All posts by Doug Landau

Places - Links, Information & Professionals

Back Again for Guilford Elementary School Bike Rodeo

June 6, 2017 Doug Landau

For the fifth year in a row, Abrams Landau, Ltd. presented its Lids on Kids brain injury prevention and free bike helmet distribution program at Guilford Elementary School in Sterling, Virginia. Attorney Doug Landau, Melissa Landau, physical education teacher Mark Pankau and parent volunteers helped fit students of all shapes and sizes in Bell bike helmets, donated by the Virginia Trial Lawyers Foundation and Herndon law firm Abrams Landau, Ltd.

Former assistant principal Janice Jennings, not head of the Safe Routes to School program in Loudoun County, also helped fit helmets for this Guilford Bike Rodeo. Safe Routes to School is a national program that “promotes and encourages walking and biking to school safely.”

Melissa Landau giving out helmets at Guilford Elementary School May 31, 2017.

After the students heard about brain injury, safe cycling and were fitted with bike helmets, they went outside on the playground to practice their skills and learn safe biking techniques. Abrams Landau also gave out sport backpacks to put the helmets in and guaranteed the students that if they are in an accident and their helmet breaks, they can come into our office anytime to receive a free replacement helmet.

If you know of a school or local group that could benefit from our helmet giveaway program, please email us at education@landaulawshop.com, or call our office (703-796-9555).

Later this week, lawyer Landau will be presenting and giving away bike helmets again at Hutchison Elementary School in Herndon, Virginia where principal Ray Lonnett is very proactive about student safety and safe cycling.

Faces - Photos from Races and Events., Races - Schedules and Results on Races.

“Salute to the Military” Triathlon

May 30, 2017 Doug Landau

The Memorial Day weekend “Salute to the Military” Sprint Triathlon was greeted by sunny skies and dry roads after a week of rain and cold weather.

Despite the construction, the new course worked well with plenty of route markings and volunteers. With an Abrams Landau cycling-crash client finishing on the overall podium, many friends participating and lawyer Landau’s 14^th overall finish (easily topping the over 50 crowd), it was a great way to spend the morning in Warrenton, Virginia.

The pool swim was bracing and a bit congested, but once on dry land, things sorted themselves out. Landau managed to pass 50 fast swimmers on the bike (~22 mph) and another dozen runners running just under a 7 min/mile pace before he “ran out of real estate!” People must’ve thought that the 100M time self-seeding signs were “aspirational!”

The Vint Hill station is a safe venue for racing, especially the little kids’ races that follow since the base has little weekend traffic and spectators can watch much of the action. Not a bad training race in the lead up to the Spring Duathlon National Championships in 3 weeks!

Faces - Photos from Races and Events.

Reston Bike Club Making It Easier to Bike After Work!

May 19, 2017 Doug Landau

The Reston Bike Club (RBC) mid-week rides are now leaving from both the Reston and Herndon locations on Tuesdays AND Thursday evenings. Doug Landau joined the RBC group April 12th in order to get some miles under his legs outdoors before racing on the weekend. The weather was magnificent, and the route map pick-up and sign-in was expedited by the new online sign-up available on the RBC site. In other words, you can sign up for the 1, 2,3,4,5 or level 6 ride, download the route map and preview where you are going before you even get to the Reston Shopping Center or Herndon Parking lot. With SIX levels of rides, ride leaders, and reflective slap bands for additional safety, it makes sense as to why these rides are so popular. Herndon lawyer Landau was able to catch up with friends and get used to riding the roads of Western Fairfax County and Loudoun County.

Prior to the start of the ride, the President of the Reston Bike Club, Chip Magrogan, announced that there were 4 bike-on-bike crashes on the W&OD Trail last week. Riders need to be aware of not only vehicular traffic when crossing at intersections, but also exercise care when passing on the trail itself. While Landau uses a bell to signal when passing, an audible warning is essential, as many walkers, bikers, joggers and dog-walkers have ear buds and cannot hear a cyclist coming up from behind. When startled, they may step directly into the path of a biker, causing injury to both the cyclist and the pedestrian. Give loud warnings well in advance of passing, make sure that motorists make eye contact and stop when crossing a road, and do not assume that all the lanes will stop for you just because the first one or two are polite and are waving you through.

Remember that slower moving pedestrians have the right of way. Just because you are on a bike and can go 25 mph does not mean that you get to blow walkers off the trail. Just don’t do it. Be safe and let us know if you’ll be at a RBC ride!

Places - Links, Information & Professionals

“Makers Ball” Celebrates Ten Years of Building Bikes in Arlington

May 16, 2017 Doug Landau

The Phoenix Bikes Makers’ Ball and 10^th Birthday Bash was held in Arlington, Virginia a few weeks ago as a fundraiser for the Phoenix Bikes program. Phoenix Bikes “educates youth, promotes bicycling, and builds community.” Teenagers are taught skills such as bicycle mechanics. They build a bike for someone in the community and after they complete this project they can build a bike for themselves.

Doug and Melissa Landau were invited guests. The Landaus were introduced to the young cyclist/mechanics, who proudly showed off their work on recycled bikes. Lawyer Landau even noticed one young biker had a Schwann “Varsity” model, which is the same model Landau used to deliver newspapers as a boy in Northern New Jersey.

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Cases - Athletic, Sports & Medicine, Faces - Photos from Races and Events., Races - Schedules and Results on Races.

Thanks to Race, Volunteer Landau Gets Onto the Podium

May 1, 2017 Doug Landau

The Richmond Tri Club Sprint was to be Landau’s first three-sport race of the season. Starting with this Virginia-Maryland Triathlon Series (VTSMTS) event, he had hoped the indoor “open water” swim would help gauge his condition after a double hernia surgery in December.

The Richmond Tri Club Sprint is put on by the wonderful folks at VTSMTS along with the Richmond Triathlon Club. It is a very competitive race and also the club championship (with an enormous trophy with the winning team members’ names engraved on it for posterity!), so bragging rights were on the line. While Landau is still missing his top end speed, he was hoping to survive the swim, pick off the field on the bike and then finish off those that remained ahead of him in his category on the 2-loop run course around the Richmond Kickers complex. Last year, he popped his soleus muscle after coming out of the second transition (hopping the rest of the race to the finish!), which took several months to heal, so Landau was approaching this first triathlon of 2017 with some trepidation.

This year, Landau had a slow swim, but a blazing fast first transition. However, not a quarter of a mile out, he noticed something rubbing and a strange sound coming from the rear wheel. Apparently the QR toolbox holder was rubbing against the wheel. He stopped cold to see if he could fix it, and a race volunteer came over to see what was the matter. While his competition was whizzing by, Landau studied the problem: this rubbing could cause a flat, a crash and a season-ending injury. The volunteer eventually diagnosed the problem, and they used rubber bands from lawyer Landau’s wrist to try to hold down the offending loose piece that could’ve caused a flat tire. Landau soldiered on, with only a slight rubbing against the wheel when he shifted his weight back from the nose of his saddle. Fortunately, the wet conditions also helped ameliorate the friction and heat problem. Landau normally likes dry roads, high temperatures and wide-open roadways.

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Races - Schedules and Results on Races.

Supporting Madison High School Track & Field

April 18, 2017 Doug Landau

Fairfax County Public School’s Madison High School held a 5K a few weeks ago to raise money for its Boys & Girls Track teams. After driving back from the annual Virginia Trial Lawyers Association’s convention in West Virginia, lawyer Doug Landau was eager to see where his fitness was on the 5K (3.1 miles) gently rolling course with every mile marked. The finish line was on the school’s track. Times were slow despite the light breeze on this rolling loop course; the overall winner holding a 6:30/mile pace. Lawyer Landau broke 22 minutes. Race results will be posted here.

By winning the “over 50 category,” and finishing 4th overall at the local high school in Vienna, Landau won gift certificates to “Glory Days” restaurant. Upcoming events in April include: the Hagerstown, MD Duathlon on April 15th; the Virginia Triathlon Super Series Richmond Sprint Triathlon at the Collegiate School April 22nd; and the Westfields Sprint Triathlon at Cub Run Recreation Center in Chantilly, VA on April 30th. These races will help Landau get faster for the following Age Group races: the US Sprint Duathlon National Championships in June, the US Sprint Triathlon National Championships in August, and a return as a member of TeamUSA for the ITU World Championship Sprint Duathlon. We’ll see if lawyer Landau improves over the next several months!

Product Recall

Fuji Bikes Recalled Due to Fall Hazard

March 27, 2017 Doug Landau

Advanced Sports International recently recalled Fuji bicycles due to a fall hazard posed to users. The recall states, “The rear wheel freehub can slip while pedaling, posing a fall hazard.” There have been four reports of the freehub slipping while pedaling. Fortunately, no crashes or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Advanced Sports International’s 2017 Fuji bicycles with Oval Concepts Rear Wheels. They were sold at Fuji Bicycle and Authorized Oval Concept dealers from April through October 2016 for between $2000 to $8000.

Consumers should immediately stop riding the recalled bikes and contact Advanced Sports International to receive a free replacement freehub body. You can contact them at 888-286-6263 or online at fujibikes.com or ovalconcepts.com and click on “Recall Notice” at the bottom of the page for more information.

