Happy July Birthdays to our members and sponsors! John "Grandpa" Harrison (01) ** Mark VanRosky (04) ** Shawn Nelson (09) ** Patrick "Uncle Buck" Henry (09) ** Mike Trigeros (10) ** Dave "Old Dave" Richardson (13)** James Richardson (18) --posted July 2002

Cyclist killed in collision on PCH Businessman Jay Buchbinder dies and his son is injured as car hits bike. July 1, 2002 By CHRIS KNAP The Orange County Register (source site: http://ocregister.com/local/bike00701cci1.shtml) They were quiet legends in the industrial furniture business -- though you'd never know it by asking around their neighborhood. Their favorite recreation was anonymous, too -- a bike ride down Pacific Coast Highway at dawn every Sunday. That all changed Sunday when a motorist from Long Beach nodded off at 6:19 a.m., police said, and struck a tandem bicycle ridden by Jay A. Buchbinder, 69, of Huntington Beach, and his son, Gregg, 49, of Long Beach. The founder of Jay Buchbinder Industries of Long Beach was killed. Gregg D. Buchbinder, chief executive of Emeco, a Pennsylvania chair manufacturer, suffered a neck fracture. Police said the Buchbinders were riding east on the right shoulder of the highway when they were struck from behind by a Toyota Cressida driven by Chanpenbeau Sar, 43, of Long Beach. He has not been charged in the crash. "It's a very close, loving family," said Abby Friedman, Jay Buchbinder's sister-in- law. "Gregg and Jay rode every Sunday. ... They were always at the head of the pack." So it was in the industrial furniture industry as well. Jay Buchbinder started out making metal parts for designers like Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen before forming his own restaurant-supply company in 1968. Today, the Long Beach company has 400 employees and 10 U.S. sales offices. Followers of industrial design are more likely to have heard of Emeco, an obscure aluminum-chair maker that has built torpedo-proof chairs for Navy submarines for 50 years. The Emeco 1006 chair is a favorite of interior designers for its retro look and for manufacturing so precise that the chair looks seamless. Jay Buchbinder told Metropolis Magazine in a 2000 interview that he bought Emeco because he couldn't bear to see a company that produced that kind of quality go out of business. But it wasn't until Gregg took over that the family realized the Emeco chair had become a design icon. Emeco chairs are now in the Frank Gehry-designed New York Deli, in Los Angeles, and in the restaurant of the Paramount Hotel in New York. Williams-Sonoma featured them in a recent catalog. Gregg forged a relationship with French designer Philippe Starck to design a new, modern line for Emeco. Neighbor Bob Bromley said Jay Buchbinder would be out front every Sunday, as soon as Gregg arrived, tuning up the bike for the ride. Late Sunday, Gregg's black sedan was still parked out front. Gregg was in intensive care at Long Beach Memorial, although officials said he was expected to fully recover. --posted 03 July 2002

Cyclist killed in collision on PCH: Jay and Gregg Buchbinder An opinion by Buzz Long Everynight, when I have the opportunity to sit and have dinner at home with my family, and it's my turn to say prayers at the dinner table, I am always thankful for our safe travels and the safe travels or our family and friends that day. I believe it's one of the more basic and possibly the best thing that we can ask for out of life. A safe journey that day. Every day. On Sunday morning Jay and Greg Buckbinder, a father and son that rode their Taliani tandem on Sunday mornings together, were struck from behind by a car on PCH. Whether the driver was drunk, asleep, on the phone and not paying attention, it doesn't matter right now. A father is dead and a son is going to have a very long, and both mentally and physically painful recovery. We all know that life, just like death, isn't fair. We have all felt the pain of having a family member or a friend, die at a time when we know they had so much more life to live. My suggestion is for us all to take a moment and be thankful for our travels so far. May our journey continue to be safe for us, our family and our friends. My heart goes out to the family and friends of the Buckbinders. This is such a tragedy for them. I can only hope that from here on out, all of their travels will be safe. Buzz. --posted 03 July 2002

