All posts by Daniel Harvey

Ride Routes 25th September – 1st October

For those that joined us last Sunday for the Water Tower Challenge, thank you. For many, it was an opportunity to get out on a longer ride they have attempted before. If not the longest. With support and excellent company on the journey. And it turned out to be pretty much the perfect day in terms of weather.

With two options – the Imperial (170km and 1,800m of climbing) and the Metric tonne (103km and 1,300m of climbing) – there was something for everyone.

Thank you to Steve Burns and our volunteers on the day for making it a wonderful event.

SPR Team Time Trial – This year we have changed location of the team time trial to the Shire of Jarrahdale, on a course similar to Stage One for the Tour of Margaret River.

The Perth Dauphane to the TOMR.

Teams of 6 riders (minimum 4 riders) and the 4th rider will stop the clock. Teams will be released on regular intervals of between 1 and 2 minutes.

It is a great warm-up for the Tour of Margaret River to train your team skills.

See all the details and enter here: https://entryboss.cc/races/7947

From the Ride Coordinator – This long weekend SPR has a plethora of ride options for you to consider across all 3 days – both off road and on road !!

Off road I hear you ask? Well yes we cater for that with our regular Sunday monthly gravel ride scheduled up for this Sunday. And by the look of the weather forecast, this Sunday is looking “wet wet wet”. You too can feel the mud in your fingers and possibly in your toes too. For the children who never grew up – this ride is for you! Come join us at 7.30am opposite the Darlington Post Office for some wet weather fun.

But before we get to Sunday, we have the return of those “beasterlies” starting again this weekend, so we will schedule one of our favourites to finish with that wind behind us – Benara Rd! Other than the wind, Saturday is looking like it’s going to be a cracker.

And finally, if you haven’t had enough of the wind, the rain and the mud and you’ve got something left for the public holiday, then there is always the public holiday ride to try. Let’s hope we get enough of a clear window in the weather on Monday so we don’t get wet. If we do, it may be the last dry weather ride for a few days thereafter.

Whatever cycling that you do, please be safe and look after your fellow riders.

Saturday 25th September

Sunday 26th September

Monday 27th September

Tuesday 28th September

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

Wednesday 29th September

Thursday 30th September

Friday 1st October

Ride Routes 18 – 24th September

This year we have changed location of the team time trial to the Shire of Jarrahdale, on a course similar to Stage One for the Tour of Margaret River.

The Perth Dauphane to the TOMR.

Teams of 6 riders (minimum 4 riders) and the 4th rider will stop the clock. Teams will be released on regular intervals of between 1 and 2 minutes.

A little bit about the course: The time trials start initially sending riders Eastwards out along Nettleton Rd, before heading northward and downhill. The turn around is at the cnr Nettleton and Old Brickworks Rd and teams will head back with some uphill battles ahead. The course is a challenging 31km out-and-back riding over an undulating quiet rural road with total climbing over 440m.

It is a great warm-up for the Tour of Margaret River to train your team skills.

See all the details and enter here:

https://entryboss.cc/races/7947

SPR Water Tower Challenge – We are back for the SPR Water Tower Challenge 2021 Edition after a great event last year.

This Sunday, for those that have entered… enjoy!

From the Ride Coordinator – OK so it’s official if the forecast is correct that Spring will be sprung this coming week with a Wednesday forecast in the high 20s and an overnight temperature for those Wednesday SPR Stock Rd repeat die hards (you know who you are!!) of 13 degrees. Yes that’s right, 13 degrees. So if you’re training for the ToMR and Steve Burns hasn’t “burnt you bad” (see what I did there 😀) on the Tuesday training session, come join us for some more pain and no doubt a cracking sunrise that you’ll notice change every repeat. 5.30 meeting at Raffles for all those that are interested and we’ll have you back there around 6.50 or 7.20 if you stop for coffee.

So to the immediate task at hand, the routes for this weekend. Sunday will see the return of some of our newest but more popular hills rides up the ZigZag and beyond. Weather forecast is improving as the week goes on so hopefully there will be little moisture left by the time we get to Sunday.

