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RACE REPORT: Nick Gillock will race anywhere!
RACE REPORT: Dan Funk gets Dirty in SD!
World Tour Champion crushes Local KOMs
The 2022 Annual La Grange Awards Banquet
RECAP: VCLG Supports Phil’s Cookie Fondo
RESCHEDULED: The LG CLUB Photo is now November 13th.
MEALS-ON-WHEELS: Annual LG Donation Drive is this month
HEART HEALTH & CYCLING: What you need to know.
ARTICLE: The Restorative Joy of Cycling
Do you know about your Member Benefits?
RACING NEWS
…And Now for Something Completely Different
By Nick Gillock
2022 YMCA / US Bank Tower Stair Climb – Race Report
A fundraiser for the DTLA YMCA this event happens every year. The format is straightforward, climb the 75-floors / 1664 stairs of the US Bank Tower (the tallest building in the USA, West of the Mississippi) as fast as you can. Since I work downtown I’ve been meaning to do it for years but since it is right after the Piuma Hillclimb weekend I’ve always worried about training for both.
To my advantage, I work in 30-Story Building in DTLA and started my double-training (bike in the mornings, stair work at lunchtime) about 8-weeks out. To be clear (and to set anyone reading this straight) I hate running and almost entirely avoid it as a form of exercise. However, what is interesting about stair climbing is that (if you use the proper technique) it is IMO much more similar to cycling than it is to running. I settled on the method of climbing two steps at a time and using the center handrail with a hand-over-hand technique. I figured out that 3-trips up my 30-floor building were about the same number of stairs as the 75-Story US Bank Tower.
I petitioned to race in the “Elite” category (less traffic in the stairwell I figured) and to my surprise, they let me in. To celebrate I got some uber-light Adidas running flats (stair climbing is surprisingly low-impact BTW) and decided that I’d crash the stair-climb party in my LaGrange Vie 13 Warrny SpeedSuit.
I got my start time and assumed that we would start based on our bib numbers but actually, the start order was based on who got in line first and I ended up near the end. For training, I had settled into about 3:45 pace for my 30-Stories but that (around 540-stairs) was the most I had been able to do consecutively in my practice sessions. Realistically though I knew that the 1,664 stairs as one shot were going to be something different. I tried to start slow, settled into my pace, and began passing many of the Elites who started ahead of me. At floor 25 I felt reasonably OK but passing floor 50 I knew the last 3rd was going to be tough. I passed maybe 10-12 competitors altogether and finishing at the 75th-floor roof level (pretty cross-eyed) I realized that there were only about 5-6 who finished before me.
Checking results I realized my 12:27 time was good enough for 5th among the Elites with a guy from Kuala Lumpur winning (with a crazy-fast time of 9:22) followed by a climber from Singapore and two from a Mexico team ahead of me. People in the “Open” category continued to climb the stair until late afternoon* and of the total of 1,498 Participants my time stood up as the 7th fastest overall for the 2022 edition. Already pondering about 2023, and thinking how cool it would be to bring a team from LaGrange. LMK if you’re interested, 😊 Nick
Results – 5th out of 25, Elite Category (First American finisher). Overall – 7th Fastest Time out of 1,498 Participants
former La Granger Brian Duff was the winner of the “Open” category with a super-fast time of 10:43.
Dan Funk is Fast and Filthy in SD County
By Dan Funk
Filthy 50 MTB Race, 11th/46 – Race Report
Quick n’ Dirty, the race organizer, states they provide “MTB Racing for Everyone with a fun, welcoming, affordable, and family-friendly environment for kids and adults to develop mountain bike skills and fitness while fostering stewardship in multi-use trails and public lands”. The Filthy 50 is one of their events, with a course of 52 miles and roughly 4k feet of climbing, mostly from short punchy climbs with the longest, a 0.7-mile steep technical climb followed by the same length technical descent. Since the course was an out-and-back, we had to climb the descent on the return. It’s difficult to pass on a single-track climb but skilled and daring riders have no problem passing on a single-track descent!! The out-and-back course did have a lollipop loop at the far end, which included a couple of steep hill climbs that you had to dismount and push your bike up. It’s a very fun course with a few technical sections but you’ll ride mostly on fire roads or well-used dirt paths. For those who have done the San Diego BWR, the course is part of what you’ll see around the lake and around Bandy Road, with the difference being that the rider is almost always on dirt. As a multi-year BWR participant, it was a thrill to ride the rocky BWR sections on an MTB, and I set many PRs!!
