Rancho Relaxo 2011

A friend of a friend has a tradition every fall called Rancho Relaxo....beer, bikes and tequila.  The first day we planned on doing some Sedona riding on the way up to the Rancho....so we fixed our sights on riding Highline.

In the waning 92 degree heat of summer, we left the Bike and Bean and started climbing....blurry shots of switchback riding were absorbed along with copious amounts of brow sweet on my viewfinder.  Never sure what I had, I kept shooting.....some good came of it with some slower exposure times.....

Fixing the exposure and contrast and shutter speed.....so you know.....just about everything.....I'm able to capture Chollaball on his new Pivot Firebird climbing a switchback....This'll go I tell myself.....

.....that slack head tube angle and front tire seem to gobble up anything in it's path.....

......but can you haul the rest of you along with it I wonder......

......waiting........

.........pushing........

......hauling......

.......... success......

Traversing along the cool, shady side of the hill.....a rider is seen below an azure sky which is holding down crimson and cream lithic expressions....a gentle breeze brings relief up here.....

Keeping an eye on the trail and the dirty side down is a full time job at times.....

Making our way to the saddle, a pause in the climbing is appreciated through smiles and laughter. I take an obligatory blue-bike shot against amazingly crisp red sandstone and sky.

It's hard not to admire the winding singletrack down below.....

....in spite of the landsape dominating the horizon above.

Descending off of the saddle, I get Alex and Chollaball set up for a shot......

 ....rolling in tandem......

In a steep slot, I hunker down in a crevice along with a shrub to watch Alex shoot this line.....it's steeper than it looks......

In some late afternoon light, I feel lucky to be in the right spot at the right time......

Finishing off the descent....a break is taken at Buddha beach.  I wash the cool waters over my face and arms while enjoying conversation with friends.....

The lushness of this oasis cleaved into fiery rocks is the definition of beauty....

.....but so is some beer and tequila with friends at the end of a well earned ride.

After a night of Relaxo....we decide to ride Shultz-LilGnarly-Jedi-AZT to Aspen Corner and back.  The light was a bit flat....but the riding was not....more fun with slow shutter speeds capture funny faces in a life gone blurry....

The mini-Relaxo crew for 2011.....from left to right....me, Mr. Relaxo....and the disturbingly jovial Pirate.

Mr. Relaxo being.....Relaxo......