From a press release:

Opie brightens patients’ stay at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital

Atlanta, GA – Before hitting the track and ultimately stepping onto the podium with a third place finish at the Suzuki Superbike Showdown held at Road Atlanta, Chris ‘Opie’ Caylor stopped in for a visit at a local Atlanta children’s hospital. Caylor and his Team EMGO GSX-R750 were the main attraction in the lobby of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite (Children’s).

A dozen patients and their families came from their rooms to meet Caylor and see what an AMA Superstock Series motorcycle looks like close up.

Displaying by his leathers, helmet and posters; Caylor spoke to the young patients and their families about motorcycle racing, safety and his racing experiences. After playing and narrating a race on video, Caylor passed out sponsor stickers, signed posters and answered questions from the energetic crowd.

“Will you look at that smile! You just can’t beat a smile like that,” Caylor said as he helped a young patient onto his GSX-R. She quickly forgot about the I.V. in her arm as she reached for the handlebars, making “vroooom vrooooom” sounds.

Between questions of “How fast can you go? Why do you drag your knee?” and “How do you lean over so far with out falling down?” Caylor was very surprised to learn from the staff that Children’s relies heavily upon donations to provide its acclaimed level of healthcare and groundbreaking research.

“It’s always an amazing feeling to introduce people to motorcycle racing and to let those who normally couldn’t see a race bike close up actually sit on one.” Caylor said. “It’s that much better when you’re livening up a kid’s hospital stay when you do it.”

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta enhances the lives of children through excellence in patient care, research and education. With 430 licensed beds in two hospitals and more than 18,000 annual hospital admissions, Children’s is one of the largest pediatric healthcare systems in the country. Children’s is recognized for excellence in cardiology, cancer treatment, transplant services and many other pediatric specialties. As a nonprofit organization, Children’s benefits from the generous philanthropic and volunteer support of our community and state, enabling us to enhance services and programs for children and their families. To learn more about Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, visit www.choa.org. For more about Opie Caylor and his team, visit www.chriscaylor.com.