well the winter solstice has come and gone so that means that the days will start getting longer.  it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen…over the next 6 months.  more dark has also translated to more cold and the thursday morning ride was a chilly one this morning.  numbers were down and so was the temperature as we started at 3.4 deg and finished at 2.4 deg by the time the sun came up at 7am.  basically, it is dark and cold.  don’t let that stop you from riding.  think of how much fitness you will lose and how hard it is going to be to keep up with that riding buddy of yours.  get on your bike.

to keep warm, you just need to put more layers on.  well the spr accessories orders are now open and you can buy winter gloves and shoe covers here.  orders will close at the end of next week, so if you want anything, get in quick.

as you may have seen on earlier posts, there is a big cyclo-tradeshow-track meet on this sunday and spr will be represented in all three.  come along to watch the track racing in the afternoon.  tickets at the door, but free if you are doing the cyclo-sportif first.

the following weekend has an atta time-trial for those wanting to hone their skills against the clock, and a mtb xc race for those wanting to hone their skills against the dirt.

ride routes for this weekend are listed below.  make sure you know where your group is going before the ride just in case you get dropped/lost/are at the front.  i have changed the name of the 2 groups on sunday as fast and main didn’t really suit it any more.  last sunday the main group was smaller than the fast group and the fast group wasn’t really that fast.  the same rules of waiting at the top of the climb apply to both rides, so it is really just the distance that is the difference.  maybe in the future we will have a “fast” group that doesn’t regroup and keeps going fast.  we will see. 

anyway, ride routes are here.  they are prediciting a 2 deg saturday morning and a 3 deg sunday, so rug up.

saturday 26th june – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.77km (risley & leach & cott)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

fast – spr saturday 56.56km (scarborough beach rd)

sunday 27th june – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – spr sunday 61.14km (welshpool & weir rd)

long – spr sunday 90.23km (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd)