May 21, 2011. I rolled out from the house at 8AM to ride up to the top of Glendora Mountain Road to watch the TOC ride by. On the way up it was like a long climbing club ride or even a century as there were hundreds of riders riding up to catch a glimpse of the pros.

I rode up with riders that were traveling at about the same speed, approx 8mph, while most passed me going 10mph. the pros were riding at 14 to 15 mph up most of Glendora Mt road.




I got to the top at the caltrans equipment station and many spectators were there already having found a spot in the pullout near the top of GMR. To my surprise, Milton was there in the shade having ridden up about an hour earlier.



We then rode over the top to the intersection of Glendora Mountain and Glendora Ridge road where the pros would ride by first before descending down the backside of GMR into West Fork San Gabriel Canyon. On the way we crossed the King of the Mountain marker where the pros could earn extra points toward the KOM prize. One of the nice spectators took our picture.



We waited along with several hundred other fans at the intersection for at least a hour before the endless parade of vehicles eventually led to the pros riding by. They came by very very quickly making it difficult to pick out any riders. The first group was the breakaway group which everyone cheered as it contained American George Hincapie seen here in the middle of the picture in red.

Several groups of rider came by as the pack was broken up into several smaller groups.




We then rode back to our original vantage point to see the pros ride by a second time as they came up the front side of Glendora Mt Road.




The breakaway was just ahead of the main pack led by Radioshack and the eventual winner of this stage, Levi Leipheimer, the first rider in this pic. Most of the pros were riding compact cranks with 52-35 chainrings and 11-26 or 11-27 cassette gears on the back to tackle the steep climbs on this 75 mile stage.




Some fans ran alongside riders to show their support.

Here in the middle of the main pack, the second blue helmet is Dutchman Johan Van Summeren, this years winner of Paris Roubaix. Always the tallest rider in any pack the 6'6" rider can hold his own even in the mountains.

The last group coming up the UCI ranked category 2 climb is followed by a train of vehicles. After the broom wagen passed we could all ride back downhill. It was again a huge group riding down. Never seen Glendora Mountain Road so crowded or busy. For the day, it was a perfect day for riding with temps near 80. Rode back home for a total ride of 75 miles for me and I got back just after 5PM to then watch the stage on TV. A good day riding on one of my favorite climbs.