La Voix May 2022

RACING NEWS

April Racing in Pictures

 
 

 
 

 

American Bike Racing is Broken. Can it be Fixed?

If you follow local road racing, then you may have noticed the lackluster turnouts and lethargic interest in bike racing nowadays. This is not a new phenomenon, as bike racing’s popularity has been declining for decades, but it is a disturbing one. Some critics point at timed Fondos and online racing for the downswing. Global pandemics don’t help either. Peter Abraham, a local cyclist and writer, shares his 10-Point Plan for reviving our beloved sport.

As a bonus, LG’s very own Arielle Miller is featured as the face of a new wave of racers.

Read the full article here.

Velo Club La Grange is committed to supporting local racing.

 

CLUB NEWS

April's LG50 Ride to the Hollywood Sign

 
 

Big SHOUT OUT to SAG by Robert Yates and sons, Alistair and Simon. Road leader: Jaycee Cary PHOTOS: Robert Yates, Ray Dillman, and Jaycee Cary.

Winner, Winner, TV Dinner!

 

This month, Nir of Nir Wheels and Bike Improve delivered an amazing set of custom hand-built wheels to club member, Guy Dutton.  Generously donated by Bike Improve, Guy won these wheels at the La Grange Annual Banquet raffle. 

These wheels were made to order with the following specs:

C50 Rim Brakes: 50mm x 27mm 20/24 holes, tubeless Ready, 1500 grams.  Front rim: symmetric; Rear rim: 2.5mm offset to maximize power transfer and longevity. Both rims are directionally drilled to accommodate the spokes angle.

If you are interested in an amazing set of wheels be sure to reach out to Nir and he will work with you to make the perfect wheels for your needs. Thanks, Nir and Bike Improve for being a La Grange sponsor.  And thanks Guy for being a long-time member of La Grange!

 

An Evening with Canyon Bikes

 

Last week, a few La Grange members had the fortune of attending a Happy Hour at Canyon HQ in Carlsbad. Everybody was super nice, great food and drink were flowing, and of course, the bikes were gleaming! Thank you, Canyon. We are super proud to be partners with a great group of people. Vive La Grange et Canyon!

 

IN THE NEWS
Operation Firefly is Back!! You can help!

 
 

Free bike lights to those in need!

Operation Firefly has begun a new season and we're always looking for volunteers. Meet us in the field as we hand out lights and collect feedback from some of our most vulnerable communities. This project serves areas marked on the High-Injury Network.
Sign up to volunteer here!

Velo Club La Grange proudly supports Operation Firefly

 

The Biking Bank Robber: A La Grange Connection

When Tom Justice failed to make the Olympics in the 1990s, he decided that if his cycling skills wouldn’t win medals, then he’d use them to rob banks instead.

His prowess on a bike gave him a speedy getaway, but there are only so many robberies you can commit before your ego, and the FBI, start catching up with you.

Hear his story in video here…

 

PKRS.AI: How to Train the Mind (Part 1)

 
 

You work hard. You train your body. You’re disciplined and committed to improving your fitness. You follow a plan for getting stronger and faster and are pursuing goals that matter. In your life of being an athlete, one important element may be getting left behind, however. Your mind. Sure, we’ve all been hearing so much about sports psychology and how important things like “mental toughness” and “grit” are in reaching peak performance. But has anyone ever structured a training plan for your mind in a similar fashion to how you train your body? We are here to change that. Here’s how we get started.

How to begin training the mental side of sport. 

The best place to start training your mind is to recognize the thoughts, self-talk, and narrative that occur before, during, and after your training. In order to get to a place where you can make adjustments and deliberately focus on the advanced mental skills of attentional control, motivational and instructional self-talk, enhancing your chance for flow, and clutch state, you need to first develop an awareness platform for how your mind is processing information and what stories are being told about your experience as it’s happening in real-time. This is the first exercise in your mental training plan, and it comes from one of my favorite tag lines as a sports psychology coach: “You cannot change what you are not aware of.” 

