i have been having trouble coming to terms with what happened last weekend.  in some respects it just seems so unbelievable that an accident like that would happen, but watching the news on any given night and there are many similar examples just not necessarily involving cyclists. but anyway, the focus of the club should not be on the accident, but on our riders and how we get them back to full health again.  i appreciate that people have been observing the social media blackout on this issue as it just would not have helped the situation.  there is always so much that we want to say, but how that message is perceived and what the trolls say in reply often blows the situation out of proportion.

an update on brett and nicky is that the mri scans have indicated that neither of them need to have surgery which is great.  the downside is that both have some type of back brace for at least 3 months.  the injuries are serious, but both have use of their legs which could have been a possibility with this type of accident. both are very grateful for the support and help that the club has shown them both at the accident and during the days afterwards.  in particular they (and the club) want to thank the following people;

• kelly and vicki for the medical support on the day.  it is quite convenient to be riding with a paramedic and nurse
• andrew for organisation at the scene and for looking after the bikes (very important) afterwards
• john and jane for helping with the police report
• travis for visiting the hospital to give the guys some legal advice
• a host of other people that played a supporting role that i may not be able to name

it is casino pa natet not nicest situation for club members to be in, but everything i have heard so far was that everyone pulled together well to look after the guys.  in the early days of the club, we often talked about the club being more like a cycling family.  as it has grown, i have thought that maybe we have drifted away from that concept.  however, the actions the members in this instance show that we will rally together to support each other.

brett and nicky donations – you may have seen that there is a donations button on the right of the webpage.  with most accidents, there are usually a lot of out of pocket expenses that are not covered by all the different types of insurance.  a lot of people have been very generous with their time and skills to help the guys get through this.  if you think that there isn”t much you can do physically, then feel free to donate to help them with any ongoing expenses.  thanks.

ride leaders – support the club and help us become ambassadors for the sport in the public eye. put your name down as ride leader to ensure that the group ride is safe and organised. stu has written a bit about what i means to be a ride leader which pretty much sums it up.  sign up here.

2014 agm – with all that has gone on this past week, i haven”t had a chance to publish the outcomes of the agm.  will get to it this week.  rest assured that all positions on the committee were filled and soon those committee members will be looking for people to help on the sub committee.

ucwt masters and tour de perth – this weekend will be the culmination of many of our riders training for the past few months.  there are a few members that are racing in the 4 stage tour de perth national road series race, and a whole lot more that will be competing in the uci masters championships.  the tour de perth is held over 4 days (while most of us are at work) but culminates in the final stage around rebold hill.  the masters race is held after the tour around the same course.  we will have a supporters tent in the feedzone and if you have someone in the race, you can join us there to help support/feed/yell at them.

ride routes – with so many races on this weekend, i am having trouble finding a ride route that doesn”t have some interaction yet still allows a tailwind home.  see how we go with these.  hopefully the sunday hills ride will have a bunch of riders to come back with after the grand fondo.

saturday 29th march

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 reverse river 40.58km spr saturday

fast & main groups – morley drive 50.77km spr saturday

sunday 30th march

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 weir kal 101.71km spr sunday