Originally Posted by
Mr. Beanz
Didn't you do The Bear or BreathlessAgony, one or the other? How was that? Did you think a climbing century was tougher than doing a sub 5 century? How do they compare?
Breathless Agony & the other 2 KOMs and Assault on Mt. Mitchell, among others.
Climbing was definitely harder for me. Breathless--hardest of the lot--caused me to question cycling and almost give up in despair (I've never SAG'ed in) except I never saw any on-course SAG vehicles. The pain went to my core (heart & lungs) because of the altitude--last 15 miles of climbing was over 5,000 ft altitude or something.
I never questioned myself at Tucson: it's pain was muscular, not cardiovascular. (Mulholland Challenge was also muscular pain. Heartbreak was just friggin' cold the last 10-miles!) That said, the sub-5 was plenty painful. And last year when I finished, I couldn't walk straight and utilized the services of a masseuse post-ride. I could've used that at Mulholland as I could barely move there, too.