# Best place to watch Stage 3: ToC??



## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

Hey all,

I am going to be watching Stage 2 and 3 of the Tour. I am very familiar with the North bay and have watched it before up there, so I have my little places. But I dont really know much of the area where Stage 3 goes. Im thinking the climb on Tunitas Creek would be best, but I have never been there and dont know much about the road if its good for spectating. Any suggestions?

Im looking for somewhere that riders will be going slower for good photos of course, like a climb. Any help would be great! Thanks


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Firemedic510 said:


> Im looking for somewhere that riders will be going slower for good photos of course, like a climb. Any help would be great! Thanks


Tunitas Creek is a good spectating spot. The steeper parts are more towards the bottom of the climb. There will be spectators along the length but with most at the top near Skyline. For quality pictures Tunitas Creek will have difficult light as it is very shaded. A better place may be the bottom of the Bonny Doon climb where there is a particularly steep section climbing out of a canyon and much more open. This is also probably where the fireworks will go off for the GC.


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## DasMud (Jun 8, 2003)

One good spot would be to watch them climb up and over 35, then while the peloton descends Kings Mtn, and heads back up 84, you can just ride down 35 to catch them head back to the coast.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

You can get some idea of the climbs at Tunitas Creek and Bonny Doon from these videos:


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

One think I think I left out is that I will be driving, not riding. I will be coming from Oakland area. I was looking at the stage map and was wondering if there is anywhere good around Woodside to watch? The second climb on Kings Mtn to Skylonda? 

Also - has anyone ever went to the "Festival" at the finish area? Worth it? I prefer to see the guys out on the road and not have to fight elbow to elbow with people just to see.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

It will be over very quickly in Woodside. Best bet might be to try to find a "slow" corner. Highway 84 is not very steep (maybe 6% on average, and not much variation) so they will be flying. You can find some spots with good light and views to the Bay, but I don't know how that is going to work for car access as they will close down the road early and on-road parking is limited, possibly non-existent.

Getting to multiple spots by car might be a challenge. If you do this, drive safe and watch out for cyclists! The finish will be high-speed and my guess is that most riders will "disappear" shortly after crossing the line. You might get more interaction with riders at a start.

Have you considered checking out Stage 4? The top of the climb up Sierra Road and the climb up the "wall" on Calaveras near Felter Road are good options. On Sierra you might get some neat shots with the bay in the background.


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

I was up there last year (Sierra Rd.) and it was great. Got some good photos, but due to rain and the bad weather/ lighting it was tough. Slow shutter speeds with fast moving Fabian and Lance haha. Not a good combo, but exciting to watch. I might try and go further up Sierra Rd this time, luckily I have Mon. - Thurs. off work. 

But I still need input on Stage 3. How about parking in Woodside, and riding up Kings Mtn. to the summit of where it meets with Tunitas Creek? I have just never been on any f these roads so I dont really know what to expect. I can lug my camera and some refreshments up there.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Firemedic510 said:


> But I still need input on Stage 3. How about parking in Woodside, and riding up Kings Mtn. to the summit of where it meets with Tunitas Creek? I have just never been on any f these roads so I dont really know what to expect. I can lug my camera and some refreshments up there.


That's essentially my plan, and also what I did last year (in the rain), and we'll have plenty of company. I am hoping that they will close Kings Mountain to up-going cars early to make it more pleasant. It should be possible to get down to 84/35 (Alices) to see them a second time. However, the pace will be fast over the intersections so it will be over quickly. I'd expect crowds at both spots. One might be better off slightly away from the intersections themselves. I'd also think that being half-way down Kings Mountain would be very spectacular but they'll be past you in a blink of an eye!


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

Bike Telemetry is cool!

Do they support MPH? Are watts estimated without a power meter? They should do watts/kg.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

jasonwells4 said:


> Bike Telemetry is cool!
> 
> Do they support MPH? Are watts estimated without a power meter? They should do watts/kg.


Thanks! Yes, the default is MPH but these videos happened to be generated in metric mode. There are a lot of extra stats and you can choose which ones you want. We'll be adding more over time. Estimating watts without a power meter is tricky and can be very inaccurate when there isn't accurate aero information. It is on the wish list.


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

Alright UKBloke, sounds good. I might see you there then. What bike you riding?? Im on a Scott CR1 PRO with a Blue Tacoma. Maybe Ill see you there. Thats going to be the easiest way for me to see the race. Cheers!


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Firemedic510 said:


> Alright UKBloke, sounds good. I might see you there then. What bike you riding?? Im on a Scott CR1 PRO with a Blue Tacoma. Maybe Ill see you there. Thats going to be the easiest way for me to see the race. Cheers!


White Tarmac. I'll be the very tall bloke with the UK accent!


