war on our roads. many people have heard me say a number of times that there is no war, because if there was, there would be casualties on both sides. what we have instead, is a media beat up that is deliberately antagonising both sides in order to increase their exposure. heading up this attack is 9 news perth who has been running a year long story about the “war on our roads”. every time there is a major incident involving a cyclist there is a story on the news. usually this would be considered a good thing as extra exposure is great for us as it makes people more aware of how vulnerable we are out there. however, i take task to just how 9 news perth are presenting each story. the recent footage of a hit and run in midland was a good example of this as the reporter stated that the cyclist were riding 2 abreast. now if it was just stating the facts, then fine, but in this case the delivery was almost spiteful and it conveyed a message of “well they kind of deserved it”. after watching the footage, even if they were riding single file, there was still a very high chance that that car was going to take them out.
weeks earlier, there was a story about trying to bring in a law that meant that in a car and bike incident, it was assumed that the car was at fault unless proven otherwise. this is a great step forward as the majority of the incident reports that i have seen where cyclists have died, often blame the cyclist for disobeying road rules. when 9 news perth presented this story, the first bit of footage they ran was of a cyclist in england riding into the back of a parked car. what this does, is instantly make a joke of the proposed law and all the non-riders out there think that cyclist have no idea what they are doing and are dangerous.
even when 9 news perth decided to do an interview with andrew patterson, who was hit by a car that u-turned in front of him, they still had a bit of a dig. not only did they show the footage of andrew flying over the bonnet of the car, but they also showed footage of other less experienced cyclists not being able to clip in properly at the lights and falling in front of waiting cars. why??? what did it have to do with this interview. all it does is again portray cyclists as a impediment to all the registration paying road users out there.
at the end of the story on the midland hit and run, the reporter then made mention of the 1 m rule that has been brought in to effect in other states. instead of saying that this would be a great rule to bring in for the protection of cyclists, they went on to say that the premier would not bring in this rule as he does not believe that cyclist should ride 2 abreast. again what this says is that if you ride single file and not hold up traffic, we might protect you, but if you slow traffic, then it is your own fault for getting hit. unfortunately, mr premier, paola ferroni, kaleb smith and brynt mcswain were all riding single file by themselves when they were struck and killed on your roads.
now, besides letting the premier and 9 news perth know how you feel on these matters, casino what else can we do. well, firstly, the majority of bike riders also drive cars. is the way that we treat other drivers, the same as we would like to be treated when riding??? do you let people merge and change lanes, or do you speed up to stop them from taking “your spot”. do you wave a thanks when people do let you in??? the lack of respect between drivers and riders is no different than what i see between drivers and drivers. it all starts with attitude and it seems the current view is “how dare you get in my way and slow down my drive”. this morning on the bike i stopped to see if a guy needed help as he had a flat tyre. this seems like a normal thing to do as you are out riding, but in this case the flat tyre was on the guys car. it was still dark and it looked like it may rain soon. this was not a matter of “cars vs bikes” but it was just the right thing to do. whether you are riding or driving on the roads just make sure that you are doing the right thing (not just the legal thing).
ride leaders sponsorship – June’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored by Watt Australia. please see the previous post detailing what they provide and we thank them for encouraging our members to step up as ride leaders. ride leaders will receive a $10 Dome voucher to be used after the saturday ride. if you have a business that you want to promote to our members, check out the previous post to both promote your business and help out the club.
rules of engagement – please read the previous post if you come out on any of our rides. it is up to all members to enforce these rules.
gary update – as stated in the previous post, gary has been moved to fiona stanley hospital to begin his active rehabilitation. if you would like to help out financially, please donate to the fundraiser on the right as we will be closing this off at the end of the month.
kit order (now with socks) – the current kit order is closing at the end of this month. see the previous post for more details and the new spr socks that are on offer.
race buddy program – if you are interested in having a go at racing this year, but are not sure about it, then sign up for our race buddy program. this matches potential racers with experienced racers who can give advice and help develop riders from weekend warriors into fully fledged racers. even though they met last satuday, if you are still interested see the previous post for more contact details.
cyclo-sportif teams – the spr swan valley cyclo-sportif teams are filling up fast. if you want to join a team, add your name to the comments on the previous post.
winter track grand prix – held each year in conjunction with the swan valley cyclo-sportif, this event showcases some of the best track racing that you will see. if you are doing the cyclo, then hang around to watch the racing. if not, then you can get a ticket for the grand prix through a link on the previous post.
spr club champion – the next race in the championship will be the next pickering brook race this weekend. this event sold out last week so if you were hoping to race, then sorry, but you were too slow. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – for this years tour of margs we have secured 4 men”s and 2 women”s teams to race in spr colours. next week we will start to open up expressions of interest to fill those teams. the final composition of those teams may not be finalised till close to the event, and this will be organised by the “all powerful race committee”. however, to make things easy for you, spr has already secured accommodation all in the same area and will organise transportation logistics for each stage. see the previous post for more details.
ride routes – the weather is not predicted to be the nicest for this saturday. as such be aware of the road conditions and ride conservatively to avoid unnecessary risks. also be aware of the traffic conditions as visibility may also be restricted so be sure that other road users can see you and can safely get by you.
saturday 20th june
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 rebold 38.69km spr saturday
fast & main groups – ewen st 50.26km spr saturday
sunday 21st june
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 – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday
long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday
monday 22nd june
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
main group – south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 23rd june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
ride starts frasers carpark at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
wednesday 24th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr wednesday 14.22km (uci masters)
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
development group – stock road repeats
thursday 25th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30arm
spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)
ride starts frasers carpark at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
friday 26th june
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
Great write up about doing the right thing Peter.. Seems to be many people out there in a rush to go nowhere..
The media is a joke, instead of actively helping they try to stir the pot.. Best for ratings? Or just shows what sort of people work at these places? The people who tail gate and actively block effective merging??