as some of you are aware, a few years ago we had an incident on one of the hills rides. a rider drifted to the wrong side of the road and hit an oncoming car at about 70kph. i was about two metres away and got to watch the whole thing. there are certain things that i never want to experience again and that, plus running back up the road to check for a pulse are pretty much at the top of my list. to my horror, i saw this scenario about to play out again on the thursday earlybird ride. coming down the hill from point walter and onto burke drive, a rider who was larger than the person in front, had more momentum and drifted around and onto the wrong side of the road. i look up the road and there is a car, with headlights blazing heading up the hill. the rider had enough time to brake and pull back in, and it wasn’t that close of a call, but it was totally unnecessary. instead of braking as they caught the rider in front, they put themselves (and my sanity) at risk. now the rider in question was not part of the group. we had overtaken quite a few riders between cottesloe and bicton, so we had some hangers-on. regardless, i had a few choice words for him even though he soon drifted off the back. talking to the leader of another perth bike group and they said that they still have the occasional problem with riders going the wrong way around roundabouts, etc. on our group rides, these types of risks are unacceptable. the club as a whole works very hard to maintain a certain level of etiquette and this is something that every person must enforce. we are the more vulnerable road user out there and taking unnecessary risks can be fatal.
ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for june is wa cyclocross. cyclocross is a cross between road and mountain biking usually held on a grass or dirt circuit. there are divisions for all abilities and a kids race before on a shortened circuit.
check out any of the events coming up soon and get on down to ring a cowbell.
earlybird lights – the nights are dark and full of terrors, so that is why you need to have a good set of operating lights on your bike during the earlybird. on the thursday group 3 ride, there were 3 people that did not have operating lights on their bikes. if it is a once off “my lights just died” situation, then fine, but don’t argue, just apologise and say you will have them fixed before the next ride. there is a very big risk that you can be cleaned up by a car because they can’t see you. especially since people seem to wear a lot of black kit during winter. if your lights are repeatably failing, then it is time to buy some new ones. as we have always said, no front flashers and make sure your rear is not on retina burn mode for the people trying to follow your wheel.
kit collection – the latest order of standard spr kit and the national kit is now ready to collect and will be available at the coffee shop after the main ride on saturday. if you cannot collect then, please contact kit@southperthrouleurs.com.auto organise another time, or purchase a “post my kit” option in our shop.
winter woolies and retro riders – pull out your retro jersey or retro bike and ride with the south perth rouleurs. this saturday, 30 june. meet at coode st jetty carpark in south perth by 7am. spr ride leaders will take the group over a 40-50km ride ending at dome westralia square. there you can display your bike, parade your jersey and #bheroic. see the ride route below.
spr tomr 2018 eoi closing tomorrow – we know that is seems really early, but team nominations for the tomr need to be in soon. this is where the club pays the deposit based on how many teams that we wish to enter. if the deposit is not paid, then we cannot enter a team later on if more people want to be a part of it. last year we had three men’s, three women’s and a mixed team. so far this year, we actually do not have enough numbers for a women’s only team. after being involved with this event for a number of years, i can hands downs say that it is a lot of fun and one of the best biking experiences you can have without leaving the state. even just the social aspects of the event for the club make it worthwhile. so, if you want to be part of it, or need to set a goal to make sure you actually train this year, then check out the previous post and get your name to the race committee before the end of tomorrow.
entertainment books – we will again be selling entertainment books this year through the club. the digital versions actually come online now and last years don’t finish till the end of june allowing you twice as many offers for 3 months. check out the links on the previous post to find out more.
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.
from the ride coordinator – Do your tax return, buy bike things
saturday 30th 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
retro roll – spr retro roll 41.60km
transitional 1/2 – spr retro roll 41.60km
fast/main – morley drive 50.77km spr saturday
sunday 1st july
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 2nd july
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 3rd july
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 4th july
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 5th july
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 6th july
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am