Where'd the summer go?

I haven't raced since the state championships, and busy with work, etc. haven't trained much either. I've been riding pretty much every day, but just short jaunts behind the house, which is why so little blogging (that and time).

This has left me feeling like it should still be mid-summer, but the kids are in school, the mountains are cool, and the bow-hunters were out as I rode up Catherine's area today. The signs are all out ... summer is coming to a close.

Guess it is time for the big fall rides. Today I rode from the mouth of Big Cottonwood over to and then up the Quarry Trail in Little Cottonwood for the first time. The lower section was pretty much a dirt road. The upper section has several big drops and rocky areas that I couldn't ride up. Someone told me the trail goes all the way to Snowbird, but I must have missed river crossing or something.

Anyway, I rode from Tanner's Flat up to Alta and then over Catherine's, then down into Brighton. From Brighton I continued up the Wasatch Crest and would have gone over to Mill Creek, but it is an odd-numbered day and the Mill Creek trails are closed to bikes, so I just rode down past Dog Lake, Mill D, and back to the mouth of Big Cottonwood. Water is available at Tanner's, Snowbird, and Brighton, so that wasn't a problem at all.

It is always fun to see Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Superior, Scott's, USA, Flagstaff, etc., and think of the good times skiing, but this time of year there is an added sense of anticipation that makes it even nicer.