Dear Velo Club La Grange Members,

It has been a wonderful experience serving on the board for the past two years. We have grown as a board and continue to encourage each other to be there for the members of Velo Club La Grange. I would love to continue serving as a board member for the club and be of service to its members. Thank you for your consideration.

Bodie Olmos

Dan Mitnick is an avid cyclist and long time LaGrange member who you can see pedaling the streets of West LA and beyond 6 and 1/2 days a week. He just completed his first 2-year term as a board member and was finally figured out how to be constructive. This former racer Is now more focused on commuting and bicycles. Joy for the community at large. I can still be see mixing it up on road and trails.

Dan Mitnick

Hello La Grange Club Members, it's been a great 2 years serving on the board. We designed a sleek looking kit, raised some money and rode a couple centuries for Bike MS as Team La Grange, and put on some fun LG50s and other events. I really like driving the van as long as I don't park it overnight in Santa Monica. Here to be your cheerleader, send you positive vibes, connect you to others, and get you moving! Go, go, go!

Lisa Goldfarb

Find me on Strava, Lisa The Lizard

Nominating Statement: Marco Fantone

Hello La Grange members! Some of you may know me as the ride leader for the Friday morning Marina rides or the person who organizes the Piuma Hillclimb each year and bombards your e-mail inboxes and LG Facebook page with reminders about the upcoming event. I also happen to have a rather sizeable collection of vintage La Grange jerseys that I love sharing with the club each November at our annual banquet! I’ve been a club member since 1997 and was president of Velo Club La Grange from 2009-2012. I’mproud to have been able to contribute to the growth and success of this club over the years. When Ifirst joined, La Grange was a club of just over 100 members with a small squad of racers. Back then,there was no Piuma Hillclimb, no La Grange van, no LG50 rides and no La Grange Facebook pagebecause………..Facebook didn’t exist back then! We are now a club of over 300 members with riders andracers competing in all types of cycling-related events.The success of La Grange is due to active collaboration whether it’s planning for the Piuma Hillclimb, anLG50 ride or assisting on the design of the next La Grange kit. I place a great deal of importance onbeing out on club rides and interacting with riders and racers in all clubs, not just La Grange. And alsobeing accessible by text and e-mail and having board meetings that are open for any club member toattend. The more we can bring people and ideas together, the better our club is. It’s that simple.And that’s why I would like to retain my seat on the La Grange board; to continue motivating bothcurrent club members and those new to our sport and our club to get involved and help make La Grangeas rewarding an experience as possible for all club members.

Marco Fantone

Hi, I’m self-nominating as I understand we wouldn’t have sufficient board members otherwise. This will be my third term as a board member. My goals as a board member have been to maximize the value of organization through responsible fiscal activities and active sponsorship recruitment. I have been successful at this and will stay the course. Quite honestly, serving comes with challenges but I enjoy the sport, our community of cyclists and how the club ties these together. I’m happy to make way to new leadership, but equally pleased to continue to serve.

Dan Funk

Hello La Grange! I’m excited to nominate myself for the Board because I’m passionate about increasing female representation and welcoming more women of all ages into our incredible club. Cycling has become such an important part of my life, and through La Grange, I’ve found not just a sport, but a community and support system. I’m eager to give back by helping to organize more social events like happy hours, dinner rides, and picnics, which will strengthen those bonds.

I’m committed to making the LG50 rides more inclusive, particularly for female and new riders, by establishing clear ride structures with multiple pace groups, ride leaders, and safety protocols—while still giving those who want to hammer the freedom and space to do so. By creating a more welcoming environment for strong female and new riders who may be hesitant to join due to perceptions about safety or the competitive nature of the rides, together we can reshape LG’s reputation as a club where they can feel confident and supported while pushing their limits—just as I have experienced myself.

After speaking with several long-term female members, I’ve found strong support for these goals. They emphasized the need for LG-sponsored no-drop women’s rides, more frequent outreach and recruitment efforts for women and new riders, and more organized and frequent social events to strengthen our community off the bike. Their feedback reinforces my commitment to help create a club where everyone feels included, represented, and supported. Ultimately, my goal is to ensure LG endures as a strong, recognizable cycling club with a lasting legacy of fostering elite talent and unforgettable experiences.

Tara Kriese

Hello La Grange!

Happy October and hello Fall! Your October newsletter includes a Piuma recap and scores, gorgeous pics by Dan Chapman of the event and Picnic, September LG 50 recap with photos from Dan Mitni, Self Nominations for Board Elections, A cool contribution from Nikki DiFalco on AIDS Lifecycle, News on the PCH Master Study and more. This month and next, don’t forget to VOTE!

Renée
P.S. Have something else cycling-related you think would be interesting or beneficial to our members? Submit here to be considered for an upcoming newsletter.

Race News

2024 La Grange Piuma Hillclimb Recap!

Photo credit: Dan Chapman

Don’t see yourself and/ or your friends? More photos can be seen HERE by Dan Mitnick

Piuma Hillclimb Results from Marco Fantone:

The GoPro footage from Piuma has been reviewed and the results have been tabulated.

