All posts by elPrez

ride routes 28th april – 4th may

Henencourt, France. 1917-05-12. Two members of the 1st Anzac Cyclists Battalion standing, with their bicycles, in front of their barracks. 827 Private Jack Dair Bambury (left) and 830 Private Herbert (Terry) Davies.

yesterday was anzac day and many of us went for a ride.  although some people do just see it as another holiday, there is a tenuous link between the anzacs and cycling.  during the first world war, cycling units were a common sight and integral to the war effort. they were part of the front line conducting reconnaissance work, traffic control and cable burying duties.  they wore the same uniform as other soldiers and rode single speed bikes.  not a speck of lycra or a hint of japanese components.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for april is Melody Wheels who are a multiple return sponsor for the club.  they are a wheel building specialists in the same way as one might distinguish a medical specialist from a gp.  they do precision wheel building and wheel repairs, and that’s the only thing they do.

tom lowry memorial – road race season is here. the first event of the element road series is the tom lowry memorial. with a saturday 5th criterium and a sunday 6th road race both starting and finishing in collie, it’s time to get yo’ race on.  entries to tom lowry close next week. further details can be found at the element website.

supercross 2018 – wacx presents the supercross at the show grounds.  not part of the numbat cup, supercross is under lights at the showgrounds, with a festive atmosphere on a saturday night, may 5th.  there are divisions for everyone and there is even a section for mountain bikes and also for kids.  spend a saturday night heckling riders who can’t dismount properly and fall down in front of everyone (and have it captured on video).  for more info check out the registration page.

dirty dozen perth 2018 – back for a second year, dirty dozen perth 2018 heads northside on sunday 6th may to hunt out thirteen more of perth’s toughest climbs.  this ride packs over 2000m of climbing into less than 90km. with each of the climbs hand-selected for their brutality, your legs might hate you but you’ll score heaps of kudos! this is a hard ride but everyone is welcome.  check out the previous post for more details.

The group performed CPR until an ambulance arrived.do you know cpr? – our own claire tyrrell reported on a relevant cycling incident the other day in the west.  during a group ride, one of the riders suffered a heart attack and the others were required to perform cpr until an ambulance arrived.  there is a link to the article that show the event being captured on video.  it is pretty powerful stuff and begs the question – would you know what to do???  there has been previous discussions about ride leaders being qualified in 1st aid.  our position is still that the ride leader is there to guide and direct, they are not there to be 100% responsible for your well being.  if your mate was having a heart attack would you step in and act or would you just step back and say “oh, well, it is the ride leaders responsibility”.  we are all responsible for each others safety on the ride, make sure you know what to do.

which ride for me – after the changes that the club introduced over the last couple of weeks, we have had another look at our guide for choosing the ride group for you to ride in.  this concentrates primarily on the transitional through to main 3 rides, but still makes some very good points that all out riders should remember.  see the previous post for all the details.

spr volunteer register – are you rocking up every saturday thinking, “wow, there must be a lot of behind the scenes organisation that goes into this”.  well you are correct, but you can also be part of it.  we are putting together a register of volunteers that we can call upon to help out with events, etc.  check out the previous post and put your name forward to help out.

entertainment books – we will again be selling entertainment books this year through the club.  the digital versions actually come online now and last years don’t finish till the end of june allowing you twice as many offers for 3 months.  check out the links on the previous post to find out more.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

ride routes – as we dive deeper into autumn, we seem to be revisiting summer.  easterly winds predicted for saturday and a top of 30 deg on sunday.  pack away the arm warmers and re-apply the sunscreen.

saturday 28th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) 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

transitional 1/2 – trans benara 39.90km spr saturday

fast/main – benara rd 50.76km spr saturday

sunday 29th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday

long – carr peet obs 97.72km spr sunday

monday 30th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 1st may

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 2nd may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 3rd may

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 4th may – star wars day

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

Dirty Dozen 2018

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Back for a second year, Dirty Dozen Perth 2018 heads northside on Sunday 6th May to hunt out thirteen more of Perth’s toughest climbs.
This ride packs over 2000m of climbing into less than 90km. With each of the climbs hand-selected for their brutality, your legs might hate you but you’ll score heaps of kudos! This is a hard ride but everyone is welcome.

