Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I have a lot to cover in this post since it has been while. After a winter of Becky working alot and me trying to train for my part time gig as a full time mountain biker we are finally getting outdoors together. I managed to torture myself in the north Ga. mountains on a race called the Snake creek gap. It is the toughest trail I have ever ridden, 34 miles of climbing and rocks. It should make every other race I do this year seem easy, and that was the point.
It seems the weather has not cooperated at all the last couple of weekends, so our training has suffered some. It's hard to complain about the rain though, the lake is coming up gradually and its about time to get the boat ready.
Elle the new pup is getting better daily, she absolutely torments Zoey and they are both tired by the end of the day. She does have some habits we are trying to break like digging and hiding under the dinner table. She is adorable, but scared of the camera. She tries to run when she sees it.
In other news Becky and I have planned a vacation to Breckenridge, CO with our friends from Nashville. I met a guy, through mountain biking, who owns an adventure company out their and we plan to hang with him, ride bikes, raft, see the sites and hike. Can't wait hardly describes the anticipation We will be there July16-23, so our house will be available for a visit, but we won't be here. We will also be in St. Louis June 17-21, I have a convention and Becky is riding my coatheels (I can't seem to shake her).
We have spent the last 2 weekends riding as far and as long as we can. Yesterday we went up to Dahlonega and road the fireroads around Bull Mountain. The trails were wet from rain, but the gravel roads were in great shape. We road about 30 miles with about 7,000 ft. of climbing.
Today, we wanted our sit bones to recover from our ride on Saturday so we took the dogs up to Blood mountain, about a 3 mile hike to the top of Georgia's second highest peak. The pups had a blast and it was a little chilly, but a beautiful day. The pics speak for themselves.
It seems the weather has not cooperated at all the last couple of weekends, so our training has suffered some. It's hard to complain about the rain though, the lake is coming up gradually and its about time to get the boat ready.
Elle the new pup is getting better daily, she absolutely torments Zoey and they are both tired by the end of the day. She does have some habits we are trying to break like digging and hiding under the dinner table. She is adorable, but scared of the camera. She tries to run when she sees it.
In other news Becky and I have planned a vacation to Breckenridge, CO with our friends from Nashville. I met a guy, through mountain biking, who owns an adventure company out their and we plan to hang with him, ride bikes, raft, see the sites and hike. Can't wait hardly describes the anticipation We will be there July16-23, so our house will be available for a visit, but we won't be here. We will also be in St. Louis June 17-21, I have a convention and Becky is riding my coatheels (I can't seem to shake her).
I am on spring break this week and I took a long weekend to do some yard work and spend some time on the bike. Becky and I have both signed up for an endurance race in Tennessee next weekend. I am racing th 65 miler and Becky the 35miles. On Thursday, I rode 50 miles with some folks in the gaps near Dahlonega (while Becky worked) alot of climbing and alot of fun.
We have spent the last 2 weekends riding as far and as long as we can. Yesterday we went up to Dahlonega and road the fireroads around Bull Mountain. The trails were wet from rain, but the gravel roads were in great shape. We road about 30 miles with about 7,000 ft. of climbing.
Today, we wanted our sit bones to recover from our ride on Saturday so we took the dogs up to Blood mountain, about a 3 mile hike to the top of Georgia's second highest peak. The pups had a blast and it was a little chilly, but a beautiful day. The pics speak for themselves.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Introducing
The newest Kicklighter
Yet to be named.
We have been talking about getting a companion for Zoey for some time. After seeing Frodo and Zoey play so well together we started looking. We went to the Humane Society on Saturday. I could have easily taken any dog there. We wanted another girl and she had to be smaller than Zoey. Zoey came along she didn't know it, but she was the deal breaker on getting another dog.
Well this young lady according to the Humane Society paperwork was 1 year old and crate trained(Sidebar: I was quite annoyed that the HS did not have much information on the dog, all they could tell us was about a year and cratetrained, that's all the info they got out of the owners? wouldn't it be easier to get dogs adopted if they asked more questions? the previous owners didn't even give a reason why they were giving her up. rant off)
We took her outside and she immediately took to Zoey, submitted right away, tried to play with her, walked well on a leash together. So it looked like we had a winner. We brought out another girl to try, but she was real hyper.
