Ride routes 4th – 10th July

Mo chasing Sarah at Peel. Photo Nancy

Are we there yet? It feels like this journey has been quite long, but at the same time we all know that we are no where near the finish. As things look a bit grim in Victoria with an increase in cases and suburbs in lockdown, it is interesting to see America burying it’s head in the sand and pretending there is no problem. Our nice little WA bubble has worked quite well and this has allowed community sport to start up again, even the ones with lots of touching. So, as i mentioned last week, racing has started up again, and spaces are limited across most of the calendar. Get in early if you want to pin a number on and maybe even a pretty yellow helmet cover. For the fashion conscious, find out which grade is using green covers and enter that race instead. We are in the process of organising our events and our participation in others. We will soon be looking for volunteers to assist in the running of our club events, so hopefully this enthusiasm for racing flows over into helping on the day. Keep an eye on the blog for when we put the call out. In the meantime, look after yourself and give someone a solid wheel to follow.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

  • Social distancing still applies. This means no handshakes, hugging, high fives, down low too slow, or general touching is allowed. Please refrain from touching other peoples bikes, and allow space for people to gather before the ride.
  • The start locations in the carpark for Saturday will change slightly. See below for more detail and a new map, but basically, we need to ensure we don’t exceed the 100 person limit, by separating into two distinct groups.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car the first day back.
  • No “hand of god”. Like most thing in life, any interaction requires two-way consent between adults. If someone is struggling and you want to push them, you both have to be comfortable with being touched. I’m not going to speculate on the risks involved with hand to jersey contact, but before you push someone, ask them first. If they are not comfortable with any contact, then don’t do it.
  • The coffee shop is open, but please be aware that they may not be able to seat everyone. The post ride coffee is a long standing tradition with cycling, but in this new post-COVID world, there are some sacrifices that need to be made. The hospitality industry in general is suffering, so we need to give our support, but if you are just getting a coffee, then consider a takeaway, so that table space can be saved for those ordering a bit more. Hospitality businesses are under stricter regulations than cycling clubs, so please understand that the seating arrangements are what are mandated by the restrictions and you cannot move tables to suit how many mates you want around you.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.
The Mayeur sizing kit at R&D Speedshop

SPR Mayeur kit – Orders for the new SPR kit are now open and can be found at this link. A sizing kit has been made available at R&D Speedshop in Claremont and all sizes in the three styles are available to try on.
The Mayeur Clubline range includes standard fit, slim fit, and aero fit unisex jerseys, as well as standard and long cut bib shorts, with mens and womens chamois. A range of gilet, skin suits, arm warmers and jackets are also available. 
Whilst the sizing range covers everything from kids and 2XS to Grande sizing, Mayeur is passionate to make sure everyone in the club has a garment that works for them. In the event you fall outside the range, get in touch with the team at Mayeur and they’ll look after you. For more information check out the previous post.

Proposed Yanchep criterium circuit

Criterium Circuit at Yanchep – Community consultation is being sought for a new cycling facility at Splendid Park. Northern Beaches Cycling Club have worked hard to get the proposal this far – A 1.5km dedicated road circuit for training and racing. Imagine tearing around a uni-directional, 5 metre wide circuit, complete with the option of high banked corners comparable to an indoor track! And a 200m long false flat sprint finish (NBCC website)
Please show your support by completing the survey here

Looking fresh on the start-line

ToMR EOI – Expressions of interest are now open for anyone wishing to be in an SPR team for the Tour of Margaret River. Most people are aware of the event and what is involved after all the club has had multiple teams entered for a number of years now. If you are interested, have a read of the previous post and register yourself so we can start sorting out teams. As we are going through a period of uncertainty, we will most likely have less teams rather than more teams to account for a potential reduction in numbers closer to the event. Therefore get your name in quick if you are keen to race or keen to help volunteer.

SPR Watertower Challenge – It’s back. The WaterTower Challenge is set to run in September this year after a couple of years hiatus. Choose from the Metric (100km) or Imperial (160km) challenge. Ride against the clock in group of 3 around the suburbs of Perth. Find WaterTowers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you don’t usually ride through. Check out the event page on Facebook, organise some mates and pencil in the 20th September.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator –  Now that we’ve been back riding for the last 4 weeks we’ve started to “get our legs back” as a peloton so it’s time to throw in a main ride that is always a good challenge, Ridgehill Road.  You’re probably going to regret it on the way out into the northeasterly wind, you may even be cursing my name as you reach the roundabout at the bottom of the hill but by the time you get back to Guilford Road it will all be a distant memory as the tail wind helps you to “bring it home!”.  Enjoy your cycling and look after each other out there.

Saturday 4th July

Sunday 5th July

Monday 6th July

Tuesday 7th July

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 8th July

Thursday 9th July

Friday 10th July