Now those of you who bike with me (Gareth) you will know I like my hills. However, today's "HILL" was to be my greatest hill climbing achievement ever!
We started early as we knew we had a pretty large task ahead. The road out of San Antonio had be very nicely graded thought the early hours which made riding back to the junction alot easier. We already knew there was about a 1 1/2 km of sand to get past, after our first try. Once we had got past this, the surface seemed pretty good. We did stop for a quick break in an old sheep pen which was occupied by chinchillas in the stonework. We did umm and ahh, on whether to continue or to set camp here and hit the climb tomorrow, but we opted to continue.
From here on we knew we had to get up and over today, or risk potential altitude sickness. The climb was spectacular as the road wound it´s way up. With every corner negotiated the scenery became more beautiful and wildlife started to appear, vacunas (a wild llama) could be seen on the slopes and ahead. It was all a bit awe inspiring.
The down side to the whole event, was the affects of the altitude on myself. Sarah seemed to be unaffected and was always up ahead stopping to take photos of me or the scenery.I just kept on grinding away, but in the last 2-3km it really started to affect me. The only way I can describe it, it´s like trying to breath through a straw and after awhile all I could do was ride 200m then stop catch my breath and start again.This in it´s own right was a challenge, as it was the most exerting part of the whole affair.
Our prize? To be able to say we have stood on the highest pass in Argentina and we have cycled higher than Mont Blanc! Altitude 4900m.
What a great day!!
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