Calm sunrises with a bit more than a hint of humidity make for fast mornings on the bike. For the weekday earlybird rides, lights are now mandatory and please remember to set them to solid (non-flash) to minimise the discomfort to other riders. As for the weekend, the Sunday hills will have it’s final 6am start as we move back to 7am starts from March onwards. The expected sunrise times are now later than 6am and the days should start cooling down. The SPR kit order also closes on Monday 1st March so anticipate that cooler weather meaning you will need arm warmers or long sleeve jerseys. Make sure you get your order in as every year, those that start riding over summer get caught out on that first cold morning.
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.
SafeWA registration – As the state opens up to more interstate travelers, the risk of community spread could possibly increase. Contact tracing is an important way to contain the virus in case it finds it’s way into the community. If you want to sit down for a coffee you must register your details at that premises. There are 2 ways to do this, register on a paper form, or scan a QR code on an app.
So, how do i get the app? Download the WA Government free app – SafeWA and sign up as an individual.
– Android users click here
– Apple phone users click here
We have had it pretty good in WA so far. Lets make sure that we can open up safely.
SPR Chicks Friday Ride – Social ride starting at the Narrows Bridge (city side) 6AM and ending 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 ☕️???? This will be an organised club ride (last Friday of each month) and be posted to the SPR club page. The ride route will be posted on both the main club website and also on this chicks FB page. All riders are welcome and encouraged. Flat bar, roadies, MTB does not matter. Come and join us! Event details here.
AusCycling Memberships – As of November last year, Cycling Australia ceased to exist and AusCycling was formed to combine multiple disciplines of cycling together. To be part of the national organisation, our club has joined Auscycling and memberships and renewals are now available though it. As such we have updated the memberships page to reflect the membership types and approximate costs. There are now 4 types of licence – Lifestyle, Race off-road, Race all discipline & Non riding. On top of this there is also a Club Add-On where you can join SPR if you are a member of another club, like Peel or RCCC. This is similar to our Extraordinary membership (which still exists for other orgs) but has been formalised a bit.
EDIT: There has been a bit of confusion around the clubs relationship with Westcycle as some people have opted for a Westcycle licence and have linked to SPR as their club. Our club is affiliated with the national body which is AusCycling, but we do have a tenuous link back to the state body which is Westcycle. We are currently working out what that means for members in regards to the rights that they have within the club (voting, committee positions, etc). Until we clarify that, just be assured that your insurance is still valid and you are still free to ride with the club.
Club AGM – Keep an eye out for details of this years club AGM to be held in March. As per our constitution all committee positions are vacated and must be nominated for each year. If you feel like you would like to help with the running of the club or think you have a skill-set that the club could benefit from, then have a chat to any of the current committee to see what would be involved. Alternatively there are a number of sub-committees that operate as working groups for areas such as racing, kit or training and development. The commitment is usually a bit less than the club committee and could give you a insight into what is involved with running a club.
SPR kit – The latest run of the kit is ready to collect from R&D Speedshop or has already been mailed out to you (depending on what you selected). If you did miss out on that last order, or have realised that by the time the next order arrives the weather will be colder, then the next order closes on the 1st March. The portal is open now and more info can be found on the club kit page.
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.
Saturday Start Locations – In order to facilitate any expected changes to gathering rules, the Saturday start location were modified when group riding resumed in 2020. We still want to maintain the separation between groups as much as possible and as such will continue to start the fast and main 1 on one side of the carpark with main 2-3, trannies & novice on the other. If you are new to our Saturday group rides, click on the photo to see where each group needs to congregate.
From the Ride Coordinator – Alright! It’s a long weekend (you gotta love the first half of the year don’t you – all these delicious public holidays!) For us cycling tragics that just means enjoying a few more hours in the saddle with friends. The club caters for all 3 days with riding options so if you are at a loose end, come and join us on the Saturday main ride, followed by a “jaunt” in the hills on Sunday (Greenmount hopefully more quiet on a Sunday over a long weekend) and top it off with our tried and true reverse river loop ride on the Monday. Do all 3 and you’ll be nudging 200ks. Add the EBRs in then you’ll be really cracking on towards your yearly distance goals. Or perhaps just choose the ones you want to. Oh yeah! Heads up ! Over Easter we are looking at the possibility of introducing another public holiday ride route option but more about that closer to the time. Whatever riding you choose to do over the weekend, hopefully it includes one of our options. Happy AND safe riding!
Saturday 27th February
- Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
- Early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
- Hills ride starts at Coode st carpark at 6:30am
- Short Hills –
- All rides start at Coode st carpark at 7:00am
- Development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
- Transitional 1/2 – trans nth lake & shelley 40.50km spr saturday
- Fast, Main – stock & shelley 49.56km spr saturday
Sunday 28th February
- Rides start at Coode st carpark at 6:00am
- Development group – coffee ride
- Short – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday
- Long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday
Monday 1st March – Public Holiday
- Ride starts under the Narrows (Sth Perth side) at 5:30am
- Rides start at Coode st carpark at 7:00am
Tuesday 2nd March
- Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
- Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
- Development group – interval training kings park
Wednesday 3rd March
- Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
- Interval training – stock road repeats
Thursday 4th March
- Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
- Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
- Development group – interval training kings park
Friday 5th March
- Ride starts under the Narrows (Sth Perth side) at 5:30am