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

Nice, Ill be the overweight white dude that you'll pass on your way up Kings Mtn. haha. As long as I get to see the race. I am recently back into riding after a few years off getting "Life" together.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

I rode up Kings Mtn last year and descended Tunitas down to the top of the steep part (near Purisima Creek OSP gate) - it got too cold so we rode back up to near the top of Tunitas.

Last year, Kings Mtn wasn't closed (but the race didn't use Kings last year) - I'd expect it will be closed to cars fairly early.

I hope Skyline is closed, but I expect it won't be - we rode down to Alice's last year for coffee (to thaw out), burgers and beer and there was a long line of car traffic on Skyline from Kings Mtn down to Sky Londa. I expect it is going to be even worse this year with the possibility of catching the peloton twice.

I hope they have good camera coverage of them descending Kings Mtn!

ukbloke, all going well I should see you out there. I assume you'll be in team colours


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

Anyone else on here planning on going out? Should be a great stage to watch.


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## sokudo (Dec 22, 2007)

When will they reach the top of Tunitas?


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

It looks like the summit (per the stage log) will be between 12:45 to 1:00. You can look at the stage log on the official website.

http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/docroot/media/2010/log-stage3.pdf


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## Tort (Nov 4, 2008)

DasMud said:


> One good spot would be to watch them climb up and over 35, then while the peloton descends Kings Mtn, and heads back up 84, you can just ride down 35 to catch them head back to the coast.


My friend will be doing this as well as heading south after they crest 84/35 and watch them on Bonny Doon as well. Helps he lives in Santa Cruz so he can ride home after.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Tort said:


> My friend will be doing this as well as heading south after they crest 84/35 and watch them on Bonny Doon as well. Helps he lives in Santa Cruz so he can ride home after.


I thought about that but decided that racing south on 35, 9 and up Alba Road would be risky, considering that many motorists will have the same idea. I think that route is 35 miles compared to ~50 miles that the tour will do so it is no easy ride to make it in time. 

Another (crazy?) possibility would be to head up Kings Mtn, drop down Tunitas Creek to the steep part to watch the tour go by, then head down Tunitas, Stage, Highway 1 and up Bonny Doon a little to the steep part for a second viewing. If you get caught by the race caravan you can just stop wherever you are so no chance of missing them. Then shortest route home, or more likely call for a pick-up!


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## dutch biker (Jul 30, 2008)

My plan also is to watch them at the top of Tunitas and then cruise down to 84 to watch them again. Going to be fun...Go Rabobank


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

So, for those of you familiar with the area:

If I park somewhere in Woodside, can I ride up Kings Mtn. Rd to where it meets Tunitas/ Skyline. Watch them pass there. Then after they pass, ride down Skyline to see them come up 84/ La Honda Rd to cross Skyline again?? Seem plausible??


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

So plausible that I think thousands of others (including me) will be doing the same thing (which is a good thing, not bad, although might make for some traffic down to Sky Londa)


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

Haha, alright, I think Ill plan on that. Also, hows the climb up Kings Mtn?? Any good route for a quick warmup prior to the climb? Also, thanks for all the help from everyone on here, I cant wait to watch the race!!!! Go Levi!!!!


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Firemedic510 said:


> Haha, alright, I think Ill plan on that. Also, hows the climb up Kings Mtn?? Any good route for a quick warmup prior to the climb? Also, thanks for all the help from everyone on here, I cant wait to watch the race!!!! Go Levi!!!!


Kings Mountain is a steady 6-8% grade with some steeper grades through the hair-pins. It is a bit less than 20 minutes at pro pace, 25-30 minutes at an "avid hill climber" pace, or longer depending on your fitness. As for a warm-up, you could do Mountain Home Road, right on Portola Road, and right on Woodside Road, before left on Tripp or Kings Mountain Road to pick up the climb. Another option is out-and-back on Canada Road. I expect a lot of traffic in the area so be careful.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

Firemedic510 said:


> Haha, alright, I think Ill plan on that. Also, hows the climb up Kings Mtn?? Any good route for a quick warmup prior to the climb? Also, thanks for all the help from everyone on here, I cant wait to watch the race!!!! Go Levi!!!!


It's the opposite of ukbloke's descent video 

It's an especially fun climb on this day because there will be so many cyclists on it and few cars (certainly, fewer speeding cars). It's about a mile longer than OLH, similar grade.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

ratpick said:


> I hope they have good camera coverage of them descending Kings Mtn!


Maybe - but seems unlikely that they will broadcast it. Versus live coverage starts most days at 2pm and, based on past experiences, they will basically show the whole of the second half of each stage live. They will precede with a heavily edited recap of the first half - typically limited to a few seconds of the start, breakaway formation, crashes, sprints, KOMs, and any other notable incidents (e.g. Lance waving at the camera). You might see a few tens of seconds at most of the Tunitas Creek climb, Kings Mountain descent and Highway 84 climb, but will probably get the whole of Bonny Doon, Pine Flat, Empire Grade and the finish live.

