the spokes cycle club in geraldton and the local geraldton police station have come together to run a 2 day 4 stage cycling event. this event aims to raise money for police legacy in their support of surviving families of deceased police officers.
this is primarily a cyclo style event with the majority of the stages being run in a team format. the first stage contains some sections of gravel so you can test yourself as a spring classics rider (it will be interesting if it is wet). stage 2 is a criterium around a park in geraldton while stage 3 is back to the team cyclo-style. stage 4 is a last minute hill climb for individual riders.
reading the rules, it seems that not all riders need to be on the road at any one time. therefore, you can have riders resting in the team car if needed.
more information can be found on their website –
http://www.wildwestbiketour.com.au/
this is an event aimed at the serious recreational rider and therefore you do not need to have a full racing licence to enter.
Did this about 5 years ago & was the start of my cycling life although the format has changed a bit since then. We rode Geralton to Kalbarri on the Sat and back on the Sunday – with headwinds both ways and some nice hills. Fair bit of cheating at the rider changeovers – so don’t take it seriously otherwise you’ll get upset. We had 5 riders and there were times when only one rider was on the road for some sections with the others shouting ’emcouragement’ from the car. They had an individual race section on the last section which was semi serious and team tatics played a big part – but all in all it was good fun.
I have done this event a number of times and will be making the trip this year (two spr members in my team). It is an excellent weekend of team riding and I reckon the organisers have hit on an excellent format this year.
The dash for cash road race from Northampton would suit a few of the SPR mountain men, as it has a nice selection hill as you leave town.
Make no mistake – this ride caters for all levels, but the battle for line honours amongst the top teams has always been keenly fought. The concluding team ‘cyclo’ leg is normally handicapped – so teams coming together near the finish line is always a feature.
If anyone decides to put a team together, you will need a driver, a team car (a people mover works well), boxtop trailer with cage (for bikes), a yellow flashing light and first aid kit. The driver is kept busy following the team, handing out drinks, calling for big efforts, etc, etc (this can be good fun).
You can have the whole team on the road (team time trial) or pinch hit with pairs or single riders…..it really depends how serious the team is to tackle the ride. This year they are having a mexican night on the saturday night….so lots of opportunity to carbo load and meet the other teams.
I can vouch for two days of serious leg bashing….so the training diary gets a nice little boost !!!