Not much to say except ouch. We left the hotel(?) and turned left. Didn’t use the big ring until after 2:30 PM. For the non cyclists that means we climbed. And climbed.
The climb was spread into two sections. The first part was on paved roads and included over 20 switchbacks. Pedaling through tunnels and up to 10500 feet of altitude. Grueling but satisfying to put it behind us. Grades were around 8% average. The good news was that it was cooler with the Andes blocking the sun.
Clearly after my tough day yesterday I did a much better job of fueling and preparing for today. For these types of events what you put in your body is the absolute most important thing. Good for the home team.
The second climbing stage was the most different and challenging of my life. First we let a bit of air out of the tires so that we could traverse the gravel trail up to 14000 feet. This trail was also switchbacks and with the rocks and the soft sand it was a technical climb. All attention had to be paid. There were a couple of big gravel areas that required both Mike and I to walk a bit. Incredibly hard.
One of the concerns was how I would react to the high altitude. Dr Heslin prepped me perfectly and had me drink 10 times the water that I would have usually consumed. Worked perfectly and I had zero issues. Shout out to Gene.
We crossed over into Argentina and have arrived at our lodging for this evening. Just the six of us in the three double beds (there is an advantage to finishing a bit sooner as you can get a bottom bunk.
Tomorrow is an easier day. 106 miles with very little climbing. Good day for our team to go slow and easy and get ready for days 4 and 5 which are each 150 plus miles.
Lots of photos of today. Craziest place in the world to decide to ride a bike!
Go Knicks
