All posts by Carol Dowse

Ride Routes 28th September – 4th October

There are now two rides out of Margaret River on the weekend of 12/13 October 2024; the TdGracetown on Saturday and the TdCowaramup on Sunday. Of course, you can do both rides for those who want a greater challenge or training for the TOMR. Both have a similar format: start/finish from the same location each being a winery, multiple distances/climbs and funds going to support local communities and charities. 

There is still some accommodation available in Margaret River through SPR for 3 nights; in Friday out Monday, shorter stay if preferred for the same discounted price. Please contact Carol or Danielle via comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au to put in a request.

Register via these links: Sunday TdCowaramup; most SPR members are registering with this event, organised by Perth Integrated Health; note fee increase on 1 October. Saturday TdGracetown, a co-organiser of last years event with the same name. We recommend that you choose the one that best suites you.

Cheers,
Carol

SPR Chicks Catchup — There is informal catch up this Sunday, mainly for those interested on being on the SPR Chicks Subcommittee, but also for those who are keen to chat about what we can do to make it more fun for the women in the club going forward. 

When: 3pm, Sunday Oct 29

Where: The Como Hotel, 243 Canning Hwy, Como. 

Anyone is welcome. RSVP on the Facebook event page or directly to our Women’s Interests Committee member Claire via women@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

Racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.

1. X-Speed Junior Road Racing Rally

2. WCMCC Splendid Park – Yanchep – Graded Criterium

3. PDCC Peel Classic 2024 incl State Road Champs (6/Oct)

The summer crib calendar has been announced!

Summer Crit Calendar
Summer Crit Calendar

Juniors Ride — Huge congratulations to Claudia, Francois, and Morne for completing the 46 km gravel ride in Ballidu last Saturday in the U13 category!:tada::man-biking::woman-biking: An impressive achievement!

For those not racing at the X-Speed junior rally (https://entryboss.cc/races/22150), there will be a junior ride session this Saturday starting in Shelley.

The appointment is at 10am here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2xq6gQmarv9dH4sz8. We will focus on sprinting and paceline, riding for approximately ~1 hour.

From the Ride Coordinator — Communication is the key to a safe and successful group ride. When you are the rider at the front, you must call out all hazards(e.g. parked car, potholes) and indicate route directions, and following riders must pass it back down the group. Calls from the back of the group must also be passed to the front of the group. Remember that it can be even more difficult to hear in windy conditions.

Please note, the development group currently runs 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month.

Saturday 28th September

Sunday 29th September

Monday 30th September

Tuesday 1st October

Wednesday 2nd October

Thursday 3rd October

Friday 4th October

Ride Routes 29th June – 5th July

[ Great write-up by Carol this week regarding Canteen. Huge congrats to Mark De Castro, Steve Burns, Jarred Anderson and the SPR teams for the great results at the PDCC Harvey Teams Series #2 and Dave Hind for the win at the WA Cyclocross Numbat Cup Round 4. Daniel ]

Thank you Canteen 💚 — The Canteen committee has decided to stop offering the 3-day on road Perth to Busselton ride after 25 years. This event has raised millions of dollars to help kids cope with cancer and has been such a fabulous event for all level of cyclists. SPR is very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate for many years. Our thanks go to the organisers who offered so much of their time and the companies who sponsored the event year-in year-out that allowed our cyclists to participate in a unique, special and collegial experience.   

So this is recognition and a huge thank you to those who dedicate their time to make our cycling experiences happen. We should never take it for granted. Canteen was special – no one could commit as much time as their volunteers have over 25 years or provide year on year sponsorship. However, you too can volunteer or sponsor an event – the tour of Margaret River is one of those opportunities, or just participate – it makes the commitment of the volunteers and sponsors feel worthwhile. 

Cycling events also only work when there is an early and sufficient uptake to participate. The cessation of Canteen is a reminder to embrace what is offered at that time – it might not be offered again. One of these events is the French Alps with three places still available – this unique offering is not likely to run again.

Our enjoyment of cycling is so dependent on volunteers and sponsors – grab what is offered!

