G0030720

Mammoth Trip, 2019

September 14

Sonora Pass West

So I zoned out, and just kept the cranks turning. I wasn't trying for the PR anymore. This was just damage control - make it to the top. I kept anticipating the flat section I remembered from last time. I had forgotten to put the course on my Garmin, so I couldn't look at the profile as I climbed, or see how much further it was to go. I did mental calculations, and it seemed while I'd already been riding forever, I still had quite a way to go. Where was that flat section?


But I was lucky in a way. Yes, the tacky fresh asphalt sapped my energy. But on our return trip a week later, another part of the lane I was now climbing would be in the process of being repaved with huge heavy machinery, and long waits at one way controls, and unbreatheable tarry air. Had this happened on the way up, I would have had to abandon the climb, and put the bike back on the trunk rack. -F.