There were a number of other westside LA folks on the ride, including local celebrity, Reggie Miller, who also happened to be in my 55+ category. Someone mentioned he was age-doping, but after checking, I was surprised to find he’s 57. I’ll conclude that good athletic genes relate to his youthful look and of course, his 4th place finish, which was about 14 minutes faster than my 11th place finish and only a little over 4 minutes behind the winner. I really can’t say much about poor race prep. I arrived about 20 minutes before the race, had one bottle half-filled, and was in mid-pack at the start. Our group was the third wave and the narrow initial part of the course made passing risky, but I felt strong on the climbs and slowly moved my way up. The pace was fast throughout the course, especially on the technical descents, and I was blessed with a great loaner bike from Thomus that rode like it had a motor. This was my 3rd MTB race and lots of fun. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes riding MTB.
World Tour Champion crushes Local KOMs
Tom Pidcock and the wrenching legend, Erick Rodas!
“Haha, welcome to Los Angeles, Tom Pidcock.” – Phil Gaimon
As we all know Phil Gaimon is the undisputed king of the Strava KOM. He’s dedicated his retirement to devouring them wherever they may hide. There is nary a significant KOM in the LA area that Phil doesn’t convincingly own…until now.
World-tour phenom, Tom Pidcock, spent a few days in LA recently and took a few of Phil’s KOMs. Evidently, Phil took it good-naturedly. After all, records are made to be broken. Unfortunately for the rest of us, 7-minute Hill is now 5-Minute Hill. Ouch!
CLUB NEWS
The 2022 Annual La Grange Awards Banquet
Fall is upon us which means it’s time for the Annual La Grange Awards Banquet, Sunday, November 13th at 12 noon. By popular demand, the banquet will again be held at the beautiful boutique Hotel MDR in Marina del Rey.
This year, we will also hold another awesome raffle, where you have a great chance to win some great prizes. We have secured special raffle items from Bike Improve and Nir Wheels, Canyon Bicycles, Vie13, Cycling Art Project, and more. Everyone loves swag; come for a chance to get some.
But wait…there’s more. The special Grand Prize Raffle will be held again this year. This year's raffle is for some amazing prizes, such as:
A $1000 coupon off a new set of custom wheels of your choice from Nir Wheels
A Canyon bicycle, courtesy of our sponsor Canyon Bikes (A $4000 value)
We hope to see you there and buy plenty of raffle tickets to increase your chances of winning.
VCLG Supports Phil’s Cookie Fondo
La Grange had a great day out at Phil’s Cookie Fondo, a series of rides that raise money for No Kid Hungry. Tom Fitzgibbon, Peter Do, and I rode on Saturday on the Fondo Pre-Ride and met some awesome people from around the globe.
On Sunday, the generous La Grange volunteers manned aid stations, taking care of riders as they traversed our incredible roads. We had so many volunteers that La Grange was able to staff two aid stations. It’s nice to give back to our community and we all had fun, showing off our awesome local riding. Huge thanks to the LG members who made this happen; Tom Fitzgibbon, Guy Dutton, Scharla Anne Huerta, Tom Munden, Jesse Paster, and Jaycee Cary. Check out the pictures above.
The LG Club Photo: New Date!
Due to the ONE DAY OF RAIN we had in October, the LG Club Photo had to be rescheduled. New Date!
