You know I have love for "Trixie"

Well it was brought to my attention by Mr. Thomas that in my last post I was rather negative towards road cycling and the people around here who have ruined it. He told me that the only time I road this past year was with him so he thought I was referring to him. I'm here to say that the post he is mentioning had nothing to do with him. All of my road rides with the "local cult hero" as Greg calls him were great and alot of fun. If I ever ride a road bike in the future (which is highly unlikely) it will be because of Mike. Mike represents what road cycling should be about...FUN. I suppose my statements were made referencing the past. Although the TNR rides I did do this year were absolutely a joke. I never seen so many elitist assholes in one place in all my life. It's sad that most of them don't know what cycling is really about. To those sad individuals its all about racing and bragging about who was the fastest up and over Buffalo Mtn. It doesn't take alot of talent to sit back in the middle of the pack and not take a pull only to sprint up Buffalo at the end. Okay enough of that....

In other news, the newest member of the AKS family is already 1 month old. I have no clue where the time has gone. I suppose between work, 3 daughters and a wife, life can go by pretty fast. I have, however, been able to work out consistently for the past week and a half (thank you P90x), losing 6 lbs in the process. I have ridden twice in that same period so I'm happy about that as well. The biggest difference I can see in myself is my recovery time. I don't know if has to do with the fact that I have had nothing but water to drink for the past 2 weeks but I feel great. I will be making an appearance at the Short Track next week so that should be fun. My goal is 10 laps. If I can do that I'll be happy. The first and only time I did Short Track I only managed 7 laps but that was the week before I got sick with that Pericarditis that laid me up for over a month. I've got to get after it since I've committed to George about going out with him and Jeff again. Those dudes are beasts on a mountain bike. I've never seen anyone climb like that. It almost pisses you off...LOL. Alright I'm outta here.

If you are reading this Greg, what happened to you this week? I thought you were gonna call to go riding since you were off all week.

29er or Bust

Its official, I no longer own anything that has to do with road cycling.  I just sold my Bianchi steel bike complete with Campy Record.  I also got rid of all my extra parts (bottle cages, pedals, etc). I really have no desire to do it anymore.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, the road scene around here sucks now and its just not fun anymore.   I have much more fun in the woods (I can see Greg shaking his head now and saying "I told you so").  And since I really plan on not road biking again I have shifted all of my two wheel efforts into the mountain.   This gets me to where I am today and the dillema I face.  

I called Scooby the other day and asked some questions regarding the whole 29'er craze.  He answered like I thought he might.  It's hard to get an answer from someone who thinks every other bikes sucks except Specialized..LOL...just giving you a hard time Alan!!  But seriously I am intrigued with the whole idea of the 29'er.  I can't lie anymore but I have been riding here lately.  I've been to Warriors a few times and ETSU a few times hitting the trails.  I'm getting my strength and endurance back slowly but surely.   The one thing that I have noticed while on the Chameleon is the lack of being able to just "roll" over things.  I keep hearing that with a 29'er you make roots, smaller logs, and rock gardens look easy.  That's what I need.   I think the only thing holding me back is having to shell out money for not just a frameset but a new fork and a new set of wheels.   I will continue to do some more research and hopefully I will have an epiphany of some sorts.  Any input is appreciated...so bring it on!

A short one

Its been a week since my last post and to be honest not much is going on to post about. I've been so busy with the newest addition to my family, and work I don't have time to do much else. Claire is doing wonderful. Her two big sisters are a huge help and love her more than you can imagine. Now if only I could get more than a couple hours of sleep every night. With me being so tired I haven't done anything at all. No gym, no riding, nothing. I contemplated going to the Short Track last night but I'm just too tired. I would have suffered alot!! I really am enjoying reading all of your posts. I can live vicariously through all of you. I know I keep saying I'm going to post pics and I will this weekend I promise. So stay tuned.

She's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The day the whole AKS family has been waiting for finally arrived yesterday. On 8/24 at 2:34pm my wife and I welcomed our 3rd little girl into the world (this means 'ol AKS is outnumbered 4 to 1, male to females, in my house...LOL). Claire Marie Chesser was born weighing 8 lbs, 11 oz. and was 20 3/4" long. She is absolutely beautiful and healthy as can be. Mrs. AKS came through with flying colors as well. And listen to me now fella's, I don't care how tough you think you are there is no way any of us could handle going through labor. I've seen it first hand 3 times now and I can't begin to imagine what it must feel like. So to you women out there who are reading this, my hat is off to all females, you forever have my respect! So after staying in the hospital a couple of days we finally made him back home this evening. My two other daughters are being so great. They can't keep their eyes and hands off of her. My youngest daughter (well up until yesterday), Lauren who is almost 3, won't hardly let anyone else touch her! It's very sweet to see how protective she is. I hope she stays like that forever. I promise I will post pics just as soon as I get them uploaded and then have Alan show me how to put pics up.

