Second time on this ride. As Chuck Bramwell might say, I suffered "thermonuclear meltdown" at the turn-around point due to the heat there near the Kern River. It sucked all the power out of me and I had a terrible time getting up to Sherman Pass. Unlike in 2010, when I reached the unmanned hydration stop half-way up, there were NO Cokes, and no more ice. At least there was sufficient water left to get me to the top. The result was that I had insufficient power to ride at a reasonable pace on the return from Sherman Pass, and had to limp up, figuratively, the little climbs and rollers; I did not have the power to "pop" the rollers. My time from the start to the Kern River was OK, at 6 hours flat, with 33.5 min stopped time. The descent took me 34 min. From the start to Sherman Pass took 5.2 hrs, 4:52 moving and 20 min. stopped. I was stopped at Sherman Pass on the outbound leg for 13.5 min.