So we committed to another 4 legged family member. She had to be spayed, so I picked her up after her procedure on Monday. Can you say drug induced lethargic dog? She was out of it. Bumping into wall, just standing around. It took me a couple hours just to get her to lay down. Did I mention she is skinny, all her ribs are exposed, but fortunately her appetite showed up Tuesday. She is devouring everything we put in front of her. She is 25 lbs. now, I bet she will be about 35 when she is full grown. Which by the way, she is definitely still a puppy, she has a puppy face and her paws are as big as Zoey's.
As for breed, my best guess is a dalmation/beagle. The HS said English bulldog mix, but that is way off, she does have an underbite though. We'll just have to wait and see.
No name yet, need suggestions. Options now are Daisy(neighbor's dog has that name), Sadie, Lucy, Ella (Becky's pick), Lola, and a couple others I can't remember. Naming girl dogs is hard
Anyway, here are some more photos
Yet to be named.
We have been talking about getting a companion for Zoey for some time. After seeing Frodo and Zoey play so well together we started looking. We went to the Humane Society on Saturday. I could have easily taken any dog there. We wanted another girl and she had to be smaller than Zoey. Zoey came along she didn't know it, but she was the deal breaker on getting another dog.
Well this young lady according to the Humane Society paperwork was 1 year old and crate trained(Sidebar: I was quite annoyed that the HS did not have much information on the dog, all they could tell us was about a year and cratetrained, that's all the info they got out of the owners? wouldn't it be easier to get dogs adopted if they asked more questions? the previous owners didn't even give a reason why they were giving her up. rant off)
We took her outside and she immediately took to Zoey, submitted right away, tried to play with her, walked well on a leash together. So it looked like we had a winner. We brought out another girl to try, but she was real hyper.
So we committed to another 4 legged family member. She had to be spayed, so I picked her up after her procedure on Monday. Can you say drug induced lethargic dog? She was out of it. Bumping into wall, just standing around. It took me a couple hours just to get her to lay down. Did I mention she is skinny, all her ribs are exposed, but fortunately her appetite showed up Tuesday. She is devouring everything we put in front of her. She is 25 lbs. now, I bet she will be about 35 when she is full grown. Which by the way, she is definitely still a puppy, she has a puppy face and her paws are as big as Zoey's.
As for breed, my best guess is a dalmation/beagle. The HS said English bulldog mix, but that is way off, she does have an underbite though. We'll just have to wait and see.
No name yet, need suggestions. Options now are Daisy(neighbor's dog has that name), Sadie, Lucy, Ella (Becky's pick), Lola, and a couple others I can't remember. Naming girl dogs is hard
Anyway, here are some more photos
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Asheville, NC
Since football has finally come to an end for Matt, we decided to take a few days off and visit Asheville, NC for a quick anniversary getaway. We dropped Zoey off with Sam on Thursday . . . thanks again Dave & Sam . . . and headed up to a trail at Bent Creek. It went up for a long time then back down really fast which seems to be typical for trails in the mountains! It was a nice day, a little shower falling in the sunlight. We finished riding and headed into town to find a hotel before dinner and seeing the Biltmore by candlelight. The size, detail and furnishings of the Biltmore were amazing . . . and the Christmas tree in the dining room was huge and had gift packages hanging from the tree as ornaments!
On Friday, we had a great breakfast at The Corner Kitchen and headed back to Biltmore to explore the garden, farm and of course the winery! We've been talking about visiting Asheville for many years and plan to go back in the spring so we can see the Biltmore garden in full bloom.
Once we were done at Biltmore, we headed to Chimney Rock Park for a little stair climbing . . .
We got to Chimey Rock a little late, but we didn't let litle roadblocks stop our site seeing. Chimney Rock is famous for having scenes from "Last of the Mohicans" filmed there.
On Friday, we had a great breakfast at The Corner Kitchen and headed back to Biltmore to explore the garden, farm and of course the winery! We've been talking about visiting Asheville for many years and plan to go back in the spring so we can see the Biltmore garden in full bloom.
Once we were done at Biltmore, we headed to Chimney Rock Park for a little stair climbing . . .
