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2019 LG Cup 500M Sprint, La Grange Grand Prix, LG 50 Camelbak Water Bottles, LG 50 T-Shirts, April 50 for 50 Ride, July 14 LA City Proclamation Day, Camera Angle, Race Report, Tour of California May 17 Stage 6 Mt. Baldy
2019 LG Cup 500M Sprint
The 2019 LaGrange Cup kicks off on Sunday, May 26th. The action will begin with the dreaded 500M Sprint at the World Famous Encino Velodrome. The 500M sprint is comprised of two laps of the Encino Velodrome. You will be held in position at the start line by an official. Countdown to zero and you’re off! The key to a good time is getting off the line and up to speed as fast as possible and then holding that speed for the next 35+ seconds. You don’t have to be a trackie to get a rush from this experience and your standard road bike is just fine for this event.
This year, we will be holding the event from 10am to 1pm so anyone who wants to get their warmup on the Nichols ride can do so and then ride over the hill to the track. Like last year, there will be no start times. Arrive whenever you like, get your warm up and then let us know when you’d like to take your timed run.
More details and reminders to come. Registration will be up on the our website shortly.
La Grange Grand Prix Sunday, June 2, 2019
Thanks to the relentless work and dedication of Joseph Duerr, Velo Club La Grange will be the very first cycling club to negotiate a cycling race on a 53 acre CLOSED course race track at the Porsche Experience Center in Southern California! For those of you that do not know about this race track, it is a location where Porsche USA allows owners and guests to race around this enthusiasts play-land https://www.porschedriving.com/porsche-experience-center-los-angeles.
The La Grange Grand Prix will offer an extraordinary bike racing experience. Several club members have had a chance to ride this course, and it is spectacular. 1.4 miles of straights, turns, hills, and descents on an immaculate high-speed unblemished tarmac. When you ride on it, you will know that with every turn of your crank it will test everything you’ve got. This race is incredibly unique and will not be missed.
Sunday, June 2, 2019, is the date. Keep it free and get ready to race or just attend to watch your fellow members and friends race this spectacular course. Plus, all Juniors will race for free, so we want to see you all out there!
LG 50 Camelbak Water Bottles
The LG 50 anniversary Camelbak water bottles have landed. Y’all ordered 272 bottles so the Board will sort each order, at the next Board meeting, into a bag with your name on it and you will be able to pick up your bottles from Helen’s in Santa Monica starting on Thursday, May 9th. Do not call Helen’s and ask them if the bottles are ready for pick up or your order will be donated to someone who needs bottles.
The bottles have landed. The bottles have landed. But do not call Helen’s. They will be ready for pick up on Thursday, May 9th.
LG 50 T-Shirts
Now is to your chance to celebrate 50 years of Velo Club La Grange in style. For a limited time, we are offering an LG50 Logo T-shirt. These are in limited supply and are available to first come, first served. Shirts are unisex but fitted so may run small on bigger bodies. Limit 2 shirts per member. All shirts may be picked up at Helen’s Cycles in Santa Monica starting Thursday May 9th. Order at https://www.lagrange.org/lg50-shirts#!form/Shirts
April LG 50 for 50 Ride
Board member Katie Rollins was in charge of this month’s LG 50 for 50 ride. The group met at SVO (San Vicente and Ocean) and rolled up PCH to Latigo, climbed up Latigo for the SAG stop stationed by Jaycee Cary. It was a cool, brisk day with heavy gloom at the top of Latigo, which means it was perfect cycling weather. The 50 for 50 rides, which were conceived by Jaycee, have been very well attended. They are “no drop” rides with several regroups and, as a result, they are very social. The past few rides have ended at Tacos Por Favor for some great tacos, burritos, etc. Stay tuned to learn about the May 50 for 50 ride.
July 14 LA City Proclamation Day
Save the date! Sunday, July 14th, which is Bastille Day, the City of Los Angeles will present the club with a proclamation recognizing the club’s 50th anniversary at the start of the World Famous Nichols Ride. We expect a huge turnout for this so be sure to mark it on your calendar now.
Camera Angle
Many of us ride with cameras. Why? I like riding with cameras “just in case.” Just in case I need it to show what happened. Just in case I need evidence. Just in case. A great example of the need for cameras occurred this past Sunday. Casper Casperian was riding with a group of cyclists on PCH when a motorcycle rider aggressively buzzed him. Fortunately, Reese Sylvester had camera and caught the incident on video. The license plate of the driver was captured and the incident is being reported to law enforcement. Helen’s Cycles is still honoring the amazing discount on Cycliq units that they offered to us on Helen’s Night so please contact them and ask them for the La Grange member pricing.
Race Report
Sea Otter by Clark Duncan
Sea Otter road race is a brutal event with a ~2.5 minute climb that the P12 field would go up 9 times before finishing on a 7 minute climb with a savage kick to the line. There wasn't much time to settle in with bombs being dropped on the first climb by the Wildlife and Illuminate guys, it had turned out to be a pretty strong field with a fair few bona fide and talented pros racing. I made the selection on first climb and spent the next few laps hanging on, or just managing to catch back on on the flat exposed section at the top of the climb. I always find racing at midday tricky, not knowing how much breakfast to eat, I definitely had one bagel too many and spent much of the first half of the race trying to digest my breakfast. By the time the second half had come along and I had managed to hang on, but a break with some ridiculously strong guys was long gone, I thought there were 3 but apparently 6 were off the front. I did feel myself improving for the second half of the race, and even managed a dig on the climb to try and whittle down my group a little. After 9 climbs the final longer climb came around, it was weirdly gentle for the first 5 minutes, then everyone remembered we were racing when the 1km to go came up. I tried to just ride at my own pace knowing the last 200m was a double digit gradient, got there opened up to give whatever I had left, passed a few people, crossed the line, and crumpled in a heap, for a middling finish in my group.
I finished 12th / ~40 , but was actually really happy I managed to stick as long as a I did and finished knowing I really couldn't have given it much more - the best feeling ever!
CBR
Emily, Renee, Tina and Danie are race ready.
Emily, Danie, and Renee cheering on the club racers.
Not even a mechanical mid race can get Emily down.
Renee and Jaycee, so grateful for our volunteers.
Steven floating into turn 1 at CBR 5.
Tour of California Stage 6 Mt. Baldy
La Grange will likely have a presence on GMR so look for us if you ride up. Here are some details provided by Ryan Ung. He says it’s a bit more complicated than previous years because the women’s race is taking place 2-3 hours before the men’s which makes a lot of the mountain inaccessible for cars (bikes ok).
Maps: https://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/route-2019/2019-route-overview
STAGE 6
Finish Location: 8401 Mt Baldy Rd, Mt Baldy, CA 91759
Women’s Race Start: 9:45am (course only follows the final 25 miles of the men’s route from Glendora Mountain Road to Glendora Ridge Road to Mt Baldy)
Women’s Race Finish: 12:09pm
Men’s Race Start: 11:55am (traditional 80 mile course)
Men’s Race Finish: 3:41pm
Tips:
Lower Mt. Baldy Road (below the village) will be accessible all morning through about 11:00 AM (closure is at CHP’s discretion). This is probably the best place to park in one of the dirt pullouts. No parking is available above the village because women’s teams will need to utilize all the parking in the previous Manker Flats area 1 mile from the summit
Glendora Ridge Road will not be accessible to cars after 9:30 AM
Ride with caution, CHP may ask you to get off the road as the races are approaching