Home Tour of California 2010

Daily Routine

This is generally how each day will unfold. We can't get too specific yet, as the Tour hasn't published the detailed schedule of start times, routes, etc. [Coach P Notes in Red] But let's assume a 0800 wheels up time, which is what we'll do if the tour rides at 10 or 10:30. We've found we need a minimum head start of 2hrs, at least:

0630-0730: Camp breakfast available for you, in addition to the hotel chow. Note, no poached eggs and see Chris Malone for best coffee.

0740: You're at the vans with your luggage bag and day bag. Your bike will be there to meet you, tires pumped up, etc. Note how P is covered with bike grease and R is squeaky clean. P will be late, every day.

0800: You ride!

How the riding works:

We encourage everyone to ride with someone: You'll naturally break into ability groups, and we will facilitate this in 2010. One of the coaches will be riding while the other is driving a van. We switch off every day, etc. There will be another support person riding sweep. The vans will meet you at the sprints, KOM's, etc. We're pretty good at working things so the vans are always near you, know where you are, etc. Between everyone riding with a cell phone, CB radios in the vans and the coaches, we'll keep track of you, no worries.

How/where we end each stage depends on lots of factors: The terrain, the course, available exit points from the course, what the front and backends of the course looks like, the amount of driving we have to do at the end of stage to get to that nights hotels, etc. The most important rule is: if a driver of a van tells you to get in a van so he can leapfrog you ahead, get you back on course, buy you 10-15 miles on the peleton, you get in the van, no exceptions. Our worst nightmare is the entire camp, minus That Guy, stuck in the rain at the top of a KOM with/without vans, we get swept up by the Tour and now have to wait for all the traffic to clear so we get down the mountain and to the hotel. That situation can cost us 3-4hrs, easy...and has in the past. We love you, you love us, but no one loves sitting in a stinky van for a few extra hours.

You'll generally ride 3-5hrs per day: This is plenty, trust us! Again, depending on lots and lots of variables, we might be able to stop the days riding at a KOM or Sprint, watch the Tour roll by, then get on with our day. So, in general, you're here to ride, not ride and see the Tour because it's frankly impossible on several days. But we'll do our best to do both when it works. Saturday looks like the best day for it.

So figure your riding day ends about 2pm. We then load up the camp and drive to the next hotel. RnP scheme the next day with each other via cell phones will driving, and we'll brief you on that plan while driving.

Our intent is you get to the hotel, your bags are there waiting for you (ideally already in your room). You give us your bike and you already know the plan for tomorrow. Eat, do your thing, enjoy! (Enjoy = pass out staring at elevation profile for next day!)

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Comments

  • COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • When the Tour publishes route details we'll be able to give you a better plan for each day. I'm especially curious about Friday and Saturday.

  • I'm really looking forward to this, but the concept of booking flights and all the logistics (esp with my bike) is kinda intimidating. EEK!
  • The other thing that RnP will explain is our transfers. Basically the travel time from end of ride to the start of the next start town. This isn't something we just do it's something the entire tour does. Some of the transfers were brutal last year but we had some amazing group of people that hanging in the van for 2 hours was a lot of fun. Stinky feet and all.
  • So excited reading these posts!! ToC last year was one of best vacations I've ever had. On the bike, off the bike. Just the total definition of fun stuff with fitness.

  • Ack! Is May here yet?! Can't wait to go!!
  • DAMMIT - looks like such a fun camp - already booked to do another training excursion the week after already with my crew... next time!
  • Will we mostly be staying in/near the finish town?
    Being from Cali, I might be able to coordinate some visits with my homies, if I can provide a general whereabouts for the night, as far in advance as I can.

