All posts by elPrez

ride routes 8th – 14th july

so the talking point of the tour this week was the sprinting incident on stage 4.  was there an elbow thrown? did cav try to fit through a gap that wasn’t there? did anyone not notice the french winner chopping the wheel of the cofidis guy? were the tour organisers right to throw sagan out of the tour?  sagan, the “bad boy” of cycling.  the interesting one in cycling.  the one that is not a sky robot.  anyway, he is out now, so the remaining rolling stages may not be as exciting.  however, on our rides, we occasionally have a unofficial sprint point.  port beach road, raffles, riverside drive, mounts bay road, shelley, herdsman, actually we have quite a few.  everyone thinks that they are the best at sprinting and likes to give it a go.  in our situation, there are no podium girls, no trophies and no paycheck.  there can be however, broken bikes and broken bones.  we all like to test ourselves in a sprint, but just be aware that your moves can change the lives of those around you.  don’t try for gaps that aren’t there, don’t change lines and don’t sprint from 20th place when the front is way up the road.  all you are going to do is smash into other riders that have contested the sprint and are now drifting back.  basically, don’t be a cav, don’t be a sagan, don’t be a demare.  be a rouleur and look after your fellow riders.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for july are proudly sponsored by JDRF. JDRF is the leading global organisation funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.

tour sweepstakes – if you are in this years tour sweepstakes, make sure you are checking out the tour leaderboard which is updated daily.  this shows how much each team wins per stage and how much it has accumulated so far during the tour.  there is a long way to paris and there is lots of money still to be shared out.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

tour de france dinner – the annual tour de france dinner is on again this year at Petite Mort Restaurant.  it will be held on the 16th july and is open to all spr members (partners welcome).  check out the previous post for more details and a link to purchasing tickets.

ride london youth focus – club member paul cumberworth is heading back to the uk, to take part in ride london on 30 July 2017 to raise funds for youth focus. youth focus helps young people who are suffering from mental illness, self harm or suicidal thoughts offering free individual or family counselling to help them through tough times and on to a brighter future. paul strongly supports this charity and probably could have done with something similar at a younger age, after losing his brother and dad in a short space of time. he is hoping to raise $1000 for the charity and you can help  by donating to the following link.  https://cycle.gofundraise.com.au/page/PaulCumberworth

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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 – so cold, so wet, so the winter we all thought that we were going to avoid.  well it is predicted to be dry this weekend, so get off zwift and come and play in the real world.

saturday 8th july

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 – trans canning vale 42.34km spr saturday

fast & main groups – holmes rd 50.42km spr saturday

sunday 9th july

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 10th july

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 11th july

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 12th july

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 13th july

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 14th july

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

JDRF

This months ride leader sponsor is JDRF. JDRF is the leading global organisation funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF Australia is built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and uniting on an international stage to pool resources, passion and energy.

Their mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications.

To accomplish this, JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion since it’s inception. They collaborate with academic institutions, policymakers, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D.

Their staff and volunteers in seven countries are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our vision of a world without T1D.

JDRF also holds it’s One Ride which this year was held in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.  To find out more about any of their fundraiser activities, check out their website.

ride routes 1st – 7th july

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spr prides itself on being an inclusive club and providing pathways those that wish to improve their cycling.  everyone has different goals and although some may not seem too lofty to those that have ridden for a while, but they are no less important.  even though we have a weekly sunday hills ride that usually covers 100kms or even the saturday double, for some people that century mark is an ambitious goal.  this last week we had spr representation at both ends of the scale.  in york there was an spr team that rode in the 100km cyclo-sportif, whilst in boulder colorado, jim flynn is riding in the 7 day, 800km, 15,000m haute route rockies event.  you would be surprised how many people have as goal of “stick with #### group on thursday”, or ride around the river without stopping, or drink from my bottle whilst riding.  there aren’t many pro’s in our club, so recognise that we all had to start somewhere and give advice and assistance where you can.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for july are proudly sponsored by JDRF. JDRF is the leading global organisation funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.

tour sweepstakes – get your entries in for this years tour sweepstakes.  as per last year, teams will be drawn out of a hat (literally) and that team will accumulate winnings based on the actual prize money that they do in the tour.  there are only 22 teams, so entries are limited.  check out the previous post for more details and look at the tour tipping page via the menu at the top of the blog.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

tomr spr teams – tomr is a 4 stage team race event held annually in november across the iconic south west of wa. spr will have a dedicated team manager, the spr van in tow and a few surprises as well this year. the spr squad of nominees have been emailed for initial DEPOSITS due by thursday 6th july.  spr tomr 2017 webpage is now being updated here.  we’ll be using the hashtag #sprtomr2017 throughout, so keep your eyes out.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

tour de france dinner – the annual tour de france dinner is on again this year at Petite Mort Restaurant.  it will be held on the 16th july and is open to all spr members (partners welcome).  check out the previous post for more details and a link to purchasing tickets.

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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 – so i guess we joked about winter a little too much.  we now have a predicted wet saturday and a week of sub 5 degree mornings.  at least the days are getting longer.  by the end of next week we will have 2 whole extra minutes of sunlight.  for this saturday, the ride routes are hugging the river so if you do venture out, you will have a few options for escape routes.  for those not game, check the spr facebook page for details on a zwift ride.

saturday 1st july

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 – trans reverse river 40.58km spr saturday

fast & main groups – river ride 51.80km spr saturday

sunday 2nd july

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 3rd july

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 4th july

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 5th july

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 6th july

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 7th july

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

2017 tour de france sweepstakes

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with a little over a week to go before the biggest race of the year, we will again be running a sweepstakes.  similar to the last few years, we randomly draw out team names and then you accumulate a percentage of the total prize pool similar to the actual race.

what this means is that every sprint, mountain pass, stage winner, jersey wearer, and overall position will receive a certain amount of money.  your team then accumulates this via all of their riders to add up to your prize at the end of the tour.

obviously, much like the real tour, this is weighted towards the team that wins. however, the difference is that at the end of the day every team will win something…no matter how small.

so head to the tour tipping page and get your entry in before the bike start rolling.

ride routes 24th – 30th june

during the week, there was apparently some graffiti sprayed on a road in vic park. unlike the normal “tag” or political statement about war, this graffiti was in the shape of a bicycle.  a group that the media have described as “guerrilla cycling activists” has sprayed bike markings on a recognised cycleway as they were tired of waiting for the council to do it themselves. see article here.   it reminded me of the marking in dalkeith where the bike symbol has actually been scrubbed out.  closer investigation shows that birdwood parade is considered a “good riding environment” and not a “bicycle lane or sealed shoulder”.  this is despite the fact that almost every group that rides around the river will use this stretch of road.  and despite the fact that the road is 9m wide as opposed to 6m wide for most suburban roads.  i.e. there is ample room for a bike lane.  personally, i think that symbols are a bit overrated and don’t mean that much to drivers, especially the bike symbol.  most drivers are taught to not cross unbroken lines or they risk having a crash.  anecdotally, i have seen/heard many cases where cars seem happier to zoom by close to bike rather than deviate into the other lane even if it is completely clear.  i think that we are programmed that way.  so to put a clearly marked shoulder on all roads (i.e. 2.5m from the centre line) would give people a clear indication of what is actually the lane.  most of my riding is in groups and i love the “protection” that the size of the group gives me in respect to actually being noticed, but when you are by yourself, sometimes the difference that the painted shoulder makes can be life changing.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for june are proudly sponsored by return sponsor, Seeton Consulting.  they  are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

tomr spr teams – tomr is a 4 stage team race event held annually in november across the iconic south west of wa. spr will have a dedicated team manager, the spr van in tow and a few surprises as well this year. the spr squad of nominees is about to be announced and DEPOSITS REQUESTED. nominees will be emailed directly as well. check out the previous post for more details or speak with greg murray or jon hanson at dome after the saturday main rides this week. spr tomr 2017 webpage will be launched shortly here.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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 – so yesterday we passed the winter solstice (i.e. the shortest day of the year).  perth celebrated this by getting hit with over 60mm of rain in 24hrs.  luckily this means that the weekend should now be pretty clear for riding.  it also means that effectively, the days start getting longer again.  still just waiting for winter.

saturday 24th june

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 – trans shelley 40.59km spr saturday

fast & main groups – hale rd reverse 51.37km spr saturday

sunday 25th june

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 – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday

long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday

monday 26th june

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 27th june

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 june

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 29th june

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 june

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

 

ride routes 17th – 23rd june

helmets are law in australia.  regardless of your opinion on whether it is a “nanny state”, whether it stops people from actually riding, or whether it will matter or not when you hit that truck, you must wear a helmet to ride your bike.  there are numerous people in the club that will attest to how the safety aspects greatly outweigh the inconvenience, and unfortunately this is from personal experience.  however, as the mornings get colder, people start to wear skull caps and headbands under their helmet.  this is great to keep warm, but can come with a downside.  actually forgetting to put your helmet on.  once you have that snug feeling of something on your head, you can forget to actually put the helmet on.  this usually happens a few times over winter where people rock up sans helmet.  unfortunately, no matter how good a rider you are, you will be asked to not ride with us.  not only is it law, no-one in the group wants to be responsible for putting you on the asphalt where the risk of head injury high.  if you are wearing head gear underneath, make sure that your helmet is waiting on your bike so you can’t leave without it.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for june are proudly sponsored by return sponsor, Seeton Consulting.  they  are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

tour of margs 2017 – the spr squad of nominees is about to be announced this weekend.
tomr is a 4 stage team-of-6 racing event held annually in november across the iconic south west of wa. if you are a late comer, check out the previous post for more details. spr will have a dedicated team manager, the spr van in tow and a few surprises as well this year. email the race subcommittee or speak with greg murray or jon hanson at dome after the saturday main rides this week.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

cyclo-sportif york – the swan valley cyclo has been moved to york for the weekend.  there is still an opportunity for people to put a team in and some more details can be found in the previous post.

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.

thursday training ride – this week we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

ride routes – jon snow and ned stark obviously had it wrong.  winter is not coming, at least not to perth. even late next week when it may rain, they are still predicting a 20 degree day.  however, a week of single digit mornings will certainly test the resolve of some, but just remember, at least it is not wet.

saturday 17th june

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 – trans mosman 40.39km spr saturday

fast & main groups – tv stations 50.29km spr saturday

sunday 18th june

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 19th june

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 20th june

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 21st june

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 22nd june

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 23rd june

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

ride routes 10th – 16th june

2 Comments

there have been a couple of bad accidents over the long weekend which has resulted in a couple of our members ending up in hospital with some pretty serious injuries.  they weren’t necessarily on spr training rides, but involved spr members.  firstly the response to each accident has been of typical spr fashion.  everyone pitching in to ensure that the casualties are looked after, bikes are not left on the roadside and follow up on outcomes.  we had a quite a big discussion about safety at our last committee meeting and how some people view our club as “unsafe” as we have what is considered a lot of accidents.  well we also have a lot of riders and a lot of rides which increases the number of variables that you personally can’t control. so, should you expect an accident???  well, no, but it pays to be prepared.  this is a two-fold approach.  firstly the way we ride and the way we interact with each other and other road users.  again (i say it a lot) be spatially aware.  understand that being at the back of the group will involve more surges than the front.  be aware of how the person in front is riding and if you don’t like it, move to a different position.  importantly, be aware of where others are in the group so that someone doesn’t get left behind and has an accident.  for years now we have regrouped at the old school at the bottom of welshpool rd after the sunday hills ride.  we recognise that there is a risk when people are descending and we don’t want to leave any one behind.  secondly, make sure that you have adequate insurance for both yourself and your bike.  understand what you are covered for as some policies don’t cover your bike for racing and others don’t cover it for being stolen out of a locked car.  at the end of the day, your bike is just a tool and your health is more important.  making sure that you have the right insurance to get you through any surgery/rehab that you need, can make a big difference to how well you come out the other side.  also, if you are the primary bread-winner, how your family will cope if you are laid up in hospital for an extended period of time.  sorry to sound so negative, but being prepared is better than being surprised.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for june are proudly sponsored by return sponsor, Seeton Consulting.  they  are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

tour of margs 2017 expressions of interest – as per previous years we are looking at putting multiple teams in for the tour of margs in november.  this is a 3 stage teams based race with a team time trial and 2 road races.  expressions of interest are now open and you can check out the previous post for more details,  we would like people to be committed if they say that they want to do it this year.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

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.

thursday training ride – this week we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

ride routes – all week they have been predicting a wet weekend, but now it looks like it has pushed back to rain on tuesday.  make the most of this awesome winter weather as i am sure that it will not last that long.

saturday 10th june

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 – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast & main groups – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday

sunday 11th june

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 12th june

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 13th june

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 14th june

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 15th june

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 16th june

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

Seeton Consulting

June’s ride leader sponsor is Seeton Consulting who are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.

Their clients include current franchisees in the Looksmart Alterations, Jesters Pies, Krispy Kremes franchise systems and past franchisees in the Muffin Break, Baskin Robbins and Subway franchise systems.

Free consultations are available to club members.

More information on the firm can be found at www.seeton.com.au

Ian Oon, principal of the firm, aspires to be able to rejoin SPR for their weekend rides but still has not found a bike that is fast enough yet to be able to keep up.

maybe this one is fast enough as it is green

ride routes 3rd – 9th june

we are getting close to the end of financial year and as such, everyone is having a EOFY sale.  now mostly this is a great thing for cyclists as there are bargains to be had.  the downside for us, however, is that councils also seem to have a end of financial year spending spree and try to get as much road works done as possible.  for those that have ridden around the river this week, burke drive has a couple of filled in trenches cut across the road and melville beach pde is ripped up.  if you did wed stockies, then you would seen parts of that climb ground down and levelled.  now the upshot is that we will eventually get nice new surfaces to ride on.  the downside is that in the dark, some of these things are not easy to spot.  please take care and make sure that you call any uneven road surfaces when riding in the group.  some of the roads now resemble a cheese grater and would not be the best thing to be sliding along if you come off.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for june are proudly sponsored by return sponsor, Seeton Consulting.  they  are Chartered Accountants in South Perth providing Cloud based accounting and taxation solutions to small businesses specialising in franchise operations.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

swan valley cyclosportif – every year we put together a number of teams to participate in the bwa swan valley cyclosportif.  it is a great opportunity for people that have never ridden competitively before to experience it in a non-competitive format.  essentially it is a team time trial so you will only be riding with people you know.  spr usually has a number of teams entered and should be able to cater for a wide range of abilities.  see the previous post for further details.

tour of margs 2017 expressions of interest – as per previous years we are looking at putting multiple teams in for the tour of margs in november.  this is a 3 stage teams based race with a team time trial and 2 road races.  expressions of interest are now open and you can check out the previous post for more details,  we would like people to be committed if they say that they want to do it this year.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

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.

thursday training ride – this week we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

ride routes – you may have noticed that some of the ride route maps are not showing up.  recently garmin changed the address in how it embeds onto webpages.  i am slowly changing them all, but it takes time so am really only doing it as i change the ride routes.  if there is a linked address below the non-existent map, then this will also take you to the same place.  this monday is wa day.  public holiday protocol will be in place with the normal rides and splits.  dome westralia in the city will be open so you can still have your coffee/breakfast wrap/banana bread/apple pie to refuel after the ride.

saturday 3rd june

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 – trans reverse river 40.58km spr saturday

fast & main groups – ewen st 50.26km spr saturday

sunday 4th june

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 5th june – wa day

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

public hol 58.97km spr special

tuesday 6th june

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 7th june

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 8th june

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 9th june

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

ride routes 27th may – 2nd june

two years ago i spent my birthday on the shores of lake como in italy.  this year i am still in como, but there doesn’t seem to be a lake and very few italians.  dave, however, is traipsing around italy and even seems to be doing a bit of ride leading… either way, he is making the rest of us jealous with his pics of mountains and lakes and awesome cycling locations.  however, he isn’t the only one, so if you are heading over and there are a few pics of you wearing your spr jersey, don’t be surprised to see yourself up as “poster boy/girl” on the blog.

ride leader sponsor – our ride leaders for may are proudly sponsored by return sponsor Melody Wheels.  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.

entertainment books – this year the club has decided to sell the every popular entertainment books as a way to raise funds.  even better there is now an app available so you don’t need to carry vouchers with you.  there is also a cool function where you can see a map of your location and all the available offers in the area.  check out the previous post for more details and links to registration.

New kit
The new kit…

kit pickup – the latest run of club kit has arrived and should be available for collection at the coffee shop after the saturday main ride.  if you cannot collect on the day, please contact the kit email address to organise another time.  more info in the previous post.

swan valley cyclosportif – every year we put together a number of teams to participate in the bwa swan valley cyclosportif.  it is a great opportunity for people that have never ridden competitively before to experience it in a non-competitive format.  essentially it is a team time trial so you will only be riding with people you know.  spr usually has a number of teams entered and should be able to cater for a wide range of abilities.  see the previous post for further details.

spr national kit – are you heading to france this year for the uwct masters championships???  do you need an aussie kit to compete???  do you want to also represent your club???  if the answer is yes to all three, then you need to get yourself the exclusive spr national kit.  check out the previous post for more details, but orders close on the 25th may.

tour of margs 2017 expressions of interest – as per previous years we are looking at putting multiple teams in for the tour of margs in november.  this is a 3 stage teams based race with a team time trial and 2 road races.  expressions of interest are now open and you can check out the previous post for more details,  we would like people to be committed if they say that they want to do it this year.

a plan for safer cycling – the city of south perth and the town of victoria park have been awarded funding for the development of a joint bike plan through the wa bicycle network (WABN) grants program. the aim of the joint bike plan is to understand the needs of the cycling community and seek to further develop existing cycling infrastructure across our two neighbouring local governments. the plan will also identify opportunities to improve the cycling network and provide better connections in these areas. check out the media release and provide feedback via the links.  this is your chance for local government to hear from cyclists that use not only paths but also the road.  survey closes 31st may.

cyclocross – round 1 of the numbat cup starts this weekend 28th may.  there are grades for everyone and a kids race for every kid under 13.  you don’t even need a fancy cx bike as a mountain bike will do.  even better is that fact that if it rains, it is even more fun.  details and entry can be found here and you can race on a cycling aust race licence or mtb licence.

tour of esperance – if you are thinking of heading down to esperance in july, then make sure that you take your bike.  this year the tour of esperance will be holding a handicap race on the 16th july with lots of prize money to boot.  being a handicap race, everyone has a chance of winning the prize.  check out their facebook event page for further details.

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.

thursday training ride – this week we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

ride routes – the weather is looking good to finish off the month of may.  a single digit start to the day will necessitate the cold weather gear.  i hope you picked yours up from the kit collection last weekend.

saturday 27th may

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 – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast & main groups – south st 51.23km spr saturday

sunday 28th may

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 – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday

long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday

monday 29th may

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 30th 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 31st may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 1st june

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 2nd june

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride