All posts by Daniel Harvey

Ride Routes 25th – 31st December

The SPR Annual Christmas Ride was last Saturday, and we have the photos to prove it (check them all out here).

Thank you to all who either dressed up, or cheered on those who did. It was a most excellent ride. I maintain that my performance was significantly impacted by the tinsel drag factor. It’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

We followed the ride with the announcement of our annual awards for 2021. It was quite a buzz to recognise everything from Most Inspirational Rider through to a truly Epic Moment. And the rest. Join me in celebrating our winners below.

“People’s Choice” via the Club Survey
  • Most Inspirational Rider – Adam Ralph
  • Most Improved Rider
    – Amy Currie
  • Ride Leader Award – Steve Burns
  • Volunteer Award –
    Mandy McEvoy
  • Good Samaritan –
    Andrew Ballam
  • Epic Moment –
    Mandy McEvoy

Committee Awards
  • Race Award Female – Rebecca Kelly
  • Race Award Male – Shae Watmore

  • President’s Award – Steve Burns
  • Club Participant of the Year – Michelle Bonner
  • Club Participant of the Year – Mark de Castro

(**) Both racers were away, so no photos 🙁

Best Dressed Awards
  • Best Dressed Rider – Tom Goerke
  • Best Dressed Bike – Nicki du Plessis’ Trek (+elf) (**)


Finally, congratulations to our award survey lucky draw winner, Maurice Hermann!

(**) Sorry… I failed to get a photo of the winning bike!!!

Masks Again – Unfortunately, COVID is still with us, and as most of you will have seen, we need to bring out our masks again for coffee after the ride.

It should only be for a couple of days, but don’t forget 🙂

Public Holiday Warning – With Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day falling this year on weekends there will be a fews things to take note of in this and next week’s ride routes, both for our rides and for Dome’s opening hours across the break.

Rides – all the details below, but we have a new Public Holiday ride route to try for our Tuesday ride. See you there!

Coffee – Dome will be closed 25, 26 and 27 December public holidays but OPEN on Tuesday 28th and OPEN News Years Day.

Free Track Sessions – We may need to defer to the experts on whether sessions at the track count towards your Festive 500, but other than that, if you (or your children) have ever thought about giving track cycling a try, then this is for you.

Midland Cycle Club is offering both Junior and Senior cyclists Three (3) Free Sessions at the Track with a fitted Track Bike. In particular, this is a good opportunity for Dad’s / Mum’s in our sport to encourage their kids to come and try cycling in a safe and controlled environment, namely being the Velodrome.

If you are interested or have questions, please email president@midlandcycleclub.com.au.

Festive 500 – Don’t forget the the Rapha Festive 500 starts tomorrow.

Eight days. 500km. 24th – 31st December.

Criterium racing this weekend – It’s Christmas in case you had not noticed, so not much going on in terms of racing this weekend, but there is a twilight crit next week.

1. RCCC Twilight Criteriums #4 (Perth Airport)

For women racers, entries are open for the 4Five+ Sanctuary Summer Series being held 15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb (with more details here).

From the Ride Coordinator – They say a week is a long time in politics, so to it is for a cycling club trying to navigate through a very hot festive season with the threat of a looming Covid outbreak.

Firstly let’s tackle the extreme heat conditions that are forecast for the next few days. On Christmas Day, the Bonners Christmas Day ride will now commence at 6am to assist in mitigating the heat later in the morning.  Sunday Hills rides (on Boxing Day) will depart as normal at their 6am Summer time schedule.

With the heat also forecast to be around for both public holiday rides on Monday and Tuesday, we did deliberate with changing, but ultimately decided to keep these unchanged at 7am to allow the EBR to remain at a respectable 5:30am.

But please be aware that we have some ***hot*** temperatures forecast. Do consider adequate hydration (before, during and after the rides) and well as protection from the sun.

Finally, we will be introducing a new “PH ride – North” route that is scheduled up for Tuesday morning. So if you are planning on riding Tuesday, please familiarize yourself with the route and don’t rely on others to tell you where to go on the day.

