La Voix - November 2016 — Velo Club La Grange

The end of the year is in sight, but December is essentially free of club events, so that means that it's all happening this month in November. Here is what we have left:

Fall Kit Order: This is coming soon. We are finalizing next year's sponsor roster, which will allow us to finalize artwork for our 2017 kits. The juniors team will be debuting a completely new kit design for the 2017 season and we will also be revealing a completely redesigned Castelli store experience, so this should be a fun kit order! Stay tuned for the announcement THIS MONTH when the kit order opens.

Annual Club Photo: Gather at San Vicente and Ocean at 7:45am on Sunday, November 13. WEAR YOUR CURRENT LA GRANGE KIT! If you have an extra jacket or vest, please bring it to loan to a fellow member that may not have the current kit, including our recently joined members. It's important that as many member as possible show up for the photo - not only will you be immortalized in the annals of La Grange, but we present framed photos to all of our sponsors and we would like to show our strength in numbers. We also will provide high-resolution digital copies of the photos, so show up and you can have your very own! Peet's coffee will be served!

Presidents Ride: Immediately following the photo, join us for the annual Presidents Ride as we take a nice spin through the Marina. This is an excellent way to get your metabolism activated before the final important event of the day - keep reading.

Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony: It's that time of year where we gather, give thanks and enjoy a fantastic meal off the bike. Awards will be provided, including the 2016 La Granger of the Year Award (vote here). We will be back with our raffle and great prizes (this is the rare lottery where the expected ROI of a ticket is actually positive). Caffe Roma will once again be serving a great spread and you can get your tickets here.

Please join us as we look to close out 2016 on a high note!

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

Upcoming Events November 2016

Nov 3: 8th Annual Mike Nosco Memorial Ride, Thousand Oaks
Nov 5: Helen’s Monthly Group Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s Santa Monica
Nov 5: Circle of Doom, South Pasadena
Nov 5: 12 (or 6) Hours of Temecula, Temecula
Nov 6: Helen’s Cycles / TriFit Beginner Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s / Santa Monica
Nov 6: Malibu Gran Cookie Dough presented by Phil Gaimon, Camarillo
Nov 9: Board of Directors Meeting – All current members are welcome to attend!! 7pm Yahoo! Center across the street from Helen’s Cycles Santa Monica
Nov 12: Helen’s Monthly MTB ride, 7:45 am Helen’s SM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov 13: 2016 Annual Club Photo, 8 am - San Vicente & Ocean
Nov 13: Presidents Ride, immediately following the Club Photo
Nov 13: 2016 Annual Awards Banquet, 12 pm Caffe Roma
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov 13: USAC Upgrade / Resume Builder Crit, Compton
Nov 13: LAVRA Fall Upgrade Series #2, VSC Carson
Nov 12: Helen’s MDR Group Ride, 7:45 Helen’s / Marina Del Rey
Nov 12-13: SLO Cross 2016, San Luis Obispo
Nov 14: Wolfpack Hustle: The All City Century 10 yr. Anniversary Ride, Los Angeles
Nov 19: Helen’s Cycles Women Only Group Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s Santa Monica
Nov 19: Curt Sutliff Memorial Santiago Canyon TT Series, Mission Viejo
Nov 19-20: UCI CXLA Weekend, Whittier Narrows
Nov 20: Women Only Mountain Bike Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s / Santa Monica
Nov 20: Helen’s Cycles / TriFit Beginner Ride, 7:45 am Helen’s / Santa Monica
Nov 20: Crash Avoidance and Safety Workshop, Redlands
Nov 25: Advance Race Skills Clinic, Redlands
Nov 27: Turkey Trot Cross Classic, Glendale
Nov 27: Citrus Sunday Race Skills Clinic, Redlands

Special thanks to Joey Santa Cruz for putting this list together

From the Desk of Seth Davidson Law

10 Steps If You Ever Get Hit

By Seth Davidson
seth@sethdavidsonlaw.com
(424) 241-8118, 24/7
Bike Injury Lawyer and 2016 Velo Club La Grange Sponsor

No one plans on getting hit. But it happens. Here are ten “gimmes” that every cyclist should know.