    Stage 1, Sun 5/16: Nevada City to Sacramento
    Stage 2, Mon 5/17: Davis to Santa Rosa
    Stage 3, Tue 5/18: San Francisco to Santa Cruz
    Stage 4, Wed 5/19: San José to Modesto
    Stage 5, Thu 5/20: Visalia to Bakersfield
    Stage 6, Fri 5/21: Pasadena to Big Bear Lake
    Stage 7, Sat 5/22: Los Angeles
    Stage 8, Sun 5/23: Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills Circuit Race
  • No, staying in/near start town. Each day we'll stop riding in/near/outside of finish town and drive to the next day's start. This way we ride from the hotel in the AM, whenever possible.

  • IOW, no finish towns ever unless there is overlap...
  •  OK- so if I understand this correctly, the "here is where I'll be at night for dinner/sleep" schedule looks roughly like this?

    Sun 5/16: Davis

    Mon 5/17:  San Francisco

    Tue 5/18:  San José

    Wed 5/19:  Visalia

    Thu 5/20:  Pasadena  

    Fri 5/21:   Los Angeles 



  • Staying in:

    Sat night: Grass Valley

    Sunday: Davis

    Monday: Pacifica

    Tuesday: San Jose

    Wednesday: Visalia

    Thursday: Monrovia

    Friday: Monrovia

    Saturday: most everyone is leaving Saturday night.



     

  • Rich, 

    Is it safe to say wwe won't need any warm weather gear (coats, long sleeve jersey, arm warmers) in may in Cali?  The weather turns warm here too in May but you never know when we may get that unusual 40 to 50 deg. rainy day.  Is this not the case for Cali.  I'm a very light packer and if I don't need the stuff I'm not bringin, if you know what I mean.

  • Safe to say...but might want to bring it anyway cuz it will suck if you don't have it. We'll be at elevation some days so...who knows. I'll bring:

    • 2 tech-t's, as undershirts
    • 1 x armwarmers
    • Jacket with removable sleezes, becomes vest
    • Glove liners
    • Toe caps
    • Beanie

    That above keeps me comfortable, enough, as low as mid-high 40's, as long as I'm working.

  • Trent,

    We still may have rain in late May. Usually pretty slim by then, but we've had a pretty wet Spring. I'd at least be prepared for rain. You can always leave extra stuff in the van and have Mrs. Rich drive it around for you. Agree with Rich's post. May be long descents too, which can be cool, cold, especially if shaded. In the Spring I almost always take arm warmers and vest and take off, put back on depending on conditions.

    tom
  • That's we roll in Cali, yo. Can be cold in the AM, long climbs, short climbs, long descents...you're always taking layers on and off. In the EN peleton, not stopping is allowed to add/remove layers. You need to be able to go from sleeves down, shirt unzipped across the KOM to sleeves up, shirt zipped, vest on and in the drops within the first 500m of the descent.

    It's a rule...

  • I have a feeling I'll be breaking a lot of rules in May!
  • This may be the first TOC in history where rich isn't borrowing gear from us East Coasters!!!! image We'll need to hit him up for sunblock!
  • Speaking from personal experience but if you find yourself at the top of a climb and have a long very cold decent ahead of you and you didn't bring any warms clothes just check the drainage ditch. You never know if someone has thrown a sweatshirt in said ditch. It doesn't matter than the sweatshirt has been in the ditch a 2 months or smells like the homeless person it last kept warm. No! stop and put on said sweatshirt over your kit and finish your ride to the bottom. Make sure to throw the sweatshirt back into the ditch when you are the bottom. Might be helpful for the next person.
  • Dan....  That is great!!!!  And will take into consideration.

    Just sayin though, us midwest northern boys get outside and start riding before daylight and its maybe high 30's to low 40's and I'm only wearing short sleeve jersey. (but I'm working too)  Now if it is raining and 50 deg. and at altitude that is another thing, so point taken I'll bring a little something, but what Rich has on hand sounds like my full on winter gear and just plain weighs too much.

  • My point is that you've probably never been on a climb that will take you, no joke, 1hr+ of continuous climbing. You strip down, reach the top and it's low 50's and now you descend for 20', then climb for 40', descend for 15'...you get good at changing layers on the fly.