Due to the northwesterly on Saturday, we will circumnavigate one of Perth”s greatest parklands – Reabold Park. It’s a beautiful ride if you’re not staring at the wheels in front of you for the entire time and Hay Street has now opened both lanes of traffic so hopefully there won’t be any holdups through Subi. At this point it’s looking like the weather window might stay open long enough for us to not get too wet.

Early heads up, the Grand Final long weekend is the following weekend and in addition to the public holiday ride on the Monday, we will also be holding the monthly gravel ride on the Sunday. But more about that next week.

Saturday 18th September

Sunday 19th September

Monday 20th September

Tuesday 21st September

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

Wednesday 22nd September

Thursday 23rd September

Friday 24th September

Ride Routes 11 – 17th September

Newspaper clipping from Arthur Riddle’s collection

Many who have been part of the club for a few years now will remember the club’s association with the town of Beverley, and the historic Beverley Race that dates back over a century. In particular, club member Toby H ran The Beverley Heroic for 7 years and the club running a re-invention of the classic race in the town each October.

For a range of reasons in the current climate we have been unable to continue with these events (SPR is this year running a team time trial closer to home in Jarrahdale in October) but still love to maintain a link with this history.

So a little closer to home, and in commemoration of the finish of the classic race, the WA Historical Cycle Club is holding an exhibition celebrating this part of the rich history or cycling in Western Australia.

A little history on the race:

Tom Griffith’s scrapbooks, Cycling related newspaper clippings and photographs from the 1930’s

Western Australia’s premier one day endurance race, first ridden in 1897, was contemporary with the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Classic (1892) and the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic (1895). Originating on roads made for horse drawn carts, ‘The Beverley’ was founded by WA cycling legend Percy Armstrong. The 185km (116 mile) route followed the Avon Valley between Beverley and Toodyay before encountering the punishing hills and washed out culverts of the Darling Ranges, finishing more than 30 times at the historic Peninsular Hotel in Maylands.

Credit: WA Historical Cycle Club

Check out all the details on Facebook and on the historical society’s web page.

It will be worth visiting.

SPR Water Tower Challenge – We are back for the SPR Water Tower Challenge 2021 Edition after a great event last year.

Ride against the clock in teams of 3, through the Perth suburbs in search of water towers. You will likely find water towers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you do not usually ride through.

And remembering that water towers are built on the top of hills, you will have the opportunity to do some climbing as well 😀 – choose either the Imperial (170km and 1,800m of climbing) or the Metric tonne (103km and 1,300m of climbing).

This is a fundraiser for the club and helps support the Rider Leaders Programme that both members and non-members enjoy 365 days a year.

The event is open members and non-members.

All of the details are on the EntryBoss event page, which is where you sign up!

Find a team and get involved. 

From the Ride Coordinator – Wasn’t it great to feel that sunshine last weekend and judging by the turn out of numbers in the car park on Saturday and Sunday it looks like quite a few of those who prefer to hibernate during the the cold have awoken from their winter slumber. We had great numbers across all groups and even had 3 main 2 groups last weekend. We also had quite a number of riders identify themselves as new riders and we hope they enjoyed themselves to give it another crack this weekend.

So it’s probably a good time for everyone to (re)familiarise themselves with the clubs expectations around riding etiquette which can be found here. Doesn’t matter if you are new to the club or been with us since the start, it’s always good to give this article a read as it sets out the expectations of riding on the club rides and reminds us all of things like good bike preparation, signalling and calling, not to half wheel whilst riding etc. Well worth another read and essential if you’ve never read it before. Ultimately it sets expectations  on each rider who wants to ride with SPR not only for safety but also your enjoyment.

Saturday 11th September

Sunday 12th September

Monday 13th September

Tuesday 14th September

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

Wednesday 15th September

Thursday 16th September

Friday 17th September

Ride Routes 4 – 10th September

As we foreshadowed last week, I am pleased to announce our new mid-week ride which allows you to sleep in 🙂

I’m not sure I understand the concept, but I hear tell that some of our members are keen to head out on a ride that does not start in the dark!

Here are the details:

Ride Route: modified shelley 30.56km spr mid-week

Frequency: Second Wednesday of the month, starting 8 September

Time: 10am meeting

Meeting point: Coode Street car park South Perth

Average speed: Expected 20-22kmh (no drop)

This will be a no-drop ride (stopping as many times as required to meet group ability), with all styles and levels of bikes welcome. Keep in mind that they will need to be compliant to Australian standards and fitted out to meet road riding laws including lights/reflectors front and rear and bell. Helmets are mandatory for all SPR rides. Water bottle or camelback essential.

This ride is intended to build skills and confidence to any person who is unable to make our main Saturday development or transition rides and will be lead by SPR ride leader.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out via Facebook or email Carol on comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

SPR La Vuelta 2021 Dinner – The inaugural SPR dinner to mark the La Vuelta, last of the professional grand cycling tours in Europe was held at The Spaniard in Perth city. Twenty-five cyclists and partners attended with chorizos, tapas, paella and churros the fare for the night lubricated with Sangrias, craft beer and cocktails.

If you missed out on this event watch out for it next year.

SPR Water Tower Challenge – We are back for the SPR Water Tower Challenge 2021 Edition after a great event last year.

Ride against the clock in teams of 3, through the Perth suburbs in search of water towers. You will likely find water towers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you do not usually ride through.

And remembering that water towers are built on the top of hills, you will have the opportunity to do some climbing as well 😀 – choose either the Imperial (170km and 1,800m of climbing) or the Metric tonne (103km and 1,300m of climbing).

This is a fundraiser for the club and helps support the Rider Leaders Programme that both members and non-members enjoy 365 days a year.

The event is open members and non-members.

All of the details are on the EntryBoss event page, which is where you sign up!

Find a team and get involved. 

From the Ride Coordinator – Well here we are at the start of spring time and finally it looks to be a nice weekend to ride across both days of the weekend (WooHoo!!), albeit with chilly starts of 5 and 7 respectively. Time to layer up to get out there because as the mornings progress we are looking at a bit of fun in the sun.

With the better weather, usually comes swelling numbers so for those that have been riding regularly throughout winter, expect to see a few more numbers lining up in the carpark. Our ride leaders will be keeping an eye on group sizes in the coming months. Ideal numbers for each group are around 13-17. Anything over 20 can be difficult to manage and can lead to frustrations around ride speed, being split at lights, poor communications, lousy roll throughs etc. So please work with the leaders if they ask you to split into different groups according to group size as they aren’t doing it to displease you, they will be doing it so the group dynamic can be optimized so it’s more enjoyable.

So to this weeks ride route, it’s Stock Shelley, one of our newer and more popular ride routes. Winds will hopefully be lightish from the East so enjoy the Shelley roll throughs in the sunshine for a change (for those that ride Friday’s – you’ll know what I mean).

Whatever riding that you do this weekend enjoy it but make sure you do it safely.

Saturday 4th September

Sunday 5th September

Monday 6th September

Tuesday 7th September

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

Wednesday 8th September

Thursday 9th September

Friday 10th September

Ride Routes 21st – 27th August

With things to write but running out of time to write them, I will hold off and use this week’s blog to announce SPR’s La Vuelta 2021 Dinner at the Spaniard and wish racers all the best for the 96th Collie to Donnybrook Cycling Classic being held this weekend.

For those of you keeping score, you will know that we had so much fun celebrating the Giro and the Tour that we decided to do it all again for the Vuelta.

To this end, SPR Community Development Committee Member Carol set about a research mission to find the most appropriate atmosphere and cuisine. We think you will be pleased with the result.

Join us at The Spaniard on Wednesday the 1st September for the SPR La Vuelta 2021 Dinner.

See the SPR shop for the menu and all the details.

Tickets available now in the SPR Shop here. Numbers are limited, so if you are keen don’t delay.

For all of those fortunate enough to make it onto the start list for the 96th Collie to Donnybrook Cycling Classic – it seemed to fill up very quickly! – do well and enjoy the race.

I know that a number of club members have a long history and lots of amazing memories connected to this race.

Enjoy!

Don’t forget that the club kit shop is open. It will close again on 22 August to allow a bit of extra time for shipping so that kit arrives in time for the Tour of Margaret River 2021 Edition.

Head to the club’s kit order page on the Mayeur website.

From the Ride Coordinator – Starting this week with a quick shout out to all those SPR members who won’t be with us for our main ride on Saturday but instead will be heading down for the annual Collie Donnybrook cycle classic. Good luck to all those in green who are participating. Hope the day is an enjoyable one for you all.

