are we our own worse enemy??? when we are out on the road there are always risk of interactions with other road users.  whether they are cars, trucks or bus’s the odds are not really in our favour.  what about the other road users???  what about the other groups of cyclists that are also using the roads.  as we head towards summer the number of groups and the numbers of cyclists within the groups will always increase.  we make the effort to split our groups for safety reasons, but not every ride is that organised.  our interaction with these groups is sometimes just as dangerous as those with cars.  when you are in a faster group and are overtaking, make sure that you allow plenty of room before you cut back over to the left.  remember that the person you are overtaking has just received a small draft advantage from you and may now be travelling quicker than before.  also be aware of the size of your group and the one you are overtaking.  make sure that there is enough room for you to actually overtake before any traffic furniture or oncoming traffic appears.  try to aim for a single file overtake when going around other groups.  if you are the group that is being overtaken, please make allowances for the other group.  yes, you are allowed to ride two abreast, but you don’t really need to take up the whole lane.  at the end of the day, a little respect between the different cycling groups goes a long way.

state road championships – if you haven’t already heard, the state champs had to be cancelled part way through as the traffic management group didn’t turn up to close the roads.  the wash-up from this is still ongoing and we are not sure if we now have the time to reschedule the event in this year.  thank you to all the people that volunteered their time to help out on the day.  with 150 riders racing across 5 grades, it was looking to be a great event.

tour of margaret river – this weekend 6 spr teams of 6 riders plus a DOME team (and other spr riders in a few other teams) will compete in the tour of margaret river.  a three day 4 stage event around the scenic surrounds of margaret river.  good luck to all involved and well done on such a good turn out.

ride leaders – it is in the clubs best interest to develop new riders so that they ride in a safe manner.  put your name down here to ensure the club grows to its potential.

spr watertower challenge – next weekend marks the second annual watertower challenge.  we already have about 75 people registered with entries open till next wednesday.  go to the event page for more info.  with one week to go we need you to spam this out to as many people as possible.  download the flyer and email it to all your cycling friends.  this is not just for spr members but open to the general public.  we are also going to need a few volunteers to make sure this event goes well. if you are not looking at riding, please help us out.  please see the previous post.

skills cycling course – if you are new to cycling and want to get better at group riding skills, then cathi dixon will be running another 3 week session of cycle skills.  riding at a fast pace over longer distances takes more than just fitness.  developing your bike skills, especially group riding skills is very important.  see the previous post for more details.

wheels in mo-tion – as per the previous post, please support our guys that are participating in mo-vember this month.  discussions about bad mustaches are easier to have than those about health issues, but hopefully it can start the conversation.

ride routes – there will be a lot of the usual suspects missing from the group this weekend due to the tour of margaret river.  ensure you know the ride route and don’t be afraid to speak up if you think something is not right.  your safety relies on everyone in the group doing the right thing.  it is going to be a hot one on sunday, so we will look at keeping the ride close to facilities.

saturday 9th movember

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional – trans benara 39.90km spr saturday

fast & main groups – benara rd 50.76km spr saturday

sunday 10th movember

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh obs cam goose 88.67km spr sunday