Thank you to everyone who has called and/or emailed me and my family. All of your thoughts and prayers were greatly appreciated. Have a great evening and watch for future posts with updates and pics!!!

T-Minus 3 days and counting

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately but I have been consumed with getting everything ready for the arrival of my baby girl. The due date is tomorrow and so far no signs of her coming on time. If nothing happens over the weekend Katie already has an appt to be induced starting Monday morning. So no matter what, within the next 3 days I will become a proud dad of another beautiful daughter. I will keep everyone posted. I want to say thanks to all of you for keeping myself and my family in your thoughts and prayers! I can't wait for it all to happen so I can share it with all of you. I'll be back with an update before you know it!!

Creeper Trail - George and Jeff style!!

Well I finally made it out on the old mountain bike yesterday after being sick for the past 2 months. I didn't go to Bent Creek with the NTMBA crew because I felt that the ride and the riders would be way to much for me to handle on a first ride back. So I got together with local legend Mike Thomas, George and Jeff and headed towards Damascus for what I thought was a nice easy ride up to White Top courtesy of the Creeper Trail. First I need to set the scene for everyone. I was talking to Mike on Friday and mentioned Bent Creek. He told me that he had talked to George and Jeff already and made plans to go do the Creeper Trail. George and Jeff are known for their epic mountain bike rides, which include goat trails steeper and nastier than I prefer. But they were doing the Creeper because Jeff broke his foot a few weeks back and this was just a ride to see how his foot would hold up. So off we go........

As we take off from the parking lot heading up the Creeper Trail the pace is moderate but nothing to bad. The ride to White Top is all uphill, probably about a 2% grade if that, but enough to where you have to keep pedaling (no coasting). Well about 5 miles in we came to the first juncture at which point Jeff and George told Mike and myself that if we veer off from the Creeper Trail we could get into some nice single track for a few miles and then connect back to the trail. This should have been where I said "I'll meet you at White Top"...but I didn't. Instead, I pointed the Chameleon in the direction of the single track and off we went. Now I tell you this, and doubt me if you will, but I promise you that we climbed non-stop for about 5 miles. And this was nasty stuff. Not your typical single track like at ETSU or Warriors. This was more like a service road that hadn't been used in years. The weeds were as tall as our bikes and sometimes you literally had to make you own track through them. There were some gravel spots that had some pretty loose gravel that made it hard to keep the momentum up but I made it to the top. And there, finally, was the "real" single track that was mentioned before. We had a nice 1 or so miles of single track going through the woods that led us to a creek that we had to cross on foot. Hopping off the bike and putting it on my shoulder I waded through knee deep water to get to a embankment that was steeper than hell. You couldn't ride up it. You had to literally climb out of there dragging or pushing your bike just to make it back to the Creeper Trail. I must say though that it was a fun experience.

After making it up the bank and back onto the Creeper Trail we had about 7-8 miles or so up to to White Top. It honestly hurt after doing all of the climbing earlier but the ride back to Damascus was worth it. It was all downhill back to the car. You still had to pedal but you could really get some speed up. Unfortunately Mike cut his tubular tire on his cyclocross bike and had to push for the last mile or so. All in all, a great time and a good workout. I think Jeff said his computer registered around 30 miles so for me that's a good start. I plan on building on this so it looks like Warriors and ETSU are in my future.

On the family front, no news yet. Daughter #3 still has not arrived. We are approaching the due date which is this Saturday!! I can't wait! I know my wife feels the same. I don't know how women do it. Being pregnant like that has to suck, especially when its hotter than hell. Alright, I'm outta here. Thanks for reading

Don't have a good title for this post

After my long conversation with Scooby about the Bent Creek ride this Sunday I am contemplating making the journey with some of the guys from the NTMBA. My only reservation is that I am out of shape and haven't been on a bike in over a month. The guys who would be going are very good and I don't want to hold anyone up or suffer terribly by trying to keep up. I know I need to start back sometime but that ride might not be the best choice. I'll probably stick around here and get some laps in around ETSU. I'm sure Mike would be up for joining me. We shall see. Either way I plan on hitting Greg up here soon to take him up on his offer to ride Warrior's with me.

