my have been 10 minutes. I'm back on the road. Ridng, just riding. No one is pacelining much and the party feeling seems to be wearing off.

About that time the road curves and we hit the service road. Folks were driving down the interestate honking. I was a nice boost. The wind. Oh man, the wind was getting tough and the heat seemed to go up several degrees in minutes. Everyone break apart and it becomes everyone for themselves. No shade, no shield from the wind, no rest stop. Onward we go. I see folks on the side of the road and notice that we are going up. It's mentally messing with my head so I stop looking ahead and look only in front of me. When I do finally look up I see what appears to be a rest area but it 's only a highway rest area with a coule of trees and picnic tables but there are tons of people there. As I ride by I notice a lady and sone that was maybe 13-14 sitting on the curb. The kid was bright red and you could tell she wa trying to give him a break but also knew they needed to move on to the real rest area. I'm drinking when I notice I've gotten very low now. Please be a rest stop ahead or this is going to get ugly.

Like an oasis in the I see these 3 tents appear on the horizon. Oh thank you Lord! I ride up and really am starting to feel bad. I see the toilets and walk right up. No one is whizzing anymore. If it wouldn't have been so hot I would have just stood ther all day. Just the stop suddenly brought the real feelings out. I walk over to the tent and get in line with the rest of the zombies. What am I in line for? Who knows. I'm just doing what looks like I'm supposed to do. I see small cups on the table and wonder if they are checking for doping. Oh no, those are little cups of pickle juice for cramping. A lady comes up behind me and puts a ice cold wet towel on the back of my neck. It felt so good. I walked over to the rest area and sat on the end of one of the Mash like cots. They were working on an older guy and wouldn't let him go back to ride. He gave in to their suggest really fast. I sat there talking to a couple really nice guys from Dallas. They told me the words I wanted to hear. "You've done the hardest part." I got up and walked toward my bike and a guy gave me and orange slice which was cold and juicey. It was good! I finally pulled out my MP3 player and plugged it into my hearing aid and clicked it on. Screaming heavy mental... no!! I kept changing songs until i hit Rascal Flatts. I settled in and hummed along to Melt. I was in the slow lane and wasn't passing anyone so it was safe to listen to the tunes. Then a funny thing happened. The song Fast cars and Freedom came on and I was singing along, just making it through the ride when a group rode by. I guess I was singing loud enough because one of the girls slowed down beside me and was singing what Rascal Flatts was singing. It was funny and hen I made sure I was singing very quite from then on.

We got up by the bridge to turn and go ver the interstate and noticed more and more people on the side of the road. It was really looking bleak. I got in with the Bike City club and rode a little bit untl I dropped. Where are these folks getting this energy at? I'm riding along at 14mph now. I look up and realize we are going through the air force base. I say "Thank you sir" to each soldier that is holding cars for us to pass through. We get to ride down between several aircraft and these is really awesome but I feel really crappy. We ride a little further and I see another rest stop. I ride almost passes then stop and a girl gives me a cold towel. Those things are heaven! She also gives me a Sonic cup with cold water. I pour half on my head and try to drink half but pour the remaining on my back. Back on the road I just ride. There are more riders off to the sides. Under trees. One guys is barfing. We are now leaving the air force base. Man, please tell me this thing is about over. It's not fun anymore.

I'm riding along and I look down to see myself going 10mph. I don't care that others are passing. Go on, beat me you young 20 something snot ball. I just don't care! Then a magical thing happens. I see the skyline of Wichita Falls. I want to laugh. I want to cry. I want to dance on the pedals. I want to do anything but I've only got it in me to just keep pedaling. Not faster, not slower, just pedal.

I finally round the corner and head for the finish. Ahh sweet finish! I roll through and hear jenn scream, "GEO!!! Go Fast Girls!" I hope I smiled. Then I spot Diane and Wayne 's wife waving. I slow down and someone gives me something small and I tuck it in my jersey. Later I find out it's a finishers pen. I roll over to get some water and see a tent with bales of hay. My shoulders were killing me and I thought it was a massage tent and I needed it bad! It was just a resting place.
I saw my friend Vince Cucco, yep, the Joe Martin Stage race guy, and spoke with him a little bit. He said that he had gotten here about 30 minutes ago. I finally got up and rolled over to an opening and slowly rode the block to the hotel.

I stood in the cold shower for about 3 hours or at least it felt like it then crashed on the sofa.

Back later for the conclusion of ride day.... Keith's big adventure coming up so stay tuned!!!

The after burn of Hell (Ride day Part 2)

Later that day...

As I was flipping channels and relaxing John and Diane came in from the ride. Diane had been at the finish for a while and was waiting for John to cheer him on through the finish. They came in telling stories of their adventures. A little late Jo stopped by and her and John were talking about the ride especially the last part. Everyone talks about the last part. No one can say that ride was easy.

One of the best stories to come out of the ride is the excellent tale of teamwork and the spirit that pushes us to extremes. John Barton, Jo, Keith Hill and John Martin all got to continue the ride together. These four hung as a team and earned the "Fast Girl" title. The rest of us have to take the "Slow Guy" title but everyone came out a winner. They made it in time for the cut off to Hell's Gate even though the officials closed it an hour early. Chris Shaw also made it through and was working on a personal best time. More on his story in a moment. It seems that the 4 Fast Girls rode along together taking their pulls and talking each other through the down times. After they past the air force base, like everyone, they too began it fade. The heat, the exhaustion, it was becoming too much. Finally Keith annouced he was finished around mile 94. He couldn't go on and to make matters worse, he was clipped in with a malfunctioning pedal and the only way off was to remove his shoe. It would stay attached to the pedal or he would have to ride unclipped which would have been harder. There had been several rest stops that had run out of ice. They were riding by a c-store when they all pulled in and bought a bag of ice and laid it across Keith's legs and then JBar worked one leg while Jo worked the other. JBar told me that that was something that he would not have done for just anyone. It reminded me of when I rode from Ft Smith to Cook's Landing last year and Paul Britt's foot cramped and I was sitting on the parking lot of Sonic working the cramp out of his foot. There are things you do as a team that are different then when you are solo. Anyway, John told him he didn't come down here to ride the HH94 but rather the 100. Back up on the bike and slowly they continue on. The 4 of them cross the finish line together. A true team in the highest sense. To you my friends, my helmet is off!

Ok, Chris Shaw story. This young gun is one of our fast and strongest riders. I think he has placed in every race he has entered this year. I continue to hope that he will exel to make a Cat 2 or 3 someday. Chris was out to play witht eh big boys today and sounds like he did very well until the very end. As with many ace riders, he suddenly lost the steam. He told me the last few miles were some of the hardest he had ever riden. He had called in to let Jenn know he was 40 minutes out. It ends up being more like an hour. He made it through.

There are still so many stories or trial and triump. Fonda, Yale's sister riding and Yale returning to the course to ride in with her. The story of Patrick walking in the last few miles pushing his bike. One of my favorite stories was hearing Jo talking about the girl on the side of the road. About 20 miles out from the finish was a girl dressed in shorts and a sprots bra type thing for a shirt. Talk was that she was really a cutie and on the side of the road with a flat and every guy just flew right on by. Jo's remark was something like, "Ok guys, you know it's too hot when no guys stop to help a girl looking like that." Another tale was the guy hanging over his bike barfing and someone asked if he was ok and he said no and the other rider side well ok and kept riding. Yes, real thougths and actions were not registering with anyone at the end. There were stories of riding along and seeing "bike skeletons" along the side of the road. Those bikes that had had a mechanical problem such as a flat and part of the bike was missing and the rest lay abdonded on the sides of he road.

So we finally head over to the steak house which is just blocks away. The wait will be an hour. It was longer. We spoke with others that had rode that day and talked up the BDB 100 that happens in LR/NLR on Oct 1st. Finally our table was ready! I had my first glass of sweet tea from the whole weekend. It was good too! We acting like rabid hyena's over the appretisers! We about killed each other when our salads came. Waynes wife decidied she wanted my salad and the waitress gave it to her and I watched everyone else start eating their salads. UGH! Ha! Then the steaks came. Cooked just right and cut with a fork tender! Oh man, it was heaven. Everyone was enjoying their meal when suddenly there was excitment at the other end of the table. Keith Hill had just said he wasn't feeling good and passed out. The day had taken a lot out of him and was having a delayed reaction. Dehydration. He was white as a ghost and came around within seconds but it seemed like minutes. Very very long minutes. Everyone was freightened. Is there a doc in the house? Call 911! Lucky for us there was a nurse at the next table as well as a table or two away. They came to our aid and although we don't have their names we are forever grateful. Their calmness soothed us and we knew it was going to be ok. The EMT's did come and so did fire and rescue. Keith was up and moving now and declined the ride to the ER. Several of the team took him a little bit later. Funny story about the hospital: Yale and Jo were there and they would take turns checking on him and one Yale got up to go check and Jo got over to Yale's couch and stretched out and fell asleep. Keith got a double shot IV and was sent home around 1 a.m. Long day huh?!

Yep, you could say it was hell... but we all lived though it and have some great memories!