happy new year. as the year draws to a close, i could go on some sentimental trip about how the club has changed over the years, or how successful it has been at this or that, but i would rather save that for the agm wrap up. what i would like to say, though, is for me personally, there has been a big change in my riding between the start and end of this year. at the end of 2018, i really lost my riding mojo. quite possibly just burn-out from years of training, but i just needed to find the love again. a year on and i am now trying to smash out as many k’s as i can to try to get my annual total back up. i had 5 months this year with a kilometre count under 1000 and 3 of those months were around 500 or under. it wasn’t till the last 2 months that i have managed to get it back to around 1500. in training, k’s are not everything, but i am now motivated enough to actually get out there and even do a few night owl’s. i look forward to what 2020 brings.
social club awards – last weekend we had our xmas breakfast and club awards. the social club awards are voted on by you, the members and feedback is asked for as validation of your nomination. with the exception of dean roser nominating himself for every award, this is a great way for members to let someone know that they are doing something right. check out the previous post for the results and feedback.
mercantile lane closure – some of you may remember that the pedestrian bridge over mercantile lane fell down earlier in the year. this is the back lane that we take to get from mounts bay rd to st georges terrace. as of tomorrow (20th) it will be closed again to facilitate the rebuilding of that foot bridge. no idea how long it will be down for, so you will need to take the next road (william st) to hook back around to the cafe after the ride.
hot weather policy – there has been a lot of discussion after last weeks heat wave as to how the club should run the sunday hills rides when the mercury rises significantly. there are a number of options being looked at including shortening rides, cancelling rides or changing times. as always, we cannot tell you not to ride and you do so at your own risk. however, if we deem that the conditions are not suitable, the club sanctioned training ride may be adjusted to suit. watch this space as more develops.
rapha festive 500 – so jamie moyle has kindly donated a few pairs of swisseye sunglasses. these come with 3 interchangeable lenses, and i guess you can mix and match, if you want… anyway, for the festive 500 this year, we will be giving away a pair each to the top 2 male and female riders in the club with the most k’s. firstly you have to have joined the festive 500 challenge on strava, then you need to have joined our strava club. (i am in the process of removing all the random russian bots and “club collectors” that are not really part of the club.) however, the final qualifier is that you will also need to be a paid up member of spr. i will continue down the list until i find 4 full members who can claim their prizes. get riding.
sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning. as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are. we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road. see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.
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 – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is awesome out there, so get the kids out and onto the bikes. come ride your bike and you may get to feed the magpies. lets see if there were any bike related presents under the tree this year.
from the ride coordinator – With Christmas now past, we look forward to a safe and prosperous 2020. It’s definitely a time of reflection on the year gone and planning ahead for the new year and our great cycling club is no different. From a ride leader’s perspective it’s great to have welcomed some new ride leading recruits last weekend and we look forward to adding a couple of new routes early in 2020 to our existing ones. We still need to keep an eye on safety into 2020. There are still too many accidents on our rides, so that will be a focus of the ride leading sub committee going forward to understand this better. But there are some immediate things that everyone can do that can help. Knowing the ride route, regular bike maintenance and above all communication are all things that all riders can control. It really doesn’t take much effort for everyone to contribute to a safe ride. After all, as ride leaders, this is our top priority to get everyone back for a coffee and chat. Believe it when I say, we all feel it when we have an accident on our rides. So, whilst the club is preparing for another big year ahead, it’s good if everyone from the fast groups, through all Main groups, down to transition understands how they can contribute to the safety of their own group. Have a happy, safe and hopefully prosperous 2020.
saturday 28th december
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 – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday
development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
transitional 1/2 – trans shelley 40.59km spr saturday
fast/main – freo & canning vale 52.11km spr saturday
sunday 29th december
rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am
note: sunday rides start at 6:00am from nov to feb
development group – coffee ride
short –grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday
long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday
monday 30th december
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 31st december
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
wednesday 1st january – new years day
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
public hol 57.62km spr special
thursday 2nd january
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 3rd january
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am