Carol

Call for Sponsors — SPR Tour of Margaret River 2024. The Tour of Margaret River three day cycling event has been a key success of the South Perth Rouleurs through the Clubs commitment to providing a well organised, safe and social ride experience. The hard work and dedication of each and every cyclist in the months leading up to the event and its race volunteers ensure a quality experience for all.

Interested in sponsoring? All the details here.

SPR Tour de France Dinner 2024 — This year is the first time the Tour de France will not finish in, or near Paris since its inception owing to preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games; starting in Florence 29th June and finishing in Nice on 21st July.

To celebrate the event in style, you and your family are invited to come along to Chez Pierre in Nedlands on Tuesday 9th July; tickets and details here.

SPR Ride Leader Program Call for Expressions of Interest — SPR’s training rides set us apart as a cycling Club; we have a large range of group ride on weekends, covering all skills and abilities, with a broad range of opportunities for people to cycle in a group every day during the week.  Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the value delivered by our organised and regular training rides. A key part of running these training rides is our ride leadership programme. Consistent, trained and visible ride leaders results in safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for everyone.

To this end, the Club developed a ride leader development program, with the objectives of:

  1. Developing SPR ride leaders’ knowledge and skills of both ride leadership and core cycling skills
  2. Building the confidence of ride leaders to ensure ride consistency and enhanced decision making during group rides
  3. Growing the pool of capable, confident ride leaders

We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our next public Ride Leader Development Program.

If interested, please submit your EOI via this form:

Submit Expression of Interest

There is space for questions as part of the EOI, but if you have any questions about the Ride Leader Program before submitting your EOI, please send them through to development@southperthrouleurs.com.au and we will get back to you ASAP.

SPR French Alps Trip 2024 — The French Alps are calling cyclists – don’t miss out, only a few spots left!! 💚

The itinerary, quality hotels, fully equipped support vehicles provided throughout the trip is truly remarkable for a very affordable price. Thirteen Main 2 riders have already signed up for the SPR French Alps cycle trip with Christophe so don’t miss out – itinerary attached.

The 16-day trip starting in Geneva 31 August takes you through the iconic French Alps for ~ 700km to Nice. Full itinerary here. If you are interested, please put in an expression of interest via this link. You can also get in touch via email if you have any questions — comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

SPR is arranging this tour to support a collegial cycling experience in Europe with familiar likeminded colleagues.

Racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.

1. WCMCC Herne Hill – Chopper Marshall Family Race

Some great results from the weekend just gone (see here, here and here). Keep an eye our for a full SPR write-up soon!

Juniors Ride — Please check your email tomorrow for confirmation regarding our Juniors Ride this weekend. Or reach out via email on juniors@southperthrouleurs.com.au or feedback@southperthrouleurs.com.

From the Ride Coordinator — Hard to believe at the moment but it looks like our weekend will be dry giving us 2 days of riding. Enjoy!

Our ride route committee got together this week and had a look at creating some new variations of our Saturday routes and Sunday Short Hills routes. Hopefully we can start including them in the route roster over the next few months.

Please note, there is no ride leader scheduled for development this weekend.

IMPORTANT: We have changed the start time of our Sunday Hills rides back to our winter time of 7am. Take note 🥶

Saturday 29th June

Sunday 30th June

Monday 1st July

Tuesday 2nd July

Wednesday 3rd July

Thursday 4th July

Friday 5th July

Ride Routes 1st – 7th July

The South Perth Rouleurs Cycling Club is committed to its’ shared values, Safe, Social, Organised and Inclusive through important decisions and ongoing activities. In support of these values, in particular Inclusive and Safe, SPR is very pleased to welcome tandem cyclists from WATCAC to a monthly Saturday transition ride. WA Tandem Cycling Advisory Council (WATCAC) are a tandem cycling group of visioned and blind or vision impaired cyclists who wish to bring their current group rides into mainstream cycling; they currently have separate monthly group rides.

The pilots (lead rider) and the stoker (second rider, vision impaired) have extensive experience, some riding together for 20 years. Tandems from WATCAC have participated for many years in the on-road Canteen ride from Perth to Busselton, rolling through with the regular cyclists and other events such as MSWA. We look forward to welcoming some of these cyclists on Saturday 15 July at Coode St car park. 