There will be two ride routes: The Dirty Dozen (13 main climbs) and the Dirty Half Dozen (6 or 7 main climbs). The second route won’t be any less steep, but it might be a good option for the time-poor or the not-so-mountain-goats. You can also choose how many climbs to do, or skip particular climbs completely.

The Chief Route Planner (Sarah Fitton) will be hitting the streets this week to confirm which climbs make the final cut. The final routes will be released next week and will be available to download from the blog and the ride Facebook page.

7am start from Midland Dome (cafe is open from 6am for fear-fueling) finishing at the same place to share adventures and tall-tails. Easy access from the bike path and the railway station. Some on-street car parking is also available nearby.

More info on the event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/195819934341089/

You can also follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirtydozenperth/

Important Disclaimer Stuff:

This ride is self-supported and unmarshalled. There may be support stations on route but this is not guaranteed. Carry enough food, water and spares.
This is not a group ride and there are no scheduled regroups. However, people may choose to ride together.
Individuals ride at their own risk. Neither SPR or ride organisers accept any responsibility for damage, accidents, or injury that may occur.
There will be no first aiders on route and mobile phone coverage may be limited. Riders should have their own insurance and a GPS enabled device with the route or printed course mocka (once the route has been released).
Have a good think about appropriate gear ratios. There will be steep bits.
All road rules and South Perth Rouleurs ride etiquette rules apply (https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/club-training/ride-etiquette/).

ride routes 21st – 27th april

never too young or too old.

what is your excuse??? a couple of notable results from last weekend’s delirium in busselton were from spr members, ben mah and gary boylan.  for those that don’t know what delirium is about, well think of a 2km crit circuit and run it for 24hrs.  you basically complete as many laps as you can within the time (or that your body allows). you can get off the bike whenever you want, eat, sleep whatever you need, but it just keeps track of laps ridden over the time period.  gary easily took out the +60yr old category clocking 675kms and beating the next guy by over 100kms.  actually he also beat the +50yr old category winner by 90kms and came in 5th overall beating a whole swag of open men and women.  at one stage he was running 3rd overall, but over time, eventually fell back a few places.  as for ben, the juniors only rode for 12hrs and they did not ride overnight.  they rode 7hrs the first day and 5hrs the second, with their lap count combined for the total.  drafting behind the presidential domestique, ben managed 140kms on day one and 100kms on day two to come in 5th.  he started day two in fourth, but a see-saw battle with another rider saw him finish up just 6 laps behind that position.  you are never too young or too old, you just need to give it a go.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for april is Melody Wheels who are a multiple return sponsor for the club.  they are a wheel building specialists in the same way as one might distinguish a medical specialist from a gp.  they do precision wheel building and wheel repairs, and that’s the only thing they do.

group skills session – if you are a rider in novice – main 3 and want to expand your skills, then we are holding a free group skills session this saturday.  focusing on groups skills and bike handling, this session will kick off at 7am alongside the regular rides.  for more info and to register, check out the previous post.

numbat cup cyclocross – as the forecast is for a little rain, then maybe sunday cyclocross will be more your thing.  the first round of the numbat cup kicks off on sunday with the kids race starting at 11am.  you don’t even need a proper cx bike as there are divisions where you can ride a mtb.  if you are up for a dirty time, then check out the registration page for more details as registration closes tonight 10pm.

which ride for me – after the changes that the club introduced over the last couple of weeks, we have had another look at our guide for choosing the ride group for you to ride in.  this concentrates primarily on the transitional through to main 3 rides, but still makes some very good points that all out riders should remember.  see the previous post for all the details.

