Saturday afternoon 06.23.07

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

Had a great ride this morning. Had planned to "sleep in" but sure as the sun will rise, I woke up at 5:30 something and I wanted to go ride. That is a good sign for me! I took my time this morning and did a couple things around the hut then headed out to the river. It was a nice morning. Funny story: When I had just started and maybe two miles in I felt a drop of water run down the side of my head. I thought I was sweating already but had forgotten that I washed my sunglasses before I left and didn't get them all dry.

I buzzed along North Hills Blvd in North Little Rock and over the bridge as the traffic of I-40 went under me. Not a lot of traffic this morning. I noticed a car was behind me and I was ready the bike lane and then looked up to see my buddy Charile Hight go by. He was on his way out to Cook's for the ABC ride. I spotted them later. I'm looking forward to returning to some of those rides later this summer. They rode out to Scott and loaded up on fresh fruit at their break. They are blogging about how great the plums were.

Rolled along the river and came up on a transition area for a race. I went on but got lucky on the return when most of the racers were coming through the transition. Man, that's fun to watch. There's a half Ironman in Arkedelpha in August that some folks are going to do. I hope to go down and cheer them on. Someday I plan to go see a full blown Ironman event.

Spotted several groups this morning out for rides and I got behind one guy who reminded me so much of myself when I first started riding. He was looking around at the trees and really enjoying the ride. Oh, I still do that but just not as much. I always seem to be in the training zone these days. Nothing wrong with that either. I spotted several of our club coming back in from their screaming fast ride in the country. These are the guys that pace about 23-25. there was talk of their ride last Tuesday night going over 30mph at times. Crazy stuff!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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

If you would rather send in a check, please send it to:
Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation
ATT: Geo's Ride
800 Marshall St
Little Rock, AR 72202


Thanks for reading!
Geo.