during the week, there was apparently some graffiti sprayed on a road in vic park. unlike the normal “tag” or political statement about war, this graffiti was in the shape of a bicycle. a group that the media have described as “guerrilla cycling activists” has sprayed bike markings on a recognised cycleway as they were tired of waiting for the council to do it themselves. see article here. it reminded me of the marking in dalkeith where the bike symbol has actually been scrubbed out. closer investigation shows that birdwood parade is considered a “good riding environment” and not a “bicycle lane or sealed shoulder”. this is despite the fact that almost every group that rides around the river will use this stretch of road. and despite the fact that the road is 9m wide as opposed to 6m wide for most suburban roads. i.e. there is ample room for a bike lane. personally, i think that symbols are a bit overrated and don’t mean that much to drivers, especially the bike symbol. most drivers are taught to not cross unbroken lines or they risk having a crash. anecdotally, i have seen/heard many cases where cars seem happier to zoom by close to bike rather than deviate into the other lane even if it is completely clear. i think that we are programmed that way. so to put a clearly marked shoulder on all roads (i.e. 2.5m from the centre line) would give people a clear indication of what is actually the lane. most of my riding is in groups and i love the “protection” that the size of the group gives me in respect to actually being noticed, but when you are by yourself, sometimes the difference that the painted shoulder makes can be life changing.
ride leader sponsor – 
our ride leaders for june are proudly sponsored by return sponsor, Seeton Consulting. they are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.
entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds. even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you. there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area. check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.
tomr spr teams – tomr is a 4 stage team race event held annually in november across the iconic south west of wa. spr will have a dedicated team manager, the spr van in tow and a few surprises as well this year. the spr squad of nominees is about to be announced and DEPOSITS REQUESTED. nominees will be emailed directly as well. check out the previous post for more details or speak with greg murray or jon hanson at dome after the saturday main rides this week. spr tomr 2017 webpage will be launched shortly here.
tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike. this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot. being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize. check out their facebook event page for further details.
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hursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable. we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities. have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit. there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.
saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning. please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate. this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts. see the previous post for more details.
ride routes – so yesterday we passed the winter solstice (i.e. the shortest day of the year). perth celebrated this by getting hit with over 60mm of rain in 24hrs. luckily this means that the weekend should now be pretty clear for riding. it also means that effectively, the days start getting longer again. still just waiting for winter.
saturday 24th 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 shelley 40.59km spr saturday
fast & main groups – hale rd reverse 51.37km spr saturday
sunday 25th 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 – coffee ride
short – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday
long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday
monday 26th june
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 27th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
wednesday 28th june
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 29th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
see previous post for ride groups
spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
friday 30th june
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am