We got to Chimey Rock a little late, but we didn't let litle roadblocks stop our site seeing. Chimney Rock is famous for having scenes from "Last of the Mohicans" filmed there.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Decking the halls
It's been a while since my last blog. I'm just not very disciplined about sitting down and writing my thoughts. Quite frankly, you don't want to hear some of what I have to say, it is boring and meaningless drivel.
Becky and I can officially say we missed the Kicklighter Thanksgiving festival. It hit me hard the Friday before, when after the football game I knew we would not be traveling back to Bellevegas. I really wanted to see the kids and hang out with the brothers we don't see as often. Well there will be other times. Thanksgiving was nice and quiet over at the in-laws, food was great as usual and it was peaceful and quiet. Becky had the week off so we spent time together decorating the house. I mostly sat, drank wine and directed Becky on what look best. In the end she did 90% of the work and I think it looks great. See if you can spot Gizmo.
I'm really looking forward to Christmas. Our time off to enjoy them will be sporadic. We'll probably do the rounds. Down to Savannah and over to the in-laws in Oakwood on Christmas day. It will be nice to have Mom and Dad around too. Dave and I plan to pass them back and forth. I may have to come up with a to-do list to keep Dad busy. Anyway I have to head to work for more football practice, yep we won again, and hurray it's raining.
Becky and I can officially say we missed the Kicklighter Thanksgiving festival. It hit me hard the Friday before, when after the football game I knew we would not be traveling back to Bellevegas. I really wanted to see the kids and hang out with the brothers we don't see as often. Well there will be other times. Thanksgiving was nice and quiet over at the in-laws, food was great as usual and it was peaceful and quiet. Becky had the week off so we spent time together decorating the house. I mostly sat, drank wine and directed Becky on what look best. In the end she did 90% of the work and I think it looks great. See if you can spot Gizmo.
I'm really looking forward to Christmas. Our time off to enjoy them will be sporadic. We'll probably do the rounds. Down to Savannah and over to the in-laws in Oakwood on Christmas day. It will be nice to have Mom and Dad around too. Dave and I plan to pass them back and forth. I may have to come up with a to-do list to keep Dad busy. Anyway I have to head to work for more football practice, yep we won again, and hurray it's raining.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Finally, a little rain and ride in apple country
Well, we finally are getting some sustained rain down here in Georgia. We are in a severe drought and every bit of moisture helps. We are something like 16" below normal precipitation. There is an outdoor watering ban and if you are caught watering outside, then your water is shut off. We have something like 80 days of water left. So the rain we are getting is very welcome.
The weather was beautiful this past weekend, so Becky and I headed up to Ellijay, Ga for some riding and to maybe take in the apple festival. Ellijay is the apple capital of Georgia. We rode the Bear Creek trail, which is in the Cohutta National Forest. The trail, like most trails in the mountains, climbs up the mountain and then back down. This trail is famous for a 400 year old Gennet Poplar tree
The ride was about 7 miles to the top were there is a gorgeous overlook. It took us a while to find (I got confused on the directions), but it was well worth it.
We ended up climbing the mountain twice, due to my misdirection. We met some nice hikers along the way. Riding in the mountains is so different than hitting our local trails. The natural landscape is so vast, your senses take some time to adapt. I love riding in the mountains, I wished we lived closer to them. We ended up with about 3 hours of riding with an elevation change of about 2500', that's up, then back down.After the ride we headed to one of the orchards for some apple goodies. Hwy 52 provided us with an assortment of orchards to choose from. We picked the first one we saw, because it was busy, and that is usually a good sign. I bought a fried apple pie, which was ridiculously delicious and sugar free to boot. We also got some apples and some pecan apple butter. We then headed home with another stop along the way for some hamburgers and fries (we needed to refuel after the ride). I think next time we go, we will camp or rent a cabin. Ellijay seemed like a nice little town and the riding is excellent in those parts.
Other than that... nothing else exciting going on. Looking forward to Thanksgiving, even if Becky and I can't make it. I just figured out that my football team will have to lose on the first round to avoid missing t-giving. We are currently undefeated. Things don't look good.
Later all,
matt
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