Ride routes 1st – 7th August

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

John F. Kennedy

In this mid-pandemic world nothing stays the same for too long. If you can’t change and adapt you are probably going to struggle. Like most good plans, Covid-19 derailed the roll out of our new kit. Delays in manufacturing when factories shut down and our big plans for a launch party were sunk by social distancing. However, change is on the horizon. Not everyone likes change but over the history of the club we have changed kit designs 5 times and suppliers 3 times. Like all change, it may not be for everybody. But for now it is the future and soon to become the present (or presents if you bought some for somebody else).

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 post ride coffee is a long standing tradition with cycling and the hospitality industry is suffering so we need to give our support. However, we also need to moderate our social behaviour to ensure we minimise the risk of spreading infection. This not only includes maintaining appropriate social distancing, but also NOT bringing bottles, helmets and gloves inside and making use of the hand washing/sanitizing stations. Enjoy your coffee and social interaction, but make sure you do it responsibly.
  • 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.
Looking fresh on the start-line

ToMR EOI – Expressions of interest are still open for the Tour of Margaret River. We are particularly interested in any women wishing to represent the club. If you are interested, have a read of the previous post and register yourself so we can start sorting out teams. We are also interested in anyone that is happy to volunteer for this event. The course this year has no point-to-point stages, so there will be no shuttling of cars. However, volunteers will still be required to setup tents, stock eskies and generally help out the riders however, they can.

Gravel Ride – Looking for an easy Sunday ride but getting bored of doing river loop? or you want to do something different? SPR are very excited to bring you the Inaugural SPR Sunday Gravel on August 16th. This will be an easy-paced ride, leaving from Bellevue RSL, pub lunch at Parkerville, and an easy roll back down the hill. See the event details in SPR Facebook page and the website soon. 

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.

Collie to Donnybrook – This iconic WA race has now opened it’s register and is accepting entries for the race on the 15th August. This is a handicap event which means that the slower riders get a headstart on the faster riders, so if things pan out right, it can be anyone’s race. Entries will be capped at 220 riders and close on the 9th August and can be found here.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

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 – Looks like we are in for a great weekend of riding with some fine weather forecast and some light to moderate winds for both days. The main ride route this week takes us around the southern suburbs where you can power up Stock road, work your way through some lumpy bits, sprint down South Street and Nicholson Road before furnishing with the gentle zephyr behind you all the way to coffee. Sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Just a reminder for all that have yet to fill in the survey regarding a hills ride option for Saturday, please do so this weekend as we will close it on Monday and publish the results in the blog next week. So far we have had over 40 responses so it’s generated a lot of interest. Even if you are not interested in riding hills, please consider responding as there is a question regarding “what other recreational ride would you like to see the club adopt” and so far we have some interesting suggestions. You can find the survey here.

Saturday 1st August

Sunday 2nd August

Monday 3rd August

Tuesday 4th August

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

Wednesday 5th August

Thursday 6th August

Friday 7th August