Rancho 6 was a mulligan, Alex’s re-decorating year. Hard to believe its been 2 years; hard to believe its been 7 years.

Just me and James were able to make it, and we three made a tight little ManClan.   Alex’s riding is so much like mine that he easily fit with James. James is so much faster than us and likes fiddling with his fancy camera. I made salad.

Friday was Highline in Sedona. My pics suck, the ride was so good i spent no time with setup or light. Kinda pointless anyway when Maad has his fancy glass and makes me look like a rockstar.

My 3rd time on Highline and the DH has totally slowed down, which makes it even cooler to now reflect on just how intense is the 5-minute unbroken string of challenges.   Steep roller, steep slot, steep chunky staircase, 10 nasty switchbacks.

It was too hot for late September, over 90. Buddha Beach was wonderful.

despite James refusing all weekend to smile cause it hurts his CORE-ness.

After a night of Rancho shenanigans, Saturday was going to be a big day. Schultz->Little Gnarly->Jedi->AZT all the way to Aspen Corner. 30 miles and about 4.5 hrs spinning.

It took us almost 2 hrs from Jedi to our stopping point along the AZT. By the end I was cracking, but the rest stop was worth it. Slack bike, flat pedals, and almost 9k altitude made the long climb hurt. The new stretch of AZT is absolutely fantastic; bermed and benched and armored in all the right places.   I let it hang out on the 5 mile descent as The Bird got payback for all the suffering on the climb.

Steaks and shots back at Rancho

James’ fork seals blew up at the very end of our ride on Saturday, and Alex found out he needed to leave much earlier than anticipated. So we opted for a sweet little hike Sunday morning to end the weekend.