There’s no quit in George Hood.

So when his Guinness World Record spin cycling attempt ended early Monday morning, it wasn’t for a lack of effort.

More than a week after he began his Ride IV Reasons, Hood’s mind simply couldn’t tell his legs to pump the LeMond RevMaster pedals fast enough.

Guinness rules require traveling at least 12 virtual hours for each hour that an individual is on the spin bike. In nine of his 11 previous hours, Hood had willed his body to squeak by with 12.0 and 12.1-mile efforts.

The strain on him—and the dedicated crew of volunteers supporting Hood—was steadily rising. Then, between 2:57 a.m. and 3:57 a.m., Hood lagged too far off the mile-per-five-minute pace that he needed.

He mustered the last 10 miles of his approximately 2,000-mile journey, and then descended from the bike with the aid of volunteers. Off went the music that had boomed so often throughout the former furniture store at the Aurora Marketplace Shopping Center, at the northwest corner of Route 59 and 75th St.

Though the 52-year-old Aurora man’s bid to reclaim the Guinness record is over, the overall Ride IV Reasons activities will continue through Saturday, April 24. The top priority remains raising money for the Fox Valley United Way and the injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, which provides support to Marines injured in Afghanistan and Iraq and their families.

The public is invited and encouraged to continue coming to Ride IV Reasons headquarters, where many activities and entertainment events will go on as planned, including live music, kids’ activities, demonstrations and information booths. For the schedule of events, visit www.RideGeorgeRide.org.

Michael Meyer, Fox Valley United Way’s CEO, praised Hood’s ride as “an extraordinary and compelling example of passion and desire.”

“We are so proud of what George has accomplished, not only as a world-class endurance athlete but as a first-class humanitarian. He uses his unique platform to help those in need,” said Meyer. “We are grateful that he has emerged from the ride in good health.”

Indeed, as a precautionary measure, friends took Hood directly to Edward Hospital in Naperville, where he napped for three hours, was given fluids and submitted to blood tests. He was released in the late morning.

That visit came after Hood remained at the venue for more than two hours beyond his ride. He couldn’t sleep—a typical after-effect he’s experienced after his three previous record-setting rides. So he exchanged hugs with volunteers and friends and began reflecting on the experience.

“Do I wish I could have kept going toward 300 hours? Yes, of course,” Hood said later in the day. “But as I’ve said all along, this ride isn’t about me—it’s about helping injured Marines and their loved ones and it’s about reaching out to support youth all throughout the Fox Valley. This experience took me to a whole new place that I look forward to sharing with others in the days and weeks ahead.”

Five NextMedia radio stations are major sponsors of the event and cover the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago. The stations are 95.9 The River, 98.3 WCCQ, Star 96.7, 100.7 WRXQ and 1340 WJOL.

Hood is a retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent and currently works as a personal trainer. He has previously set the Guinness spin cycling mark twice—in July 2007 and May 2008, first at 111 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds and later at 177 hours and 45 minutes.

Donations for the cause are being accepted through Fox Valley United Way and also on the Ride IV Reasons cause page on Facebook (type "Ride IV Reasons" in search box). Donations can also be by check, payable to: Fox Valley United Way/Ride IV Reasons, 40 W. Downer Place, Aurora IL 60506.

To learn more, visit www.RideGeorgeRide.org or check out the event’s online channel, www.youtube.com/ride4reasons.