we lost a member last week. not due to changing clubs, or not renewing but because they passed away. it wasn’t from an accident or anything sinister but he is gone nevertheless. this was not a member that many of our current riders would have known or would have even ridden with, but was still someone that made a very large and sustained impact on cycling in perth. henk vogels snr was born in the netherlands but represented australia at the 1964 tokyo olympics. from there he went on to be a national level commissaire, national selector, coach, and manager of many wa state and national teams. i first met henk when we began to float the idea of forming a club over 10 years ago. at the time he was the president of the southern districts cycle club (sdcc) which had a long and rich history and was one of the driving forces behind the very active racing scene. sdcc ran the state champs and a number of other important events through the calendar. unfortunately internal politics meant that the southern districts club folded not long after we formed so henk moved his membership across to our club. our club’s beginning was not smooth sailing as quite a few of the other clubs were not happy with us forming a new entity. they felt that we would be stealing members from their clubs and made it quite hard for us to get established. fortunately there were a few shining lights within the conflict and henk was always extremely supportive even offering to partner with us to run events. his extensive library of cycling stories and advice will be sorely missed but his impact on perth cycling will long be remembered.
ride leader sponsor –there is no ride leader sponsor for august. if you want to promote your business to our 400 members and 2500 facebook followers, get in contact with the club.
entertainment book – once again we are selling the entertainment book as a fundraiser for the club. available as a digital version, you can carry it anywhere on your phone to make sure that you never miss out on those discounts. if you do want a physical book, these are still available but you must select a postage option. click here to order your new book. there are usually different weekly offers on when you buy your entertainment book.
weekend racing – here is what is on offer this weekend if you want to pin a number on.
- wacx numbat cup
- Collie Donnybrook
SPR ToMR 2019 –ToMR EOI’s are closed and details and costs are being finalised.
If you are still interested but didn’t register, see the Race@SPR crew this Saturday. Be quick or be ready for next year!
ToMR Breakaway 2019 – There’s more to ToMR than just racing ToMR!!! ToMR are hosting their “Breakaway” rides – get to ride the full race courses ahead of the race in a fully supported group.
Last year, that group was headed up by none other than Jens Voigt – who else would you get to lead a Breakaway if Thomas De Gendt isn’t available? If there is suitable demand from non-racing SPR members, we can look towards packaging an accommodation bundle to travel with the SPR ToMR-ers. If you like bikes and riding it is one of the best weekends away all year. For more info on the Breakaway rides, check out the ToMR event website. Email if you are interested or chat to Steve or Greg after Saturday Main rides at Dome.
memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number. i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.
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.
spr juniors – CANCELLED. a bit of a discussion with the other parents and we have decided to put the juniors ride on hold over winter. the last few weeks have been too wet and the prediction is for more rain on saturday. even if it is not wet, then 2 deg in kings park is not pleasant and we want to make sure that the kids are actually having fun. we will reassess mid august as to when to start up again.
from the ride coordinator – Days are getting longer, I know because the bird song is getting earlier when I’m in bed not riding and when I am riding one of the clubs weekly training rides, I’m now starting to contemplate pulling over for one of our cracking sunrise photos.
saturday 17th august
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
juniors – CANCELLED over winter
development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
transitional 1/2 – trans reverse river 40.58km spr saturday
fast/main – murdoch & freo 49.8km spr saturday
sunday 18th august
rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
development group – coffee ride
short – kal goose 67.63km spr sunday
long – kal chook obs 89.74km spr sunday
monday 19th august
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 20th august
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
wednesday 21st august
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 22nd august
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 23rd august
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
Thanks for the story about Hank Vogels Snr, interesting, had no idea of his links with SPR. He has left an amazing legacy. May he rest in peace.