a very successful start to the crit season with the ring series kicking off last week. there were over 200 riders that signed up for round 1 and it was good to see it go off without a hitch. there are some small issues with the timing system, but we had video backup which showed the finishing positions of all riders. the ring series has come about as a way of getting more clubs involved to provide racing across the summer. instead of there being 1 series on the same circuit (smashfest) this way there is an opportunity for people to race on different circuits for accumulated points. if all goes well, we are hoping to replicate it over winter with a series of road races under the same format.
ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for november is Sharon Gleeson an Independant Consultant for Arbonne Phytosport. Arbonne Phytosport provides products that are vegan certified, gluten free, dairy free and contain nothing artificial. formulated with plant-powered ingredients, essential branched-chain amino acids, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and botanical extracts, these products promote increased endurance and energy, and boost nitric oxide production to support blood and oxygen flow in muscles
which group to ride with – if you are unsure about which of the more developmental rides (main 3, , & trannies) to ride with, check out the previous post. we split our saturday rides into specific groups for a reason, and that reason is everyone’s safety. please do not try to make the group ride your own personal time trial, or complain that you had to wait for someone. if you find that you are too strong for that group, then do more work on the front, or hang back and draft stragglers back on. don’t force the entire pace of the ride up and think that you have done a great job of controlling the ride. these are group rides so you have to acknowledge the entire group.
do you think you can sprint – in light of developing a stricter set of standards around the ride leadership that we provide, we have recently had a look at sprinting within our group rides. we certainly encourage people to have a go at certain times, but they must be within the confines of a certain set of standards that we set. this is for the safety of not only the individual, but also the group. please have a read of the previous post, and have a think about when you should and shouldn’t sprint.
the ring criterium series – this weekend sees the second race of the ring series head to rockingham. the race will be run as usual by peel disctricts as we are sharing the load between the clubs. online entries close every thursday night preceeding the race, so if you want to race, get on it now. entries and more information are available via the ring website.
tour of margs spr race reports – if you are curious as to what the club got up to down at margaret river the other week, then there is a race report from the event on a previous post. maybe it will inspire you enough so that you sign up for next year.
city of south perth survey – sometimes you need to get a bit political to get what you want. the city of south perth is doing a survey to see what facilities it needs to provide for in the future. these things always take time, but if they haven’t identified anything in their longer term plan, then it will never get budgeted for. the city is also currently in the process of it’s foreshore redevelopment program. as part of that they have identified a park that they would like to use for junior sport. i have already started a discussion with the city on the use of that area for a crit circuit. what we now need to do is reinforce that when they do their data collection. they currently have a survey out for what people would like to see developed over the next 10 years. if you get the chance, can you please take a bit of time and fill it in. you don’t have to be from south perth, as you can say that you attend events here. in the section where it asks what priorities it should concentrate on, indicate that you would like facilties for traffic free bike training and racing. if they don’t know, they don’t provide. the survey can be found here.
spr gloves – there are a small number of gloves available in black/green that were done as a sample before we finalised the white ones. limited stock, in the club shop. see the previous post for more details.
spr club awards – every year we like to acknowledge member for the effort that they have made on behalf of the club. as the club is so big, the committee doesn’t have viability on everything that occurs. as such we ask you, the members, to take a bit of time to fill in a short survey nominating people for particular achievements. These are not things like winning races, but instead, categories like “most improved”, “most inspirational”, “good samaritan”. things that make the club good to be a part of. check out the previous post and take the time to fill in your nominations.
spr xmas drinks – as the christmas season descends upon us, we look to find a slot to have an out of lycra social get together. this year we will be back again at the empire bar and we thank the social committee for organising everything. if you are interested, tickets and more info is available via the previous post.
race licences – there are a couple of different types of licences that you can get when you become a member of spr. a recreational licence and a racing licence. recreational licences are for those that really only do the club training rides and want a bit of insurance coverage. it covers a full year from the time you purchase it. a race licence covers you for both training and racing and is necessary if you want to pin a number on. race licences are only valid for the calendar year which means that they expire at the end of december. however, the 2017 licences can be purchased from the 1st october and will then give you 15 months of coverage. if you are looking at upgrading to do some racing next year, or need one to do the summer crit races, then now is the time to join or renew.
ride routes – looks like summer is coming early for the end of november, then disappearing for the start of december. some hot days predicted over the weekend, so make sure that you are prepared to ride in the heat.
saturday 26th november
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 – ridgehill rd 49.58km spr saturday
sunday 27th november
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 – coffee ride
short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday
long – wlsh obs kal 90.32km spr sunday
monday 28th november
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 29th november
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 30th november
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 1st december
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 2nd december
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am