Start by recognizing that every workout has 3 timeline components:

 1. Pre-training. The thoughts and stories that float through your mind as you think about today’s session. For many workouts these thoughts are likely brief and relatively benign, occurring only in the moments you’re lacing up your sneakers or loading your bottles on your bike. During other sessions (especially those on more challenging workout days) you may start thinking about hours earlier, while you’re tied up in work or family responsibilities. Notice when you start to think about your workout, paying close attention not only to the thoughts themselves, but the quality of those thoughts (For example are they positive or negative? Excited or dreadful? Encouraging or questioning?)

2. During training. The meat and potatoes of any sports psychology framework is to be aware of the thoughts and cognitive appraisals that occur while you’re out training, paying keen attention to the qualitative differences between easier and more challenging efforts. What thoughts pop up when you’re tired? How would you describe your use of self-talk? Do you convince yourself you’re strong, courageous, and curious and lean into challenge or discomfort? Or, do you tell yourself you’re unable to continue? And importantly, how is the effort, intensity, or quality of your session impacted by your attitude, thoughts, and ability to regulate your emotions.

3. Post-training. How you mentally put your training away is a vastly underutilized exercise in developing an athlete’s mind. Every time you complete a workout you have a chance to enhance your athletic belief system by what you say to yourself in reviewing what you just did. As you hit stop on your watch or bike computer, or hop out of the pool, what do you say to yourself? Do you congratulate yourself for staying with harder efforts, and remind yourself of how you stayed mentally tough? Or do you blast yourself for cutting off the last rep and reinforce the ideas that you’re not as mentally strong as you could be?

Pay close attention to these types of thoughts in your training. After each session, write some notes about what you noticed in your thinking; what worked well, what you learned, and what you can enhance and share them with us. This is the starting point for us to work together on dialing in performance psychology to get you performing at your peak.

Written by Dr. Justin Ross (PKRS.AI Mindset Expert Coach)

https://www.pkrs.ai/

Support Our Sponsors

 
 
 

Vie 13

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PKRS.AI

For a limited time, get 20% off a custom adaptive training membership with PKRS.AI! Get Fit…Get Fast. Built by champions.
Free trial, no risk.
Check them out here…

 

New and Returning Members

Please welcome our new members who joined in April 2022!

  • New members: Larry L., Giao N., and our friends at Velofix. And a hearty welcome back to Dean La Grange.

Welcome, everyone! We are happy to have you.

LG Event Calendar for May

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 May. Bold events are LG Team Targeted Events.

  • May 1 – Rosena Ranch Circuit Race

  • May 11 – LG Board of Directors Meeting (All Members Welcome)

  • May 14 – Barrio Logan Grand Prix

  • May 22 – CBR Crit Dominguez Hills

Have an event you would like to add? Send a request to Sam at sam.selfridge@lagrange.org

La Voix April 2022

RACING NEWS

March Racing in Pictures

 
 

RACE REPORT: Chris Ackerman

La Verne Stage Race 2022, La Verne, CA.  — Men’s 3/4 Division and Collegiate

 

Chris Ackerman (center) at the La Verne Stage Race

The Crit
Today was quite nice; I knew the guys that had been in the group of 5 yesterday and figured I could just mark them/get into a split with them. Again I was late showing up (thought the race was at 7:30, not 7:00) so I raced in normal glasses and didn't put on my aero socks. Right off the gun the winner and 3rd place from yesterday went up the road, and I took it upon myself to chase them back since they might have been strong enough to stay away. Not a fun way to start the race. When we caught up things settled down a bit, and I decided to attack up the "hill" on lap 2 to force a split.

 

Not sure exactly when it went, but Anthony, Dylan, and I basically took turns attacking on that hill until a split formed. The split was a bit weird; of the 5 people in the front group from yesterday, 4 were there today (Dylan's teammate was riding Baldy by himself), and then there were a bunch of passengers who wouldn't/couldn't pull through but were too strong to easily drop. We sort of maintained the status quo until 1 lap to go.

