Ride routes 27th Mar – 2nd Apr

saturday morning at south perth

The end of and era.
Like any good TV show, at some stage it is easier to do a reminiscing “clip” show than write any new content. So after 13 years of writing a blog, this is my final entry… for now.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/01/04/where-this-all-began/
Before SPR, I was running group rides out of a shop. There was very little organisation but also, very few people to organise. This is the very first post. Previous to this, I used to email out the ride routes.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/01/13/sunday-13th-jan-greenmount-parkerville-mundaring/
Some of the early blog posts were just recaps of the group rides. This is how I would spend my afternoons after the rides. So glad we stopped doing this. It was exhausting.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/03/03/jersey-design-part-01/
We started talking about a jersey for the group (Still not a club). Check out the comments on this post to see where the name came from.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/03/31/jersey-design-part-02/
First design of a kit.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/05/08/ride-routes-10th-11th-may/
First ride from the current starting location. At this point, I had no idea if anyone would turn up.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/10/04/saturday-4th-oct-spr-breakfast-ride/
Holding a quarterly breakfast was one of the events that we established early on. It was about getting the group together and supporting each other. There was food, coffee and lucky door prizes. These were held at my house until we had too many riders to fit in.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2009/03/05/ride-routes-7th-8th-mar-plus-inaugural-meeting/
The first post about becoming a club. Welcome to the South Perth Rouleurs.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2009/03/09/inaugural-meeting-of-the-roulettes/
Early meeting of the SPR Chicks. Back then they were the South Perth Roulettes. Some old faces and some young faces in these pics.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2009/05/11/1st-anniversary-the-year-in-review/
One year down and a review shows how small and naive we were. No way we could have predicted where we would be 10 years later.

This only gets us to the end of 2009.
I do, however, have 838 individual posts on this blog, so if you are really keen you can cure your insomnia pretty quickly.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2008/06/27/how-did-i-get-here/
This is my personal story as told just after the start of SPR. How little did I realise that my life and cycling would become more intertwined.

As I said at the start, this is the end of an era, but I am confident that I am leaving the running of the club in safe hands. Both Daniel and Ballam share my vision for what SPR is meant to be and I trust their judgement explicitly.
Whatever happens in the future, I am proud of what we have built from nothing and thankful for all the wonderful people that have supported it’s growth over the years. Thank you all for being part of my journey.

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.

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 – Voting is currently open for this years AGM. The new committee needs endorsing and there are some changes to the constitution that require a vote. If you want a copy of the reports or have any questions of the outgoing committee, please use the links in the voting form and register so we have a tally of members that have voted. More info and links to the voting form can be found on the previous post.
The AGM on Saturday after the club ride will just be an information session based on what the results are from the online voting.

Change to the Constitution – The change to peak body of cycling last year has meant that we also need to update our constitution. Not necessarily because it was written so specifically, but more updating certain language and affiliations. Changes to the club constitution must be passed at a club meeting and the AGM is a convenient time to get the members to act on this. There is a long, detailed post that Ballam has put together to outline the changes, but simply it has to do with how we define a member and payment terms. It is nothing too stressful, but if you have any questions, please send them through to the club admin email address and we can answer them before the AGM.

Thursday Group 3 & 4 – The last few weeks we have been formalising and supporting the group 3 and 4 rides on Thursday. SPR Thursday has a reputation of being a hard and fast ride and the size of the first group today was a good indication of it’s popularity. However, we also want to provide an opportunity for people to develop and progress through the ranks, so to speak. As such the group 3 and 4 rides on Thursday now have ride leaders assigned to them to help guide people. The expected average speeds for the groups are 34k/hr and 30 k/hr or less average, respectively, so you can make a call as to which will suit you best. Organically developing rides to provide for what the needs of the group is what has contributed to the growth of the club. This is just another step along that path.

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 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 – Congratulations to all those who took the ride leader quiz challenge last week on the subtle changes we made to avoid the roadworks on Kalamunda Rd over the Roe Highway. Feedback was really positive with some suggesting that it should be a permanent change to the route. It’s a sometimes route for us but we will consider it for next time we schedule it up again.
This Saturday we will be heading the exact opposite way towards Freo. Got to take advantage of the forecasted light ESE winds but we will finish with whatever strength the wind with it pushing us home.Sunday sees us trying to avoid the various routes offered in the Damns challenge. Most of these are to the south, with the 5 damns course pushing the furtherest north as it heads back up Welshpool. For those SPR regulars doing the Damns ride, good luck, looks like it’s going to be really nice weather for you. For those that want to join us, we will be sticking to the Kalamunda/Gooseberry area.
Whilst we are on Sunday rides our slower more social Sunday Hills ride group will continue as a trial through to the end of May if the numbers in the group stay strong. So if you still want to give hills riding a go or if you are keen to continue to build fitness, this is the ride for you. Keep a look out for the group which leaves from Coode Street after the other groups from 7am

Saturday 27th March

Sunday 28th March

Monday 29th March

Tuesday 30th March

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

Wednesday 31st March

Thursday 1st April

Friday 2nd April – Good Friday