Davis really deserved a chance to host a Stage. They have been extremely supportive, as a "passthrough" city in 2007 and 2008. It was pouring when we arrived at 5am. I felt bad for all of the people that had spent countless hours preparing for the Stage start. I had assumed that the turnout would be very low. I was very wrong! The crowds kept coming and coming. They were huge.
Let's talk about rain for a minute. Based on last year's weather, everyone comes prepared for the rain. We all have rain shoes, rain pants, rain jackets, rain hats, and waterproof gloves. We are outside from 5am to Noon in the rain, but no one rally complains. It is just part of the "adventure" and everyone knew the weather was coming.
The biggest surprise on this stage (and one that has repeated everyday)was the number of people on the course. We typically get a few thousand people watching the race as it passes along the route to the finish. Most of them are on the major climbs. This year we are getting 300 people at each intersection! The people on this stage were soaked to the bone and were frozen, but they could not be any happier. The fans were so appreciative that we were here. I have seen this reaction in Georgia and Missouri, but not as often in CA. I realized that this was going to be a race unlike anything we had anticipated. The "Lance Factor" is real and it is driving this race to new levels.
The biggest disappointment has been the weather's effect on our communications. We are really dependent on getting our aircraft launched. They carry our repeaters. The repeaters allow us to communicate in a 25+ mile radius of the caravan. No planes, no repeaters, and the reception dwindles down to a few miles. We are dealing with the problem and finding "workarounds".
