G0029357

Mammoth Trip, 2019

September 14

Sonora Pass West

Eventually, the gradient eases, and you'd think that now I could pick up the pace. But I couldn't. I knew it was not that steep anymore, and I stared at my instruments, and I could see that my power output was super low, my heart rate, too, was very moderate, my cadence hovered around 60 RPM, and my legs felt like jelly. I couldn't pick up the pace. I couldn't recover from the hard part.


All the while, I kept thinking, it shouldn't be like this! I should recover! It isn't that steep here, I can spin up and regain momentum! But I couldn't. I wasn't thinking clearly. I'd forgotten this was at 2700 m altitude, and that oxygen was rare. I was struggling to breathe enough to burn the fuel I needed for this effort. -F