With 1 to go, I decided I would just sit in; a Top 5 would meet my goal for the weekend (upgrade points) but otherwise, I wanted to win and wanted to make sure I didn't put in way too much work for no reason. Anthony attacked quite hard up the hill; Dylan chased and I chased behind him. I didn't snap onto the wheel which may have been a mistake, but I also didn't go over my limit and made sure to get back on before the finish. In the end, there were 3 of us all together with 2 turns to go, and the rest of the group a few seconds behind us. Dylan attacked and I motioned at Anthony to close it; I said I really didn't care if I got second but I wouldn't be closing any more gaps. Going into the final turn it seemed like nobody else was getting ready to sprint, so I figured I must have been the one that miscounted and we actually had another lap. I went wide on the final to give myself rush room on Dylan and came past him on the barrier side. All pretty slow. With about 50m to go the lap counter changed to "finish", I saw one of the guys from the group behind us coming up behind me on the right, and I heard Duncan yelling "sprint", so I put in the world's saddest 3sec effort, which was apparently enough for the win.

Overall thoughts: it really sucks there wasn't a TT, both because GMR is a fairly iconic local climb, and because it would have changed the race dynamics. Hopefully, this works better next year. The road race parcours is really interesting, but the cones and road surface were unsafe. I also hadn't expected Heckler’s to be so hard; that's my fault. The crit course was awesome; I really liked it. 

Other highlights: Duncan finished the p/1/2 race which is really impressive, Nicole did 3rd in GC and got an aero benefit by losing some teeth/tooth, and Slava looked super pro with his bandages today.

Thanks for reading. – Chris.

RACE REPORT: Nicole Steinmetz

La Verne Stage Race 2022, La Verne, CA.  — Women’s Category 3/4

 

This weekend was my first stage race, and I was really excited to see how it would go, as I’m hoping to do the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico this May.

Day 1:
The first event was supposed to be a 4-mile time trial up Glendora Mountain Road, and this would have really determined the GC placements for the weekend. Some UCLA teammates and I drove all the way there, but as soon as we made it to registration, they canceled the event! It was very disappointing since that would put all the pressure on the road race and criterium for the GC placements.

 

Day 2: Road Race
The road race was quite brutal given the hotter temperatures in the afternoon and the road quality. Narrowing and widening cones, along with various obstacles(like boats and children) throughout the course caused many “close calls.” Some highlights of the race include losing grasp of my GU and it flying away into the breeze, inhaling my water down the wrong pipe during the final lap, and almost getting dropped in the first lap from having shifting issues with my bike. It was a very competitive group (Women’s Cat 3/4 ), and by the final sprint, 11 of the 24 starters were still in the lead pack. I moved from the back of the pack a little late but was able to get 3rd out of 24 for stage 2, and 3rd in the GC.

Day 3: Criterium
This day started off very chilly, but that didn’t stop the group from attacking at the sound of the start whistle. The first few laps were going great with some exciting attacks, but then everything kind of fell apart. Pace lines were merging together about halfway through lap 5, and a girl and I bumped into each other. For a few seconds, I was trying to regain my balance, but I kept wobbling around and eventually crashed into a somersault. I got up right away and untangled my chain. My bike looked just fine, so I spit out a quarter of my front tooth and headed to the pit for a free lap. I had worked so hard for my GC position the day prior, so I knew I couldn’t just give it up. I got a push into the group and sprinted to get back into the race. Tina did a great job in getting the group to slow a little so that I could get back in there. I almost wasn’t able to rejoin, but the moto guy yelled “You’re so close! Go for it!” So I did one last sprint to get back in the pack. More attacks happened, and I was able to hang in there. Going into the final sprint, I took the corner very cautiously, and as a result, didn’t get the speed for the sprint that I could have gotten. So I just tried my best to catch whoever I could and pulled off 5th place in the field sprint. As it turns out, that was enough for me to keep my position as 3rd out of 24 in the GC! I was very glad to have rejoined the race. Aside from some road rash, all is well! Part of me will always be on that course (literally, I should probably see a dentist).

