Ride routes 24th – 30th October

Two weekends in a row of successful events for the club signals the culmination of a lot of behind the scenes work. The type of events also reflects the type of riders we have in the club. We are not a racing club, nor are we a recreational club. Our diverse collection of riders means that we need to try to provide for all wide range of abilities. The WaterTower Challenge was setup to provide a safe and supported platform for people to achieve the goal of a century ride. The Beverley, this year, is a primer event for the Tour of Margaret River teams. The club has never really been big on events, and if you are ever involved in the organisation and setup of any of these, you will understand why. However, with the changes that are happening within the organisational level of our sport, we may need to be more proactive about what we want in this state. Luckily we have such a deep pool of enthusiastic volunteers to make this happen.

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.

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.

SPR Chicks Social ride is back – Every last Friday of each month, the ride will start at the Narrows Bridge (city side) and end in Kings Park at Fraser’s restaurant for coffee. This is an approx 25km distance, 25km/hr easy pace, no drop ride. End of ride coffee is the key priority  All riders are welcome and encouraged.
A Club kit is encouraged but not essential. If you don’t have a club kit that’s ok but you may lose out on a chance to win a prize!!  Find out more details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/668254434092767/

Sunday Summer Hills Start – As per the results of the feedback from the last few year, the Sunday hills rides will change to a 6am start time at the beginning of November and continue that way until the end of February. The extra sunlight early on and the hotter days means a more pleasant riding experience for all. Yes, you miss out on a slight sleep in, but you will be home earlier and can have a nanna nap on the couch instead.

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 –  So its the first weekend in a while that both days will be warm/hot since we’ve come back from our COVID break earlier in the year. Added to that for Saturday is a forecast for “moderate” easterly winds. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a “getting ready for the hot weekends” ahead by ensuring you drink plenty of fluids and slip on the sunscreen, so in true Perth fashion we get thrown straight from the cold to the hot, so please be careful out there this weekend whatever you do.

On another note, the club is going “back to the future” by reinstating a monthly SPR Chicks ride the last Friday in every month with the first of these starting next Friday 30th October at 6am. If you’re interested then you can find details on SPR Chicks Facebook page. Be great to get as many women along for the first one in a while so be sure to pencil it in for next week.

Saturday 24th October

Sunday 25th October

Monday 26th October

Tuesday 27th October

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

Wednesday 28th October

Thursday 29th October

Friday 30th October