Scoping out Stage 2

As I say intro'ing this video, "High atop Donner Pass..." Cameron and I rode a doozie of a day today. One lap around Lake Tahoe with a tangent up to Truckee and then up and up and up a bit more to Donner Pass. Stage two climbs up this beauty right off the bat, and then descents for the next 100 miles or so all the way down to Sacramento. It'll be a beautiful stage, but I'll be happier if next Monday it's not blowing like stink like it was today. Sorry for the wind interference in the vid'.Here's the ride itself. Six hours today preceded by five hours and 200km yesterday, I'm fairly smoked. This calls for a rest day tomorrow, wouldntchasay?A well earned day off tomorrow is all the more convincing with the tornado-like winds raging outside my spacious and accommodating condo now in addition to the snow and rain in the forecast. This week has been absolutely perfect in the weather department. Tomorrow is equally perfect, because I'm due for this day off and don't feel like riding in my snowpants... again.So this photo was snapped about 2.5 hours into the ride, after Truckee and just after starting the climb. It goes. And goes and goes and goes. Donner isn't actually all that high, but it certainly has a downright Giro-feel to it. In fact, most of the climb up, Cam and I were discussing stage 20 of the Giro last year. I think that stage had 20,000 meters of vertical. In the first half of the race. T'was stout.Now thar's a snowbank! Sure it's being compared to a dainty Honda SVU, but the snowbank towers over that Japanese mechanical beauty.And now looking back east (or south or west or something. Maybe north, I lost my bearings by this point). That's a beautiful shot, if I do say so myself.