Ride routes 8th – 14th August


Aloysius Parker Photography

So the picture of Dave and myself was about 5 minutes before i found out what not doing any intensity work for over a year does to your performance in cyclocross. It wasn’t pretty. But, i turned up, rode the course, jumped the jumps, ran the hills and muddled the muddy bits. Didn’t come first but didn’t come last. Like most things in life it is about setting your expectations and making them realistic. However, much like life, if you don’t put the effort in, there is only so much you are going to get out of it. Even a lottery winner still needs to go to the trouble of actually entering. I bought my ticket and got some intensity training for my efforts. Small steps, but important ones for me to understand where to set my expectations for next time.

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

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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.

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 on the SPR Facebook page.

Looking fresh on the start-line

SPR ToMR Teams – We now registering 4 men’s teams and 1 women’s team. We have a number of men on the reserve list and as previous history has shown us, they will be required closer to the event. We are still short a couple of women’s riders, so if you are interested, please email the club race address. We also have enough volunteers for this event as this year does not require multiple car shuffling for those stages that start and finish in different spots.
Those riders that have indicated that they want to race, but have not yet paid their deposit, please do so as soon as possible, or you may lose your spot.

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 (103km) or Imperial (170km) 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. Entries are now open via EntryBoss (click here).

The Beverley – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

Volunteers – We have two events coming up where the club will need assistance from the members to ensure they run successfully. Firstly is the WaterTower Challenge on the 20th Sept and secondly is the Beverley on the 17th October.
If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
The WaterTower Challenge requires the following volunteers –
2 x Registration Desk – Jason Gordon, ?
3 x Feedzone 1 – Fiona Williams, ?, ?
2 x Feedzone 2 – ?, ?
1 x SAG wagon – ?
The Beverely Race requires the following volunteers –
Positions announced soon.

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 – Thanks to everyone who filled in our survey of members interest in a Saturday Hills ride option. We got over 75 responses in the subject and a lot of different suggestions for organised rides. The plan is to review results amongst the committee over the coming weeks and recommend a course of action going forward. The results will be published when the committee has had a chance to digest. Thanks again and stay tuned.As for this weekend’s routes, it looks like it will be a little windy on Saturday morning so we will go with the route that finishes with a tail wind. As for hills on Sunday, we’ll all I can say is that I hope fortune follows the brave as it’s looking a little wet. Whatever cycling you do, make sure it’s a good one. Be safe!

Saturday 8th August

Sunday 9th August

Monday 10th August

Tuesday 11th August

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

Wednesday 12th August

Thursday 13th August

Friday 14th August