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route was like half gravel with ridiculous gravel climbs, 16% for 2km kind of thing.
I'd forgotten the feeling. You're trapped in your lowest gear (26x36), exhausted, can't stand up to stretch or the back wheel will slip, can't weave around or the front wheel will slide out, so you're constantly on the verge of losing control, zoning out, snapping back.
bike would handle better uphill with lowrider panniers but they're a huge aero penalty and i didn't need that much stuff for a few days in summer.