a big two days for cycling events is coming up this weekend.
Rollapaluza
Meg and Carlos are once again holding Rollapaluza. It is an evening of fun and laughter centering around two stationary bikes. In short, 2-4 riders at a time race against each other in a bid to go absolutely nowhere. Audience members are encouraged to bet on what rider they think will win. Once again we are excited to have Matt Poyner set to commentate both Rollapaluza events. We also have a silent auction item of a Campagnolo Shamal Mille Wheel set up for grabs.
To check out what Rollapaluza looks like in action click on our YouTube videos from last years event:
Food and drinks are available for purchased from DOME
All proceeds go to Teen Challenge WA.
Rapha Women’s 100
On Sunday 26th July 2015, join thousands of women around the world to ride 100km. A global event, ride on your own or join an organised ride. Rides will be taking place everywhere, including several led by Rapha. Over 8,000 women took part in 2014 — this year we’re aiming to double that number.
We will be hosting two rides for the Rapha Womens 100!
This ride will be a social ride with lots of regroups, support van and stops for selfies. Meet us at the Dome on St George’s Terrace in time for a coffee, before we head out for a great day on the bike.
Starting Address: Dôme Westralia Plaza,
Shop 5, Westralia Plaza, 167 St Georges Terrace, Perth, , Australia
If you like to race, and you like that racing cheap, local and fun, then ‘cross might be for you.
You can race on any kind of bike with brakes, no one will care if you’re fast or slow, so come and try it. Your MTBA or your CA license can be used to enter. We’ll also be running a kid’s race on a shorter track, with kid sized obstacles.
It’s a party atmosphere, so if you’re not racing, come down with your cowbell, or even a cone of frites and mayo and heckle all the riders.
Date – Sunday 26th July
Registration from 2pm Kids race – 2.30pm (20 mins) Adults, all grades – 3pm (45 mins).
so the lack of sleep during the tour has been catching up with me but it seems that some people are a bit more fortunate to be over in france for the race. katrina was at the start in utrecht sporting the spr colours and the aussie flag with lots of miffy paraphernalia. the first week was quite exciting, but probably a little too exciting for some of the riders. multiple broken bones and lots of withdrawals even before the cobbles started. now, however, after the first mountain stage, many fans have resigned themselves to another sky train tour. i was remembering back to the “good old days” of watching lance and co chase each other down with no one rider being totally dominate over the other. did doping in fact give us a level playing field??? not that i am condoning screwing with your own body to win money, but from a spectator point of view, it was a tad more exciting a decade ago.
ride leaders sponsorship – June’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored byAura Cycles. please see the previous post detailing what they provide and we thank them for encouraging our members to step up as ride leaders. ride leaders will receive a $10 Dome voucher to be used after the saturday ride. if you have a business that you want to promote to our members, check out the previous post to both promote your business and help out the club.
rules of engagement – please read the previous post if you come out on any of our rides. it is up to all members to enforce these rules.
thank you – sometimes someone does something to help you and you may want others to know what a help they have been. we are starting a regular blog post to allow people to do just that. if someone has helped you change a tyre, given you a draft back to the group, or a helping hand to push you up a hill, let the rest of the club know what an impact that person has made on your ride. see the previous post for more details and to leave a message.
spr club champion – with only 2 races left on the club championship there are some clear leaders who have consistently gathered points in each race. the next race in the championship will be pickering brook race #3 and then the final will be pinjarra classic. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – we have now opened up expressions of interest for this years tour of margs. head over to the event pagevand post a comment if you would like to be in a team. there may be some provisional teams placed now, but the final members in each team will be determined by the race committee closer to the race date. for now, get your name down and start training.
ride routes – get your garmin’s ready and try not to get lost in whiteman park.
saturday 18th july
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
I would like to say a big thank you for the fantastic support the SPR community and our tireless elPrez have provided after my crash back in April. For those who don’t know, I was involved in a serious head on with a car whilst on a Sunday hills ride. The end result was a lot of broken bones, and so far a 3 month stay in hospital – with hopefully only a bit more to go.
Whilst I remember nothing from the accident, I understand there were about a dozen SPR members on the ride who all rallied to offer assistance in typical SPR fashion. To those a very special thanks, as after hearing the stories it was obviously a pretty traumatic experience to be involved in.
The spirit of the club is absolutely awesome. I have almost lost count of the numerous visits during my hospital stay. They are certainly much appreciated and have really helped perk me up. Not to mention the beneficial effects of all those yummy treats. I am both very thankful and somewhat humbled by the response.
It may be some time before I get back on the road, but I hope to be back on the trainer, getting flogged by Toby, and joining everyone for coffee as soon as possible. In the meantime, have fun and stay safe.
so i was driving home through north perth on tuesday night and came across a cyclist commuting home. the road was not that wide and there were cars parked on one side and a centre strip on the other. i sat behind her for a while waiting for an opportunity to pass. there was a section where there were no parked cars for about 50m or so and i fully expected her to pull in to make room. nope, she stayed her line and kept riding. i sat there until the centre strip disappeared before maneuvering around to pass. now, while i was behind, i actually contemplated giving a little toot of the horn just to say, you know, kind of move over a bit. however, i put myself in the cyclist position and thought that i really hate it when people do that to me. at the end of the day, she was doing nothing wrong, so who was i to say that my commute was more important than hers. anyway, we all ride bikes and pretty much all of us drive cars as well. in a shared road situation, you need to be aware of both parties and be respectful of each other. that doesn’t mean that cyclist should just get out of cars way, or cars try to barge through, it means that if you are in a car you wait till it is safe to pass, and if you are on a bike, if you can make space you should do so. this isn’t about who is right or who has rights, but just looking out for each other. after all, most of us have been in both situations and we know how we would like to be treated.
ride leaders sponsorship – June’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored byAura Cycles. please see the previous post detailing what they provide and we thank them for encouraging our members to step up as ride leaders. ride leaders will receive a $10 Dome voucher to be used after the saturday ride. if you have a business that you want to promote to our members, check out the previous post to both promote your business and help out the club.
rules of engagement – please read the previous post if you come out on any of our rides. it is up to all members to enforce these rules.
tour de france dinner – grand tours are here and with that come grand dinners. the tour de france night will be held on the 12th july at petite mort restaurant in shenton park. cost will be $59 per person and see the previous post for more details. LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR THIS.
thank you – sometimes someone does something to help you and you may want others to know what a help they have been. we are starting a regular blog post to allow people to do just that. if someone has helped you change a tyre, given you a draft back to the group, or a helping hand to push you up a hill, let the rest of the club know what an impact that person has made on your ride. see the previous post for more details and to leave a message.
spr club champion – with only 2 races left on the club championship there are some clear leaders who have consistently gathered points in each race. the next race in the championship will be pickering brook race #3 and then the final will be pinjarra classic. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – we have now opened up expressions of interest for this years tour of margs. head over to the event pageand post a comment if you would like to be in a team. there may be some provisional teams placed now, but the final members in each team will be determined by the race committee closer to the race date. for now, get your name down and start training.
ride routes – the tour is on, so we need to suffer like the pro’s. ridge hill is nothing compared to what they will be riding in france but i am sure it will hurt.
saturday 11th july
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
le tour starts this weekend and it looks like steph got an early start flying the spr flag over in france. the course looks to be a good one this year with lots of opportunities for the sprinters in the first week along with the classics-type riders. cobbles sections and sharp uphill finishes should keep things interesting. still some places left in the sweepstakes for those that want a chance to win some money to offset their sleeplessness.
ride leaders sponsorship – June’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored byAura Cycles. please see the previous post detailing what they provide and we thank them for encouraging our members to step up as ride leaders. ride leaders will receive a $10 Dome voucher to be used after the saturday ride. if you have a business that you want to promote to our members, check out the previous post to both promote your business and help out the club.
rules of engagement – please read the previous post if you come out on any of our rides. it is up to all members to enforce these rules.
race buddy program – if you are interested in having a go at racing this year, but are not sure about it, then sign up for our race buddy program. this matches potential racers with experienced racers who can give advice and help develop riders from weekend warriors into fully fledged racers. if you are still interested see the previous post for more contact details. if you have registered and haven’t had anyone make contact with you yet, please email development@southperthrouleurs.com.au. don’t forget that there will be a race info buddy night coming up next week for those that want to learn more about racing.
tour de france sweepstakes – with the tour starting this saturday and your sleeping habits about to be compromised, make the tour even more interesting by jumping on board our sweepstakes. teams are randomly selected then you earn the same percentage of the prize pool that the actual teams do. check out the previous post with further details, but enter now as most of the teams are already sold.
tour de france dinner – grand tours are here and with that come grand dinners. the tour de france night will be held on the 12th july at petite mort restaurant in shenton park. cost will be $59 per person and see the previous post for more details.
spr club champion – with only 2 races left on the club championship there are some clear leaders who have consistently gathered points in each race. the next race in the championship will be pickering brook race #3 and then the final will be pinjarra classic. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – we have now opened up expressions of interest for this years tour of margs. head over to the event pageand post a comment if you would like to be in a team. there may be some provisional teams placed now, but the final members in each team will be determined by the race committee closer to the race date. for now, get your name down and start training.
ride routes – it’s ladies day on saturday so there will be a main 1, 2 & 3 ladies only ride if we get enough numbers. ladies, here is your opportunity to ride up front.
saturday 4th july
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
July’s Ride Leader’s are proudly sponsored by SPR member and Dome Coffee Cycling Team rider Tom Barratt who owns AURA Cycles.
AURA Cycles is a bespoke frame building company, offering a range of custom and personalised frame sets in titanium, carbon and steel.
Our belief is that a bike should be designed, built and finished for the individual.
Whilst off the shelf can be adapted to many riders, nothing is as satisfying as a bike that has been built specifically for you.
AURA offers three frame sets:
The Exos, our Italian hand made frame using your choice of titanium, carbon, or steel
The Ionos, our race geometry monocoque carbon frame
The Stratos, our endurance geometry monocoque carbon frame
All of our frame sets are hand painted in Italy, in an endless range of colours insuring your frameset looks unique.
Our fit system focuses on efficiency, comfort and handling, and each build carefully selects components and finishing kit to suit the intended use and individual taste of our clients.
AURA Cycles is delighted that they will shortly be available through the R&D Speedshop in Claremont.
pathways to success. as a club we try to cater for what we can see the needs of the membership are. from that we try to establish certain pathways to help people achieve that success. for some people that are just starting out, riding in the main groups maybe their goal and we provide a pathway via the ascending groups on a saturday morning. for others, taking that step into racing may just need a bit of a helping hand, and we look to provide a buddy program and support at races. sometime, though, we just can’t provide for your individual goal. even though we are a large club with a diverse membership we can only do so much. juniors is one area that we would like to expand into as now the club is well established, we need to look to providing for everybody. however, this needs a lot of support from within to make it happen. if you have kids that are 10+ that you would like to see riding, let me know. if we can get enough ground swell of interest, we can look at establishing more pathways.
ride leaders sponsorship – June’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored byWatt Australia.spr’s own julian jacobs, who manages Watt Australia, will be down at the ride start on saturday to hand out some free samples and take product orders. please see the previous post detailing what they provide and we thank them for encouraging our members to step up as ride leaders. ride leaders will receive a $10 Dome voucher to be used after the saturday ride. if you have a business that you want to promote to our members, check out the previous post to both promote your business and help out the club.
rules of engagement – please read the previous post if you come out on any of our rides. it is up to all members to enforce these rules.
gary update – as stated in the previous post, gary has been moved to fiona stanley hospital to begin his active rehabilitation. if you would like to help out financially, please donate to the fundraiser on the right as we will be closing this off at the end of the month.
kit order (now with socks) – the current kit order is closing at the end of this month. see the previous post for more details and the new spr socks that are on offer.
race buddy program – if you are interested in having a go at racing this year, but are not sure about it, then sign up for our race buddy program. this matches potential racers with experienced racers who can give advice and help develop riders from weekend warriors into fully fledged racers. even though they met last satuday, if you are still interested see the previous post for more contact details. if you have registered and haven’t had anyone make contact with you yet, please email development@southperthrouleurs.com.au.
winter track grand prix – held each year in conjunction with the swan valley cyclo-sportif, this event showcases some of the best track racing that you will see. if you are doing the cyclo, then hang around to watch the racing. if not, then you can get a ticket for the grand prix through a link on the previous post.
tour de france sweepstakes – with the tour starting next saturday and your sleeping habits about to be compromised, make the tour even more interesting by jumping on board our sweepstakes. teams are randomly selected then you earn the same percentage of the prize pool that the actual teams do. check out the previous post with further details, but enter now as half the teams are already sold.
tour de france dinner – grand tours are here and with that come grand dinners. the tour de france night will be held on the 12th july at petite mort restaurant in shenton park. cost will be $59 per person and see the previous post for more details.
spr club champion – with only 2 races left on the club championship there are some clear leaders who have consistently gathered points in each race. the next race in the championship will be pickering brook race #3 and then the final will be pinjarra classic. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – we have now opened up expressions of interest for this years tour of margs. head over to the event page and post a comment if you would like to be in a team. there may be some provisional teams placed now, but the final members in each team will be determined by the race committee closer to the race date. for now, get your name down and start training.
ride routes – winter is here, but at least the rain has stopped…for now. take advantage of the great weather we are having by getting out for a ride. dress warm.
saturday 27th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
there is less than 2 weeks to the most popular sleep deprived 3 weeks of the year for most of us. the tour de france starts in utrecht and begins it’s anti-clockwise trek around france. in previous years we have run a full tipping comp where people had to tip a new rider every night. unfortunately this did not run last year due to lack of interest (too hard) so this year we will run a sweepstakes instead.
however, just to be interesting, this sweepstakes will be a little different in the way that it distributes the prize money. as usual, teams will be randomly drawn out once all entries are in. however, instead of just the usual stage win, yellow jersey win etc we will be tracking the actual prize money that the teams win. the percentage of the total prize pool that each team wins, will be what your entry wins from the total prize pool of the sweepstakes.
in the tour, money is awarded for sprints, mountains, teams, wearing leaders jerseys and final positions. basically every team will receive something from the prize pool. the actual winner of the tour will receive 450,000€ out of the 2,030,150€ prize pool which is 22.166%. in our sweepstakes the entry that has the winning team will receive 22.166% of the sweepstakes prize pool, in this case approx $140. however, every top 20 finish, intermediate sprint, mountain points and even days in a leaders jersey will also see your team accumulating money.
so, unlike other years, you do not have to do anything but purchase your entry and hope you get a good team. then you just follow that team and hope that they have someone in the break to collect money along the way.
entries are $30 and there is only 22 teams in the tour so get in fast. all money from the entries will be returned to the prize pool. for more information, see the tipping home and rules pages linked below and click the link to enter.
war on our roads. many people have heard me say a number of times that there is no war, because if there was, there would be casualties on both sides. what we have instead, is a media beat up that is deliberately antagonising both sides in order to increase their exposure. heading up this attack is 9 news perth who has been running a year long story about the “war on our roads”. every time there is a major incident involving a cyclist there is a story on the news. usually this would be considered a good thing as extra exposure is great for us as it makes people more aware of how vulnerable we are out there. however, i take task to just how 9 news perth are presenting each story. the recent footage of a hit and run in midland was a good example of this as the reporter stated that the cyclist were riding 2 abreast. now if it was just stating the facts, then fine, but in this case the delivery was almost spiteful and it conveyed a message of “well they kind of deserved it”. after watching the footage, even if they were riding single file, there was still a very high chance that that car was going to take them out.
weeks earlier, there was a story about trying to bring in a law that meant that in a car and bike incident, it was assumed that the car was at fault unless proven otherwise. this is a great step forward as the majority of the incident reports that i have seen where cyclists have died, often blame the cyclist for disobeying road rules. when 9 news perth presented this story, the first bit of footage they ran was of a cyclist in england riding into the back of a parked car. what this does, is instantly make a joke of the proposed law and all the non-riders out there think that cyclist have no idea what they are doing and are dangerous.
even when 9 news perth decided to do an interview with andrew patterson, who was hit by a car that u-turned in front of him, they still had a bit of a dig. not only did they show the footage of andrew flying over the bonnet of the car, but they also showed footage of other less experienced cyclists not being able to clip in properly at the lights and falling in front of waiting cars. why??? what did it have to do with this interview. all it does is again portray cyclists as a impediment to all the registration paying road users out there.
at the end of the story on the midland hit and run, the reporter then made mention of the 1 m rule that has been brought in to effect in other states. instead of saying that this would be a great rule to bring in for the protection of cyclists, they went on to say that the premier would not bring in this rule as he does not believe that cyclist should ride 2 abreast. again what this says is that if you ride single file and not hold up traffic, we might protect you, but if you slow traffic, then it is your own fault for getting hit. unfortunately, mr premier, paola ferroni, kaleb smith and brynt mcswain were all riding single file by themselves when they were struck and killed on your roads.
now, besides letting the premier and 9 news perth know how you feel on these matters, casino what else can we do. well, firstly, the majority of bike riders also drive cars. is the way that we treat other drivers, the same as we would like to be treated when riding??? do you let people merge and change lanes, or do you speed up to stop them from taking “your spot”. do you wave a thanks when people do let you in??? the lack of respect between drivers and riders is no different than what i see between drivers and drivers. it all starts with attitude and it seems the current view is “how dare you get in my way and slow down my drive”. this morning on the bike i stopped to see if a guy needed help as he had a flat tyre. this seems like a normal thing to do as you are out riding, but in this case the flat tyre was on the guys car. it was still dark and it looked like it may rain soon. this was not a matter of “cars vs bikes” but it was just the right thing to do. whether you are riding or driving on the roads just make sure that you are doing the right thing (not just the legal thing).
Paola Ferroni
Kaleb Smith
Brynt McSwain
ride leaders sponsorship – June’s Ride Leaders are proudly sponsored byWatt Australia. please see the previous post detailing what they provide and we thank them for encouraging our members to step up as ride leaders. ride leaders will receive a $10 Dome voucher to be used after the saturday ride. if you have a business that you want to promote to our members, check out the previous post to both promote your business and help out the club.
rules of engagement – please read the previous post if you come out on any of our rides. it is up to all members to enforce these rules.
gary update – as stated in the previous post, gary has been moved to fiona stanley hospital to begin his active rehabilitation. if you would like to help out financially, please donate to the fundraiser on the right as we will be closing this off at the end of the month.
kit order (now with socks) – the current kit order is closing at the end of this month. see the previous post for more details and the new spr socks that are on offer.
race buddy program – if you are interested in having a go at racing this year, but are not sure about it, then sign up for our race buddy program. this matches potential racers with experienced racers who can give advice and help develop riders from weekend warriors into fully fledged racers. even though they met last satuday, if you are still interested see the previous post for more contact details.
cyclo-sportif teams –the spr swan valley cyclo-sportif teams are filling up fast. if you want to join a team, add your name to the comments on the previous post.
winter track grand prix – held each year in conjunction with the swan valley cyclo-sportif, this event showcases some of the best track racing that you will see. if you are doing the cyclo, then hang around to watch the racing. if not, then you can get a ticket for the grand prix through a link on the previous post.
spr club champion – the next race in the championship will be the next pickering brook race this weekend. this event sold out last week so if you were hoping to race, then sorry, but you were too slow. see the current leaderboard to find out just where you sit in the club championships.
tour of margaret river – for this years tour of margs we have secured 4 men”s and 2 women”s teams to race in spr colours. next week we will start to open up expressions of interest to fill those teams. the final composition of those teams may not be finalised till close to the event, and this will be organised by the “all powerful race committee”. however, to make things easy for you, spr has already secured accommodation all in the same area and will organise transportation logistics for each stage. see the previous post for more details.
ride routes – the weather is not predicted to be the nicest for this saturday. as such be aware of the road conditions and ride conservatively to avoid unnecessary risks. also be aware of the traffic conditions as visibility may also be restricted so be sure that other road users can see you and can safely get by you.
saturday 20th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
so just an update on gary pennefather’s condition. on monday, the doctors in charge of his care deemed him recovered enough to leave the ortho ward at royal perth and be transferred down to fiona stanley to begin his rehabilitation. his fractures are healing nicely and it has been good to see less and less bandages on him as the weeks have gone by. he is still quite restricted as his arm and ankle have numerous breaks and he needs to wear a back brace for a while longer if he is not flat out in bed.
however, he is in good spirits and is looking forward to some active rehabilitation as opposed to just waiting for bones to heal. he can be found in the rehab ward at fiona stanley in room 212. there is further info on this link, but according to the website the rehab ward is separate to the main hospital and visiting hours are 8am – 8pm.
as gary’s healing process continues, we would like to thank everyone that has donated to his fundraiser so far. we are looking to close this off at the end of the month and forward these funds to him and his family. as such, if you have not yet donated, please look on the right hand sidebar and click on the donate button.