Annual La Grange Club Photo
Sunday, November 13th, 7:30 AM.
Location: San Vicente and Ocean, Santa Monica
Kits: Red or Blue Striped 2021-22 versions preferred;
2020 Dot Jersey acceptable.
Join us for coffee @ 7:30 AM. We’ll take the photo at 8 AM and then enjoy a nice ride out to Cross Creek. Don’t worry, we’ll be back in time to get cleaned up and get to the banquet. If you have extra jerseys or vests in the current design, please bring them to share with those without. This photo lives all year long! Let’s do this!
As an added bonus, we’ll have giveaways and some special goodies for those that attend.
Hope to see everybody out there!
The October LG50 Ride in Pictures
We had a great LG50 this month! There was a large turnout for a fun route by Lisa G. and Dan M. Robert Yates and son, Simon, provided a fantastic SAG stop (shout out to Little Debbie snacks. IYKYK). Thanks to everyone who came out. See ya again in November.
Save the Date: Meals-On-Wheels Donation Drive
In November, we feature our 22nd Annual Meal-on-Wheels Donation Drive, benefitting Meal-on-Wheels West LA. This is the time of year when our community comes together to help out those less fortunate. In the coming weeks, look for more details.
IN THE NEWS
Heart Health & Cycling: What you need to know!
As some of you know, I have suffered from what I call, “cardiac episodes”. My doctor says I’m fine but it’s always disconcerting when your body rebels against your wishes. Upon conversation with my fellow Masters riders, I found that many older cyclists suffer from heart issues. These issues can stem from a lifetime of pushing the heart through endurance athletics.
Of course, I dove into the literature about sports and the heart and have a couple of resources to share. Above is a wonderful video from Dr. Michel Accad, Medical Director at the Athletic Heart of San Francisco.
Read more about Dr. Accad here… and check out his blog here.
Book Recommendation: The Haywire Heart is a book about endurance sports and the heart by Chris Case and Lennard Zinn. This is a deep dive into the subject and includes case studies and conclusions. SPOILER: Keep riding your bike.
ARTICLE: The Restorative Joy of Cycling
No surprise here…Cycling can make you feel better, both emotionally and physically. In this article, the author briefly explores the physical and philosophical improvements of cycling through science and surveys. Just another reason to love our sport. I particularly agree with his byline: “Feel like crap? Get on a bike!”.
Support our Sponsors; They Support You!
La Grange is incredibly lucky to have such awesome partners! With our partners, you can satisfy virtually every aspect of cycling: Apparel, Accessories, Bikes, Repair, and training. We also have partners to assist you when you have to live your non-bike life: Legal, Real Estate, and Engineering. Log into the La Grange website and check out your member-only benefits.
SOS—Support Our Sponsors
Bike Improve
The Holidays are coming! Bike Improve has some very cool stuff like these spunky little Bianchi Jr. bikes. Skip the discount stores and start your kid on a great bike.
About Bike Improve…
Vie 13
Vie 13 is a family-run, boutique apparel company from Michigan. We’re proud of their support for the development of diversity and youth cycling in the US!
Who is Vie 13?…
New and Returning Members
Please say hello to our new members who joined in October 2022!
New members: Hillary W., Mark P., and William L.
Welcome, Everyone! We are thrilled to have you.
LG Event Calendar for November
This calendar is where you’ll find all of our upcoming events IN ONE PLACE. You’ll find both LG On-Bike and Off-Bike events as well as non-LG events. Check it out and bookmark it! Here is the schedule for November. Bold events are LG Team Targeted Events.
November 9 – LG Board of Directors Meeting (All Members Welcome)
November 13 – LG Club Photo (club event; All Members Welcome)
November 13 – Annual LG Banquet (club event; reserve your place)
November 26 – November LG50 Ride with Meals-on-Wheels
(club event; All Members Welcome)
Have an event you would like to add? Send a request to Jaycee at jaycee.cary@lagrange.org