To learn more about tandem riding in WA please visit https://watcac.org.

U11 Juniors Ride — Tour de France will start on the 1st of July and the best way to celebrate it is to go out for a nice ride! The weather forecast looks great although it is going to be a bit cold.

In this occasion I planned to catch up a little bit later at 11 am in order to get the benefit of the warmer hours. We will meet at the Kuljak Island. You can find the exact google coordinates at this link. Please note that there is a car park, so you can reach the place by driving.

The island is fantastic because it is completely closed to the traffic and we can ride around it without any problem. The full loop is ~1.6 km.

The plan is to do 4 or 5 laps to warm up and then play some games:

1. robbers and cops game

2. time trial

3. special sprint race.

We will stay there for ~1.5 hour

If you have any queries, please contact Committee Member Giovanni Firmani via email feedback@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

The Tour de France is arguably the most famous epic road race so come along to celebrate the event in style at Chez Pierre in Nedlands on Tuesday 11 July.

This event has always been an excellent night with Chez Pierre putting on amazing food. It is after all something for which the French are renowned. Bring your own wine to make it an extra special night as corkage is included in the price. See menu.

Get your tickets here!

Racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.

1. 4Five+ Femmes on Track Race 1

2. WA Cyclocross Numbat Cup Four

 

From the Ride Coordinator — At last we have a great weekend for riding – albeit on the cool side. Saturday takes Main and Transitional groups to Abernathy Rd, which should give everyone a friendly tail wind all the way home. If you didn’t know, we try and select our main routes for Saturday so that the home run is down wind.

It’s not always possible, as Easterly winds prevail in the morning for most of the year, and we have some excellent routes coming back via Dalkeith and Mounts Bay Rd – so its a balancing act. On Sunday both long and short hills rides start with the Zig-Zag. Long hills goes up the “Chookenberg”. It’s a beast of a short climb with over 20% gradient, but there is a detour if you’re not up to that. You can continue up Lawnbrook and meet the group about 1km up the road at the intersection of Palmateer Rd. Whichever you choose, stay safe and enjoy the nippy sunny conditions.

And do read about our recently introduced U11 Juniors ride – see all the details above.

Saturday 1st July

Sunday 2nd July

Monday 3rd July

Tuesday 4th July

Wednesday 5th July

Thursday 6th July

Friday 7th July

Ride Routes 28th January – 3rd February

After a fabulous cycling weekend in 2022 with a great mix of riding and multiple social events who would want to miss out on the Tour of Gracetown (TdG) on Saturday 28 October this year.

There are three distances: 107km; 85km or 65km and all cost the same to register; the $100 fee finishes 31 January rising to $125 so don’t wait. To register for the longer distance join the SPR team 1 or 2; for the middle 85km distance select SPR_Medio.

Register for the Tour de Gracetown

The TdG is a great opportunity for those wanting a well organised but challenging ride of 107km with 970m of climbing. For those newer to cycling there is time to work towards this event over the year. It is also a wonderful weekend away with fellow cyclists and partners who are encouraged to come along. There is a recovery ride on the Sunday after the event with coffee at the Berry Farm – the photo from the start of the 2022 ride is below. 

Accommodation for the event is in Margaret River, an easy walk to town which you can book via the SPR shop; $75 per person in a twin share room for three nights or $150 for a double room.

Contact Carol via comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au if you have any queries.

SPR Tour de Gracetown 2022 Recovery Ride

  

  

Racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.

1. NBCC Splendid Park Criterium

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Last weekend saw the first of the Dams training rides, where we invited non members who were training for the upcoming Dams events to join our structured hills rides. Take-up was good, and we’ve had some great feedback on how we can improve the format. We’re processing that and will give details of the changes in next week’s blog.

The wind should be Easterly again on Saturday, so let’s have some fun on Benara Rd which we haven’t done for 5 months.

Sunday’s short hills ride (Darlington Zigzag) has changed from the way we used to do it, to improve safety on the descent. We now go up Victor, and down Coulston, instead of the other way around. We still do the U-turn on Darligton.

Enjoy, and look out for each other.