Attached are results by age category and for the club overall. While we've made every effort to provide accurate data, we are human so if anyone finds something way off, please PM me.

Again, big thanks to all that came out and especially to the guest coaches and juniors who have now made our event an annual pilgrimage!

2024 Club Picnic

The LG 2024 Club Picnic at Rustic Canyon Recreation Center was a blast! Thanks to Dan Mitnick for organizing. La Grange came out in big numbers to spend a beautiful afternoon with great people and delicious food while Marco with the historic beer stein gave race results from the Piuma Hillclimb. If you missed it, mark your calendar for next year!

Club News

Events Recap

September LG50: Palisades Dr with Phil Gaiman plus Fernwood

Great job to those of you who conquered the September LG50! This ride was challenging from the start, with a climb that was new to most of us up Palisades Drive led by ex Pro, USAC hill climbing national champion and local cycling celebrity Phil Gaiman. Connecting Phil’s ride with the LG50 was a strategic move for La Grange, as we build our relationship with the Fairmont hotel, our local up and coming world cycling destination hotel and, the swanky new location for this year’s La Grange banquet. Saturday gifted us with beautiful weather for a memorable, possibly infamous LG50. The ride was led by Larry Goodman with help from Peter Dorantes, SAG by Dan Funk and photos by Dan Mitnick.

The September LG50 ride started at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica with former pro Phil Gaimain who led the group up Palisades Drive and back to the hotel. The LG50 group continued by cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) with stunning ocean views before turning inland at Topanga Canyon.

The group tackled the beautiful and challenging Fernwood climb, a winding ascent through lush canyon roads and a fast and thrilling descent down Stunt Road, a favorite among local riders for its sweeping curves and smooth pavement.

Next was Old Topanga Canyon, looping back toward the coast before rolling back into Santa Monica and ended at Santa Monica Brew Works.

Self Nominations for Board Elections are Open!

Greeting fellow members!

As you know, our Club has grown over the years by leaps and bounds and is active on so many levels, from racing to off-the-bike events. You might also know that the hub of all things La Grange is our Board of Directors. Once a year our Club votes to elect members to serve on the Board, and that time is now!

This year, in accordance with the bylaws of VCLG, we will be holding elections for six (6) seats; 5 of which hold a two (2) year term on the Board of Directors. The vacant seat will carry out the rest of the 2 year term so it holds only one year. The five seats, in alphabetical order, are currently held by:

Marco Fantone

Daniel Funk

Lisa Goldfarb

Bodie Olmos

Dan Mitnick

One vacant seat

Current seat holders may choose to run for re-election to the Board but any Club member in good standing may run for one of the open seats. If you are passionate about La Grange and would like to be involved in shaping the direction of the Club I strongly encourage you to run. You can “enter the race” simply by submitting a self-nomination statement – nothing fancy, just a few words about yourself and why you’d like to be on the Board. (Since this is a volunteer position you can’t nominate someone else.)

The elections will run on the following schedule:

Tuesday, September 24th through Monday, September 30th: Self-nomination period is open – Send in your self-nomination statements… just do it!

Tuesday, October 1st: Announcement of Candidates - Nominations will be posted to the La Grange website.

Wednesday, October 2th through midnight Sunday, October 6th:

** Voting ballots and instructions will be sent to members by e-mail **

Monday, October 7th: Results announced on the La Grange website

Wednesday, October 9th: New Directors are seated at the October Board of Directors Meeting.

The self-nomination period is now open! Please send your self-nomination statement by email to: nominations@lagrange.org. Don’t forget to attach a picture of yourself, which will be displayed with your statement on the website and on the digital ballot during the election.

Ride the AIDS LifeCycle with Nikki Di-Falco!

Who wants to ride from San Francisco to LA with me in 2025? It’ll be fun!

This will be my 4th year riding with AIDS LifeCycle, the iconic ride from San Fran to LA, now in its 30th year.

You probably have heard of it, you may even have been a rider in a past year. If riding in this classic event has been on your bucket list then this may be your year to sign up, so check your calendars for the first week of June, 2025.

In short, the ride is fully supported route from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, King City, Paso Robles, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Ventura to LA, with a combined distance of about 545 miles over 7 days. The longest day of riding is just over 100 miles, from Santa Cruz to King City and it often has a wonderful tailwind as you head south through Steinbeck country.

Riders camp along the way in rural fairgrounds and campgrounds, all gear is transported for you from town to town and there are rest stops with food, port-a-pottys and mechanics every 15 to 20 miles. They have multiple sag vehicles, medical, massage and sports med staff. It’s a moving city of thousands of cyclists riding south in what is referred to as The Love Bubble.

Why is it called the Love Bubble? I think the photos I‘ve included here from past rides show a bit of it - the fun, the costumes, the humor. What the photos don’t really capture is the incredible sense of community and caring that the ride embodies. It truly is an amazing event to be a part of.

The ride began in 1994 as a grassroots effort to raise awareness and funding for HIV and AIDS. For the past three decades, the ride has been raising money to support life-saving services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. This includes HIV screenings and counseling, linking youth experiencing homelessness and people living with HIV with housing.

