I'm glad that I'm not the only one who was surprised when their elevation gain read ~ 2500 feet at the end of the ride.

This was the advertised route map - http://www.mapmyride.com/us/healdsbu...route-86715841

What's odd is from my experience, MMR usually OVER estimates and that was grossly under. I'm glad that Chalk Hill Road was early in the ride, I wasn't ready for it so early in the ride but my body probably wouldn't have handled it so well if it had been at mile 45. The climb right before the 2nd rest stop was surprisingly brutal. It just came out of nowhere and I think for most of us (in the ragtag group that had formed) we were so focused on the rest stop that was "a mile away" that it was extra punishing.

The flatlands of Sacramento have done very little to prepare me for much more than some easy rollers. Be that as it may, the last 10 or so miles where it was perfectly flat was very nice though. I was very surprised how much randomness was in the bike lane on that last 10 miles though, I passed by several people who were working with flats. I do agree with your statement about the SAG support, it was very impressive. There was rarely a 10 minute interval on the road that one didn't zip by (bike or car).

The bike valet with free clean/polish at the end of the ride was quite nice. I arrived around ~ 13:00 and by 13:30 it was 'full' and they were turning bikes away. I suspect a lot of the 50km riders had filled it up because there were a lot of people at the 2nd rest stop when I left and only about 25 people passed me on the home stretch ride to base.

I'll second the roads. That was my first time riding in that area and some of the roads were borderline unsafe for bikes. There was one section where I was trying to pick (quickly) which was the least terrible hole to ride over. I don't fault ride organizers on that, I totally get that they were looking for secondary roads without a lot of elevation but my wrists/elbows hurt more yesterday than my legs. The Domane really earned it's reputation during the mid-third of the ride.

The rest stops at 18 & 43 were also a bit odd. I thought the first one was a little too early in the trip and the second was about 4 miles too late. But in hindsight, the second rest stop made a lot more sense. Coming out of a rest stop and then right into a big hill would have soul crushing, it was nice to have several miles of spinning to get the blood moving again. I had way too many of the roasted potatoes!

It looks like the photos will be posted here when they get everything uploaded - http://tourdefuzz.smugmug.com/LeTourDeFuzz2013