Back in the mid ‘00’s, before Facebook had made its global presence felt on our lives, before Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat even existed and ADSL 2 was just becoming mainstream, we would all gather at 7am on Saturday morning outside a local South Perth bike shop waiting to learn the answer to the question…where are we riding today? At the appointed time, Peter (who most know now as El Prez) would stand up on the steps of the rear entrance to the shop, get everyone’s attention, and proceed to bellow out the ‘rights’ and ‘lefts’ of the route we would ride that day. If we were lucky, we heard about ½ of it and remembered about a 1/3^rd….good times….not so safe some might say….

Frustrated by the lack of coordination and ride route knowledge amongst the group, Peter decided to tackle the issue head on. He created an email distribution list of those he had addresses for; he created a range of ride routes in Map My Ride (does anyone still use this site?); he would email out the selected ride route each Thursday. The rides got safer, less hectic and gave us confidence that if anyone got dropped, they would be able to find their way home. Peter then took the next step and created a “Blog” called, you guessed it; “where are we riding today?” The Blog became the place we would all get our hands on Saturday’s ride route as well as information relating to all things Perth Cycling….the rest as they say, is history….

So, why are we telling you this? Because as recently as last Saturday as well as just two weeks ago, we have had a crash (Mike Bonner came down) and major mechanical damage (Derek Baston’s front wheel rendered unusable), caused largely by people not being familiar with the ride route the group is taking.

Firstly, we all have an obligation to undertake a few simple preparatory steps to ensure we are ready and able to ride in a group safely. They are:

1. Log on to the SPR Website on Friday to review the ride routes for the week ahead (or better still, sign up to the Weekly Rides Newsletter and get them delivered straight to your Inbox!)
2. If you have a GPS enabled cycling computer, download the Course(s) and load it/them onto the device
3. Listen to the ride briefing from the ride leader prior to setting off in case anything has changed or needs to be highlighted (hazards; re-group points; etc).

Secondly, when we are out on the ride, we all have an obligation to each other to communicate our intentions early and clearly, both verbally and non-verbally. Signalling a right/left turn with an outstretched hand or arm as well as calling “Right turn” or “Left turn” helps everyone know what’s coming up. Sure as eggs there will be SOMEONE who hasn’t done ANY of the above 3 steps and they WILL be the ones who cause the issues….don’t be that person.

So, this weekend, let’s try and get EVERYONE knowing AND communicating the answer to the ultimate question that started this whole thing off….where are we riding today?

If you have any feedback or questions on this or any other aspect of riding in SPR’s group rides, please do drop your friendly training and development sub-committee an email at development@southperthrouleurs.com.au