Ever since AusCycling moved to a new membership system this year, there has been a bit of debate about which licence type is best for you. Race, Club and Ride are all targeted towards riders with different goals in mind. However, the underlying insurance is pretty much the same. The difference in cost is basically reflecting the increase in risk between a recreational rider and someone in a race situation.
With the Gran Fondo early next year requiring a Race or Club licence to enter, this may encourage some people to join a club rather than just get a day licence. Just a reminder, however, although you can pay in monthly instalments, a licence and membership is a full year commitment. I have heard of some people that have taken up a membership and are intending to cancel it after the Fondo. Sorry to say, it doesn’t work that way.
The biggest complaint is often the cost of the membership, especially if you want to get a full Race licence. In all cases the club portion is a very small amount as the rest if made up of insurance and operating costs for AusCycling. So what I thought I would do today is breakdown exactly what you are covered for with your insurance. Bearing in mind that this is my interpretation of the policy and it is just to give you an idea of what you can ask for if you get in an accident.
Firstly, when are you covered? When you are involved in activities that are sanction by AusCycling and these include races, organised training (i.e. club rides), individual training rides, meetings, social rides and travel to and from these activities. Now I couldn’t find the definition of travel to and from, but it should be something that you could ask about if you get into an accident.
So, what is not covered? Medicare covered items (GP visits, surgeon fees, Medicare-listed scans), damage to your bike or equipment and non-sectioned by AusCycling events. What this means is that you claim via Medicare first and the things Medicare doesn’t cover, you can claim against your AusCycling insurance. Your bike, helmet, clothes, computer, glasses, etc are not covered and you should get a separate insurance policy to cover this. I have my bike listed on my home and contents insurance and have made a claim twice when I have crashed. Non-AusCycling events means that you need to ensure that the event organiser has their own insurance and you purchase a day licence for this event.
Most people know about all this, but what a deeper look shows is a bunch of cover that a lot of people won’t even ask about. Insurance companies are not in the habit of giving away money for nothing, so often if you don’t ask, you don’t receive.
The majority of the accidents that I have seen over my years riding the bike are ones that people walk away from and eventually get back to riding again. These are the ones that require a bunch of treatment to get you back but are not necessarily life threatening. For this you claim what you can via Medicare, then you claim via your private health insurance, then you claim the gap against your cycling insurance. You can claim 85% of these costs, up to a limit of $10,000. Dental is a bit of a tricky one here and often covers the initial injury, but not necessarily the restoration that follows.
Worse case scenario is that you die, have permanent total disablement, become paraplegic/quadriplegic, lose an eye, limb, or hearing. For all three membership types, you get a payout of $100,000. I didn’t actually realise that we could claim against the insurance policy if I died while riding. As morbid as it sounds, we do engage in a risky activity being on the road all the time, so I just made sure that my wife knows that we can claim against it too.
There is also an “income protection” benefit of up to $750 a week for up to 52 weeks. This one requires a lot more proof of temporary disablement and medical professionals to attest to it. It is worth asking about if you have to have time off work.
If you are injured and require someone to come and help you (not a relative, but a paid person) you can claim up to $200 per week for up to 52 weeks. Again this needs to be certified by a medical practitioner and is paid in arrears.
If you end up in hospital away from home but still in Australia, you can claim the travel and accommodation costs of your family to come and be with you while you remain in hospital. This is up to the values of $10,000 but covers “reasonable expenses” outside of 100km from home.
Funeral expenses are also covered up to the value of $10,000.
If any of the permanent disability things I mentioned previously occur, on top of the benefit amount, there is also a home and vehicle modification benefit. This allows up to the value of $10,000 for any medically certified modifications required for you to return to daily living activities. This includes thing like ramps in the home or changes to car (i.e. steering or pedals).
You can claim a one off “out of pocket” expense of $500 against transportation for the purpose of seeking medical treatment (i.e. you uber to the hospital), or also for medical mobility equipment (walking aids, scooters – probably doesn’t cover campagnolo gear).
Up to $20,000 is available for “Retraining and Rehabilitation”. This is after a temporary total or partial disablement but medical evidence must be supplied by the treating medical practitioner that the vocational training, tuition or guidance is necessary to rehabilitate you as a result of the Injury.
As a student you can claim up to $200 per week for up to 26 weeks to hire a tutor if a medical practitioner has determined that you are unable to attend class.
There is also an “unexpired membership benefit”. If you have prepaid for a gym, sporting club, etc, and have sustained a permanent disablement, you can claim up to $500 if a medical practitioner certifies that you can no longer participate.
There is a “Driver Service Benefit” to the value of $2500. On your return to work, if a medical practitioner certifies that you are unable to drive or travel on public transport, you can claim against using legally approved services like taxis or ride share.
And finally there is “Trauma Counselling”. If you or your family (partner, dependant children) require counselling as a result of a bodily injury sustained, then up to $1,000 per week up to $10,000 is available. Must be provided by a registered psychologist or psychiatrist and must be certified by a Medical Practitioner as necessary for your wellbeing.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I think that it is important for people to understand just what a membership can offer them. We, as a club, do what we can to provide a safe environment for you to pursue your passion for cycling. We pre-plan the routes, provide training for ride leaders, keep the groups sizes controllable, but there are so many unknowns out there that we may not see coming. Hopefully you never require to make a claim, but if you do, at least now you know what you can ask for.
