The Plan was for the wife to come up Saturday PM to the Bay area for a long weekend getaway in the Sierra foothills for our 28 anniversary. That provided a perfect opportunity to see stage 7 of the TOC Saturday.

The goal was to see the stage racing action in two different places, including the top of Diablo, without getting in the car during the stage and still getting to airport on time in the late afternoon. So an early start up Morgan Territory Road provided a quaint view of the race near the start. Picture shows the red pokedot jersey out front with the pack still half asleep in the background. They of course later woke up, much to the displeasure of the KOM jersey up Diablo. The other pictures of the one lane road are of Morgan Territory. Sort of a quaint little storybook road, that rips the tendons off your knees.

I didn’t really need to rush after the Morgan Territory KOM to get to Diablo in the 20 mile transition route that the TOC race would soon be on. But maybe we all just got caught up in the racing moment, because my heart rate was at it’s highest for a 10 mile flat section (up to 185 – rare for me). A group of 4 us we being “chased” by a massive group (100 plus) that just came off the mountain, and it would have been chaos if they swallowed us up. So the four of us managed to stay out front, at a big cost for me. I needed a few Descenders compatriots.

The crowds on Diablo were more like how I remember Palomar several years ago. Big numbers and nut cases. I chose to view the race a few miles from the top, so that I wasn’t lost in a crowd of hundred screaming nuts. I got some great shots including Sagan waving to the crowd as the green jersey winner; and TJ, probably not long before the front chase group was decimated.

I saw Jelger (one of Matt’s boys) and I heard Larry T. was on Morgan Territory too (but never saw him). Perfect weather and visibility. 70 miles, 7,000 feet, and got the airport on time.

You should have come!

Dave