Monday, February 23, 2009

TOC!!!


In one word...Awesome!!! Left the house Sunday morning at 10am with about six other teammates. We made our way to Cole Grade Road via Lake Wohlford Road. I've climbed Lake Wohlford many times before, but never with a thousand + people lining the side of the road ringing cow bells and cheering you on. After riding 92 miles the day before up Palomar Mountain, I told myself I was going to take it easy going out to Cole Grade Sunday, but that was impossible with all those people providing some serious motivation to go fast up the hill. Great experience!

Anyhow, arrived at Cole Grade, and found our way to a four-acre plot of land privately owned by an individual who was generous enough to open it up to the public, offering incredible views of Pauma Valley and Cole Grade below. A Jumbotron was on hand, along with a PA system, porta potties, trash cans, etc. Simply amazing! Hats off to the owner of the land for making a lot of people's day:) I have to say, seeing the racers live was an incredible experience, but really paled in comparison to the sheer magnitude of the energy the spectators were putting out that day. I truly hope the promoters of the TOC took note...300,000 spectators turned out for Stage 8, and 2 million spectators for the entire tour. WOW!

Up next, Santiago Canyon TT this Saturday. Not expecting any fireworks, but it will be nice to reintroduce the body to the pain of TT'ing. Until next time...P.S. The photo of Armstrong was taken by yours truly, as he was approaching the top of Cole Grade Road. I was extremely lucky to get such a great photo. Couldn't of taken a better one if I tried! Until next time...

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