Cyclist killed in collision on PCH: Jay and Gregg Buchbinder An opinion by Don Just Another Dead Cyclist on PCH. Cycling is supposed to be fun, something you do to enjoy yourself and maybe keep yourself away from becoming a complete couch potato. Getting run down from behind and winding up under a yellow tarp is not my idea of fun. This one happens to be personal. I knew Jay and I know his son. Lee Myers knows them even better than I do. Lee designed and built up that custom Litespeed tandem frame for them a couple of years back. Until yesterday, it rolled on wheels that I built. When I somewhat reluctantly put my old favorite Colnago up for sale, Jay instantly bought it for the asking price. I recently chided son Gregg about ruining bottom brackets and hub bearings because he was washing the bike with Simple Green and a garden hose, blowing out all the bearing grease in the process. No, they weren't VA members and I wasn't their best friend, but I was connected to them through cycling. The SoCal cycling community may be large, but the tandem community is surprisingly small. I've been Lee's stoker for a few years now, riding Sunday club rides and the occasional race or century. Ask any one of us who ride a tandem regularly and we will tell you that you get to know just about every pair around, if not by name, certainly well enough to recognize each of them and chat with them along the road. So, yesterday when I passed the wreck and was told shortly afterwards it was a tandem (the force of the impact was so horrific that even after passing within 10 feet of the bike, I thought it was a single), I knew I would be touched by it; I most certainly am. A couple of years ago we lost a club member to much the same kind of accident, on essentially the same stretch of road. That driver was stoned and drunk, he went to prison. Yesterday when Gerry and Denise Phillips came upon the wreck, the police told them that the stripe on PCH didn't represent a bike lane and to "be careful". As if to say you could somehow protect yourself from somebody behind you in a car moving at 50+ mph while veering off the road by three or more feet. The OC Register article that I attached says the driver simply fell asleep at the wheel and was not cited. I find this to be completely incredible. Not that arresting him would bring back Jay, or heal Gregg, it certainly won't. So what's the message here from our city governments? Is it that it's ok to fall asleep at the wheel and wander out of the traffic lane at freeway speed? And should the errant motorist happen to run down kill somebody on a bicycle during just such an off road excursion, that while it's unfortunate, it doesn't merit a traffic infraction? Is the driver who drives while tired enough to fall asleep at the wheel any less negligent than the one who is high on whatever chemical? I simply don't understand. Maybe Jay and Gregg should have been "more careful". A sad comment is that if that tired motorist parks and falls asleep, just a mile or so to the south, on the very same road and fails to feed the parking meter, that very same city government will have enforcement on him or her like a veritable leech in heat, writing up a parking infraction. Does that mean the value of a cyclist's life on PCH is less important to our city government than parking too long without paying the toll? I surely wouldn't want to think so. Attached to our newsletter this month are two timely examples of city government taking away bike lanes from well traveled bike routes. I suppose, in the eyes of those city governments, this just creates more places where we cyclists should "be careful". I suggest that as a club we need to become more vocal in our advocacy for cyclists. By nature, I'm anything but a political activist. I don't know that I can change much by myself. I know it will never bring back Jay or Larry. But you can bet that I will be sending letters to Seal Beach, Irvine and Caltrans about the bike lane reductions. I urge you do the same. Maybe together we can make a difference. Like Buzz, I wish each of you "a safe journey every day". Regards, Don A CALL TO ACTION: THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH PLANS TO REMOVE THE BIKE LANE OVER THE 405 FRWY. SO WE CAN CREATE MORE OF THESE PROBLEMS. The Seal Beach City Council meets July 8th at 7:30 PM at the city hall on 8th street. Come in force to express our opposition to even more dangerous situations they will create. Dave Dunton, Main St Cycles will head our effort. --posted 03 July 2002

A CALL TO ACTION! THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH PLANS TO REMOVE THE BIKE LANE OVER THE 405 FRWY. The Seal Beach City Council meets July 8th at 7:30 PM at the city hall on 8th street. Come in force to express our opposition to even more dangerous situations they will create. Dave Dunton, Main St Cycles will head our effort. Place: Seal Beach City Hall, 211 8th Street, SB Time: 7:15 PM, Monday July 08, 2002 Required: YOUR attendance, wearing your club jersey --posted 08 July 2002

A CALL TO ACTION 2! Monday, July 22, 6:50 PM THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH PLANS TO REMOVE THE BIKE LANE OVER THE 405 FRWY. Please come to the Seal Beach City Council Meeting on Monday, July 22 at 6:50 (7:00 meeting). We missed the last meeting due to an unposted schedule change, The City of Seal Beach wants to remove the bike lanes from the 405 Fwy. overpass on Seal Beach Blvd and instead add additional traffic lanes onto and off of the freeway. We all use that bike lane on our regular Saturday rides. We are not the only ones. Many folks commute by bike and many residents of Leisure World ride to the stores or just for recreation on Seal Beach Blvd. This is sure to make an already somewhat dangerous spot to ride even more so. Dave Dunton, owner of Main Street Cyclery and Seal Beach resident has agreed to speak for us. Please come down in your club jersey and show you are against such a move by the city of Seal Beach. We should be out before 7:30 at the latest. Don't miss it! Place: Seal Beach City Hall Auditorium, 211 8th Street, SB Time: 6:50 PM, Monday July 22, 2002 Required: YOUR attendance, wearing your club jersey -posted 22 July 2002

