Heather forwarded this to me.  Those of you who are members of La Grange will already know about this, but I’ll pass it on to others in our club with my own remembrance.

Back when I was in my twenties, and a far less experienced cyclist, I got my first fancy road bike.  It was handmade in Italy, had wheels that took sew-ups instead of clinchers, and featured the finest quality Italian components.  I had been riding along the coast and in the Santa Monica mountains quite a bit, and with this new bike, I thought I was pretty cool.

I had heard about the Sunday La Grange ride and decided to try it.  I knew they were a racing club, but after all, it was only about 26 miles, a distance I had no trouble riding.  Showing up in front of the La Grange restaurant one Sunday morning, I was greeted by Raymond and welcomed to the ride.  I tried to be modest about my abilities, but Raymond only encouraged me.

The portion of the ride down Santa Monica was the social part of the ride, and I had no trouble keeping up.  But when we hit Nichols, the pace picked up, and I was soon way off the back with a few other stragglers, breathing as hard as I ever had.  So much for my solo training!  However, at the back was Raymond, continuing with his friendly encouragement.

We regrouped at the top of Nichols, and again at the top of Sepulveda.  Next was the high speed descent back to Westwood.  It was my first time riding in a pack this large or this fast or this dynamic, and it was an incredible rush!  By the time we got back to the restaurant I was more exhausted than I could remember from any ride.

As soon as Raymond arrived, he opened up the restaurant and we went inside.  I remember being a bit surprised that our sweaty selves and dirty bikes were welcomed inside his elegant restaurant, but his warm and relaxed demeanor put me at ease as he served us ice water in goblets and we all chatted.

I did the ride a few more times before I decided that I wasn’t at the same level as these racers.  But Raymond was always encouraging and I always enjoyed seeing him.

He was a positive influence on me and clearly on many others as well.