Saturday 28th January

Sunday 29th January

Monday 30th January

Tuesday 31st January

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (city side) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 1st February

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Midweek Transitional – <returns March 2023>

Thursday 2nd February

Friday 3rd February

Ride Routes 26th March – 1st April

2 Comments

The recent Canteen ride from Bassendean to Busselton ranged from 300km to 400km with or without hills over 2.5 days offering a goldilocks ride for all. In the slower levels the roll through sometimes involved a five-minute chat with each person as they rolled by so you got to know all the members of your group – not an option in the faster groups!

The huge support of so many volunteers for the whole event such as 15 support vehicles, trucks, trailers, cooks, organisers and a masseur to name a few, as well as Rotary and Lions Clubs in the country towns to provide meals really takes this event to a totally different level you rarely get to experience.

All participants discover a new perspective when they hear about what young cancer patients and their families go through – it truly is an immersive and uplifting experience.

The 11 members of the SPR team raised over $13,000 to help support CanTeen!

The CanTeen organisers did a fantastic job with their COIVD plans to keep it a safe event including their Covid Man (picture above 😎) to keep the message front and centre.

Of course the Club too has been following the government advice on COVID for community sport and wants to reinforce the need to not attend an event or ride if you are not feeling well; alternatively, returning a negative RAT based on the instructions prior to attending. Don’t forget a mask and your phone for proof of vaccination if you plan on a coffee afterwards as per the government requirements for hospitality venues.

 

Jim Flynn and the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride 2022 – Last week we saw off Jim on his IndiPac 2022 adventure (see last week’s blog).

See below for the progress update as at now and see his latest Facebook post here.

AGM Reminder – Don’t forget that voting is open until tomorrow evening for the SPR Annual General Meeting 2022. Check your email or voting link here.

The in-person section of the meeting will be held on Saturday 26 March 2022 at 9:00am at DOME Westralia Plaza (5/167 St Georges Terrace, Perth) following the usual Saturday ride.

The Committee requests that all attendees of the meeting vote using this form wherever possible. Please contact the club via the email address admin@southperthrouleurs.com.au if you have any problems voting.

New Race Day Gear – the SPR Kit Subcommittee and Mayeur are proud to announce the SPR Race Day Hoodie and SPR Race Day Tee for your wearing pleasure.

You know you want one.

Unlike our normal kit orders, these items may be ordered any time and will be delivered direct to your door. Order on the Mayeur SPR shop here.

 

Criterium racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.

1. PDCC Summer Criterium Series 2021-22 #9

2. WCMCC Kewdale Criterium

 

From the Ride Coordinator – So it looks like this weekend may be our first “inclement weather” forecast for the year on our Saturday main ride with an ex tropical cyclone weaving its way down the west coast It’s a good time to remind people to look over your bike for things like tyre and brake wear and to make sure that everything is in good working order. Which is an expectation on all riders who ride with SPR. The consequences of a poorly maintained bike might not just be an early finish to your ride but could impact others as well. As we move towards the wetter months, now is the time to recheck everything so you are prepared for the more slippery conditions across May into September.

Speaking of getting prepared for the winter months, our Sunday Short Hills and Long Hills ride will revert back to a 7am start time from Sunday 3rd of April. So to be clear that is NOT this Sunday it is the following Sunday. This will mean that from that first Sunday in April ALL Sunday rides will depart Coode Street at 7am after the coffee ride and the Social Short Hills ride moved to the 7am start time a few weeks back.

Also worth highlighting is that over the coming months there will be significant road works being done around Bayswater but also along Welshpool road as the bridging for the Metronet Station near Whatley and the same on the Leach Highway over Welshpool take place. You can bet there will be disruptions and diversions taking place on these busy roads and many of our ride routes also traverse these intersections. Whilst we will do our best to minimize interactions/routes to avoid these works, the ones on Leach Hwy will be the most problematic for the Sunday Hills riders so we would encourage all regular Sunday Hills riders to avail themselves of information each weekend on what’s going on as it is likely to constantly change and it can’t be fixed by chopping and changing our ride routes online every week. So please keep an eye out for changes on the main roads website and let each other know when you find out.

Saturday 26th March

Sunday 27th March

Monday 28th March

Tuesday 29th March

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 30th March

Thursday 31st March

Friday 1st April

SPR Christmas Party 2021

The SPR Committee is pleased to announce the club’s Christmas Party 2021 Edition.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

The Christmas Party will be held on Sunday 5th December at a cost of $30 per head including one drink. See our flyer and the SPR shop for the all the details.

Tickets available now in the SPR SHOP here.

SPR Tour de France Dinner

2 Comments

The SPR Committee is pleased to announce that we are this year again holding our Tour de France dinner. This year at Chez Pierre.

See you there!

The dinner will be held on Thursday 1 July 5 August with a set menu at $75 per head. See the SPR shop for the menu and all the details.

We do encourage dressing to a French theme, and we hear a rumour that an SPR-flavoured quiz will make an appearance on the night.

Tickets available now in the SPR SHOP here. Numbers are severely limited (sorry), so get on your bike and book a ticket!

The Swan Valley Fondo is back!

The Swan Valley Fondo is back as part of the WestCycle WA series: Sunday 13 June 2021 

Gather a few like-minded cyclists and create a team or just jump in yourself.

Two distances to select from:

A: 79km 1 challenging lap (644m of climbing) + 3 scenic laps $88 pp*. One section is 11.5% gradient so come along for a challenge. Check out the route on Strava.

B: 51km 3 scenic laps (reasonably flat) $78 pp*. If you are new to group cycling events and want a collegial non-competitive participation ride this is for you. Check out the route on Strava.

Don’t wait – register by 9 June midnight via this link.

You can create a team or join a team by selecting an Individual Registration then selecting I’m part of a team.

If you have any questions, please contact me on the Community Development email address (comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au).

Cheers,
Carol

* $20 discount on this price applies to WestCycle members ($85 to join)

SPR Giro d’Italia Dinner

The SPR Committee is pleased to announce that we are this year again holding our Giro D’Italia dinner. This year at Cafe Bella Rosa.

Get involved!

Giro d’Italia 2020 – 103th Edition – 1st stage Monreale – Palermo 15,1 km – 03/10/2020 – Filippo Ganna (ITA – Team Ineos) – photo Luca Bettini/BettiniPhoto©2020

The dinner will be held on Tuesday 18 May with a set menu at $45 per head. See the SPR shop for the menu and all the details.

We do encourage dressing to an Italian theme though we cannot promise a prize other than our deepest admiration 🙂

Tickets available now in the SPR SHOP here. Numbers are limited, so veloce!

Lighthouse to Lighthouse (road bike) 12 Oct 2014

5 Comments

Hi Guys,

We have 11 people so far who are doing the  Lighthouse to Lighthouse (road bike) Sunday 12 Oct 2014. Most likely this will divide into a faster and “less fast” group – Shaw wants to make it in 4 hours..I just want to make it… 

  • Down Friday:
  • EagleHawk Bay: Ali K (not riding), Nicola P, Tania B and Stephanie L.   private accommodation
  • Busselton: Carol & John P; John K and Greg E – Geographe Bayview Resort – 2 bed villa – good price from booking.com
  • Down Saturday: Shaw/family and Nathan –  Geographe Bayview Resort
  • Ross R and Jo (not riding)
  • Graham and Jennie (not riding) – Geographe Bayview Resort

Below is an overview of this event:

  • Travel down to Busselton Friday or Saturday (2hr 40 mins) and stay overnight*
  • Drive to Bunkers Bay Beach Car Park (40 mins)
  • Cycle 2.6km from Bunkers Bay Beach Car Park to Naturaliste Lighthouse
  • Sign in ~6.30am for 7am start
  • Note: supporters travelling by car along the route should leave before cyclists
  • Cycle 120km
  • Bus from Leeuwin Lighthouse leaves at 1:00pm – bikes transferred in separate vehicle – $30 one way and casino can book when register
  • Drive back to Perth ~ leaving 3pm arrive 6.15pm (3hr 15 min)

Accommodation is filling up fast as the event is at the end of the school holidays. Registration for the ride is now open $75 pp – if you need to book the return bus back to the start, you can do this when you register. Just select the option from “merchandise” at the end of your registration.  This is not officially sponsored by SPR and each person would be responsible for making their own arrangements.

More information and registration