spr volunteer register – are you rocking up every saturday thinking, “wow, there must be a lot of behind the scenes organisation that goes into this”.  well you are correct, but you can also be part of it.  we are putting together a register of volunteers that we can call upon to help out with events, etc.  check out the previous post and put your name forward to help out.

the ring criterium series –summer is done, the march equinox has come, and crit racing has finished for the season. and what a season it has been. the ring summer crit series finished up last sunday with the leederville round. the series itself was another success story, and whilst numbers were higher in some rounds compared to others, the overall patronage of the series was strong. check out the wrap up from an spr perspective in the previous post.

crawley road safety improvements – the city of perth is looking at options for the stretch of road that we ride on during the sat, sun, tue and thurs earlybird rides.  they are looking at restricting access and putting in speedhumps as well as options for bike paths along the river.  please take the time to let them knowthat we, along with other big packs, regularly ride that stretch of road and they need to make sure pack cyclists are taken into account.  the last thing we need is more traffic furniture to dodge.

entertainment books – we will again be selling entertainment books this year through the club.  the digital versions actually come online now and last years don’t finish till the end of june allowing you twice as many offers for 3 months.  check out the links on the previous post to find out more.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

ride routes – with rain threatening to appear on saturday afternoon, make the most of the clear morning to get some k’s in.  sunday.  not looking so good.  excellent for cyclocross though.  however, as a special bonus for the transitional riders, we have a new route.  make sure you check out the link so you know where to go.  as anzac day lands on a wednesday, we will have both the usual wednesday stockies plus a standard earlybird river loop at 5:30am.  this allows those that want to get a few k’s in before the anzac march to do so.  those heading to the dawn service should still be able to make it down for the 7:00am main public holiday ride.

saturday 21st april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) 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

transitional 1/2 – trans cresswell 40.21km spr saturday

fast/main – whiteman park 50.4km spr saturday

sunday 22nd april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh obs kal 90.32km spr sunday

monday 23rd april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 24th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 25th april – anzac day

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

fast/main – public hol 58.97km spr special

thursday 26th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 27th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

entertainment book 2018/19

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this year we are again selling the entertainment book as a way of raising funds for the club.

while the new 2018 | 2019 entertainment books will be available from 1st may 2018, the entertainment digital memberships are here now. instantly access hundreds of valuable offers OR pre-order your entertainment book today and receive over $180 worth of early bird offers.

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOURS TODAY

ride routes 14th – 20th april

think about how you act on the road. the mo knows.

so i am assuming that pretty much everyone saw that we are part of a new advertising campaign for getting cyclists off the road.  i know i saw it, as it got sent to me so many times.  firstly, i am not going to discuss the actual situation as it is a snapshot in time. it doesn’t explain what people were doing before or after the photo was taken, how long the cars had been inconvenienced or anything.  what i want to say is that we partake in a high risk activity and to minimise that risk, you need to be spatially aware.  if you are a rider that just looks at the wheel in front of you, then you need to wake up.  group riding relies on riders looking out for each other and transferring messages throughout the group.  if you notice that cars are banking up behind, then make the call to tighten up.  whether we are legally allowed to ride a particular way or not is irrelevant. what is relevant is that drivers who get annoyed do stupid things and put your life at risk.

secondly, the actual campaign that the picture is being used in is just more of the online trolling that we really should not partake in or help in distribute.  laws get changed to protect people’s safety.  i.e. the 1m rule applies to cars passing bikes, not to bikes passing cars stopped at lights.  why, because the cars are not at risk when being passed by a bike.  laws do not get changed just because someone feels that they are being inconvenienced. if that was the case, people that walk slow would not be allowed in shopping centres.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for april is Melody Wheels who are a multiple return sponsor for the club.  they are a wheel building specialists in the same way as one might distinguish a medical specialist from a gp.  they do precision wheel building and wheel repairs, and that’s the only thing they do.

2017 annual report – prior to the agm held last weekend, we released our 2017 annual report.  please take the time to have a look so you can see all the good work that was done last year.  there are lots of people in the club that have contributed many hours of effort in providing events and services to the rouleurs community and they deserve to be recognised.

which ride for me – after the changes that the club introduced over the last couple of weeks, we have had another look at our guide for choosing the ride group for you to ride in.  this concentrates primarily on the transitional through to main 3 rides, but still makes some very good points that all out riders should remember.  see the previous post for all the details.

spr volunteer register – are you rocking up every saturday thinking, “wow, there must be a lot of behind the scenes organisation that goes into this”.  well you are correct, but you can also be part of it.  we are putting together a register of volunteers that we can call upon to help out with events, etc.  check out the previous post and put your name forward to help out.

the ring criterium series –summer is done, the march equinox has come, and crit racing has finished for the season. and what a season it has been. the ring summer crit series finished up last sunday with the leederville round. the series itself was another success story, and whilst numbers were higher in some rounds compared to others, the overall patronage of the series was strong. check out the wrap up from an spr perspective in the previous post.

crawley road safety improvements – the city of perth is looking at options for the stretch of road that we ride on during the sat, sun, tue and thurs earlybird rides.  they are looking at restricting access and putting in speedhumps as well as options for bike paths along the river.  please take the time to let them knowthat we, along with other big packs, regularly ride that stretch of road and they need to make sure pack cyclists are taken into account.  the last thing we need is more traffic furniture to dodge.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

ride routes – with the mornings getting colder and darker, make sure you rug up and can be seen.  my rear light died halfway through the ride this morning, so make sure you charge up your devices.

saturday 14th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) 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

transitional 1/2 – trans canning vale 42.34km spr saturday

fast/main – south st 51.23km spr saturday

sunday 15th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – can mills peet obs 90.30km spr sunday

monday 16th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 17th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 18th april

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 19th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 20th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

ride routes 7th – 13th april

next generation – photo amanda nabi

see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.  with the school holidays just around the corner, now is a great time to get the kids out on their bikes. the weather is not too hot and perth does have a pretty good series of bike paths, once you get to them.  easter monday was ben’s first ride out and about with clip-in pedals on his road bike.  a couple of stop, unclip but lean the wrong way falls, but we have all been there.  he has been putting the big hours in on zwift, now it is time to see how that relates to the real world. just need to find a really small powermeter now…

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for april is Melody Wheels who are a multiple return sponsor for the club.  they are a wheel building specialists in the same way as one might distinguish a medical specialist from a gp.  they do precision wheel building and wheel repairs, and that’s the only thing they do.

2017 annual report – prior to the agm held last weekend, we released our 2017 annual report.  please take the time to have a look so you can see all the good work that was done last year.  there are lots of people in the club that have contributed many hours of effort in providing events and services to the rouleurs community and they deserve to be recognised.

which ride for me – after the changes that the club introduced over the last couple of weeks, we have had another look at our guide for choosing the ride group for you to ride in.  this concentrates primarily on the transitional through to main 3 rides, but still makes some very good points that all out riders should remember.  see the previous post for all the details.

spr volunteer register – are you rocking up every saturday thinking, “wow, there must be a lot of behind the scenes organisation that goes into this”.  well you are correct, but you can also be part of it.  we are putting together a register of volunteers that we can call upon to help out with events, etc.  check out the previous post and put your name forward to help out.

the ring criterium series – summer is done, the march equinox has come, and crit racing has finished for the season. and what a season it has been. the ring summer crit series finished up last sunday with the leederville round. the series itself was another success story, and whilst numbers were higher in some rounds compared to others, the overall patronage of the series was strong. check out the wrap up from an spr perspective in the previous post.

city of kalamunda cycling survey – the city council has put together a draft bicycle plan and are requesting feedback from riders who use the area.  there is some good work in there and the city of kalumunda has even identified “training roads” as areas where the more endurance based riders choose to ride.  have a look at the draft plan and click on the link to give feedback. we need to ensure that the results are not just some of the more vocal cyclist hating residents that we have had to deal with.

crawley road safety improvements – the city of perth is looking at options for the stretch of road that we ride on during the sat, sun, tue and thurs earlybird rides.  they are looking at restricting access and putting in speedhumps as well as options for bike paths along the river.  please take the time to let them knowthat we, along with other big packs, regularly ride that stretch of road and they need to make sure pack cyclists are taken into account.  the last thing we need is more traffic furniture to dodge.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

ride routes – with westerly winds predicted on saturday, we will head to the coast to aim for a nice push home.  also, in light of the dams ride on this weekend, the sunday hills rides will head further north to avoid any confusion.

saturday 7th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) 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

transitional 1/2 – trans mosman 40.39km spr saturday

fast/main – reabold & cottesloe 50.91km spr saturday

sunday 8th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – goose kal 63.41km spr sunday

long – darl weir 100.09km spr sunday

monday 9th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 10th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 11th april

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 12th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 13th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

Melody Wheels

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April’s ride leader sponsor is Melody Wheels who are a multiple return sponsor for the club.  They are a wheel building specialists in the same way as one might distinguish a medical specialist from a GP.  They do precision wheel building and wheel repairs, and that’s the only thing they do.

The business started with a focus on building wheels that were durable and serviceable (unlike many proprietary wheels), however it has expanded to cover all types of wheels.

IMG_20151029_163651Wheel choice has a huge impact on ride quality, so a large part of their work involves helping  riders understand the differences between wheels (and wheel components) and to help them find out what fits best with their own performance expectations and aesthetics.

They are internationally recognised as a certified DT Swiss wheel builders and they document all of PrecisionWheelBuilding-900x676their work in the same was you might expect an automotive or aircraft technician. They also service and repair a large number of  wheels. Be it a wheel true, spoke replacement or hub service, they keep a large range specialist tools and wheel components  at hand so they can complete repairs quickly and to the highest standard.

A large number of club members have had wheels built, rebuilt or repaired by Melody Wheels and the feedback has been excellent.

Now located at Unit 7, 4 Pritchard St, O’Connor, they are open 5 days a week and you can find contact information on their Website, Facebook and Instagram.

ride routes 31st mar – 6th apr

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this guy

sacrifice. you all know that this guy regularly sacrifices his own ride to drop back and help someone that has a flat tyre, or can’t keep up.  but that is nothing compared to the sacrifice that he made for me over the weekend.  as many of you are aware, i didn’t head to amy’s grand fondo last year due to work related stress leave and so targeted the tour de bintan as my next chance to qualify.  andrew had already qualified at amy’s so told me that he would help me get a spot at the bintan race.  to that end he spent 117kms of the 144km race looking over his shoulder to make sure that i was hanging on.  he dragged me back a few times, but i eventually hit the wall with 25kms to go and told him to push on.  he was riding strong, so i though he had a chance to get on the podium.  i kept on riding trying to maintain position so that i didn’t fall too far down the list. the qualification is based on finishing position, not time, so it is important to stay ahead of others in your age group.  coming into the finish i sprinted around a couple from my group that caught me and pipped another on the line to finish 23rd.  as i came down the straight, i saw andrew on the side of the road talking to amanda and toby.  i assumed the he had finished and then turned back.  that was not the case.  he got a flat with 5kms to go and since he was not in the running for a podium, he stopped short 100m from the finish to make sure he didn’t grab a qualifying spot from me.  i was happy to just finish, but then 20min later found out that i got the very last qualifying spot.  if it was not for andrew’s work during the race and then sacrifice at the end, i would not have secured the spot.  be this guy.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for march is  Nutrition IQ.  The main force behind Nutrition IQ is a deep desire to help individuals achieve their long-term diet and nutrition goals. Whether you’re seeking help with weight loss, sports nutrition, or disease prevention, each client is individually evaluated by a professional Dietitian and provided with a well-researched and comprehensive plan they can follow for the rest of their lives.

2017 annual report – prior to the agm held last weekend, we released our 2017 annual report.  please take the time to have a look so you can see all the good work that was done last year.  there are lots of people in the club that have contributed many hours of effort in providing events and services to the rouleurs community and they deserve to be recognised.

which ride for me – after the changes that the club introduced over the last couple of weeks, we have had another look at our guide for choosing the ride group for you to ride in.  this concentrates primarily on the transitional through to main 3 rides, but still makes some very good points that all out riders should remember.  see the previous post for all the details.

6th annual vice president’s good friday 3 dams ride –if you are looking for a long ride to kick off the extra long easter weekend, then we have the 6th annual vp’s 3 dams ride.  note, this is ridden at a main 1 pace with minimum regroups throughout.  this is due to some of the busier roads that the original 3 dams route took and our need to be clear of them before they get too much traffic.  see the previous post for more information.

spr volunteer register – are you rocking up every saturday thinking, “wow, there must be a lot of behind the scenes organisation that goes into this”.  well you are correct, but you can also be part of it.  we are putting together a register of volunteers that we can call upon to help out with events, etc.  check out the previous post and put your name forward to help out.

city of kalamunda cycling survey – the city council has put together a draft bicycle plan and are requesting feedback from riders who use the area.  there is some good work in there and the city of kalumunda has even identified “training roads” as areas where the more endurance based riders choose to ride.  have a look at the draft plan and click on the link to give feedback. we need to ensure that the results are not just some of the more vocal cyclist hating residents that we have had to deal with.

crawley road safety improvements – the city of perth is looking at options for the stretch of road that we ride on during the sat, sun, tue and thurs earlybird rides.  they are looking at restricting access and putting in speedhumps as well as options for bike paths along the river.  please take the time to let them know that we, along with other big packs, regularly ride that stretch of road and they need to make sure pack cyclists are taken into account.  the last thing we need is more traffic furniture to dodge.

town of vic park and city of south perth cycling survey – the city of south perth and the town of vic park have pooled resources and are looking at what they need to provide for cyclists.  again, have a look at the draft plan and give some feedback.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

ride routes – i have added in good friday to this ride routes even though we usually start at saturday, just to remind people that we have a special ride on for those interested.  for those doing the normal public holiday ride, please be aware that dome will not me open and there will be limited coffee choices in perth. saturday is also the last time we will advertise the “night owl” ride as well.  not that we will stop people from doing it, we just won’t advertise in on the blog.  if you are keen, post in the spr facebook page to see if there is any interest.

friday 30th march – good friday

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

fast/main – public hol 58.97km spr special

special ride start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

6th annual vice presidents 3 dams ride

saturday 31st march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 4:00am

very early lap- nightowl 43.44km spr special

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) 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

transitional 1/2 – trans reverse river 40.58km spr saturday

fast/main – south lake 51.99km spr saturday

sunday 1st april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh weir kal 101.71km spr sunday

monday 2nd april – easter monday

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

fast/main – public hol 58.97km spr special

tuesday 3rd april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 4th april

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 5th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 6th april

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

ride routes 24th – 30th march

community.  here is an example of what we can build over time.  98 club members for our regular ride.  yes, there are many more away, many more lurking behind the scenes without club kit on, but when we look back at how this club has grown over the past 10 years, it is amazing what we have been able to accomplish.  this is definitely not just the work of one individual.  this is the work of many volunteers giving up their time because they believe in contributing to the work that will build a community.  believing in what we are doing is different to what other clubs are doing.  believing in providing pathways and leadership to help develop skills. believing that it is important to look out for one another.  this isn’t just a club for me, it is a community.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for march is  Nutrition IQ.  The main force behind Nutrition IQ is a deep desire to help individuals achieve their long-term diet and nutrition goals. Whether you’re seeking help with weight loss, sports nutrition, or disease prevention, each client is individually evaluated by a professional Dietitian and provided with a well-researched and comprehensive plan they can follow for the rest of their lives.

2017 annual report – prior to the agm held last weekend, we released our 2017 annual report.  please take the time to have a look so you can see all the good work that was done last year.  there are lots of people in the club that have contributed many hours of effort in providing events and services to the rouleurs community and they deserve to be recognised.

which ride for me – after the changes that the club introduced over the last couple of weeks, we have had another look at our guide for choosing the ride group for you to ride in.  this concentrates primarily on the transitional through to main 3 rides, but still makes some very good points that all out riders should remember.  see the previous post for all the details.

6th annual vice president’s good friday 3 dams ride – if you are looking for a long ride to kick off the extra long easter weekend, then we have the 6th annual vp’s 3 dams ride.  note, this is ridden at a main 1 pace with minimum regroups throughout.  this is due to some of the busier roads that the original 3 dams route took and our need to be clear of them before they get too much traffic.  see the previous post for more information.

city of kalamunda cycling survey – the city council has put together a draft bicycle plan and are requesting feedback from riders who use the area.  there is some good work in there and the city of kalumunda has even identified “training roads” as areas where the more endurance based riders choose to ride.  have a look at the draft plan and click on the link to give feedback. we need to ensure that the results are not just some of the more vocal cyclist hating residents that we have had to deal with.

town of vic park and city of south perth cycling survey – the city of south perth and the town of vic park have pooled resources and are looking at what they need to provide for cyclists.  again, have a look at the draft plan and give some feedback.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

ride routes – the late summer easterlies continue forcing us to stay with the similar rides that we have seen all summer.  variety may be the spice of life, but headwinds home suck big time so it is better to just do the same old routes.

saturday 24th march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 4:00am

very early lap- nightowl 43.44km spr special

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) 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

transitional 1/2 – trans shelley 40.59km spr saturday

fast/main – canning vale & welshpool 49.74km spr saturday

sunday 25th march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday

long – carr peet obs 97.72km spr sunday

monday 26th march

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 27th march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 28th march

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 29th march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 30th march – good friday

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

fast/main – public hol 58.97km spr special

special ride start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

6th annual vice presidents 3 dams ride

6th Annual Vice President’s Good Friday Ride

Dams Ride – 2017 (photo credit Vanessa Johnson)

It’s on again.  The 6th Annual Vice President’s Ride will be taking place on Good Friday (March 30).  Starting at the carpark at 6 am on Good Friday, the ride has become a club tradition since its inception in 2013 and follows the old 3 dams route (i.e. not finishing at Curtin Uni) – or as it will be known from now on, The Vice President’s Ride Route.  For the history buffs, it was originally organised as a 5 dams training ride with Jordan Brock, Dave Manners and myself.  We were joined by a few other hardy souls and numbers have increased with each passing year.

It is ridden at a Main 1 pace and there are SHORT re-groups at the end of climbs.  It is all about an enjoyable ride in the hills, with your SPR clubmates, at a reasonable clip.  Also, several riders in the past have joined us at different points, or gone home early due to other commitments, and this is encouraged if you are time poor and still want to participate.  The leaders on the day will decide on re-group times, and if you miss a re-group, make sure you can get home solo.

There will be a break in tradition this year, with the Vice President unfortunately not being able to participate, but he will be on hand at the start to deliver the briefing and will no doubt be stalking the riders in the hills.  Don’t despair, other suitably qualified riders will be on hand to lead the way.  Remember that being Good Friday, there will not be much open.  There will be a stop in Pickering Brook for water only and the sumptuous breakfast of Easter eggs, coke and hot cross buns will be repeated this year at Wungong Dam.  Once again I’ve secured the services and an internationally renowned rider to assist with this.

Dress code – those who have them are encouraged to wear their national kits from previous UCI rides and SPR kit is suggested for all others, as it is a club ride.  Mixing and matching SPR kits will be looked upon favourably – the ride record is 4 separate kit designs and there will be a prize for the person who wears the most number of different SPR-designed kit items.