share the road. it is the catch-cry of many a cycling advocacy group but it applies to both parties. cycling has received a lot of press lately not all bad, but lots not too good. if you follow the amy gillett facebook page, you would have seen that the last couple of weeks there had been 3 fatalities and a number of serious incidents involving cyclists. the part we play in all this is to be considerate to other road users, cars, trucks, buses, other cyclists and pedestrians. yes, we can legally ride two-abreast along the road, but does the individual situation call for some common sense and the group rides single file. most of our rides deliberately target double lane busier roads as it allows more room for cars to get past. if however, you get dropped off your group, please assess the situation you are in. taking up a lane as a lone cyclist may not be the best thing to do as it may put you in a dangerous situation. it is no good being “legally right” and confined to a wheelchair rather than giving space to other road users. sometimes it may pay to just pull over and wait for the next group, or even find your own way back via some quieter back roads. the ride routes are posted in advance every week so you can study the route and make some adjustments if you need. physically tired riders sometimes don’t make good choices just the same as frustrated drivers don’t always make good choices. unfortunately the risks they are taking is with your life not theirs.
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. sign up here.
women’s skill session – back when leigh o started riding with us she found it quite a daunting experience. coming down to a saturday morning ride for the first time, with over 100 riders waiting in a carpark, can be nerve wracking as there are so many unknowns. even after you have been with spr for a while, what skills you need to have to move up the groups may also be unclear. so leigh has gone out and got her coaching ticket and wants to help the next lot of girls that are coming through the ranks. this is primarily for those that are in the novice/tranny group and feel a bit out of their depth. it is also for those women that you know of that may need a little push to come out with the group. going through the skills course before coming out with the novice group, may be just the transition to group riding that they need. if you are (or know someone that maybe) interested, please see the previous post.
women’s race training day – hall training is putting on a race training day just for spr women. if you do race or have been thinking about it, then come along to this free day where you will be shown the basic of road racing. see the previous post for details.
tom lowry race – the next road race on the calendar is being held in collie next weekend. please see the previous post for more details.
goldfields cyclassic – the next big race on the calendar is at the start of june and as it is in kalgoorlie, it will take a bit of organising. more info is on the previous post and if you are interested, please put your name in the comments section.
kit order closes – the current kit order will close on the 1st of may. make sure you get your orders in.
ride routes – tomorrow is anzac day. many people will be going to the dawn service prior to the public holiday ride and as such we will be starting 10min later to allow them to get down from kings park. anzac day is also one of the busiest days at Dome, so please be considerate when rolling back into town. there may not be the space that we usually have on a saturday and there will probably be a restricted menu to choose from.
friday 25th april
ride starts under the narrows (south perth side) at 5:30am
early lap – spr friday 42.01km (shelley)
all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:10am (later start to allow for dawn service)
public hol 58.97km spr special (fast/main/trans-m3)
saturday 26th april
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 abernethy 39.96km spr saturday
fast & main groups – hale & ridgehill 50.58km spr saturday
sunday 27th april
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 – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday
long – cann dam 100.13km spr sunday
A very timely and well written approach Pete. It is not a car vs bike debate, it is about sharing, whatever mode of transport you’re using.
Assess a situation from the perspective of others as well as your own.
If you’re running – perhaps don’t have both headphones in your ears so that you can hear a bike bell.
If you’re cycling – wear lights so that motorists can see you, even if you can see the road with the street lights.
If you’re on a motorbike – be aware of the blind spots that cars have and try not to sit there in case they pull over into your lane.
If you’re driving – be aware that trucks don’t have the braking power you do, so give them some space so they don’t go up the back of you.
Share. Share. Share.
A word of warning for the Public Holiday ride. A flock of ducks have set themselves up in Rossmoyne,on a corner about half way between the roundabout and the end sprint. On a group ride ride this morning we almost came to grief after we surprised them when rounding the bend. Hopefully a few of the early groups may clear the road, but please be aware of them on the ride.
Share the road. Ducks have rights too …
Funny that you should say that Julian , back home in Ireland when we go training its mostly on back roads . These roads have a hedge on either side and are narrow and twist and turn . In my time iv’e come across —Bulls ,Cows ,Sheep ,Ducks ,Horses , Oh ye and a guy standing in the middle of the road with a double barrel shotgun .
Million thanks to our Russell today for (very) patiently nursing me up lennie hill road and to the rest of the mob for regrouping at the bottom .. very much appreciated :0)
The Main 1.2 Group ride today was maybe the best ride I’ve ever been on with SPR – the perfect sized group (24), good firm, consistent pace, regroup when needed (after hill and traffic light bunch-split), with none of the “issues” – half-wheelers, ego’s, off the front sprinters.
Thanks to everyone for a very enjoyable morning.
I was thinking exactly the same thing.
Best way to make the group go faster is to avoid wearing everyone out by having good group riding and rolls.
There was a small scrap in Main-2 on Marine Parade, Cottesloe where some riders ended up on the ground and a parked car got damaged (luckily nobody got hurt). We were riding 2 abreast on Marine Pde but my gut feel is we should have been single file as you don’t want to ride too close to the parked cars (so you don’t get doored) and two abreast cars can’t get past. What are other people’s feelings about this?
Thats why if I take the Transition Group I head north via Curtin Ave and don’t take them through the beach front at Cott – I saw a female cyclists get ‘car-doored’ there about 3 years ago and fortunately the 4wd behind her stopped in time. Its was a very close call and left a lasting impression !