Dear members,

July was a great month to be a cyclist - well, unless your name is Peter Sagan or Richie Porte. We hope you enjoy this installment of La Voix - stay safe out there and as always, ride and abide!

Robert Efthimos
President, Velo Club La Grange
www.lagrange.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Velo-Club-La-Grange/280123768478
https://vimeo.com/channels/lagrange
http://app.strava.com/athletes/337152
https://vimeo.com/user11846099/videos

San Clemente Century Ride - Aug 26

Rich Hirschinger is spearheading another great century ride open to all members. This info is from the ride's Facebook Event Page:

Please join us for another La Grange Century ride supported by the world famous La Grange van support driven by Louis Bianco as we ride south to San Clemente. The ride starts at the Culver City Metro and departs at 7 am sharp.

Route:
https://www.strava.com/routes/5595582

Ride Rules:
This is a group ride, which means we stay together, and you should be able to ride at an average pace of 18 MPH. There will be four stops approximately every 20 miles for food and drinks from the van. If someone has a mechanical, the group will stop so that we all stay together. You should not be riding ahead of me.

Cost:
$20, which includes the meal at Pierside http://www.piersidesc.com/. You must pre-pay via PayPal by Sunday, August 13 at 7 pm. The club’s PayPal email address is paypal@lagrange.org. The cost increases to $40 after the deadline. If you do not have a PayPal account, please send $20 to:
Rich Hirschinger, DDS
9615 Brighton Way Suite 323
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Train:
You are responsible for your own train ticket, and most people purchase a $23 coach seat but you can buy a business class if you so desire. Please buy a ticket for Amtrak 583 Pacific Surfliner 4:38 pm. San Clemente, CA (SNP) to Los Angeles, CA - Union Station (LAX). Please click “Add Bike to Trip” but do not worry if this option is not available.
https://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

Duffle Bag:
You can bring a duffle bag with a change of clothes, which will be transported on the van. Anything you place in the van for the ride down to San Clemente must be carried back by you on the train.

After arriving at Union Station, we will transfer to the Metro back to Culver City.

Please save my cell and Louis's cell on your phone "just in case" and text us both your name so we can save you as a contact so we know who is calling and/or texting:

Rich Hirschinger cell: (310) 503-2301
Louis Blanco cell: (310) 740-7188

Upcoming Events August 2017

July 31-Aug 5: USA Cycling Elite / Junior Track Nationals, VSC Carson
Aug 1: El Dorado Race Series, Long Beach
Aug 2: ** NOTE DATE CHANGE** Board of Directors Meeting – All current members are welcome to attend!! 7 pm Yahoo! Center across the street from Helen’s Cycles Santa Monica
Aug 5: Helen’s Cycles Monthly Group Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s SM
Aug 5: Helen’s Cycles MDR Weekly Group Ride, Helen’s Marina Del Rey
Aug 5: Tour de Big Bear, Big Bear Lake
Aug 6: Majestic Crit, San Bernardino
Aug 6: SCNCA Summer Scholastic Road Race Series, Redlands
Aug 6: Helen’s Cycles / TriFit Beginner Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s / Santa Monica
Aug 8: El Dorado Race Series, Long Beach
Aug 9: Ride the Black Line 2, Encino Velodrome
Aug 9: Redlands Summer Cycling Academy, Redlands
Aug 10: Citrus Twilight Race Series, Redlands
Aug 12: Helen’s Cycles MDR Weekly Group Ride, Helen’s Marina Del Rey
Aug 12: Helen’s Monthly MTB ride, 7:45 am Helen’s SM
Aug 13: LAVRA TT Series, VSC Carson
Aug 13: SCNCA Summer Scholastic Road Race Series, Redlands
Aug 15: El Dorado Race Series, Long Beach
Aug 16: Redlands Summer Cycling Academy, Redlands
Aug 19: Helen’s Cycles MDR Weekly Group Ride, Helen’s Marina Del Rey
Aug 19: Helen’s Cycles Women Only Group Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s SM
Aug 20: SCNCA Summer Scholastic Road Race Series, Redlands
Aug 20: Helen’s Cycles / TriFit Beginner Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s / Santa Monica
Aug 20: Bikes 4 Orphans Ride p/b Velo Pasadena, Pasadena
Aug 22: El Dorado Race Series, Long Beach
Aug 23: Ride the Black Line 2, Encino Velodrome
Aug 26: La Grange San Clemente Van Supported Century, Culver City
Aug 26: Helen’s Cycles MDR Weekly Group Ride, Helen’s Marina Del Rey
Aug 26-27: San Diego Track Cup / WCCC Championships, San Diego
Aug 29: El Dorado Race Series, Long Beach

Special thanks to Joey Santa Cruz for putting this list together

Finishing Out 2017

Sep 16: LG Cup Stage 3 - Piuma Hill Climb & Club Picnic
Nov 5: Club Photo & Annual Award Show Banquet

2017 La Grange Cup Current Standings

Here are the current standings for the 2017 La Grange Cup, as calculated by Directeur Sportif Marco Fantone. With lots of close categories, many will come down to who can get the job done at the Piuma Hill Climb!

A Message from Sponsor
Seth Davidson Law - Bike Injury Lawyer

Excessive!

By Seth Davidson
seth@sethdavidsonlaw.com
(424) 241-8118, 24/7
Bike Injury Lawyer and 2017 Velo Club La Grange Sponsor

I’ve written about insurance from the perspective of the cyclist who gets hit by a car. But what happens when you’re hit by another cyclist? Or what happens when you, as a cyclist, hit another rider or a pedestrian?

