Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
Well, I have a riding buddy who vacationed in the Himalayas, riding his bike to 18,300' over a period of 2 weeks. He came back and a few weeks later took 45 minutes off his age group record for a local hill climb. So there ya go.
I'm thinking that part of that might have been from a "free" EPO boost that the body serves itself with when it finds itself in an extended oxygen shortage. But, climbing 18K feet wouldn't do any harm either.