On a brighter note, Katie, that's my wife for those of you who may not know, found my beloved iPod. And just like I said in a previous post it had been whisked away by my 3 yr old. Katie found it in a box full of Barbie's and dress up dolls. Just pure luck that she was going through it looking for something else for one of the kids. So I am a happy camper now. I was dreading the thought of having to go shell out the money for a new one. I'll be sure to not have it laying around within reach from now on.

Well I'm outta here for now, I have the first parent-teacher conference of the year tonight. It's really more of an orientation for the 1st grade parents. Should be interesting. One great thing, my daughters teacher is good looking!!! I swear that the teachers we all had didn't look like the teachers of today. If we were all in school now I know none of us would miss a single day! LOL. I know Greg's wife is rolling her eyes and shaking her head right now. Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it.

The future

Not much to blog about of late, still just getting myself prepared to welcome my 3rd daughter into the world. The babies due date is on the 22nd so we are less than two weeks away! My wife and I are extremely anxious and excited. I can't wait till she's here and I can post some pics of her!!!

I noticed on Scooby's blog that he got himself a sweet new Specialized Epic. I was very envious of the silver one that he had a few years back so I was happy to this ride in his stable. I unfortunately not been able to ride hardly at all all year. I probably rode a pathetic 175 miles total all year on the road and have approx. one short track race under my belt on the old mtn bike. It was brought to my attention by 'ol Scooby that I am outta the loop, hence why I didn't know he was getting the new bike. This led me to the realization that I need to do something with myself and fast. So I make this promise to all of you out there. After the baby is born and we get settled here at the house I am going to do at least 2 if not 3 rides a week. Warrior's is on my way home from work so it would work out for me to take my bike with me and hit it on the way home. Hopefully I can get Greg, Mike and Alan to join me. I know Greg is close so I'm sure he'd be up for it. Plus he's a strong rider so it would make me have to push myself. Well I'm outta here, gotta cook some dinner.

Where o' where is my iPod

For the past few days I have been practically tearing apart my house looking for my iPod. It apparently is gone for good. I, of course, am blaming anyone but myself for the mishap. I do think my 3 year old walked off with it and probably has it stashed in some secret location. She is very good at taking things and then me or the Mrs. will be digging around and what do you know, here it is! Its funny how you get attached to something as superficial as an iPod. Oh well, if it doesn't show up in the next few days I'll be on my way to Best Buy.

On another news front, I have been on the elliptical machine trying to build up enough strength (courage) to get out on two wheels. Having been sick for the past month or more has really taken me back. It's an awful feeling knowing you aren't able to do something you love to do. It's one thing if you just don't because of laziness, which I have done before, but its another when you can't physically. Hopefully I can build a good base over the next few weeks indoors and then hit the trails by the end of the month. And yes I said trails not the road. My feelings for the road are mixed as of late. As some of you may or may not know I have a problem with most of the so called roadies around this area. These are the same douche bags that have turned every nice, family, no drop ride into a hammer fest. With this being said I believe I have flipped my switch into wanting to do more mtn. biking. All of the people I have met while on fat tires have been nothing but nice, helpful and fun to be around. Sure there is some friendly competition, but without that elitist attitude to go with it. So with that I say thank you to all you peeps out there who know what cycling is all about.

I'm Back...........

I recently found out that my good buddy Mike "Trixie" Thomas is going to start blogging so I figured I'd give this another go. Between the two of us you really don't know what you might get. I have been laying low over the past few weeks. After my first outing at the ETSU short track I came down with a nasty viral infection that decided to setup shop in my chest. Long story short I was diagnosed with Pericarditis. For all non-medical peeps, this means the lining around my heart was inflammed. The problem with that is if it gets really bad I can build up fluid around my heart thus limiting its function and causing heart failure. Now I'm not by any means in super great shape but I can get around on a bike and in the gym. Well when this started I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breathe. So for the past two weeks I've been on SUPER DUPER strength Ibuprofen to knock it out. They can't do much else since the infection is Viral, antiobiotics only work on bacterial infections. Go figure. I'm feeling much better and hope to be back after it by the end of August. Keep your fingers crossed!!

One more thing of interest, my wife and I are expecting our third child, another girl, that makes 3 for me! I couldn't be happier. They are so much fun and definitely make every moment of my life interesting. I will keep all of you posted on the baby as the due date is about 3 weeks away.

Thanks for reading my first blog in a long time. I promise to keep up the posts. Have fun everyone and be careful out there.