whenever anyone talks about bike riding in the netherlands and how much better it is for cyclist there, the response is usually that the culture is different and it just wouldn’t work here (aus, uk, usa). however, the video above shows that it never used to be that way. cars dominated the landscape of the developing nation and bikes and people were being pushed to the outer. it took a strong leadership with a big set of wrecking balls to start to make the change. as shown in the video, 33% of all journeys are now made via bike with 50% of kids going to school that way. on top of that, helmets are not compulsory with only 1% of riders wearing them, and the country has the lowest incident of head injuries.
one of the biggest differences that i can see is the laws over in the netherlands that say that the larger vehicle is always assumed to be at fault unless proven otherwise. this deters cars from just assuming that because they have paid rego, they deserve to use the whole road.
so what are the things that made it work. his summary is spot on. space, low speeds, supportive laws and familiarity with riding at an early age.
would this work in perth??? well we certainly have the weather for it. utrecht has an average summer min/max of 14-22 while perth is 16-30. winter in utrecht is 2-7 while it is still a moderate 7-19 in perth. cyclist hate the rain, but in utrecht on average it rains 20 day of each month fairly consistently, while in perth it fluctuates from 5-20 and averages about 10 per month. while it may seem like a pipe-dream to achieve this in australia, it may just take some strong leadership. car free sundays in freo may be a good start. see if contrary to popular belief, it may actually attract more people back into the citys.
ride leaders sponsorship – August’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored by Retul Bike Fitting. 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.
collie-donnybrook – one of the oldest races on the calendar and a “monument” of the perth race scene. collie-donnybrook is a handicap race which means that even though you are in the same race as the really, really good racers, you get given a big headstart. everyone races for the same prize money. our own ben godridge is the current fastest time record holder and no-one has managed to beat that time for quite a few years. see the previous post for further details.
kit order – the next kit order will close at the end of september and we have been promised that it will be ready before the tour of margs. it is important that anyone considering doing the tour has the correct current spr uniform for the event. remembering the cold and wet stages that we had last year, this may also mean a spr vest to keep warm. check out the previous post for more details.
spr club champion – with only 2 races left on the club championship there are some clear leaders who have consistently gathered points in each race. the next race in the championship will be pickering brook race #3 and then the final will be pinjarra classic. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – we have opened up expressions of interest for this years tour of margs. head over to the event page and post a comment if you would like to be in a team. there may be some provisional teams placed now, but the final members in each team will be determined by the race committee closer to the race date. for now, get your name down and start training.
ladies day – its the first saturday of the month, so again it is ladies day. ladies only rides for main 1, 2 & 3 (depending on numbers). take the opportunity to ride up front.
ride routes – the forecast is for the rain to stop before the saturday main ride. fingers crossed that the prediction is correct. just be aware of the road conditions if it has been wet and take care out there.
saturday 1st august
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
ladies rides – benara rd 50.76km spr saturday
fast & main groups – benara rd 50.76km spr saturday
sunday 2nd august
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
monday 3rd august
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
main group – south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 4th august
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 5th august
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 6th august
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 7th august
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am