That buzzing sound coming from the metal flagpole on the summit could only mean one thing; get off the mountain fast. My choice to go for the treeless peak was made about ten minutes earlier. There were storms off to the south but the sky overhead was looking relatively calm. I thought I had a window and in a bold-headed move decided to go for it.As I unrolled my emergency bivy from its comically small pouch I was pondering why I was even up there in the first place. Spat Spat Spat. The small, wind-driven raindrops bounced off my plastic cocoon. Where do mountain goats hide from lightning? Do they care that there’s no place to hide except for some small bushes? Do shrubs even provide protection or are they just blocking my view of the impending doom?I lugged my camera and gear all the way up to a very prominent 10,000’ peak only to get shut down by weather. This project had been bouncing around in my head for the past several months and was finally coming together. I would spend the day on a remote trail that seldom sees bike tires and document the journey with my video camera. The one thing I didn’t account for was bad weather. Not just a little rain, which I can deal with, I’m talking about electric weather. Granted, as I was ascending for the prior few hours I had my eyes fixed on the sky and noticed no signs of lightning or thunder. There was a significant amount of virga, but I chose to ignore it as a reason to turn around, besides, there were little pockets of blue sky poking out.It must have been about half hour when I poked my head out again. I discovered two things, first was that wearing a bike helmet provides for a surprisingly comfortable impromptu pillow for an alpine nap. And secondly, more awesomely, the sun was out! Go time.I quickly found myself back on the summit where my bike was waiting patiently in the talus. Not wanting to press my luck any further I banged out a few shots from the top and made my way down the upper portion of the trail. There’s a lot of steep exposure and slow, technical riding right from the summit. It truly is Mountain Biking.Deliberately moving down the trail my nerves settled. I was feeling safe and back to enjoying myself again. Not many places in the Wasatch can match this trail, huge views in every direction and nothing but an 8 mile downhill in front of me. As the storm clouds weakened the sun started to light things up in a magical way. The only way to experience moments like that is to be there. I was soaking it in, trying to absorb it all and hoping I could capture some of the feeling on video.With an ear to ear perma-grin I came zipping around a corner and encountered some other trail users. I had seen them on my way up but didn’t expect to run into them again. Really though, I didn’t mind sharing the moment with them, in fact I was pumped. I’ve only seen mountain goats in Utah a handful of times and it’s always a treat. They have so much character and they get to live in such an amazing environment. I could watch them cruise around the steep slopes all day if I had the time.Time was one thing I didn’t have much of. I kept my focus, shot a few frames and kept moving forward. Reaching the ridgeline about halfway down was an absolute treat. The lowering, warm sun was covering the singletrack in a perfect glow, small, less threatening storm clouds moving in from the south. It was a perfect recipe for a rainbow. Just as the thought popped in to my little brain there it was. A big arch, stretched out over the very ridge I was enjoying so much already. Magic.Not sure if the day could get better I kept descending. I dropped into the lower elevation trees that were wearing their prime fall colors. Being a New England boy I’m not much a fall foliage freak. I guess I always took it for granted, but this was a sight to savor. The maples were exploding with saturation. The trail intersected with an actual bike trail down lower and the riding got drastically different. Gone were the slow, careful moves of the alpine. Enter sweeping mini berms and hits to play on. Flow.Over my years as a mountain biker I have come up with a few key points I like to abide by to enhance my riding experience. They aren’t an end-all by any stretch, but if I can make them happen they always maximize the fun factor. Try to finish my ride with the longest downhill of the day. Find a nice spot to hang out after riding, a swimming hole, hot spring etc. And finally, probably the most important rule in all of mountain biking, have cold beer at the bottom.