AIDS LifeCycle had a rough few years due to the pandemic, with rider numbers down and with that a drop in fundraising. It’s one of the great cycling events available to anyone brave enough to sleep in a tent for a week.

If you are thinking about riding then jump on in and sign up! I’m a member of Team FUBAR. Perhaps this could be a year with a La Grange team? Here’s the link: https://www.aidslifecycle.org/

If you can’t be a rider but would love to support the ride and its fundraising partners please consider a tax-deductible donation. Here’s a link to my fundraising: https://giving.aidslifecycle.org/participant/Nikki-DiFalco

I look forward to sharing photos from the 2025 training season and ride with all of you from inside The Love Bubble.

Fun was had at the September La Grange Happy Hour at Gilberts el Indio with The Feed!

Elyse Wartal, Director of Partnerships with club sponsor The Feed and nutritional coach Carson Beckett joined virtually to talk about the latest advancements in sports nutrition. Thanks to sponsor Gilberts el Indio for the delicious food and warm welcome, as always!

Welcome, New Members!

Please say hello to our 12 new members who joined in September (you can find them in our Member Directory): Angelo Q., Beers, Camilo M., Catherine G., Edward D., Eunice M., Ginny T., James L., John M., Kimon I., Michael D., Mike F., Rudis, I., and Ted E.

Welcome everyone, La Grange is proud to have you with us!

Stay Informed:
Keep-up with LG Rides & News

Keep up with weekly, special and other rides & more on our Social Channels:
- LG Club on Instagram
- LG Race Team on Instagram
- LG on Strava
- LG on Facebook

In The News

Upcoming PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study 6th Public Workshop (Round Three)

PCH MASTER PLAN FEASIBILITY STUDY

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of Malibu invites you to the 6th public workshop for the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Master Plan Feasibility Study.

The first three public workshops (Round One) gathered input from residents, businesses, and other stakeholders to identify safety priorities for the highway. Based on that input, the 4th and 5th workshops (Round Two) focused on presenting and soliciting feedback on design alternatives and other recommendations to improve safety on PCH. Drawing on this latest feedback, the upcoming 6th workshop (Round Three) will present updated design alternatives and safety recommendations along PCH for comment.

In Person Community Workshop:

DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 2024, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM

LOCATION: Malibu City Hall – Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu, CA 90265

For more information, please visit the project website:

or contact: 07-pchmpfs@publicinput.com

Learn More

**Mid-pack to podium contender in just three months: How I pulled out all the stops for British gravel nationals**

by By Josh CroxtonpublishedSeptember 18, 2024 Cycling News
Back in May, I took part in a 100km gravel race in Scotland called the Gralloch, finishing 70th in my age group and 361st overall.
I wasn’t particularly proud, but I knew it reflected my level of preparation at the time. I'd spent the prior winter running more than cycling, so I didn't dwell on it too much and instead, I focussed on enjoying the day. How often do you get to ride for four hours off-road traffic-free?
It sparked something in me, and before I'd even got home, I wanted more. So a few days later, I set my sights on the Masters Gravel National Championships.
With a new event on the horizon, I wondered if I could transform myself from an "also-ran" into a contender. The next three months would be a test of not just my physical preparation but my mindset, discipline, and ability to execute a plan.

**The 19 Most Scenic Bicycle Paths in the World**,
by Nick Mafi and Elizabeth Stamp for Architectural Digest
February 14, 2024

Image: Bhutan’s **Tour of the Dragon** is a grueling one-day, 158-mile mountain bike race created by His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Wangchuck and held the first week of September. The route has four mountain passes with more than 15,000 feet of elevation. If you don’t want to endure the 12–15 hour race, there’s a shorter version, the 37-mile Dragon’s Fury. The route can also be taken at a more laid-back speed outside of race day, but your trip will need to be arranged by an outfitter.

Support Our Sponsors

Engineers by (week) day, cycling enthusiasts by weekend!

Here at Cannon, we are dedicated to promoting the safety and accessibility of roadways for both cyclists and pedestrians. By integrating our love for cycling into various projects, including active transportation and complete street designs, we bring our passion for cycling to life. The Cannon Coaster is a yearly, multi-day ride and to date, Cannon Coasters have conquered the entire coast of California, taking in breathtaking views, and enjoying the thrill of the open road.

In September, the Cannon Coasters went on their yearly, multi-day ride, traversing more than 270 miles from Fortuna to Point Reyes Station. This adventurous event has provided Cannon with an unparalleled cycling experience and has fostered deep bonds among participants that extend far beyond the boundaries of the office. Together, The Cannon Coaster is a testament to the power of shared experiences and the sense of accomplishment that comes from pushing our limits together.

Keep your eyes peeled for details about the 2025 ride! If you have questions or are interested in joining the Cannon Coasters, please contact Elissa Quilici at ElissaQ@CannonCorp.us.

Election Results 2024 Board of Directors

Board Nominations 2024

La Voix October 2024