I thought this to myself at about mile 10.5 into the 15 mile climb, out on the exposed and steep west face, feeling surprisingly cheerful and strong while mild temps and hazy skies blessed our efforts up the 4500 vf climb.   I thought how cool it would be to be finished with this ginormous climb, but reminded myself the last 4.5 miles were about 45 minutes of hard effort. Sure enough, by mile 11.25 I was praying for death.   Beckie learned a half-mile before about The Quiet Place.

Beckie and I were planning to camp in Flag with a big group, but a late visit by her parents gave us time only for a day trip to 6 Shooter Canyon in Globe with PaulB, Sam, LiteandFast Dave and Maadjurguer.

The pedal up was going to be the week’s training ride for the Barn Burner in June. I did it last year so knew what to expect, which only made it  the least bit easier.   It would be a test for Beckie, but she had the well-suited Hei Hei, and looked really solid, not showing that this is the biggest climb she’s done.   We pulled away from the rest of the group around mile 4, and drove each other to the top from there.   A couple times I fought to keep pushing the Heckler up the hill over things that seemed to give Beckie and the Hei Hei speed, a few times towards the end I seemed to pull a few seconds in front of her having the calm of having climbed this before, but mostly we were remarkably compatible and kept each other motivated. Many mood swings when the climb tests you, but much easier to remain steady with a partner, who I was not going to let beat me to the top.

the mine far in the background

We made it to the 6 Shooter trailhead in about 2:20, stronger than last year which surprised me and gave me a big rush.   Except…um, it just didn’t look the same, somehow I mis-remembered the TH and we wound up riding another 2 miles and 400 feet to the top of the peak and back down, which sucked the joy out of the fast climb.    This led to great bickering when we finally did meet Sam and James coming into the TH, and in our slappy happy state provided punch-drunk entertainment.   It was cold at the top and we had come through some drizzle, so the extra time staying warm wound up being oddly advantageous.   Whatever, training ride.

We launched off the top into steep muddy jumps and waterbars.   Some I hit, some were so close together it got kinda scary and nose-heavy to let it rip.   Mostly   i just yipped and hooted my way down the mountain, getting back all the extra effort of dragging the Heckler to the top.   The DH was so much sweeter after the warm glow   of a strong climb, though that turned to anaerobic burn for a short 200 vf stretch crossing back over the ridgeline of the canyon.

The transition from super-steep muddy jumps to super-tight off-camber leaves to rocky stream crossings to rolling rocky manzanita groves always blows my mind on this trail.   Each strata is so intense but the segways all natural, and the descent so steep, you blink and suddenly are in another mini ecosystem.  Sessioning the log roll, the hard corner, and the washes were the only things that slowed the descent down.

the log roll was tricky with so much mud in my tread.   As Sam said, many of our attempts ended up on the cutting room floor.

I got this corner on my first run, for the first time ever.   Then flubbed about 6 more attempts.

picking lines through the boulders, typical of the stream crossings

after seeing us clean it, James decided to stretch himself.   Sam said “I see the opportunity for carnage” and we all were rewarded after reaching for our cameras.

Beckie’s first ride with pads; she was receptive to my warning of the trail’s pitch and the Hei Hei’s ability to get fast.   The temps at the top convinced her to strap them on.   One fall made it a good decision.

Beckie brought a cooler full of beer for after the ride, then we rallied for lunch at Libby’s El Rey, one of many unpretentious but damn tasty Mexican restaurants in Globe.

Video from Sam