For me, the timing of this event as well as the Vuelta a Espagna signals we are coming to the end of winter so spring is almost upon us. For many of us, the training for ToMR starts to really ramp up and the club has a few events planned in between to assist you in that training (Watertower and TT here we come).

Hopefully also on the change is our lousy winter weather. Although we may just have to wait another week for something similar to last weekend (which was an absolute Jatz Cracker) with light showers predicted overnight and into Saturday morning.  Hopefully the moisture stays away long enough for us to get to the top of Cresswell and back for a coffee. At the very least the forecast for Sunday looks better by the day.

Whatever cycling you choose make it enjoyable and safe one.

Saturday 21st August

Sunday 22nd August

Monday 23rd August

Tuesday 24th August

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

Wednesday 25th August

Thursday 26th August

Friday 27th August

Ride Routes 14 – 20th August

For those of you who watch Channel 7, you will have been privileged to see SPR’s very own “From the Ride Coordinator” Mr Greg Jones!

The topic is a close one for Greg, who had a close call several years ago suffering a heart attack whilst riding, receiving CPR from a fellow club member – likely saving his life – and thankfully has since made a full recovery.

The story in the news highlights the important of heart health – even for healthy cyclists who are very fit. It features Dr Richard Alcock, cyclist and Interventional Cardiologist, who has worked hard in recent years to educate people about this important aspect of heart health. Earlier this year we advertised a seminar he ran, “Cycling to extremes: Heart health and the athlete” – if the opportunity comes again I encourage you to participate, particularly those like me who are north of 45 🙂

At present, the story is only on tonights 7 News on the app, but we will post a separate link as soon as it is available.

Thanks to everyone who attended last week’s belated SPR Tour de France Dinner.

We had a ball.

And keep your eyes peeled for the La Vuelta event we are planning!

From the Ride Coordinator – Mixed bag reactions to the reintroduction of last week’s ride route from the coffee crowd. Personally, after the frustration of some slow/unresponsive light changes early on, the route itself is one with the least amount of lights and fairy flat so you can really get the flow going in a good group. It’s great that we have such diversity of opinion on our rides so keep that coming as it leads to better outcomes for everyone. That’s what the club is all about. 

So for this week we will head south again to enjoy a push home from a light south easterly on the way home. We haven’t been out Maddington Way for a while and last time we would have done it, I’m pretty sure we headed straight into a howling East or South Easterly wind so this time we hope we can at least look up and enjoy the scenery.

As for that pesky weather, well looks to me like overnight showers clearing early enough for us to get out on Saturday. Let’s just hope they aren’t delayed or even don’t come at all. Whatever riding you choose to do, enjoy but keep an eye out on safety and looking after your fellow riders. If the showers do come in, might be some slippery conditions that may need to be navigated so please keep an eye out and be ready to call the hazards.

Saturday 14th August

Sunday 15th August

Monday 16th August

Tuesday 17th August

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

Wednesday 18th August

Thursday 19th August

Friday 20th August

Ride Routes 31st July – 6th August

We are back for the SPR Water Tower Challenge 2021 Edition after a great event last year.

Ride against the clock in teams of 3, through the Perth suburbs in search of water towers. You will likely find water towers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you do not usually ride through.

And remembering that water towers are built on the top of hills, you will have the opportunity to do some climbing as well 😀 – choose either the Imperial (170km and 1,800m of climbing) or the Metric tonne (103km and 1,300m of climbing).

This is a fundraiser for the club and helps support the Rider Leaders Programme that both members and non-members enjoy 365 days a year.

The event is open members and non-members.

To whet your appetite I’ve included some photos from my team’s attempt last year.

All of the details are on the EntryBoss event page, which is where you sign up!

Find a team and get involved.

Inaugural Gravel Ride – Don’t forget our first gravel/dirt ride this weekend (weather permitting!) – we have prepared an easy route that starts at the Darlington post office where we travel north to Lake Leschenautia across to Chidlow and return on the northern side of the heritage trail to Bellevue and then back to the Darlington Post Office.  The total distance is 56ks along fairly easy going trails.  If anyone is not keen on going to the Lake there will be an alternate option of just the Heritage Trail.  This is a no drop ride so everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the scenery. With all the rain that we have had there are plenty of streams flowing and frogs croaking to enjoy.  Please remember to bring enough water and food for the journey and spare tubes.

