Originally Posted by
Hypno Toad
The one thing I know I'm missing is riding in thin air ... if you're going to high elevations, that'll come down to good cardio conditioning.
I have my sights set on climbing Mauna Kea (13,800 ft climb from sea level). Prior to that challenging, I'll drive to Estes Park to ride Old Fall River Road (5,000 ft climb summit at 12,000 ft) to train at altitude.
Response to altitude doesn't really have much to do with cardio conditioning. Even fit people can be reduced to sloth-like movements if they go high enough.
Riding up a mountain isn't "training at atltitude" and isn't going to really affect your performance at altitude. Spending significant time at altitude does help with acclimation, but then you're talking days/weeks.