    Dan's story is me at a camp I did out there in...'04, I think. I didn't bring anything for a long descent and found a nasty pizza delivery shirt in the gutter

  • I'm just not going to read these posts anymore! All they do is freak me out!! LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA I can't hear you! LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA
  • I can only speak from my experiences (which ain't Cali) but a couple of years ago I offered one of my ride partners an extra set of long finger gloves at the car before we started out on the Triple Bypass here in Colorado. He politely declined and on the first descent (mountain pass 30') he damn near wrecked his bike cause he was so cold! All because he is a roadie purist and only takes what fits in a jersey pocket. They make seatpost racks and trunk bags for a reason! I'd rather be comfortable than cool any day.
  • Posted By Rich Strauss on 08 Apr 2010 09:16 PM

    My point is that you've probably never been on a climb that will take you, no joke, 1hr+ of continuous climbing. You strip down, reach the top and it's low 50's and now you descend for 20', then climb for 40', descend for 15'...you get good at changing layers on the fly.

    Dan's story is me at a camp I did out there in...'04, I think. I didn't bring anything for a long descent and found a nasty pizza delivery shirt in the gutter





     

    Sounds like the coolest riding around, can't wait!!!   I think my longest climb took me maybe 30min. when I did the 3 state 3 mountain challenge in Chattanooga and the decent was maybe 15 minutes so nothing really to ever get you cold and certainly not at a rediculous elevation.  I'll be prepared just had to give you Cali guys a little razzing.

  • I do assume that Rich has staked out every city we stay at after riding and will provide a list for all us hobbling campers to wobble to the nearest brewery with the best suds!!

  • Trent's last comment leads me to ask, what happens after we ride?

    Do we watch the pros finish, if the timing is good?
    Then we go to hotel, get cleaned up and head out for food?
    Then we head to the local pubbery?
    Then we fall asleep (pass out) with our heads on the table?
  • @Scott,

    There is just too much driving between Stages, too much traffic, too many moving parts for us to see the Pro's finish. You'll see pretty quickly just how many moving parts are involved in this camp and why it just won't work. We are here to ride, a lot, and hard, bonus if we can see the race. I'm 99% sure that we'll be in Big Bear to the see the finish of that stage and Saturday will be a good day to go downtown to see the race, get your groupie on, etc.

    Whenever possible, the plan for the end of each stage is:

    • Toss your, your bike in the vans and get rolling before the Tour catches us.
    • Ideally we have some sort of food waiting for you in the vans, or we stop, very, very quickly somewhere along the way NOT on the bike course. We've been caught by the Tour while we were getting sammiches...it sucks.
    • While driving to the hotel, or ahead of time, we'll either find out or let you know about what restaraunts are near the hotel.
    • We arrive at the hotel. In a perfect world we've punched Joanne, Riley, and the admin van ahead of us by 45-60' and she has checked us all in, bags are in your rooms, etc.
    • You shower and go to dinner. Between walking and 3 vans, we figure it out. But what we try to not do is tell a restaraunt that we are bringing in 25 people, cuz that turns into a 3hr evolution.
    • Beers are welcome if it works out. PnRnD last year spent many nights last year wiping down, servicing bikes in a room while eating pizza and drinking beer.

    In short, we can not understate how much this camp is about riding and getting to/from where we need to be when and not about anything else that is not about riding and logistics. This is not a wicker basket, wine and cheese tour

  • Scott, last year, we usually saw the pros roll by at whatever point we finish for the day.  Sometimes not as we're looking to boogie to the next town, sometimes a long drive, roads closed etc.

    We'd dry off/get changed, have some van food load bikes and head to next town, stumble either into a restaurant or hotel then food depending on the logisitcs.  There were no extra night life trips last year as we were either doing laundry or passing out while the crew was hard at work cleaning our bikes and planning for the next day.

    Dave

  • If you are not dead tired and asleep by 8pm you didn't ride hard enough image

    Seriously though I'm pretty sure that RnP and myself were the only ones to be awake after 9pm. Campers were wiped out last year.
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