All the details below.

SPR Women’s Health Talk & Afternoon Tea – Female cyclists can often encounter health issues that require careful monitoring or maintenance. Come join Dr Rachel McCormick and PhD Scholar Serene Lee to discuss these issues and how they can be managed to lessen the impact they can have on your cycling and health.

The club will be putting on afternoon tea!

Now fully subscribed – thanks everyone for supporting the club – but for more information see the full post here.

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

With the recent lockdown, this has been re-scheduled to Thursday 5th August (after the Tour has finished but the best we could do!). Enjoy the night!

Sorry, sold out.

From the Ride Coordinator – So if you’re anything like me and really sick of the weather (my road bike is suffering from separation anxiety) then neither I or the BOM have good news for you this weekend with yet another front (or two) due to pass over the greater Perth area. Let’s hope there is a enough of a break to get our Saturday ride in.

However, we are hopeful that we get enough respite from the combo of heavy rain and driving winds to kick off our inaugural regular gravel ride around the Heritage trail with optional extension to Chidlow.  So if it’s “just lightish rain” as opposed to the stuff we have been experiencing, then come and meet us at 7.30am on Sunday departing from the car park opposite the Darlington post office for a bit of fun on the Heritage trail. We have a couple of options to choose from if the numbers stack up. One that does the Heritage Trail loop only, and one that goes further up to Chidlow. So if you’ve ever wanted to give gravel riding a go, this may be the weekend to try it. If the weather is looking too difficult to hold, a call will be made Saturday evening at around 7-7.30pm so keep an eye out on Facebook for confirmation it is on. If it is and you are driving to the start, remember to pack a change of clothes or at least a towel.

Saturday 31st July

Sunday 1st August

Monday 2nd August

Tuesday 3rd August

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

Wednesday 4th August

Thursday 5th August

Friday 6th August

Ride Routes 24 – 30th July

Over the life of the club, we have evolved and changed what we provide for members.

You will be pleased to know that this is happening again, and we have something new to offer.

The gravel is calling.

There has been an increase in people riding gravel and MTB bikes (Dean wonders if it is just him, we think that while he has been taking his gravel riding very seriously recently, there are probably more of you).

What we have come up with is the monthly SPR Sunday Gravel Ride.

The rides will be lead by Dean Roser (Mr Training and Development) and will usually run on the last Sunday of each month, although we will be starting them next week (Sunday 1 August). We will be publishing the routes, but expect the route to be approx 60km and start “on location” (e.g. Darlington Post Office).

The rides will be open to everyone, and will be no-drop rides.

If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with Dean at coffee or reach out via email/website/Facebook.

SPR Women’s Health Talk & Afternoon Tea – Female cyclists can often encounter health issues that require careful monitoring or maintenance. Come join Dr Rachel McCormick and PhD Scholar Serene Lee to discuss these issues and how they can be managed to lessen the impact they can have on your cycling and health.

The club will be putting on afternoon tea!

Now fully subscribed – thanks everyone for supporting the club – but for more information see the full post here.

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

With the recent lockdown, this has been re-scheduled to Thursday 5th August (after the Tour has finished but the best we could do!). Enjoy the night!

Sorry, sold out. Well actually, we’ve found one more ticket. Grab it in the shop if you’re keen.

From the Ride Coordinator – Is that rain finally starting to clear or is the immediate forecast just an aberration in an otherwise very wet winter. As I see more and more Strava ride posts boasting of finally being able to get outside, let’s take the glass half full view and say at least we should be able to ride more.

For those that have already ventured out into the semi dry sandy expanses of our metro road system, one thing is for sure, the chances of getting flat tyres has definitely increased with all the rubbish that has floated over the surface washed down by the rain. I know from recent experience that some of that rubbish includes things like little shafts of metal or flora including leafs/branches/sticks that are not conducive to your tyres remaining fully inflated. 

So a couple of things for all our riders to consider focusing on this weekend.

First is the preparation for the ride. Do you have good tyres or are they worn. Do you have spare tubes, canisters etc that will help you get on your way again. It’s a good time of year to check these things because of the higher chance of finding one of those spiny little suckers on the road.