Max out your Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage. $500k is a minimum. Like buying a nice umbrella, it seems like the people with the best UM/UIM coverage never have to use it!
Call the police no matter how minor the collision. Without a traffic collision report, your case is much, much harder.
Don’t DIY the claim. Insurance companies are experienced at dealing with unrepresented claimants. Don’t use your case as the guinea pig to learn the ins and outs of insurance negotiation.
Lawyer fees are negotiable. Negotiate!!
Preserve your bike, helmet, shoes, clothing and equipment in the state it was in when you got hit. Don’t take it to the shop and have it stripped.
Do take your bike to the shop to get an estimate if you think the bike or its components are repairable.
Photograph everything. Cars, witnesses, driver licenses, insurance registration cards, damage to the vehicle that hit you, everything—and get names, phone numbers, emails, and contact info for everyone who witnessed the collision or who was on the scene. [“How can I do this if I’m unconscious or in an ambulance?” you may be wondering. Well, you can’t, but your cycling friends can if they’re with you when the collision occurs.]
Don’t call it an “accident.” It’s a collision caused by someone’s error, not a random act like lightning.
Follow your doctor’s advice, even if it means you have to spend a long time off the bike.
Obey the law when you ride. That includes riding with lights at night and not riding while intoxicated!

END

[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.]

Race Report

2016 Mexico National Championship
by Victor Ayala

Robert Efthimos always asks for a race report and finally I got one that deserves writing about, it was my first participation in a Master national Championship wish came to my town of Ensenada Baja, I race the 40-44 category and represented Team La Grange!

It was 2 laps of 25miles with 3 climbs with 2 of them coming together with about 22 minutes effort to climb them, the rest is rollers and down hill and flat terrain, really a great course.

I knew that were better stronger climbers then me so I decided to get in a break from the gun and get ahead before the 2 climbs it work we were 4, I lost 2 guys and climb with one thinking of having help on the flats but we got caught by 2 at the top wish is almost one lap in, I was thinking this is it! I'm in for the medals but then one guy refuse to pull wish I said in a nice way you suck racing this way in Nationals so we end it up regrouping 10 guys taking turns attacking each other in the flat section so it got really aggressive with 2 guys getting away before we came to the 2 climbs for the last lap, the favorite just drove hard tempo and then continue to catch and counter attack the break getting away with the same guy that did not work and it was clear they were the 2 best climbers and going for gold, so after the climbs I was against 4 other guys going for bronze I was feeling the effort from the first lap but there was 2 guys that are strong sprinters so I was thinking taking a shot in the last hard roller that is around 2 miles from the finish to make it a easier sprint but one guy went first and had a gap, so I waited for a reaction but we hit the roller and nothing so I went all out and bridge across and the counter so now I'm alone again being chase, at .6 miles to go I was caught and had to lead out the sprint against the same guy that I counter and he is a good sprinter plus the 3 guys in our tail, he went long 400 meters to go the sprint is like 2% he open up 4 bikes on me but I did not gave up and slowly got back and just pass him 30 meters to go and return the 4 bikes at him.

The good news was the wheel sucker got silver, and National Champ gave me a high 5 crossing the line when he saw me take 3rd for the Bronze medal.

At the end is always about respect, hope you like it Robert and sorry about the bad writing remember this is my second language.

Cycling on the Internet

Cycling on the Internet
with Matthieu Delcourt

www.bicyclerollingresistance.com

Everyone needs good tires that are 1) puncture-resistant, 2) fast, 3) light and 4) within a certain budget. Here is something you’ll love and will make your life a lot easier when it comes to picking a tire at your sponsor bike shop: http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews

bicyclerollingresistance runs tests and compares with a standardized protocol all the tires that are on the market and believe me, it’s up to date! All the 2016 and even some 2017 tires are there. And before you ask, yes the tubeless and tubulars are also tested, and yes the mountain bike tires are also there (just click on the tab Mountain Bike)!

Select up to three tires to compare their rolling resistance at different pressure, their puncture resistance including also the sidewall and finally their weight.

That’s pretty much all you need. There isn’t a single best tire because it all depends on what you’re using it for, so have a look, see the data yourself and pick according to your type of riding!

Enjoy!