2020 Board of Directors Results

Dear Members,

The results of the recent Board of Directors elections are in and you re-elected the four returning directors (Jaycee Cary, Jan Datomi, Robert Efthimos, and Rich Hirschinger). Each will serve a two-year term beginning at next month's Board meeting.

Thank you to Renee Engelhardt and Marco Fabrizio for their willingness to serve and thank you to Alan Eskovitz and Marc Lewinstein for administering a smooth election. Finally, thank you to all of the many members who took the time to vote and have their voice heard!

Here are the four newly-elected directors that will join our other five directors on the Board:

Jaycee Cary

Jan Datomi

Robert Efthimos

Rich Hirschinger

2020 La Grange Board of Directors Nominees

Here are the six candidates, in alphabetical order, that are running for the four open seats for the 2020 La Grange Board of Directors

Jaycee Cary

Hey LG,

I am running for re-election for the La Grange Board of Directors. It has been my honor to serve you for the last two years. I am proud to represent the LG membership and as always, I will act with integrity, transparency, and honesty as I advocate in the best interests of Velo Club La Grange, now and in the future

Thank you.

Jaycee Cary

Jan Datomi

I see cycling as the cherry on the life’s sundae. It’s freedom from life’s other hardships and burdens. And being part of La Grange makes it even better. I see being on the La Grange board as an opportunity for me to help facilitate La Grange’s substantial and positive influence in the local cycling community. I would say I represent the non-racer part of the club, and my focus as a board member, is to bring as many fun events to the all the club members. I also am committed to promote safety and inclusiveness to all cyclists regardless of their experience level. Being on the La Grange board is about volunteering to organize and run club events. I believe my track record has shown my willingness and ability to do so. I ask for your vote so I can continue to work for this amazing club.

Jan Datomi

Robert Efthimos

2013: Joe Camacho encourages me to run for the LG board of Directors. With a demanding job, a baby on the way, and training commitments aimed at Cat 4 masters racing glory, I tell him "no way." Joe says I can just show up to meetings and offer up pearls of wisdom to help manage the club. I say "OK."

2014, one year later: Like a scene out of the movie "Dave" or the TV show "Designated Survivor," I somehow end up President of the club and find myself doing everything from sorting and bagging kit, to answering emails from overseas fondo promoters, to arbitrating disputes over sock lengths. While these tasks are of course mission critical, at the same time our deep and talented cast of La Grange contributors manages to expand and democratize our race program, completely redesign our website, bring back La Voix, design some badass kits, organize a variety of all-club rides and off-bike events, and get our club's kit on Zwift, all while maintaining core values of community, generosity, inclusivity, and respect for our fellow cylists and other humans. And coyotes.

2018, one year ago: While there were no calls for my impeachment (that I'm aware of!), I step down as President in advance of 2019, La Grange's 50th anniversary year. It was important to me that my successor be poised for success. I hope you will agree that Rich, the rest of the board, and the entire La Grange membership really stepped up and made LG50 not only a great year, but a time to be proud to be a La Grange members.

Today: While I'm happy with what we've accomplished, it's important that we keep up the momentum and always ask ourselves how we can do better. I promise I'll ask the same of myself if elected to continue to serve on the club's board of directors.

Robert Efthimos

Renee Engelhardt

Hello LaGrange! I've been cycling (racing and recreational) for 11 years. In the past 2+ years that I've been a member of LaGrange and new to LA cycling, LaGrange and its members have been so welcoming to me with bountiful opportunities to be a part of the community including the race team, group rides, skills training, and the awesome 50 for 50 rides. I've witnessed the sport evolve over the years, and I believe I have the experience and perspective to contribute to the board to ensure LaGrange stays ahead of the sport and continues to deliver the experiences, opportunities and community that is its legacy. Simply put, I want to help create the most positive experience for what we all love: riding our bikes.

