My wife and I are both signed up for Tour de Palm Springs 2014 so I will see you there! Always a fun event and I agree with what Victor (
Biker395) said . . . except, okay, I admit I'd never given the plastic water bottles much thought
.
Overall excellent organization, lots of good food and water (
) with a well marked course so it's pretty much impossible to get lost. Well,
JGSnCA, since you're from Rancho Mirage you wouldn't get lost anyway. A very fun event with bands playing at most of the checkpoints.
We always stay at the Motel 6 near the start so we don't have to drive on the morning of the event. Try to get there a bit early if you're driving in since traffic is a bit of a mess that morning.
The only downsides are that the wind can be brutal for the first about 15 miles. For the last two years we've had brutal side-winds (some riders actually blown off the road) followed by a left turn into a brutal headwind. The good news? After this first painful bit you turn right and get a wonderful tail wind on a downhill with perfect pavement. Excellent pay-back!
Will try to remember to wear my 50+ bikeforums.net jersey so you can spot me in the crowd.
Rick / OCRR