Overall, I had a great time and enjoyed racing with my LG team! I can’t wait for the rest of the season.

Thanks for reading. – Nicole

A Day at LG Team Camp in Pictures

 

A few weeks ago, Dan Chapman and I had the privilege of hanging out and supporting the LG Race Team during one day of their 2022 Team Camp. We rolled around Malibu into Westlake and the Oxnard plain. It was super fun day of bikes, bonding and camaraderie for Team La Grange.

 

 
 

CLUB NEWS

March's LG50 Ride to Latigo with Velofix!

 
 

Big SHOUT OUT to ride leaders: Amy Hutner and Jaycee Cary. SAG: Jonathan and Amy Weiss. PHOTOS: Amy W., Jonathan, Jaycee, and Dan Mitnick.

The PKRS.AI and Caffe Luxxe Winners

Two lucky La Grange members each won a 1-year Premium PKRS.AI Membership
RENEE HAGEN
JOE BERNADELLO

——————————————

Three lucky La Grange members each won a $50 Caffe Luxxe Gift Card
CHRISTIAN KENNEL
TC SCHULTZ
BARRY FINK

Congratulations to our winners and big thanks to PKRS.AI and Caffe Luxxe.

 
 

Tamika Butler on Bicycles and Racial Justice

 

My first exposure to Tamika Butler was when she was Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. I had joined the LACBC in part due to the way Ms. Butler represented the beauty and diversity of cycling in Los Angeles. In the years since she left the LACBC, Tamika Butler has become an advocate for transportation and racial justice on a national scale. Please enjoy this interview with Ms. Butler by Peter Abraham, where they discuss how bicycles can be tools of change. – Ed.

Read the full article here…

 

IN THE NEWS
New bike lane every time an LA street is repaved!

 
 

What is the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure?

The ballot measure will require the City of Los Angeles to implement its Mobility Plan 2035 whenever the City repaves or otherwise works on a street. Doing so will save money, reduce traffic, make the streets safer, and give people more options to get around town, helping to clean our air. Here is a Google Slides Overview. This measure will simply force the city to do what it promised to do when Mayor Garcetti announced the Mobility Plan 2035 in 2016.

Sign the Petition at Bike Improve, Sign up to Volunteer, or just Read More…DO IT!!

 

Peter Gabriel “climbing up on Solsbury Hill”?

Inside the Video

Peter Gabriel is one of the most innovative musical artists of his generation. Enjoy this fun little video of PG doing one of his most iconic songs “Solsbury Hill” and riding his bike in the round, live in concert.

 

PKRS.AI: Meal Prepping for Endurance Athletes

 
 

Meal prepping is all the rage right now, and let’s be honest, it makes a ton of sense for a lot of reasons. It saves unspeakable amounts of time and money, allows for greater portion size and macronutrient control, and allows you to devote less energy to the what/when/where/how of nourishing yourself – that means more energy focused on your goals. That said, meal prepping can sound daunting. We know it’s a time-saver when you zoom out and look at the whole week, but spending a few straight hours in the kitchen is a hard sell to anyone! We’ve put together some key tips for meal prepping like a champion during even the busiest of weeks.

 Plan, Plan, Plan.
Just like a good training regimen, masterful meal prepping takes proper meal planning! Print out a weekly calendar and start by making “appointments” for the behind-the-scenes work. When can you book 30 minutes to choose recipes for the week and make a grocery list? When can you set time aside for your (hopefully once-weekly) shopping run? And when can you set aside an hour or two for the meal prepping itself?  This exercise of making appointments is great for revealing what you do and don’t have time for. If you truly can’t make time to do your own grocery shopping, consider using a delivery service like Instacart, Thrive Market, or a delivery from a local store. The schedule also helps you stick to your routine and realize just how little time it actually takes to create an entire week of meals and snacks!

Gear Up.
Meal prepping is a long-term money saver, but it gets a lot easier if you can invest in quality equipment to get started. You’ll need at least 6-10 pieces of Tupperware or other food storage system, and getting the good stuff is beyond worth it. Nothing is more annoying than cheap plastic that bends and warps, doesn’t seal properly, or is impossible to clean. 

Then consider the kitchen appliances – a rice cooker is worth its weight in gold if you plan on utilizing rice as a common “base”. A slow cooker or Instant Pot can be a game-changer for soups, stews, or braised meats/veggies, given that you can just load it up with some liquid and seasoning and let it roll while you’re at work, overnight while you sleep, or all evening while you take care of the rest of your to-do list. You’ll also want to make sure you have one or two great, solid baking sheets – tossing protein and veggies in some olive oil and seasoning, then spreading across a baking sheet and oven roasting is a quick and easy way to create a great foundation for a few day’s dinners at once.

Start Small.
If you’re new to meal prepping, don’t dive into the deep end right away. While it’s obviously more efficient for time, money, and energy, crafting an entire week of meals at once can quickly become overwhelming, repetitive, and unsustainable for those new to the game. Start with just 3 days – if you can meal prep on Sunday afternoon/evening, then just try to plan Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday.

Look at your new meal calendar and plan out just those three days; maybe you can do oats and fruit every morning, and then see if you can craft three lunches and three dinners from the same assortment of ingredients. If you’re following a 50/25/25 nutrition plan for example, choose 3 of your favorite vegetables, 2 proteins, and 2 starches (or just more veggies instead). Plug and play to use those ingredients to make 3 different combinations, make two portions of each, and boom – 6 meals done and ready to enjoy!

Reuse, Recycle!
Not literally – but when it comes to planning your meals for the week, see if you can create unique combinations from the same ingredients, as mentioned above. That way you can shop in bulk, cook in bulk, and then assemble meals that won’t get repetitive. For example, a rotisserie chicken can quickly become a fajita bowl, stir fry, or chicken soup, all using overlapping veggies. Invest in a huge variety of sauces and spices to keep things fresh!

Let the Grocery Store Help.
If you’re tight on time, there’s absolutely no shame in letting the store do some work for you. You’ll pay a bit of a premium and lose some control over what exactly is going into your food, but the switch from raw ingredients to pre-portioned and prepared can save a ton of prep time. Many stores are now offering frozen vegetable bags that include a blend of veggies, precut, cooked, seasoned, and portioned. Just heat and add into any of your meals for the week. The aforementioned rotisserie chicken is also a day one meal prepping hack – $4 to $8 gets you a whole roasted chicken, ready to get chopped up and added to virtually any meal in seconds.

So, now you’re ready to tackle the world of meal prepping! With a little discipline and practice, you’ll find that setting aside time to prepare your food can be transformative. Kick your takeout and delivery habits, get time back in your day to refocus on your training, work, or other goals, and realize a new level of control over your nutrition choices. Suddenly, counting calories and hitting macros gets a lot easier when every meal is planned and prepped! And heck, plan your cooking time around your favorite podcast or show and you might even have fun doing it. Enjoy!

https://www.pkrs.ai/

Support Our Sponsors

 
 
 

VeloFix

VeloFix brings expert parts and service to your door. With the special deal for La Grange members only, VeloFix will keep you on the road.
Check out your VeloFix deal here…

Lee Ziff Real Estate

In the Top 1% of all real estate agents in the country, Lee has the experience and expertise to help you find your next home or investment property!
Check him out here…

 

New and Returning Members

Please welcome our new members who joined in March 2022!

  • New members: Warren S., Krista B., Mahdi S., and a hearty welcome back to Bruce W. and family.

Welcome, everyone! We are happy to have you.

LG Event Calendar for April

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 April-May. Bold events are LG Team Targeted Events.