Renee Engelhardt

Marco Fabrizio

Like many I found cycling and racing, and in some way’s it saved my life. When I say cycling, I really mean La Grange. In 2012 I joined the club, after delaying in 2011 because of that infamous Herbalife jersey that no member wanted to wear let alone prospective members. Through my journey with La Grange I rode thousands of miles, raced dozens of crits, fell off the back of many road races, podiumed some stage races, and even did a few track events. Over this time, I made friends and acquaintances; found this identity as a racer, and was even able to tie my other passion of design with the club. Some of you may know that for the past couple of years I have been the club’s liaison with Castelli. I process any of the issues that members have with their kits, and make sure that our wonderful sponsor Castelli takes care of it. Some of you might also know that in tandem with my good friend Jaycee Cary we designed the coveted La Grange 50th Anniversary kit, and along with that we also gave our prestigious LG Cup winners jerseys a facelift and created the La Grange Grand Prix winners jersey. Stay tuned because Cary-Breezy has a special surprise for the LG2020 Kit!!! In this process I have attended countless board meetings and really started to find my way deeper behind the scenes of what makes our club so great. I would like to continue to work for this club, and bring our members more of what they want. I have plans to bring members more cool LG apparel like hats, t-shirts, hoodies and more of the casual apparel that everyone loves to sport while representing the club off the bike. Jaycee and I also have plans to introduce some limited edition items that you’ll be sure to want to get your hands on. In short, Vote for Marco Fabrizio!

Marco Fabrizio

Rich Hirschinger

When people ask me what I like about cycling, I like to say, “it was the first thing that sets you free as a kid.” A great quote from Robin Williams is, “It’s the closest thing I have found to flying.” I have been riding with La Grange since the late 1980’s. I think I am one of the half dozen members who can still say they rode with Raymond. I have always enjoyed being a member of the club and when I was asked to consider being on the Board, I wasn’t sure I would be able to contribute much. When Robert stepped down, and I took over as President, I thought it would be like trying to replace a legend like Vin Scully, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, etc. Well, the Board has made it very easy for me and the fact that it was our 50th year also made it easy since we had so many events to create. I truly have enjoyed serving the club and would be happy to continue to serve if y’all like what we are doing.

Rich Hirschinger

La Voix

Click on a blue link to go to that section of La Voix

2019 Piuma Hill Climb

2019 Annual Picnic

September 50 for 50 Ride

Board Elections

Annual Banquet November 10th

2020 Kit Design

Race Report

2019 LG Cup Piuma Hill Climb

The 2019 LaGrange Cup Piuma Hill Climb was held on Saturday, September 14th. Naturally, since the gradient is not enough to cause pain, the weather spiked and the day was very hot, which increased the suffering. Jason Siegle won the men’s overall with a winning time of 34:52, and Tracy Paaso won the women’s overall. with a winning time of 45:17. Everyone who did the climb suffered. Everyone. But that’s way we do it.

Art courtesy of the Cycling Art Project by Dan Chapman.

The Applegates suffered together.

Leo clearly knows how to suffer.

The final few meters can be painfully long.

Robert Yates….contemplating.

Robert Efthimos and Jaycee Cary trying to get more oxygen into their lungs.

Some of the participants.

2019 Annual Club Picnic

The annual club picnic was held on September 14th right after the Piuma Hill Climb. Catering was provided by Richard Friedman Catering. Many thanks to Jan Datomi who coordinated the event for the club.

Sept 50 for 50 Anniversary Ride

The September 50 for 50 ride route needed to be modified due to the weather. As I was picking up Peet’s Coffee to have at the start, it was raining, and the streets were very wet. It was so wet that if I had not been in charge of planning the route and getting the refreshments, I know I would not have ridden. I thought that maybe six diehards would show up and we would have a conversation about riding versus not riding. As I got to SVO at 7:20 am, some of the diehards were already there and more and more were starting to congregate. There was no discussion about not riding especially since the rain stopped. I announced a detour since Franklin Canyon was going to be too wet, and the planned route into the valley included about a half a mile on dirt. Instead, we would climb to Mulholland via Benedict Canyon and descend into the valley via Beverly Glen. The rest stop was at Encino Park with SAG provided by Tom Brynes. The valley was very dry. The 2nd stop was at Katie Rollins’ mom’s house, which was off Old Topanga Road. Fresh baked cookies, fruit, and coffee were served. Some stayed and the rest of us rolled home via Topanga Canyon, where we encountered wet roads again. It was “spitting from the sky” kind of rain. The bottom line is that the ride turned out to be an extreme joy. I’m not including any photos from the ride since the video created by Tina Grant, the current La Granger of the Year, sums up the ride perfectly so please watch and enjoy it.