It is possible that there will be streaming live video on the web-site for the whole of the stage so you might get to see it there ... unless you are out on the stage watching it of course.

I guess there's an evening show too which will be even more heavily edited. I'll be using a TiVo so that I can watch the live coverage at my leisure.


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

Ill throw this out there too.

Anyone going to be around for Stage 2 in the North Bay?? Ill be in Napa region on the Oakville Grade. Very short climb, but its steep. Should be a great place to watch from. I watched before from here (they went the other direction SR -> Davis). Beautiful scenery, great wineries around there, and its my hometown woo woo!!!


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## Tort (Nov 4, 2008)

ukbloke said:


> Have you considered checking out Stage 4? The top of the climb up Sierra Road and the climb up the "wall" on Calaveras near Felter Road are good options. On Sierra you might get some neat shots with the bay in the background.


I work in RWC and if I can get off early I will try for Stage 3 Kings Mt/Tunitas, and as I live in the east bay I will be trying for Stage 4 Sierra/Felter/Calaveras as well if I can get the day off. I ride out there quite often on the weekends.

Can you feel the excitement growing?????


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Ugh, pretty wet out there again today. Hopefully no more rain but the roads aren't going to dry up particularly quickly. So I decided to leave the good bike at home, and brought the rain bike instead. Anyone come up with a good time estimate for heading up Kings Mountain Road from Woodside? I'm thinking about somewhere in 11am-11:30am range. I'd guess that the lead riders will cross Tunitas and Skyline closer to 1pm today.


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

ukbloke said:


> Ugh, pretty wet out there again today. Hopefully no more rain but the roads aren't going to dry up particularly quickly. So I decided to leave the good bike at home, and brought the rain bike instead. Anyone come up with a good time estimate for heading up Kings Mountain Road from Woodside? I'm thinking about somewhere in 11am-11:30am range. I'd guess that the lead riders will cross Tunitas and Skyline closer to 1pm today.


The peloton should cross Skyline between 12:45 & 1pm. I'm going to climb Kings Mtn, just for the atmosphere up there, but go down to Haskins Hill to watch - should be a little less crowded, enough of a grade to slow them down and a long straight stretch (where the entrance to Sam McDonald Park is) to watch them approaching (ie get 20 seconds rather than 5 seconds of viewing time  They should come over Haskins around 1:20-1:40pm

Hard to believe they are going to descend Kings Mtn and climb 84 back to Skyline in just 20-25 minutes!

It's not raining and the temperature is creeping up into the 60s - hopefully, the roads will be dry in an hour or so!


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Even Kings Mountain Road has its own web-site! From http://www.kingsmountainonline.com/:



> Like last year there will be a "rolling" closure of the roads surrounding the race. Locally we expect that Tunitas, Skyline and Kings Mountain will likely be closed at 11 am. These time are not confirmed but be prepared to take the long way off the mountain if you have to use these roads that day.


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## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

pretty good race. a little cold today though.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

CoLiKe20 said:


> pretty good race. a little cold today though.


It was just like last year but with slightly warmer rain! To compensate for this I wore less clothing to make sure that my comfort level was no better than last year. The visibility through the fog on the last section of Tunitas Creek was awful. My wife and child got the better deal - they're right at the finish line in bright sunshine, but under strict orders not to tell me the result! Looking forward to Sierra Road in partial sun tomorrow.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Levi and ukgirl at the finish in Santa Cruz!


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## ratpick (Jul 31, 2008)

Nice!!!!!!!!! She's looking a little star struck which means you've taught her well 

The weather was terrible so I just descended down Tunitas about 3 miles (to the steep bits) and watched them pass. I didn't expect to be able to catch them again, so to make a ride of it, headed up Swett and down 35 to Sky Londa, only to find that they hadn't summited yet! Got a double viewing when I wasn't expecting it.. awesome!

Glad to see it was sunny in Santa Cruz!


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

Levi sure looks a lot like Chris Horner. 

Great photo.


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## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

oh.. and who's the person with the RBR jersey passing me and the wife on MTB tandem?


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## Firemedic510 (Jan 21, 2009)

My plans totally changed before going out. Watched the Oakville Grade climb in Napa and that was lots of fun. But the lady and I decided to spend 2 nights in Monterey (Tue and Wed. night) so it messed up my chances of riding down there. I do have to say I wasnt jealous of all the people freezing their butts off next to me. I ended up watching them on 84 up towards SkyLonda, about a mile or two up from where Kings Mtn Road meets 84. Conditions were pretty bad, but we made the best of it, then left for Monterey from there. Hope everyone had a great time out there!!!

Go Lucas Euser #132!!!


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