As a public school teacher, I enjoy not only the high esteem of the general public, a salary which puts me in shouting distance of the top 2% (or 20%), health care benefits with only moderate out-of-pocket costs, but also scads of vacation time conveniently scheduled for me.
That being so, I am planning a pre-ride of the Tour of California route during my Spring Break. I plan on starting on Sunday, March 31 for the Escondido-Escondido route, and continuing on through the SF - Santa Rosa stage on Saturday, April 7, doubling-up on the San Jose TT/Livermore - Mt. Diablo stage.
The routes are subject to change, pending official announcement, but I've done my best to figure out interesting ways to connect the host cities.
I've mapped out a variant of the 3iq ride for Escondido, and all are welcome - say a 9:00 am start? http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1978933 (http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1978933)
If you're interesting in tagging along for any or all, or like Jeff you'll be in NorCal in April, here's my google doc with all the fun https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJNd7dcWDpOrHfsxaWOYaEh6hY1Mdmrl3A3cumec8bQ/edit (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJNd7dcWDpOrHfsxaWOYaEh6hY1Mdmrl3A3cumec8bQ/edit) will let you in to. All told, the routes I've mapped come out to over 700 miles and almost 63,000' of climbing. Message me with your email if you'd like to be added to the list!
So wait, you're riding the entire Tour Of California by driving to the different start locations?
No. After the second stage to Palm Springs, I imagine staying in hotels along the route, usually at the next day's start. Just like the big boys, with a sag to take our gear to the finish. Hope I can find hotels with kitchenettes and hot tubs!