hard to beat

 Sunday we hooked up with our buddy Ted for a MTB session over at Round Valley.  No photos were taken but here are some highlights:

• It was an absolutely spectacular day: sunny, clear, not windy and never hot, pretty much perfect for MTBing.
• Because it was a little cooler, there were lots of dogs out with their people including, but not limited to, a 16-week old rez dog puppy, a white-blond golden retriever who was very proud of the stick he was carrying, an enormous 9 month old brindle mastiff puppy named Fergus and two Great Danes even taller than the mastiff.
• We did over fifteen miles, one of the longer rides we've done this season.  I can't recall the route exactly but it involved Matt's Flat to the switchbacks that replaced My Nemesis (my personal name for a formerly gruelling climb straight up a narrow drainage), to Rademan Ridge (which is still rocky and not that much fun) and down Rambler, then up the sagebrush switchbacks of Rambler, then up further on PorcUClimb, then down Rusty Shovel.  At this point, Ted mentioned he'd like to do Big Easy again (the trail with the piano) so we went out on Ramble On (which is still awfully rocky and reminded H and me why we don't ride it very often) and then doubling back on Big Easy and then out.
• I started out riding okay but didn't have good focus - look, sego lilies!  look, a dog! - and ended up feeling like I was doing a lot of flailing.  H, on the other hand, had a great day: strong, fast, good bike handling.

Not as much as a highlight: weeding the rockscape on the north side of the house when we got home.  The post chores patio G&Ts were a good reward though.