  • April 2-3 – Tour de Murrietta

  • April 10 – CBR Criterium #4

  • April 13 – LG Board of Directors Meeting

  • April 20-24 – Redlands Bicycle Classic Stage Race

  • May 1 – Rosena Ranch Circuit Race

Have an event you would like to add? Send a request to Sam at sam.selfridge@lagrange.org

La Voix March 2022

RACING NEWS

February Racing in Pictures

 
 

RACE REPORT: Nick Gillock @ Valley of the Sun

Valley of the Sun Stage Race 2022, Phoenix, AZ.  Masters 45+ Cat 1/2/3/4 Division

 

Nick Gillock at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race

 So while the LG team stayed local doing the UCLA RR and Crit last weekend, I ventured off to Phoenix to try my hand for the first time at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race. 

For me this early season is revolving around getting ready for my “A”-Race, the Tour of the Gila at the end of April in Silver City NM.  Last year we had a big group of LG’ers planning to go before it was canceled due to Covid … this year only me and Aaron W are scheduled so far to attend.  Since the Gila Time Trial is a crucial part of that event, I wanted to go to VoS to get a true time trial in my legs along with a long RR and a fast Crit.

 

 Unlike the Masters “B” race I do at the Gila (Cat 3/4/5, 40+, 50+, 60+) the Stage Race at VoS was an open Masters 45+ … as a 54-yr old Cat 4 (well now Cat3 actually) I knew I was in for some tough racing against younger Cat 1’s and 2’s.

Travelling with a friend on the Evoke team, we left on Thursday morning with a 6-hour drive to Phoenix and then our registration/number pickup in Tempe before hotel check-in.

 The TT was on Friday morning.  It was a total of 14.6miles on an out and back course … little up going out, down back.  Looking at other years I was hoping to get around 32mins.  I was close, but a little off that goal. Finish: 13th out of 34.

The Saturday Road Race was out in the AZ Desert with (4) sixteen-mile laps on a triangular course with about 500ft of climbing each lap to the finish.  Other than one nasty crash behind me on lap 3 and some cramps with 5-miles to go I had a fairly decent race.  Fighting to keep the cramps at bay I finished a little off the pace at the line. Finish: 17th on the Day, stayed 13th on General Classification (GC).

 The Sunday Crit was a cool figure-8 shaped course in the Government area of downtown Phoenix.  Since this was my first criterium in a while my goal was really to stay safe and use it as a chance to increase my confidence looking ahead to the Gila.  With all the Cat 1’s and Cat 2’s in this race, I knew it would be fast at least.  Looking at the time gaps on the GC it seemed like the most I could hope for was to move up a few spots to 10th place.

 Although there was a crash that slowed me down at one point and some testosterone-over fueled racing at times I finished safely in the quick 30-min race; 13th yet again!  The good news was that this was enough to move me up to 10th overall on the GC.  Finish: 13th on the Day, 10th on GC.

Anyway, very abbreviated and lots more to tell, but overall a successful trip.  Thanks for reading, 

Nick

RACE REPORT: The Season’s Last CX Race

 

Written by Cara Applegate; Photos by Robert Yates and Barry Goch

The Velo Club La Grange cyclo-cross team had one last 2021-2022 hurrah with the season closer on February 6 in the closest thing to its back yard, at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. We were able to post seven racers at Fort LaGrange plus had the bonus of road team captain Bill B's La Canada high school mountain bike team and two of the juniors on that squad. 

The team at Southern California Cyclocross laid out a challenging course overlooking the stadium at Pierce College, including sustained climbing, delightfully fast and sometimes very tricky downhills, and a long and tortured wood chip run-up that would make a man question his choices in life. 

 Proving that youth is indeed the future, Moriah and Phillip secured top honors with wins in their categories. Cara also rode strong to bring home both a state championship title and the series overall title. Dan F. landed a hard-fought 3rd place. The cyclo-cross season is officially closed and we welcome all dirt racers in the fall for more fun and shenanigans! 