The second is good communications whilst we are group riding. Calling things like potholes, water on road, debris is vital for group safety at the driest of times, in mid winter it’s essential. Road surfaces are changeable at this time of year. I’ve already noticed a couple of sneaky potholes appear on regular roads that I ride that weren’t there a few weeks back. At best these can lead to flat tyres, worse still, injury to your fellow riders. So please, please call these up the line so everyone in your group maximizes the chances of staying upright. Please leave the “I’m too cool to call” attitude for other rides if that’s your thing. We prefer to have everyone back safely, sipping coffee at the coffee shop.

Saturday 24th July

Sunday 25th July

Monday 26th July

Tuesday 27th July

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

Wednesday 28th July

Thursday 29th July

Friday 30th July

Ride Routes 3rd July – 9th July

With the announcement from the Premier that we move out of lockdown from midnight tonight, the Committee has read through the detail and decided that we ride from tomorrow. We fit under the category of outdoor community sport, with some care needed before and after. Good news!

Each of us does need to take care to abide by the restrictions put in place by the State Government, so please take note.

In the car park at the start of the ride, we need to ensure that group sizes are kept to 20 people and that masks are worn. To assist in spacing of the groups, we will revert to the more spread out layout in the car park. Please pay some attention in this regard as we congregate.

Similarly, at the end of the ride, masks are a requirement. Additionally, Dome has a restriction of 20 patrons so many of us won’t get to sit down, but takeaway will be available. 

See you out on the road.

From the Ride Coordinator – All I can say is thanks god for the TdF! Whilst there were rumblings coming from NSW last week, it’s nothing that we haven’t heard before from over east and usually the tyranny of distance from our east coast friends has been enough to keep the nasties at bay. Unfortunately this hasn’t been the case this week, but it’s allowed us to stay up a bit later to watch the stages of Le Tour. And yes, if the carnage that played out this week isn’t enough to keep safety at the forefront of your mind when group riding, I guess it never will.

So to this weekend’s ride route, with a gentle North Eastely behind us, we plan to tackle Morley Drive. Please note that the Saturday Hills ride option is going into hibernation during winter as we didn’t get one rider this time last month and the poor ride leaders scheduled had to get out of their warm beds 30 mins earlier than they needed to. We will look to advertise when we boot it up again in Spring. Whilst we are talking hills, the Sunday “social” short hills ride (try say that fast 10’ times over) is continuing throughout winter. It follows the short hills ride route at a slower pace than the main group, so if you wan to give it a go, if numbers and weather allows, ask around at the car park on Sunday.

So, if your reading this, then we are allowed to ride but please look after yourself and the safety of your fellow riders. In this case we don’t want to be like the pros over in France. We just want you back for coffee safely .

Saturday 3rd July

Sunday 4th July

Monday 5th July

Tuesday 6th July

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

Wednesday 7th July

Thursday 8th July

Friday 9th July

Not the Ride Routes

We’ve been here before. Able to get out and ride, thankful for that, but a little unsure when we will next get to ride with friends.

Personally, I got out for a ride today, and I was reminded of times in the recent past when our riding was similarly restricted. The photo above was me out for a solo night ride the last time we did this lockdown thing. I was reminded of the water that has gone under the bridge since the last time we were required to lock down – with vaccination and the Delta Variant topical issues this time round. And with lots of opinions being expressed by almost everyone, from our leaders on down. This latest variant is highly infectious, and I am glad that it is being taken seriously by our leaders. I also know that many in our community, both SPR and wider, are being hit hard by the lockdown.

In this middle of all of that, I am thankful for the opportunity to get out on the bike. Physically, and for the sake of my mental health.

If you have the space, take the opportunity. 

A couple of things to close out. First, we know the lockdown period is set to end Friday midnight, but with all of the activity around the country, we think the best strategy is to await the Premier’s press conference tomorrow before announcing ride routes for the next week. We’re keen to ride, so look for the blog post if we get an all clear from the Premier tomorrow.

Keep an eye out also regarding the Tour de France Dinner that was originally to be held tonight. As soon as we have some clear sight of when the lockdown is ending we will seek to re-book. It is only week 1 of the Tour so we have our fingers crossed that we can get together before the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

We also have tickets still available for the SPR Yoga for Cycling Course.