Originally Posted by
dalameda
I'm talking high altitude of course. After seeing some of biker395's jawdroppingly spectacular photos of the Eastern Sierra. I signed up for the High Sierra Fall Century in September. I'll be traveling up from the sea level of the Bay Area on Friday, and doing the ride on Saturday. How much will the altitude impact the riding, and in what way? I saw a post from Dudelsack (and who wouldn't trust someone named Dudelsack) mentioning that altitude effects diminish with age. So, do I need to throw out the CO2 and Pack O2 instead or not?
I wouldn't trust me, either. The fact that you don't is a virtue.
I can only share my anecdotes. 20 years ago, my family would take a ski vacation at Copper Mountain, which is at 9500 feet, give or take. I was always miserable the first few days from the altitude.
This past week, we spent 3 days at Erie, which is only 5500 feet or so, then we traveled up to the Copper Mountain area. Cycling is not as intense as Alpine skiing, and I didn't have much trouble with it. We cycled from Frisco to Vail Pass, one long long climb up to I'm guessing 11500 feet, and I did fine.
My Strava rating for the Copper to Vail Pass segment was 895 out of 900. Oh well.
So, if you're in reasonable shape and you don't push it too hard, I think you'll be fine.