like having our own private trails

I had been a little concerned about the state of the Round Valley MTB trails after all the rain northern Utah had had earlier in the week (it was a LOT of rain).  I needn't have worried.  I don't think the Wasatch Back got as much as the Wasatch Front but, regardless, the nice dry weather Friday and Saturday put things to right.  There were a couple of damp patches but we didn't encounter any mud requiring us to reroute our route.

Roller-skiing is totally cooler than roller-blading

Amazingly, there were just not that many people out there on Sunday, even with how spectacular the day was.  Oh, sure, the Canadian national nordic ski team was there, doing some dry land training on roller-skis.  But we hardly saw anyone out on the Round Valley trails: there was no one on the Nouvelle Loop; I saw only two other MTBers on the Sweet Sixteen climb; and for the first time in recent memory, there was no one either coming up or going down the sagebrush switchback portion of Rambler as we descended.

Wide open and covered by blue, blue sky

H had gotten his legs and lungs back but I have definitely been improving, gaining ground on him on the climb up My Nemesis and sticking to his wheel on the approach to Hammerhead Hill.  I even took back some time on the Sweet Sixteen climb: it took me 2:08 longer than H to do the climb last week and 1:58 this week.  I've absolutely gotten stronger as the season has progressed.  I don't have any goals per se but the improvement is good to gain.