The feedback we get from the 50 for 50 rides is that the members really enjoy them since it is a “bike ride.” It’s not a hammerfest. It’s not competitive. It’s a club ride and we stay together and regroup when needed. We have been asked if the rides will continue into 2020 and the answer is yes. Anyone can take the lead on planning a route and anyone can volunteer to provide SAG.

2020 Board of Directors Elections

This year, in accordance with the bylaws of VCLG, we will be holding elections for four (4) seats; each seat holds a two (2) year term on the Board of Directors. The four seats are currently held by:

• Jaycee Cary

• Jan Datomi

• Robert Efthimos

• Rich Hirschinger

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.) Send your nomination statement along with a photo to marc.lewinstein@lagrange.org by Monday October 7th.

Annual Banquet is November 10th, 2019 at noon.

Save the date. The annual club banquet is Sunday November 10th, and will be at the same location as last year

HOTEL MdR ~ A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
13480 Maxella Avenue
Marina del Rey, CA 90292

2020 Kit Design

The 2020 kit will again be designed by Jaycee Cary and Marco Fabrizio. The kit design will be announced in the next few days so stay tuned.

We guarantee the kit will look much better than this kit. 😎

Race Report by Tom Hill, National Champion Gran Fondo Series

This past Saturday, September 28th, was the Jensie Gran Fondo in Half Moon Bay. It was also the last of ten races in the Gran Fondo National Series. The races are held across the country in many states. You can enter as many as you like, but you must enter at least three to qualify for the overall results. Your three best placings are used to calculate the overall winners. At the beginning of the year I set a goal to try and win the championship in my age division of 55 to 64 year olds. I targeted three events in the western states. Having finished 2nd in the Malibu Gran Fondo and 3rd in the Cache Gran Fondo in Logan, Utah my point total was at 5, with Jensie's Gran Fondo being my last race. The leader in my age division had entered 7 races and his best placings were a 1st, 2nd and 4th for a total of 7 points. I had to win the final event to take the National Champion title from a rider on the East Coast who figured he had probably won already. The scoring is based on 1 point for first, 2 for second, 3 for third etc. 12th place is twelve points. The lowest score wins.

At 7:45 a.m. 560 riders reluctantly lined up the for start of a full day of suffering. It was 52 degrees with hurricane ice cold winds of over 40 mph blowing off of the Pacific Ocean. Everyone was huddled behind cars and in tents with bone shivering chills before the start. I am not a cold weather person so this was a real challenge, not to mention my deep dish carbon wheels that threw me around like a rag doll all day long. The race was 83 miles with 8,500 feet of climbing making the course challenging. My one advantage was that I grew up near the area and regularly climbed up Tunitas Creek and Old La Honda Roads which were two of the climbs on the course.

The races consist of timed sections that include climbs, rollers, and sprint sections, which makes it more fair overall for all riders. This eliminates true climbers from winning or riders sitting in wheel sucking and sprinting at the end to win. With five timed sections it made for all out efforts which for me totaled just under two hours. All riders must complete the course and cross the finish line to have their times count. I felt strong and climbed well, I used other riders for assistance when I could draft and pace off of them on the climbs. The last timed section was into a very strong headwind and I was in a group of about 25 riders. It was hard to draft and sit in as the wind gusts swirled around us. There was a pack split and I was towards the back. Once I looked up it was too late. Ten riders had gotten ahead and we could not bring them back. I was worried how much time I would lose to the lead group and just hoped they were all younger riders and not in my age division.

While standing in the food line after the race, not knowing the results, a rider I rode with most of the day came up to me enthusiastically and told me I won my age division! I wasn't sure I could believe him until he pulled out his phone and showed me the results, which were live and updated after you crossed each timed section. Technology is very cool especially when you get to see things in real time. The wait was two hours in the cold wind for the awards ceremony, but it was well worth it. It was a great day, winning my age division in the Gran Fondo and earning the National Champion title for the Gran Fondo Series by just one point.

Tom Hill

Jens Voigt, Tom Hill 1st place, Finn Cappe 3rd place, and David Leece 2nd place.