Velo Allegro's July Out-Of-Towner Latigo Canyon Hosted by Andy Schafer When: Saturday, July 20, 2002 Start Time: 8 AM in Pacific Palisades Location: Temescal Canyon and PCH Carpool Info: Leaves the Marina at 6:30 AM Directions to Start: Take 405 Fwy north Santa Monica Fwy (I 10) West, Continue thru tunnel until Temescal Cyn. (about 3.5 miles). Right on Temescal, and park. The Ride: The ride will start with a 13 mile warmup along PCH. Then will kick it up a notch and shift down a few, as we spin our way to the top of Latigo Canyon. This is a true classic cycling road in the Santa Monica Mountains. We’ll then pick up Mulholland Hwy, heading West, until it meets up with Decker Cyn. Rd. After a short traverse along the ridge, we’ll continue on Mulholland Hwy. back to PCH and the wind assisted return to Pacific Palisades. There are numerous options for the hardy, or shorter returns. Come out and join us – it should be a super ride. There are several places where we will regroup – we won’t leave you there! The distance is about 60 miles with 3,500 feet of gain – much easier than the previous rides. There are shorter, longer and more climbing options in this area. So what are you fretti’n about. Give me a call to coordinate carpooling, or just to let me know you’re coming. Andy.Schafer@trw.com --posted 03 July 2002

July Club Meeting Moved! Next meeting has been moved from Monday JUL 08, 2002 @ 7PM to Monday JUL 15, 2002. The next Velo Allegro Club meeting has been moved from Monday, July 08 to Monday, July 15 in order to allow for everyone to attend the Seal Beach City Council Meeting (see below). Read below/right for more general club meeting info. --posted 08 July 2002

Orange County Bicycle Coalition Update - 07/19/2002 by Don Harvey, OCBC Right now (7/19/02), OCBC has 2 open issues: closures to bikes, and bicyclists hit by cars. The biggest closure issue is Camp Pendleton, which was closed to bikes by the Marines sometime between 11 September 2001and 15 Apr 2002. As far as I know it's still closed, though I can't quite see how this helps us fight terror or lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Anyway, If I were riding between Orange County and San Diego today, I would ride on the freeway. We've been told by Caltrans legal that they wouldn't enforce the signs prohibiting bikes, but they won't take them down. Especially keep me informed if you ride on the freeway, and if you're ticketed or otherwise hassled we'll try and help. Summer's always a time when bicyclists get hit by cars, and some get killed or badly injured. OCBC tries to keep track of what happens in all the cases we find out about, partly with the intention of seeing that deserving drivers get prosecuted, and partly to make the motor-vehicle subculture aware that bikes are still out there, despite all the traffic, and still need law-enforcement and traffic-engineering support. Right now we've got 2 cases and maybe a third. First: On PCH in San Clemente o/a 11/2/01, motorist Groover hit a southbound bicyclist, who flew over the chain-link fence and onto the tracks, and was badly injured. The current trial date is 8/19/02. I'll go, and so far I'm happy with law enforcement and prosecution, including the charges, which I'm told are serious (There's a problem with serious charges, though; at trial, they make the judge--always a driver--readier to make a deal for a sentence like probation. See below.). Second: On PCH in Huntington Beach on 6/30/02, motorist Sar hit a tandem, killed one of its riders, and badly injured the other. This case is still in the hands of the HBPD, who will recommend charges based on evidence they collect, and then turn the whole file over to the OC DA. I've got some good contacts in both HBPD and OC DA, so I'll know what happens and why. So far, I'm happy with how the law-enforcement community (police and DAs, so far) are handling both. Don't get thinking all's OK, though--in 8 years of following these cases, only ONE defendant has gone to jail, and that was because he didn't have an attorney, or himself try to make a deal with the judge. In my experience, if he had, the judge would have said (to himself or herself, of course): "Oh sure, I'll offer probation. After all, it was only a bicyclist, and when I'm driving they've actually sometimes given me the finger. Me, a judge!" That's unfair in lots of cases, but not all. Drivers almost always get probation, however badly at fault. Third: I've just heard about a 12-year old boy in a medically-induced coma, who got hit recently. I don't yet know any more about it, including who was at fault or whether the boy's parents are willing to let OCBC be involved, and if they aren't I may never find out any more. That's what's happening in Orange County. --posted 24 July 2002

