I'm torn on ToC final stage
 

I can't decide where to go watch; Palomar or the finish line.

It'd be awesome to see the individual climbers come up followed by the peloton, but it'd also be awesome to see the sprint to the finish and maybe meet a few of the riders afterwards. Right now I'm kind of leaning towards the finish in RB because it'd be easier to get to on Sunday morning.

What do you guys think? Palomar, RB, somewhere else?

I'll be at the finish line...

Finish lines have a nice big screen showing most of the race.

Palomar

A friend of mine is going to go to Lake Wohlford to watch. Just at the top of the climb, before the lake itself, is a bridge. From the bridge, you can watch the top half of the climb. Although it's a short climb, it may split the field a little bit because the sprinters will be taking it easy the final day.

The huge bonus is that they come back down this road into Escondido and it's after Palomar and Cole Grade, so you'll have riders passing by on the way back for a good 1/2 hour.

Or you could see the climb there, then have plenty of time to get to the finish.

Hang out on a climb somewhere.

Second half of Palomar. The finish will be fast and there will be a ton of people. You won't see much just a bit of a blur really. If you want to see them up close and personal, Palomar or if you fancy, go to Solvang for the time trial - the BEST viewing around. Just remember, considering the route for stage 8, if you decide to see them anywhere along Palomar or Cole you probably won't be able to make it to the finish, it's too close and the road will be closed.

Go to Palomar or Cole Grade. If you'd like to see a sprint you should consider going to the finish in Pasadena on Saturday. You can see them do 5 laps of the Rose Bowl and the sprint.

I have hoped and dreamed of a major race going over Palomar for years, but now that it's actually happening I'm not that interested. That said, I think the best way to do it is get on your bike somewhere in Valley Center in the morning and start riding the route until you find a good spot.

I want to do palomar but my wife wants to go as well, and there's no way she's riding up there, will there be buses up the mountain?

Good thread. I was wondering the same thing.

There will be no bus/shuttle service to any portion of Palomar or even to the base. Thought about it, but it would be too difficult to get shuttle back to get people. The Palomar fire department (at the KOM) is going to have a big screen set up so you can watch the the race. They will also be selling coffee, hot chocolate, hot dogs, chili, etc. Enjoy the race and help out the volunteer fire department.

I have friends in Temecula and at first thought Palomar would be awesome - spend night in Temecula, get up early and ride up Palomar... But after thinking about the logistics (crowds, parking anywhere near the area, traffic control), it might be less of an experience than the ideal in my head. What makes more sense to me now is riding up somewhere along AFH for stage 6, then flying down ACH following the support vehicles (if possible), and watch somewhere along the Rose Bowl circuit, if not the finish line itself.

Nutjob.

right now i'm leaning towards finding a corner on east grade and watching the descent. it is impressive to watch someone striking up a big climb in their big ring, but i think it is more exciting to watch a smooth pro descend at ludicrous speed, even if it is only about a millisecond of lycra and carbon woosh. dunno. i am curious what you all think is the best spot. i'm not familiar with palomar

Maybe a bar, on Garnet, that has a large screen.

Good idea! Bates Nut Farm is in Valley Center. Maybe we can park there.

To KiddSisko: Sorry man, but you will not be able to tuck behind the caravan and blast down ACH. It will be some time before they open ACH to any traffic. Also, the End of Caravan is a CHP cruiser who will kindly ask you (over a very loud speaker) to kindly pull it over and sit a spell. Remember, there is going to be an hour's worth of traffic sitting at the AFH/ACH intersection waiting to head down into LCF. Once that traffic clears, you will be allowed to head downhill.

I thought about that too, unfortunately the problem is that East Grade is really wide open, not alot of tight turns unlike South Grade. I would love to watch 'em go down South Grade at race speed.

i'm ok with it if they don't have to brake much or at all as long as they go by at some fantastically dangerous speed that i would never consider. i want to say, 'holy *****, that ****er has some balls!' if that is not possible on east grade, perhaps somewhere else? i'm not familiar with palomar

They'll definitely be going down at speeds much faster than you or I will ever attempt. There are also some turns on east grade, you just gotta go there and check it out beforehand. Another good downhill run would be Bandy Canyon. There's a quick right/left/right as they go down a 7% descent. Short but it might be cool to see. There is also the descent as they come down Lake Wolhford and descent of Valley Center towards the casino.

If you want to see some ridiculous speeds then stop at the Taco Shop at the bottom of Palomar... not much parking, but riding over from Harrah's is an easy 3 miles...

I really want to see Lance at the end.... so I can tell him I will see him at the finish in July...

I hit the climb right before the feed stage...

It was great...lots of cool stuff!!

is there a publicity caravan? free samples of amgen epo and such? advertising swag is pure garbage, but for whatever reason, i can't get enough of it.

Much obliged for the info. Now I know what to do - rent a helicopter.