From the Committee
As previously mentioned, we will start to communicate out the broad areas that are discussed at the committee meetings that take place every 6 weeks or so. They are hosted at one of the committee members’ house and items are tabled in advance so that good active discussion can take place. If there is something that you think needs to be discussed and implemented by the committee for the club as a whole, please reach out to one of the committee members.
Event Information
2026 and 2027 international trips –
SPR is again looking to organise trips overseas after the success of ones to the Italian & Swiss Alps 2025 and The Grand Alps France 2024.
Please complete this brief EOI for the tour
Note: no SPR member nor the club benefit from the organising of these trips – it is intended to extend the cycling experience with fellow cyclists
Tour de Cowaramup 18th Oct –
The Tour de Cowaramup charity road bike event is on again this year on Sunday 18 th October. Three distances 60km (piccolo), 85km (medio) and 130km (gran) with funds going to assist men suffering from Prostate Cancer.
Start/ finish: Juniper Estate
Register for normal entry $125 until 30th September, then late registration $145-$180. If no SPR team already established when you go to register, please set up a SPR team based on the distance eg SPR-Gran, SPR-Medio or SPR-Piccolo so others can join you.
We have booked accommodation for three nights at the Leeuwin Apartments as per last year; in Friday 16th October out Monday 19th October 2026. This is now currently full with those who have already put in an EOI. However, in case there is a cancellation or enough new interest, we could book another apartment but would need to know soon via this EOI. Note shorter stays cost the same price. Please contact Carol or Danielle via comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au for more info.
Upcoming Racing
- MCC Pickering Brook Road Race (20 Sep)
- ATTA 40km Season Opener( ITT & pairs) – Northlink (4 Oct)
- MCC Midland Traders 100 Road Race (25 Oct)
- AusCycling WA Road State Champs (1 Nov)
- ATTA Earlybird 1 (3 Nov)
- ATTA Earlybird 2 (17 Nov)
- MCC Pickering Brook Road Race (22 Nov)
- AusCycling Gran Fondo National Championship (10 Jan)
Juniors
Super awesome ride by Hugh, representing the SPR juniors at Dwellingup 100! Hugh competed in the 20km race securing the 11th position out of 67 kids in the 8-11 year old category. Awesome job !
Great thanks to Hugh’s father, Andrew, for the pictures and his support with the junior program.
The weather for this weekend looks a little uncertain again. However, it should be OK for a late-morning ride.
Once again I have to give the Kings Park ride a miss due to safety concerns about possible wet roads. We’ll be riding around Shelley and Rossmoyne area, mainly along Riverton Drive, with a focus on group riding, positioning, communication and safe bunch handling.
We will meet (on Sat 19/9) at our usual spot (https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y63Tt7vwTjsQWfYZ6) at 10.30am.
Our U17 and U15 juniors are invited to join our main club rides from Coode St car park (South Perth) at 7am. I will be there supervising them if it does not rain.
Please check our WhatsApp SPR junior channel for any last minute call. If you are not in the group chat, please let me know if you would like to be included.
Events coming up:
Race: Pickering Brook #1 on 20/9/2026. Registrations: https://entryboss.cc/races/31952
Bike It To Ballidu on 27/9: if you will be going to the gravel event in September, please sign up choosing “SPR team” as your team. The event has several options including short distances for the juniors (11.7km is the shortest ride you can participate in). Check here: https://ballidugravel.com.au/rides/
From the Ride Coordinator
Rides are always more enjoyable when the group stays together, and shares the “work” evenly. This requires planning, self awareness, and sometimes some sacrifices.
Don’t be a Lemming – and follow other riders blindly. Each one of us is responsible for our safety and that of the riders around us so please remember to check for oncoming traffic at intersections – don’t rely on the “Clear!” call made by the first rider.
Saturday 19th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (City side) at 5:30am
Early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
All rides start at Coode St carpark at 7:00am
Development group (*) – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
Transition: Trans Cresswell 40.21km SPR Saturday
Fast & Main: TV Stations 50.29km SPR Saturday
Coffee – Dome Westralia Plaza, Perth City
(*) Please note that our Ride Leaders will adjust the composition and route for Development, Transition and Main 4 to suit people and conditions on the day.
Sunday 20th September
Rides start at Coode St carpark at 7:00am
Social River Loop – approx. 50km
Short Hills (Social): Kal Glenisla Palm Lwnbrk 60.03km SPR Sunday
Short Hills: Kal Glenisla Palm Lwnbrk 60.03km SPR Sunday
Long Hills: Kal Obs Goose 94.37km SPR Sunday
Coffee – SnL,Victoria Park
Monday 21st September
Ride starts under the Narrows (South Perth side) at 5:30am
Currently no ride scheduled – stay tuned for a new Monday ride
Tuesday 22nd September
Ride starts under the Narrows (City side) at 5:30am
Two groups – solid roll through vs relaxed pace
SPR Tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
Coffee – Steamlab, Applecross
Ride starts at 6:30am at Koorak Kings Park Cafe Car Park
Main 4/Transitional/Novice
Kings Park laps at own pace, coffee at 7:30am
Coffee – Koorak, Kings Park
Wednesday 23rd September
Ride starts under the Narrows (South Perth side) at 5:30am
No drop recovery ride
SPR Wednesday 35.3km (2023 Edition)
Coffee – Little Horn, Applecross
Thursday 24th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (City side) at 5:30am
Three groups fast paced roll-throughs
SPR Thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)
Coffee – Steamlab, Applecross
Friday 25th September
Ride starts under the Narrows (South Perth side) at 5:30am
SPR Friday Alternate 38.43km (Shelley)
Coffee – Hoopla, Kensington