2002 Windmill Century and Metric Century - SATURDAY, July 20, 2002 - Los Alamos, CA Got 100 on the brain? Presented by Tailwinds Bicycle Club of Santa Maria. Check out their website for more info. -posted June 2002

Wenzel Coaching Program - July 2002 The following is a condensed and simplified version of the Wenzel Coaching program for July 2002. July's program is pretty much the same as that for June with some minor changes in philosophy. Monday is a recovery day after the weekend. Do a little light swimming or spinning on the bike for half an hour or so. At this time of year, burn-out becomes a serious issue so the first rule of training this month is that if you are racing regularly you must be very careful not to train until you have recovered from your races. This means that if you have a really hard race on the weekend, you might do recovery days all the way until Wednesday, at which point you start resting up for the following weekend. If this is the case, you will soon lose your base. In that case you should consider skipping some races to add a few endurance rides. The rest of this note assumes that you are well recovered and feeling peppy. Tuesday or Wednesday is speed work. If you had two hard days on the weekend but are feeling recovered, do a sprint workout consisting of a good long warm up and up to 10 - 30 second sprints with at least five minutes rest in between. Stop doing sprints when you lose form, don't get the same top speeds, start to hurt or feel exhausted. The better sprinter you are, the fewer sprints you can do and the longer rest you need between. If you only raced once on the weekend, go for a group ride with sprints, a Twilight Criterium or go to a track racing session. Avoid doing more than two tiring days per week. Of Tuesday and Wednesday, whichever you don’t do speed work is the only real training day left in the week. Do three moderate intervals. A moderate interval should be four times as long in minutes as your weekly long ride in hours. (If you get in a three hour ride every week, do 12-minute intervals.) Between intervals rest for about half the interval time. Warm up for at least 20 minutes before the first interval and spin for at least ten minutes after the last one. Intervals should be done in the moderate zone, from about 10 to 20 beats below your anaerobic threshold. Do them on terrain that challenges your weaknesses. Do you need to improve your de-scending, flat time-trialing, hill climbing, crit-cornering...? Use the moderate intervals to improve your weakest area, rather than to enjoy your strengths. However, if you are tired from the racing, if your muscles are sore, if you might be getting sick or if your morning heart rate is more than 15% high, take a recovery day instead of training: just roll around for an hour or so very easy, no pushing, no hard breathing, no competing. Thursday through Sunday are the same as they have been for the last few months. If you are racing Saturday then rest - tune-up - race - race (or endurance if you are cooked). If you are racing Sunday then endurance (about 1-2 hours) - rest - tune-up - race. As before, a tune up is a ride of about one hour with some hard jumps or an AT interval near the middle. If you are starting to feel cooked or burned out it is best to take an easy period before you are tempted to quit entirely. Take one week each month in July and August really easy, doing only recovery zone (below 70% max heart rate) easy spinning rides on Monday through Thursday, and then jump back into your normal schedule for that weekend. Another great way to revive your motivation is with an achievement ride or a social event. Set yourself a new one-day distance record or do a century with less-trained friends. If you are wondering about your training zones or a good target racing weight, call Neil to schedule a testing appointment. Velo Allegro members get a discount on testing services. For $50 you get a determination of your anaerobic threshold, and heart rates for your training zones (0. rest 1. recovery, 2. endurance, 3. moderate, 4. threshold/hard and 5. maximal training). A small amount of consultation is free for club members. Additional consultation is $60 per hour. Wenzel Coaching offers a discount to Velo Allegro members on detailed, individualized coaching programs including daily ride times, heart rates, cadences and so on customized to your available time, fitness, strengths and weaknesses. Programs are available for road, criterium, MTB and century riders. Triathlon programs are coming soon. Basic programs are $50 per month plus a one time $50 initiation fee and include a printed program and 45 minutes per month of consultation. Completely customized programs focusing on a peak event or built around a difficult work-schedule are also available. Call Neil Browne at 562-438-3051 or e-mail him at NeilBrowne@Wenzelcoaching.com. You can also check our web-site at http://www.wenzelcoaching.com. --posted 03 July 2002