 Racers included Joey B. (first cross race ever), Tom F., Robert Y., Jason K., Dan F., Alex G., Cara, Bill B., Moriah, & Phillip. Guy D. and Barry G. came out in support and a lovely day was had by all.

 

CLUB NEWS

February's LG50 Ride was a "smash"!

 
 

Big SHOUT OUT to ride leaders: Lisa Goldfarb, Jonathan Rios, and Raully. Sag Wagon driven by Jaycee Cary.

Win a one-year Premium Membership to PKRS.AI

 
 

Velo Club La Grange and PKRS.AI are excited to announce “The GET FASTER QUICKER” Contest. Two LG members will win a one-year (12-month) Premium Membership to PKRS.AI, the premier online coaching service.

The Quiz is only available for a week. Take the Quiz today and Be Entered to Win!

Caffe Luxxe wants to hear from you!

 

We know you’d rather be riding, but here is the shortest survey ever to help our partner Caffe Luxxe get to know our club members better! To thank you for your time, you will be automatically entered to win 1 of 3 Caffe Luxxe $50 gift cards, redeemable at any location.

Velo Club La Grange is proud of our new partnership with local artisan coffee purveyor, Caffe Luxxe. Your feedback will help us make this partnership fun and valuable to our members.

The survey is only open for a week. Fill it out today and Be Entered to Win!

 

 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Michael Kludjian

Michael Interviewed by Jan Datomi

From the moment you meet Michael Kludjian, you instantly like him.  He’s one of those guys that’s always great to be around with his quick wit and self-deprecating humor.  You will see him most Sundays on the Nichols Ride where he always seems to be in a good mood.  He has been a member of La Grange since around 1991 and has been riding the Nichols ride since 1988. He’s just one of those people that make La Grange a great club to be in. Michael also has brought La Grange to Armenia.  In his own words he explains: 

“My connection is that I am a 3rd generation American Armenian.  All four of my grandparents fled historic Western Armenia after the Genocide in the early 1900s.   I have been returning to Armenia annually since 2012 and riding there with the various teams and clubs. 

I have been collecting cycling donations over the past few years for youth cycling teams over in Armenia.  Armenia is a nation, and former Soviet republic, in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe with around 3 million people.  Coming out of the Soviet breakup, a devastating earthquake that they are still recovering from, and striving for democracy, money is extremely tight, especially for recreational sports like cycling.  The country is very mountainous and ideal for hiking, road biking, and mountain biking.  A few years back I saw the Astana team training in the mountains of Armenia near the Lake Sevan area.

I started biking there in 2012 with a charity organization called Bike for Hope.  In 2013 we invited the local youth cycling club to join our annual charity tour (6 days) around the countryside.  The youth cycling club kids range in age from 11 to 22 years old.  There are two main cycling clubs in Armenia with about 70 members each and then various cyclists in the village towns around the country.  There are also a few Master’s clubs plus a Tri Club.  They have very little money for sports and therefore anything and everything is greatly appreciated – especially for the kids.  Most are poor and appreciative of whatever we can gather.  It is not uncommon to see cyclist fixing their flats and having over 10 patches on the tube. It is also quite common to see riders with duct tape holding up their helmets and shoes.  A few of the boys from the youth team have made it all the way to various Italian pro minor teams.  They also compete in the European, Russian, and Iranian cycling competitions. 

Based on podium finishes it appears LaGrange is the #1 amateur cycling club in Armenia.  All thanks to the generosity of LaGrange members.”

Here are some of the photos Michael has provided to show La Grange in Armenia.  Thanks, Mike, for all you do, and thanks for being such a great club member!

 

IN THE NEWS
Sign the Healthy Streets LA Petition

 
 

What is the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure?

The ballot measure will require the City of Los Angeles to implement its Mobility Plan 2035 whenever the City repaves or otherwise works on a street. Doing so will save money, reduce traffic, make the streets safer, and give people more options to get around town, helping to clean our air. Here is a Google Slides Overview. This measure will simply force the city to do what it promised to do when Mayor Garcetti announced the Mobility Plan 2035 in 2016.