In the first instance, a cyclist who negligently chops you and knocks you down, causing you injuries and property damage, may be liable. If your injuries are significant you should call the police and have them write a traffic collision report. Afterwards you or your attorney should contact the offending rider and determine if they have homeowner’s insurance, or an excess insurance rider to their renter’s insurance.

If they have homeowner’s insurance, the chances are good that their actions will fall under the portion of their policy that covers negligent acts. This means that you have a route to filing a claim with their insurer to obtain compensation for your injuries and property damage. The same is true if they have excess coverage as part of their renter’s insurance. What’s important to note is that the offending cyclist will not be covered by his or her automobile liability policy.

In the scenario where you are the offending cyclist, the same applies. The rider you knock down can sue you and/or file a claim with your insurer. A lot of people in Los Angeles rent; many have renter’s insurance, but in order to have excess coverage for negligence you generally need a separate excess policy. If you ride much, and especially if you ride in groups, this type of coverage is crucial to have, and it’s not very expensive.

[About Seth: Seth has been cycling since 1982 and road racing since 1984. More than 90% of his practice consists of representing injured cyclists in the South Bay and West L.A.]

July Race Results

Here are your Top 10 results for July. Please note that this is as reported from USA Cycling and does not include results from Sunday's Manhattan Beach Grand Prix - if you're not on the list and should be, check your racing license!

Great job La Grange Racers!

Manhattan Beach Grand Prix

The La Grange Race Team had a great day at Sunday's Manhattan Beach Grand Prix and a number of our non-racers (i.e. sane individuals) came out to soak up the atmosphere, cheer on the racers and enjoy some great food and drink. This year's MBGP was the final race in the 2017 LG Race Calendar, a new initiative we put in place this year to target specific races for maximum LG Race Team participation and support. While we always look to tweak and improve everything we do, we plan on bringing back the LG Race Calendar for 2018 and once again provide a first class experience at the races! Enjoy the photos and report!

Patrick Barrett's Cat 3 Race Report:

After a chill morning, it was time to line up. Erick had let me borrow his front carbon wheel because mine was having issues. I roll over to the staging area with 7 minutes til race start and I tap the front brakes and realize I don't have carbon brake pads in! So I sprint through the crowd, around people, children, dogs, taco stands, and come screaming into the pit. At that point I am outside my element because every member of VCLG wants to help me and I know exactly how I change my pads! So it's panic city and I get the pads in and in my stupid hustle to get back to the staging area I fall off my bike 3 times and eventually break my left shoe. The BOA snaps. With 90 seconds left until time to race, I get to the medical tent and find medical tape and literally tape my shoe onto my foot. (Full disclosure, this was Marco's bright idea. He should work at SpaceX).

When we're all lined up, the ENTIRE FIELD sees the Russian Bullet, the man who destroyed us all at Ladera Ranch, in the field. He's still built like a comic book character and in a showing of Cat 3 sanity like I've never seen, all teams agreed that we can't let that guy go! For 30+ minutes, the field has him marked, screaming out every attack and working to stop him. Oh he knew it, he might have cared, but his legs didn't. Because at some point he had worn out all the teams' leaders and on his 26th attack, we were all taking a rest and he got his gap. A BO rider, who has a sick sense of pleasure, was on his wheel and for the next 15-20 minutes learned what he ate for breakfast and last night's dinner. We chased and failed. Chase the Russian.

3 to go Marco and I look at each other and say "I don't know what to do." Seriously. No clue. And we didn't want to race for 3rd. It just wasn't in our soul. So while we had some good rotations with Alonso and a couple other hard men, the Russian wasn't coming back. With 1 lap to go, I positioned myself top 10 with Marco shouting his presence. I go into the last corner and take it tighter than everyone else and come out first wheel with Marco a few behind. So I just gun it until my legs explode, which ends up being 250M from the line. I look to the left as I pull off and Marco's second wheel...God speed Marco.

It took me about 14 minutes to finish the last 250M. Mainly because of my screaming fans and interviews I had to give. Actually it was probably my highest heart rate in years causing my body to not know the difference between up and down, but the aforementioned obstacles played some role.

Mens Cat 3/4/5 Captain Patrick Barrett being interviewed after the race. The rumors that the interviewer is in line as the next White House Communications Director are likely inaccurate. As far as you know.

*James Cowan powering the break. Because, James.*

*At least he didn't leave empty-handed. Did someone say PRIMES?*

*Mens Cat 4 Team lined up and ready to race.*

*Oh, so you *did* see me eat 14 tacos before the 1/2 race?*

*Tracy Paaso reviewing her race plan. Or something else.*

*James is coming into the finish for the bell lap, and Patrick (in next race starting in five minutes) still has a brake to replace!*

*They came, they saw, they raced hard. Dan Funk and Glenn Savarese resting the legs at Camp LG.*

Sponsor Seth Davidson came by to enjoy some tacos, tell some bike racer lies, and inspect the LG Cup socks, made possible by his law firm's donation. Yes, the socks will be available very soon for pickup!

Raymond Fouquet Memorial Nichols Ride

Photos by Dan Chapman

Cycling on the Internet

Cycling on the Internet
with Matthieu Delcourt

https://marcbaldwin.github.io/velographic

This month is an iOS app for sharing your ride on social media using your Strava data: Velographic. Easy to setup, you can display the map of your ride and few statistics (distance, time, elevation gain etc) overlaid onto a pic of your choice that you took during the ride. The result is very minimalist and looks pretty nice. Here is an example from a ride that some La Grangers did while watching the Tour de France on the Col du Galibier: