All posts by elPrez

ride routes 10th & 11th july

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this tour will be the death of me.  favourites crashing, the swiss playing the neutral mediator and killing a stage, awesome, edge of your seat cobbles stage, ale-jet making a tour comeback in style, cadel being in a good position.  add all this to the early morning rides and the combination makes for a very grumpy work day.  can’t wait till the mountains start.

website – a refreshed website is coming soon with a new domain name that is easier to remember.  will keep you posted.  massive thanks to scott and michael for their work on it.  especially the new ordering system.  makes things a lot easier on this end.

spr accessories – orders are still open.  it is anticipated that they will be finalised at the end of this weekend.

1st time – we had a couple of first time events this last week.  chrissy ran the first pilates class and from what i hear it was a great success.  13 members turned up in spandex and legwarmers in true 1980’s fame-style.  also, lisa had her quiz night fundraiser to help her get to india for the commonwealth games test event.  pilates will be back next week, the quiz night will not.

200km challenge – i have been throwing this idea around for a while and have decided to just go with it.  the weekend after the tour (1st aug) instead of the normal sunday hills ride we will be doing a 200km challenge.  this basically involves 4 laps of the tuesday river route.  there will be rules in place and it is not a race or even a participation race.  the group will stick together and look after the weaker riders on each lap.  however, if you are struggling on a lap, you are expected to retire at the end of that lap.  this doesn’t mean you can’t keep going (as it is public roads) just that the group will no longer be looking after you.  anyway, mark it in your diaries and keep en eye out for more info.

ride routes – this week the development group, transitional group and main 2 are without their regular leaders.  i need people to step up into these roles to help develop the riders coming through these packs.  all it really takes is for someone to know the route and to help keep the group together.  it is important that we don’t rely on the same people every week, or the place will fall apart as soon as people are not available.  put your big boots on and step up.

raining on saturday – in the event of a heavy downpour, anyone dedicated/stupid enough to still turn up can do the standard tuesday morning river ride and keep the group together.

saturday 10th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 42.94km (freo & cott)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 48.67km (cresswell & herdsman)

fast – spr saturday 55.76km (shelley & mosman park)

sunday 11th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – follow the long course.

long – spr sunday 96.05km (kalamunda & observatory & gooseberry)

spr accessories

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the artwork for the spr accessories has not been finalised as there seems to be some issues in communication.  as such we will be leaving the orders open till after this weekend july 11th.  sorry for the delay.

when you put your order in, you will receive and email with the bank details.  once you have paid and your transaction has been verified, you will receive the same email but the subject will be “Purchase Receipt”.  please make sure that you put your name in the netbank transaction reference box.  a couple of people haven’t and it makes it hard to verify any transactions.

below are the final approved designs.  we are still waiting on the winter gloves and shoe covers.

ride routes 3rd & 4th july

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le tour.  it starts this weekend and it conjures up images of sacrifice, suffering and pain.  the riders have it pretty bad too but i am up for three weeks of sacrificing sleep, suffering through a work day and the pain of getting up for a bike ride before 5am.  pretty good field this year and with no team time trial, you would have to think that cadel has a better chance.  better, but no walk in the park.  the prologue starts on saturday and sbs has pretty good coverage this year.  each stage (except the prologue) starts at 8:00/8:30pm each night and runs till midnight.  for once the time difference to the eastern states is in our favour.  i am also expecting a few more people out on the bike over the next few weeks as the tour always gets people inspired….even if it is only 2 degrees.

tour tipping comp: tipping comp starts this saturday so get your teams registered.  $10 entry and there are prizes for 4 categories.  rules and entry can be found here.  do it.

spr accessories: this weekend is the final weekend for ordering the spr accessories.  the order will go in on monday so get your gloves etc now.  i will bring the sample gloves and cap to the coffeeshop this saturday.  buy it.

spr jerseys: thanks to those that lend out jerseys for the cyclo-sportif on sunday.  they have all been washed and ready to return.  i will be bringing these and any other unclaimed kit to the coffeeshop on saturday.  collect it.

pilates: chrissy will be holding the first spr pilates class this coming monday at the collins st centre in south perth.  initially this is only open to spr members as we do not just want anyone off the street taking advantage of cheap pilates.  chrissy and josh have organised this for the club so that is who it is for.  we may expand it later to include member partners, but for now, think of it as a member benefit.  stretch it.

routes: i am feeling fairly evil this weekend and i pity the fools that pick the fast route on saturday.  ride it.

saturday 3rd july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.21km (mosman park)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.72km (rebold hill & cott)

fast – spr saturday 54.58km (gooseberry hill)

sunday 4th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – spr sunday 61.14km (welshpool & weir rd)  but following long route on the way out to welshpool

long – spr sunday 101.86km (welshpool & mundaring & kalamunda)

tour de france tipping comp 2010

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TOUR DE FRANCE TIPPING

with the tour starting this weekend, we will again be running a tour de france tipping comp.  entry is $10 and there are prizes for gc, points, mountains and stage wins.

you need to nominate a new rider each day and it is great way to closely follow the tour.

the tour tipping page can be found here (or on the tabs at the top) and this will be updated with the stage routes and tips from the experts.  the startlist will also be kept up to date so that can make sure you pick an rider that is still racing.

there are links to each stage and you enter your tip by adding to the comments at the bottom.  the comments section will close at 6pm each night and this will be the only way for you to enter your tips.  you can, however, enter a number of tips by just commenting on each stage page.

to join, you will need to purchase a tipping entry from the link below, or on the tour tipping page.  this will register your name, your team name and send you details of where to deposit the money.

the first stage is on saturday night so teams and tips need to be in by then.  teams can be registered later, but will miss out on points etc for those stages missed.

i just checked the sbs broadcast schedule for perth and it seems that every night the tour coverage starts at 8:00 or 8:30 each night.  goodbye sleep and hello cranky mornings.

good luck.

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saturday 26th fast group – scarbs beach rd

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ride report by peter.

cold.  yes it was cold.  damn cold.  officially it was -0.3 deg at 7:00 dropping even further to -0.6 deg at 7:30.  numbers were down accordingly and combined with the cyclo-sportif on the next day, the fast group only had 9 starters.  as we rolled out, ryan turned up in his car so i yelled at him that we were doing scarborough beach rd and let him work it out from there.  we headed off along riverside drive content to just have a chat and ease our way into it.  somewhere along mounts bay rd, ryan came flying past and sat out in front for a while.  he was all warmed up now after chasing for a few kms so was hoping for a quicker pace.  we dragged him back in and took the turn around the back of kings park.

we set a decent pace up the hill and got everyone warmed up by the time we hit the top.  steve and matty were with us after returning from a couple of bike races in indonesia (see previous posts).  however, neither of them were too worried about smashing it up today.  we made it up to scarborough beach rd before the pace began to pickup a bit.  we had a bit of trouble through mt hawthorn and a few (including myself) fell off the back slightly.  nothing too bad, but enough to get us caught at the lights…and the next set…and the next set.  by the time we got going, i expected that we would never be able to catch back up, but the group had graciously pulled over and was waiting on the side of the road.

as we reached them, we kept riding, meaning that suddenly julian and i were now at the front leading into the rolling hills.  not a good sign for me as the group was not big enough to be able to hide in.  i rolled out before the pace went on so that i could try to find a nice wheel to hide behind.  julian stayed at the front but before long, ryan and vaughan stepped up the pace.  half the bunch reacted, but the other half were content to tap away.  since i was not riding on sunday, i though i better put in some type of effort and i tried to bridge across.  i picked up a couple of riders that had popped off, but was always just a little bit out of reach of the front two.  just after they crested the last hill i managed to make contact, only to be pulled up by the traffic lights.

the rest of the group bunched up behind us so we were ready for the final couple of hills.  unfortunately one of the reasons the traffic was all backed up was the fact that there was a very large piece of equipment being transported along the road at a very slow pace.  we all justslow timed it and rode the rest of scarborough beach rd with the traffic.

west coast hwy was pretty sedate and most were happy to just tap away.  that was until vaughan and ryan decided to have a crack and the pace went up substantially.  i didn’t feel like chasing so went and sat at the back of the class.  i wasn’t the only one as soon we were spread all down the road.  we made the turn onto the boulevard and up the first climb.  i was right at the back by now and not making any ground so started looking through my garmin for shortcut options.  danny boy was just in front of me with julian a bit further along.  i called out to jules, but he was out of ear-shot when we turned up kalinda drive.  it was a shortcut but it wasn’t actually that easy as it followed a hill up to the watertower.  once we came down the other side it was just a easy roll back down to west coast hwy.

we set a nice tempo along the hwy and fully expected the group to swamp us at any moment.  i was always looking back in anticipation but still nothing by the time we hit the swanbourne shops.  dannyboy wondered whether they had stopped to wait for us and i had hoped that it wasn’t the case.  as we hit stirling hwy a small group of three or four caught up to us.  ryan, vaughan, steve were there, but not sure who else.  with no mass sprint expected, we set a nice pace through dalkeith and on to mounts bay road.  the problem with writing something up so late is now i can’t actually remember what happened next.  did the rest of the group catch up???  what happened in the sprint???  call it early –alzheimers,  but after the rest of the weekends activities, this part of the ride seems to have been purged from my memory.  feel free to fill in the blanks.

ride routes 26th & 27th june

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well the winter solstice has come and gone so that means that the days will start getting longer.  it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen…over the next 6 months.  more dark has also translated to more cold and the thursday morning ride was a chilly one this morning.  numbers were down and so was the temperature as we started at 3.4 deg and finished at 2.4 deg by the time the sun came up at 7am.  basically, it is dark and cold.  don’t let that stop you from riding.  think of how much fitness you will lose and how hard it is going to be to keep up with that riding buddy of yours.  get on your bike.

to keep warm, you just need to put more layers on.  well the spr accessories orders are now open and you can buy winter gloves and shoe covers here.  orders will close at the end of next week, so if you want anything, get in quick.

as you may have seen on earlier posts, there is a big cyclo-tradeshow-track meet on this sunday and spr will be represented in all three.  come along to watch the track racing in the afternoon.  tickets at the door, but free if you are doing the cyclo-sportif first.

the following weekend has an atta time-trial for those wanting to hone their skills against the clock, and a mtb xc race for those wanting to hone their skills against the dirt.

ride routes for this weekend are listed below.  make sure you know where your group is going before the ride just in case you get dropped/lost/are at the front.  i have changed the name of the 2 groups on sunday as fast and main didn’t really suit it any more.  last sunday the main group was smaller than the fast group and the fast group wasn’t really that fast.  the same rules of waiting at the top of the climb apply to both rides, so it is really just the distance that is the difference.  maybe in the future we will have a “fast” group that doesn’t regroup and keeps going fast.  we will see. 

anyway, ride routes are here.  they are prediciting a 2 deg saturday morning and a 3 deg sunday, so rug up.

saturday 26th june – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.77km (risley & leach & cott)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

fast – spr saturday 56.56km (scarborough beach rd)

sunday 27th june – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – spr sunday 61.14km (welshpool & weir rd)

long – spr sunday 90.23km (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd)

cyclo-sportif, trade show and track grand prix

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this sunday sees a pretty big day for cycling in perth.  the cyclo-sportif swan valley event will kick off in the morning to be followed by the track grand prix.  while this is going on, there is a trade show being held at the velodrome.  we have been invited to put up a tent at the trade show to promote the club and try to get a few more members. 

we have 5 teams registered for the cyclo-sportif and there are some first timers and newbies involved.  as such we need to borrow some jerseys.  if you are racing and have a spare, bring it along on sunday morning.  if you are not racing, but want to share, bring it along on saturday to the start of the ride.  make sure you put your name in the inside in such a way that it is still there after it is washed.  we need all sizes.

with the trade show tent, we are looking at just promoting the club and encouraging some of these cyclo riders to give our group riding a go.  we will also have the powertest setup again so that people can see how good they are an possibly win some prizes.  it is really just about showing people what type of club we are.  however, i need some help.  if you have some spare time on sunday from 11am onwards (or earlier for setup) then let me know via the comments.  it won’t be very difficult, just talking to people mostly. 

we also need to borrow an old bike to use for the powertest.  it will need to have the seat adjusted each time so probably an alloy would be best and about 54cm.  let me know if you can help.

peter

spr accessories – orders are open

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the design process is currently underway for the spr accessories.  the pictures that are on the website are the design mock-ups that i sent through to champion systems.  the garment samples were on show at the breakfast so most people had a look at the gloves, hat and socks.

so to not delay the process any further, i am opening the orders now and this will run for about two weeks.  i will bolt down a closing date a bit closer to the end and after we have final designs from champion systems.

check the sizing guide on the spr team kit page here and you can place your order here.

basically, you just select the size of the item you want and add to cart.  at the checkout you can update quantities or go back and order more kit.  once you are happy with your order you fill in your details at the checkout.  make sure your email address is correct as it will send you a confirmation email of your order and the NEW club bank account where you can transfer your money.  we have already placed a deposit on this order so we will need your money as soon as possible.

once the designs are finalised, i will post the new designs on the website.  if they are vastly different to the draft versions and you are no longer happy, let us know as soon as possible and we can cancel your order.

welcome to our new shop.

peter.

cyclo-sportif swan valley – team members needed.

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team spr

cyclo-sportif is a participation style event similar to a team time trial.  you ride in groups of between 5-9 riders and you have to stick together.  you have to wait for the slower riders and have to stop if a team member gets a mechanical.  this type of riding is very popular for this reason as you get to ride with people you like and they can’t leave you behind.  if you have never raced before, this a great first step and many of us got a taste for it through cyclo.

this event is held in the swan valley so it is really close and easy to get to.  it starts at the speeddome in midvale but then transfers to herne hill primary school for the actual circuit.  it is a lapped event with three distances (31, 62, 78km) and all the groups ride at the same time. 

this event is held in conjunction with the track grand prix which will run at the velodrome in the afternoon after the cyclo-sportif.  we have a couple of spr riders taking to the track as well as a bunch of international riders contesting the different events.  at the same time there will be a cycling trade show in which business will have their wares on show along the back straight of the track.  spr will be also manning a tent to promote the club to the cyclo-sportif masses.  this is a great way to gain exposure for the club using both the tent and having multiple teams racing.

so, what do i have to do??? 

well, if you are interested add your name to the comments and let us know what group you usually ride in (fast, main 1/2, transitional, development).  this allows us to match the team on ability so we can make sure you cyclo experience is as enjoyable as possible.  in the comments, also add is if you need to borrow a jersey for the event as we like to have the team all matching to promote spr.  you need to also let us know your cycling australia licence, bwa licence number or if you have no licence.

the cost is $50 for BWA members or $65 for non-members.  this extra cost difference is NOT a day licence and therefore if you do not have a licence through either BWA or CWA then you are not actually covered during these events.  as this is a participation event (like the great perth bike ride), joining a club or BWA is not a prerequisite to be allowed to compete.  if you want some level of coverage, then a recreational licence through our club at $77 will have you insured for this event, plus we have great member benefits. 🙂

anyway, when we have the teams together, we then nominate a team leader and they will then pay for the entire team.  that person will then need to be reimbursed by YOU as it has come out of their own pocket.  if you put your name down and then pull out later, then you still owe your team leader the entry fee.

so add your name to the comments ASAP as the teams need to be registered by 6pm tuesday evening.  this means we need to have your nominations in by mid monday so we can split into teams and nominate a team leader.  further info can be found here.