so a bit of a win this last week when it was announced that the government will be bringing in the minimum passing distance. apparently it was a bit of a backdoor approach by modifying part of the road traffic code which bypassed having to put something before parliament. all in all though, a good outcome for cyclists. as has been pointed out numerous times, this will not actually stop cyclists from being hit by vehicles, especially those drivers that are just not paying attention. however, if you just get knocked off, we have found that there is sometimes little recourse for the rider as the incident may fall between the cracks of dangerous or careless driving. after nov 30, however, being struck by a vehicle would indicate that the driver had not given 1 m clearance…by default. at least it is a starting point. anecdotally, what i have seen and heard is that all this press about drivers actually having to take care, has aggrieved some drivers to the point that they are being dicks on the road. this morning on the earlybird a driver did a drive-by with horn blazing as we turned off west coast hwy, for no other reason than he was a dick. there were 2 lanes and he was the only other vehicle on the road, plus the lights ahead of him were red. he was probably upset that these bikes “caused” the lights to change red on him and he had to wait. focusing on an issue helps to highlight the inadequacies that we hope to remedy, but for others, it highlights something that they want to get pissed off about for no other reason than it effects their right to feel entitled to “own the road”. just be extra careful out there. even if you are doing everything correctly, we are still a target to some members of society. whether you are in the right or not, doesn’t matter once you go over the bonnet.
ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for november is Mount Hawthorn Family Practice. a fully accredited and equipped, modern general practice whose friendly staff look forward to welcoming you. the experienced team of doctors and staff can assist you with your general health needs and offer a range of general practice services. please see the previous post for more details.
SPR@ToMR – This coming week we have current World #1 and LaCourse champion Annemiek van Vleuten arriving in Perth to join the SPR ToMR Squad at this years ToMR event. Annemiek is racing, staying and dining with the squad over the weekend, so this really is a unique opportunity to spend time with a giant of our sport. Any SPR members coming to ToMR to support and cheer us on should email for details on where the squad is staying in Dunsborough if you’d like to catch up with us. Oh, and Annemiek, of course! Full event details are posted on the tour website and also on the ToMR FB page.
spr tomr practice – this is the last saturday before margaret river so hopefully you have had lots of practice with your team mates. one last official hit out this saturday and the teams will be tackling kings park. a figure 8 in the park will test your ability to keep the group together on climbs. communication is the key as this is not like a normal paceline. basically the teams go down lovekin, up cardiac hill, down lovekin and up may drive. cardiac is a shorter steeper hill, while may is a longer rise with steps in it. it is important to also practice how the group stays together on the downhill. again, communication is the key.
2018 licences renewal – now that we have started october, any race licence that you purchase will be valid until the end of 2018. recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year. if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it. a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr. if you need a race licence for tour of margs, get it now and you can race all of next year.
ride leader expressions of interest – we are currently looking for expressions of interest for our next batch of ride leaders. you have seen the men and women in black and should have even had one of them lead one of your rides. now it is your chance to give back to the club and be trained to be a ride leader. remember, we will not put you in a situation where you are out of your depth. if you are a main 2 rider, we would not make you be ride leader for main 1. so don’t think that you need to be a super fast rider who does races every weekend. we are primarily looking for people that can help out at the main 3/tranny/novice end of the spectrum. this means that anyone that is currently riding in main 2/1/fast more than qualifies as far as fitness/riding skills are involved. how you go about leading a group, we will train you in that. if you are interested, please check out the previous blog post for more details.
entertainment books – we are still selling the entertainment book/app as a fund raiser for the club. packed full of offers, it will not take you long to redeem back what you paid. check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.
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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 – summer has come early. a week of 30’s with no rain in sight and easterly winds blowing the house down. make sure you have adequate food, water and skin protection when heading out for the longer rides.
saturday 4th 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 shelley 40.59km spr saturday
fast & main groups – maddington 51.87km spr saturday
tomr teams – kings park figure 8 (down lovekin, up cardiac, down lovekin, up may)
sunday 5th 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 weir kal 101.71km spr sunday
monday 6th november
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 7th november
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 8th november
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 9th november
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 10th november
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am