Sign the Petition, Sign up to Volunteer, or just Read More…DO IT!!

 

Canyon Bikes “Behind the Brand”

Inside the Video

In their latest "Behind the Brand" episode, The Loam Wolf crew traveled to Carlsbad, to enjoy some sunny weather, great trails and get to know the passionate riders that are making Canyon USA a fun place to work, while also delivering some impressive bikes to riders in North America.

 

PKRS.AI: How to Train Better with Heart Rate

 
 

HOW TO USE HEART-RATE MONITORING EFFECTIVELY

All PKRS.AI workouts are based on Heart-rate (HR). Heart rate is an excellent guide to the stress created by a workout and also the intensity of the workout. By training in carefully calculated HR zones, each training session is made specific to your needs and physiology. There are six main training zones and each zone has a specific purpose: 

 
 

Some coaches feel that heart rate is not the best source of monitoring intensity since it fluctuates often. We however believe that it is for this reason exactly that we value heart rate above all other gauges of intensity, most of the time. Here are some factors that affect your heart rate and what you can do when you experience them:

Cardiac Drift is when your heart-rate increases over time despite staying at the same pace/ intensity. This is very common and mostly due to an increase in body temperature and some fluid loss. A tactic to work with it is to start the session at the lower end of the training zone, monitor your perceived exertion, and maintain hydration throughout.

In the Heat, heart rate can be up to 30 beats per minute higher than usual. This is a reflection of significant stress on your system. In this situation, train using your normal heart-rate zones which will mean an easing off in power or pace, and maintain hydration with not only water but also carbohydrate and electrolytes. Keep the skin wet to help heat dissipate from your body and be sure to use sunscreen and sunglasses to further reduce the heat’s impact on you. In cold weather, you may find that your heart rate stays lower than expected. Here rather than trying to force the heart rate up, instead, train in the lower part of the zone and also use perceived exertion to help guide the intensity.

Sometimes you will find that your heart rate just won’t rise like it normally does. If at the start of a session you notice that you are having to work harder than usual to bring the heart rate up and at the same time it does actually feel harder, then this is a sure sign of underlying fatigue. On days like this, back off into recovery mode and shorten the session. If during a longer session or race you notice your heart-rate starting to drop despite maintaining the same effort then this is a sign that you are heading for the dreaded “bonk” and that your body needs carbohydrate calories and fast. 

On race day, adrenalin and nerves can reveal much higher heart rates than you are used to seeing. Use this as a trigger to bring your focus to internal thoughts such as smooth breathing, rhythmical movement, and a conscious effort to “let go”. Use power combined with your perceived exertion while being sure to stay on top of your calorie consumption.

For interval training, especially short intervals that are less than 3 minutes long, we suggest using power as the #1 guide on the bike to guide the initial intensity of each interval. This will allow your heart rate to gradually come up to the correct zone and prevent you from flooding your body with lactate from trying to raise the heart rate too quickly. Always use the lap button at the start and end of each interval. The interval starts when you start the higher intensity effort.

As you can see, heart rate gives you plenty of key information to help you get the most out of your training and racing. It always tells you something and the key is to listen to what it’s saying and use your knowledge to react appropriately.

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New and Returning Members

Please welcome our new members who joined in February 2022!

  • New members: Karin H., Gareth T., Messi G., Victor A., Colin R., Conor S., Caryl Ishizawa R., Chris F., Alberto M., Richard F., Makoto J.O., Derek John B., and Venette A. and Family!

Welcome, everyone! We are happy to have you.

LG Event Calendar for March

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 March-April. Bold events are LG Team Targeted Events.

  • March 9th – LG Board Meeting

  • March 20th – CBR Criterium #3

  • March 25~27th – USC La Verne Stage Race

  • April 2-3 – Tour de Murrietta

Have an event you would like to add? Send a request to Sam at sam.selfridge@lagrange.org

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