Greetings La Grange Members,
Your December La Voix has some great recaps from last month’s fabulous LG Banquet at the Del Rey Yacht Club, the LG50/ Meals on Wheels Fundraiser Thanksgiving ride, Race Team news and Board of Directors election results. Have a happy holiday season and I hope to see you on the road!
Renée Fox, La Voix Editor
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.
Letter from the President
Hello La Grangers,
What a great November we had, and December looks just as bright.
The board is now in the base miles stage of prep for 2026. We elected our new board members (welcome Ryan and Amy), began confirming existing and new sponsors for next year and we’re building a new relationship with a year-round charitable partner that makes all kinds of sense. More on that next month after everything is finalized.
While Deb, Amanda, Colin and I have been re-elected for another term on the board, one of our tireless volunteers has decided to step down as her term ends to focus on other passions and pursuits. Even so, she isn’t going anywhere. Renée Fox has always been there for La Grange and will continue to be.
Renée has always been an enthusiastic club member, quick to volunteer when she could help, who went on to serve on the board where she took on publishing our newsletter, La Voix and helped found our Women’s initiative. Throughout her time on the board, Renée brought a welcoming, helpful, and inclusive perspective. She focused on the positive even when board issues were somewhat contentious. I and the entire board thank her for that. Renée has volunteered to continue as ‘publisher’ of this newsletter and for that I also thank her.
Look to the various communication channels of La Grange including our WhatsApp community, social media, occasional emails and next month’s newsletter for exciting upcoming announcements. And don’t just “be like Mike”. Say “Yea like Renée" with enthusiasm and commit doing what you can to help our club thrive.
Cheers, Larry
Racing News
La Grange Track racer Morgan James invited to Colorado Olympic Training Camp!
The theme of this month is gratitude so we are pleased to share this letter of thanks and insider photos from Morgan’s high tech training camp. So so proud of her!
By Morgan James
Dear La Grange,
This past month, I was invited by USA cycling to attend a Track Cycling Development Camp at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs. We had full accommodation from the OTC, meaning we got to stay on campus and enjoy the brilliant dining hall and support facilities.
We had testing our first day of camp in an altitude controlled chamber. We were able to set the room to sea level for a more controlled testing environment. The testing was brutal, but I was super happy to see improvement from my last round of testing a few months prior.
The rest of camp was on track! The velodrome in Colorado Springs is not temperature controlled like our lovely velodrome in LA. Our primary testing day dropped to 30 degrees! It was hard to hold our warm up between efforts and resulted in an incredible nap after the session.
It was great to meet other speedy women from around the country and to finally practice some team pursuit strategies! Overall, what an incredible learning experience to carry momentum into even bigger goals for 2026!
None of this would be possible without support from my LG family! Thank you all! Morgan James
La Grange Development Team launches our first racer!
Aidan Knierim moves to Deus Velox where he will be supported by a team of Cat 1-2 racers to achieve his goal to move to Category 1 and go on to race UC23 Nationals.
By Aidan Knierim
So I first ran into Deus Velox at the Tour de Murrieta stage race where they mopped the field in the sprint both day 1 and 2. After that, I raced against them again at the Triton Crit in San Diego and the Costa Mesa Grand Prix. I was experimenting with strategies during the Costa Mesa GP and ended up in a chase group with one of their riders and worked very well with him. After the race I decided to chat and see how the team was organized and got a really good vibe from them. I reached out to Dalton a few months back and had a great conversation, leading to my decision to move forward with Deus Velox next season. I start officially on January first and will be with them for the foreseeable future!
My goals within the team include reaching Category 1 on the road and supporting our sprinters to win races all over this upcoming season. Depending on race situations I’d be keen to continue working on my skills in the breakaway to put pressure on the pack as well. Aside from that, my main goal is targeting U23 national championships where I’ll be able to test myself and compete against the best in the nation!
You can follow Deus on Instagram @deus.velox
Club News
Velo Club La Grange Board of Directors Election Results
Amanda Beezley Weinstock, Deb Carabet, Larry Goodman, and Colin Ansel Rasor have all been re-elected to serve another two-year term. Amy Hutner joins the board as our newest member and will also serve a two-year term and to round things out, the board voted to appoint Ryan Jason Schmidt to fill the remaining one year of a previously vacant seat.
A warm welcome and huge thank you to the new La Grange board of directors: Larry Goodman, Amanda Beesley Weinstock, Deb Carabet, Colin Ansel Rasor, Dan Funk, Dan Mitnick, Marco Fantone, Amy Hutner and Ryan Jason Schmidt!
December Save the Dates:
Saturday December 20 Morgan James joins the December Womens Ride! Route TBA
Saturday December 27 LG50 Route TBA
Saturday December 13 Wayfarer Tandem community event. Register HERE
Club Events Recap
November LG50 Thanksgiving Meals on Wheels Fundraiser Ride
Led by Marco Fantone | SAG by Jaycee Cary
Last Saturday was a glorious day for a bike ride, 70 and sunny. La Grange members met at San Vicente and Ocean to make donations to Meals on Wheels while enjoying coffee by Caffe Luxxe.
The large group picked up a groupetto at the bridge and made its way to Palos Verdes for SAG at Malaga Cove, a tidy golf course loop and rode back to finish at Santa Monica Brewworks. Click HERE to view more ride photos by various contributors including Deb Carabet, Amanda Weinstock, Marco Fantone and Dan Mitnick.
Annual La Grange Banquet at the Del Rey Yacht Club
This year’s banquet was an evening affair, in a beautiful location with a buffet of great food. A big thanks to the board for making it happen, particularly to Deb for her hard work and planning to make this an extraordinary event and Marco for keeping the tradition of exhibiting his collection of club jerseys alive. Enjoy photos from the evening by Deb Carabet and Dan Mitnick HERE.
And, drumroll….
The 2025 La Grange Club Photo.
Thank you to the photographer, La Grange’s own Nigel Stewart!
Welcome New Velo Club La Grange Members!
Please say hello to our 2 new members who joined in November 2025 (you can find them in our Member Directory):
Karina W., Jason L., & Ariel A.
Existing Members:
Please take a moment to ensure your contact information is up to date. Visit https://www.lagrange.org/member-dashboard#myaccount to confirm that your phone number is current, and double check that your emergency contact name and phone number are accurate. This helps La Grange improve vendor access to membership verification and ensures that, in case of an emergency during a ride, a board member can quickly notify your emergency contact. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to us at membership@lagrange.org.
Cycling News
In Womens Road Racing…
Team Amani, the first-ever women's Continental team based in Africa, launches for 2026 season
By Dani Ostanek for Cycling News
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio is on board as mentor for the Ethiopia-based team, which aims to take part in Grand Tours by 2028
Geraint Thomas Appointed Director of Racing at Ineos Grenadiers
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