If you or someone you know or care for were injured while using a defective sports training product, and there are questions as to what laws apply, email or call Abrams Landau, Ltd. at once (703-796-9555).

Cases - Athletic, Sports & Medicine

NFL Faces Lawsuit Over Federal Drug Violations

March 20, 2017 Doug Landau

The National Football League (NFL) faces a lawsuit from former professional football players for federal drug violations. They are suing the league in U.S. District Court in Northern California, claiming they suffer long-term organ and joint damage, among other illnesses, due to the improper and deceptive drug distribution practices by NFL teams.

The Washington Post reviewed the sealed court documents from the lawsuit and found that NFL teams “violated federal laws governing prescription drugs, disregarded guidance from the Drug Enforcement Administration on how to store, track, transport and distribute controlled substances, and plied their players with powerful painkillers and anti-inflammatories each season.”

The sealed court filing includes testimony and documents by team and league medical personnel, describing multiple instances in which team and league officials were made aware of abuses, record-keeping problems and violations of federal law. The filing asserts that “every doctor deposed so far… has testified that they violated one or more” federal drug laws and regulations “while serving in their capacity as a team doctor.”

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Faces - Photos from Races and Events., Races - Schedules and Results on Races.

Landaus Participate in Brain Tumour Foundation Cayman Islands Charity 5K

March 14, 2017 Doug Landau

Heroes Square was a fitting venue for the Brain Tumour Foundation Cayman Islands Charity 5K Walk/Run. Participants were treated to a warm, sunny morning with a course that took them by the ocean and then inland before returning from the bottom of Grand Cayman Island to the Courthouse finish line.

While attending a medical conference for internal medicine doctors and other health care providers, Doug and Melissa Landau didn’t think twice about participating in the 5K. They entered the race and made donations to this worthy group.

Brenda Archer, President of the Brain Tumour Foundation, and the other volunteers were most gracious at pre-registration and packet pick-up in the days leading up to this race. There were smiling faces at every turn and plenty of swag from Cayman National Bank. There were an array of competitors from folks who lived on the island to tourists and those, like Lawyer Landau, in town for business.

While Mrs. Landau was there purely for vacation and relaxation, Lawyer Landau was there to learn medicine and to race. Melissa enjoyed the friendliness that marks Caribbean running. Doug wanted to test his winter “mettle.” However, despite working hard, he was passed by a number of runners even though he went out with the lead group after the first mile. Averaging 7:30/mile, Doug was glad for the warm weather running, but not so happy with his relatively pedestrian pace.

Doug learned quite a lot in the lecture that he intends to use to help his injured and disabled clients. As for what he learned on the racecourse, he has a LOT of work to do if he is going to be back in top racing form by the start of the Triathlon and Duathlon racing season!

Faces - Photos from Races and Events., Races - Schedules and Results on Races.

From Civics Teacher to Panther Racer—Lawyer Landau Returns to Langston Hughes Middle School

March 7, 2017 Doug Landau

After volunteering to teach legal procedure and civics at Langston Hughes Middle School (LHMS) in Reston, Virginia, Lawyer Doug Landau saw a poster in the principal’s office for the Second Annual “Panther Pride 5K” on Saturday, February 25 starting at 10:00 am. (To read more about Doug’s volunteering at LHMS, click here).

The late starting time, warm weather and time recently spent at the

Doug Landau shown with one of the many smiling, helpful Langston Hughes PTA Panther 5K race volunteers that made the run through the trails of the Reston Triathlon course fun for runners and walkers of all ages, sizes and speeds.

school brought Landau out to race for the first time this year in Virginia. Hoping to see if his “off season” post-surgical training was effective, Lawyer Landau toed the line with a goal of 21 minutes. Indeed, the overall winner was a middle schooler and the 3rd place runner was a member of the local high school track team. In between them was a dad pushing a jogging stroller, who passed Landau at the 2-mile mark and never looked back!

The Langston Hughes Panther Pride 5K promotes running among the student body and raises money to replenish the school’s Technology Fund. Langston Hughes Middle School is located at 11401 Ridge Heights Road in Reston, behind Sough Lakes High School. The event was professionally timed by the wonderful folks at Potomac River Running. There were lots of generous age groups and overall awards. This is a good race for younger runners as there were no roads to cross and the “out-and-back” format meant that participants knew the last third of the course (which was mostly uphill!).

Finishing less than a minute behind the winner, Doug Landau enjoyed the unseasonably warm, sunny weather over the twisty, undulating Reston course that took participants from Langston Hughes, past South Lakes High School under Soapstone Road and along the last third of the famous Reston Triathlon course. After teaching 8th graders during the week, Lawyer Landau finished 4th out of 112 entries, easily winning the over 50 category. Full results of the race can be found at here.