Ride routes 10th – 16th October

Julian on his way to a podium finish (see the green blur way at the back, that is me being dropped). Photo – Nick Cowie

Racing is still going strong in post-covid WA with big fields filling the startlists. Part of me wonders whether people don’t know what they have until it is taken away, so now they are trying to get their fill before we lose it again. Regardless, SPR did well on the hilly course around Jarahdale. We had 5 of the 6 podium positions in Women’s A & B and 3 spots across Men’s A, B & C. There were even some green kits amongst those with Nancy and Craig winning their respective B grade races. We will soon come to the end of our truncated road season with the first of the crits just around the corner next month. However, the Tour of Margs will be the focus for some until then. On a non-racing note, the Tour of WA is currently underway with some of our members negotiating the 6 day 660km circuit around the south-west. The weather is getting better and the mornings are getting lighter, it’s time to get out and ride.

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 – Good luck to those participating in the return of the WaterTower Challenge. Well, the re-try of the re-boot of the challenge, anyway. The weather is looking fantastic on Sunday and we have over 30 teams entered so it should be a good day. Thanks to the volunteers for making this happen and thanks to those that have entered to support the club.

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 is usually a celebration of cycling covering many aspects spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is usually a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride. However, after 6 years incident free, MainRoads have decided that the traffic management for the Heroic and new Gravel ride are insufficient and require more much traffic management than initially thought. The cost of this and the time it would take to organise, have made the Sunday events (Gravel & Heroic) uneconomic and have therefore been cancelled. The Team time trial and CX race will still go ahead on the Saturday. This is an unfortunate situation and has meant that over 200 people will now not be coming to support the local economies around Beverley and York.

Volunteers – Thank you to those that have volunteered for the WaterTower Challenge. 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.

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 –  Just had a quick look at the BOM weather forecast and we are (finally) looking at a run of double digit overnight temps! Yay, things are starting to warm up. So I thought it was a good time to go back to my “spotlight on safety” messages. Just as a reminder, so far we’ve focussed on importance of knowing the ride route, the importance of calling hazards up and down the line and communication, the importance of regular bike maintenance and so this week is the importance of hydration, nutrition and sun protection as we move into some warmer weather. So temperatures during some rides this weekend may hit the mid 20’s. Do you need a second water bottle? Do you need a hydralyte kick in your water? For longer rides, do you have adequate snacks/food to keep you going (particularly important for water tower and hills rides). Is it time to “slip slop slap” on the sunscreen if you’re still out in the late morning when the UV is more intense? You thinking about the answers to these types of questions just might be the difference between an enjoyable ride or a downright slog. So from this weekend on, don’t just “jump on the bike”, give some consideration to the environment that you will riding in and look after yourself. Enjoy the riding whatever you do

Saturday 10th October

Sunday 11th October

Monday 12th October

Tuesday 13th October

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

Wednesday 14th October

Thursday 15th October

Friday 16th October