Ride routes 3rd – 9th October

Skippy the bushranger

It has not been a particularly good week for the club as far as accidents have been concerned. There were 3 incidents on Saturday and luckily all were bike vs bike interactions with only one requiring medical attention. Sunday, however, was a bike vs kangaroo during a descent which resulted in a concussion, bruises and a destroyed bike. Tuesday then saw a couple of members (not during an SPR ride) hit from behind by a light truck resulting in some serious bone fractures and other injuries but luckily both these riders didn’t end up under the vehicle.
So, what is the best we can we do to try to avoid these incidents? We have a range of situations in these examples and there is lots that we don’t have control over. Kangaroos, for example, are notoriously stupid animals that will change direction multiple times when trying to avoid a predator (bike, car). They are unpredictable, so we need to account for that as much as possible. Being spatially aware of your surroundings and situation can allow you just a bit more reaction time in case you need it. For the bike vs bike incidents, are you watching the bike in front or watching what the group ahead is doing? For the bike vs vehicle, where in the lane are you riding, do you have good lights and are wearing bright clothes?
I am in no way blaming the riders in these incidents for the resultant crashes, and sometimes no matter how aware you are or how prepared you are, things just happen. However, we know that riding bikes can be risky due to the fact that there are so many things out of our control. Just make sure you are aware of the risks and control the things you can, to give yourself the best chance.

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.

SPR Watertower Challenge – So you may have heard that the WaterTower Challenge had to be postponed due to the sub-par riding conditions. 30-40km/hr winds gusting to 60+ on the coast would have made the event not very pleasant. We have therefore postponed to the 11th October with all entries honoured for that date. If you have already entered and that date doesn’t work for you, head back to the EntryBoss website and you can scratch your entry for a full refund. If you now are available to ride, you can put in a team via the same link.

The Beverley Race – 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.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – Thank you to those that have volunteered for the WaterTower Challenge, we will double check this week to make sure you are still available for the new date. If you have entered the Challenge, make sure you thank the volunteers for their time and effort in keeping you hydrated and fed.

We also require a few more volunteers for the Beverley Race on the 17th October. If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do. Roles include marshalling, lead car, rego desk and SAG wagon.

Cycling research study – An Honours research student at Curtin University is seeking participants to join the study “Handling of Bicycles”. Participants must have at least 1 years’ experience in competitive road cycling or equivalent. If you fit this description, then they want to hear from you!
The objective of this study is to analyse road cyclist’s performance during typical cycling manoeuvres including accelerating, decelerating, ascending, descending, and cornering. This will involve placing sensors on your whole-body to record changes in your movement patterns, muscle activity and posture. You will be required to attend 1x session of approximately 2 hours in duration. 
Please contact Caitlin via email at caitlin.hillier@student.curtin.edu.au for more information.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

Kit order distribution – The missing items from the last kit distribution had finally turned up after cutting a lap of Australia first. If you ordered a winter jacket, long sleeve jersey or skinsuit they will be posted out if that is the option you selected. For pick up, they are now available at R&D Cycles.

2020 SPR Ride Leaders program calls for expressions of interest – Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program.
If you are interested, check out the previous post for more details.

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 – This weekend, the hills will be alive with the sounds of SPR. We have a put on a feast for those that love inclines and descents. It all starts Saturday with the second of our Saturday Hills ride trials up Welshpool road. Just to remind you if you have forgotten, the ride will kick off at Coode Street meeting with the rest of the riders at 7am. Based on the numbers and capabilities of riders for the last one, it’s likely there will be 2 groups, a ever so slightly faster group (suitable for those who regularly ride M1 and up) with the second group based around M2 speed/capability. These will be lead by Laurensia and Christophe, so look for them in the usually vacant middle lane of the car park.
But this week, the hills fun doesn’t stop there as we have a special treat for regular riders of the Sunday Hills. Whilst the ZigZag remains open to climb for just another month, we have created a short hills and long hills option that goes up this iconic Perth road and continues further into the hills. If you love hills riding then this may be the one and last time that you get the chance to go up and not down on a group ride. So don’t miss this potential one off opportunity.
For the rest of us, on Saturday, South Lake beckons now that roads works along Jandakot road are considered safe enough for groups to navigate, so this will also be new to everyone.
Whatever you choose this weekend, please look after yourself and those in your group. Enjoy the riding.

Saturday 3rd October

Sunday 4th October

Monday 5th October

Tuesday 6th October

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

Wednesday 7th October

Thursday 8th October

Friday 9th October