More than two million cycling fans turned out to watch the 9 day Tour of California. One of the coolest places to see the pros was at Dave Biber's Valley Center farm.
He had a great setup for fans to see both live action on the last major climb of the race and live television coverage on a huge TV. Biber says he spent weeks clearing trees and preparing his land for fans. He provided parking, tents, trash, portable toilets and a truck-sized TV.
Biber didn't charge a dime and refused donations. He said he did it all to sell race organizers on coming back.
The view from Dave's farm was great. On the west side of the hill, you were about 200 feet above Cole Grade road as the riders turned off of State Route 76. The east side was home to the big ticket: roadside seats to the final charge up Cole Grade Road.
The 9 percent grade shredded citizen cyclists, but the pros made it look easy. When they came around the bend, they were flying. Blink and you would have missed them. We saw the leaders flash by us. Then, the chasers came into view about 15 seconds later led by Lance Armstrong and eventual Tour of California Champion Levi Leipheimer. All of the riders were close enough to touch and a few had you backing up to make sure you didn't get run over.
Once they passed, everyone rushed back up the hill to see the finish of the race on the big screen.
The experience was wonderful and this writer hopes Dave Biber gets his wish for a return of the Tour of California next year. You can bet we'll be back to visit your farm.