Saturday 25th December

Sunday 26th December

Monday 27th December – “Christmas Day” Public Holiday

Tuesday 28th December – “Boxing Day” Public Holiday

Wednesday 29th December

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 30th December

Friday 31st December

Ride Routes 18 – 24th December

The SPR Annual Christmas Ride is this Saturday. The votes are in, and we look forward to sharing the winners with you all. Join us at DOME after the ride for breakfast, coffee and the award presentations.

Don’t forget to come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist. The picture above goes back a few years (2014 actually), but can perhaps serve as inspiration for 2021. Get your Christmas best ready for our Christmas ride Saturday.

*** Important *** Please see the ride routes section below as we juggle rides and routes for special events like this one to see everyone arrive back at close to the same time so no one misses out on the proceedings.

See you there.

Public Holiday Early Warning – With Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day falling this year on weekends there will be a fews things to take note of in next weeks ride routes, both for our rides and for Dome’s opening hours across the break.

Rides – all the details next week, but we will see the return of the Bonner’s Christmas Day ride, as well as the release of an all new Public Holiday ride given that we will have two Public Holidays in a row on 27 and 28 December.

Coffee – Dome will be closed 25, 26 and 27 December public holidays but OPEN on Tuesday 28th and OPEN News Years Day.

More details next week.

The Rotary Tour of the Blackwood 2022 is set for 12 March 2022. It is a timed event over undulating terrain offering three distances: 134km (elevation 1,700m) or 65km (elevation 841m) or 30km.

The accommodation around Bridgetown is going quickly and although registrations are yet to open, if you are interested you will need to book accommodation as soon as possible as most can be cancelled. For more details about the event including accommodation please check out their web site https://www.blackwoodtour.info/.

For more SPR specific queries please email race@southperthrouleurs.com.au. 

Note that this ride is on the same time as the CanTeen ride for which some have already registered.

Criterium racing this weekend – If you’re interested in racing this weekend, you have options.

1. RCCC Summer Criteriums #3 (Perth Airport)

2. West Coast Masters Wangara criterium

Keep in mind that entries close Saturday midday.

And don’t forget that RCCC’s twilight criterium series continues this Tuesday. Details and entry here.

For women racers, entries are open for the 4Five+ Sanctuary Summer Series being held 15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb (with more details here).

From the Ride Coordinator – So before we get into the detail this week, just a big Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our regular riders/members. This weekend will be our last main Saturday ride for the year with the following Saturday being Christmas Day. Whilst the Bonners will be once again hosting a morning ride, there won’t be an organised main ride scheduled for that day for obvious reasons. However we will be back for an organised main ride on New Years Day, but more on that next week.

So all of that means that this weekend is our official Christmas ride. We will be running this a little different this weekend but similar to the last few years. In an attempt to get everyone away fast and efficiently so you can enjoy the festivities and presentations back at Dome, we will be once again scheduling 2 different ride routes. We will be having the Fast, F2 and M1 ride groups heading towards Freo and back through Canning Vale, whilst our M2,3,4 and transition riders will be heading out to Abernethy Rd. We will also be alternating departure from the Coode Street carpark as follows:

Grp 1, Fast – freo & canning vale 52.11km spr saturday
Grp2, Fast 2 – as above
Grp 3, M1.1 – as above
Grp 4, M2.1 – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday
Grp 5, M1.2 – freo & canning vale 52.11km spr saturday
Grp 6, M2.2 – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday
Grp 7, M1.3 – freo & canning vale 52.11km spr saturday
Grp 8, M3 – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday
Grp 9, M1.4 – freo & canning vale 52.11km spr saturday (note this becomes a no drop ride)
Grp 10, M4 – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday
Grp 11, Transition – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday
Grp 12, Development – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

Sequencing like this means that groups don’t have to wait 1-2 mins to leave (apart from Fast2 and M1.1 and Transition) as they can queue up immediately behind the group in front as it will be going in a different direction at Mill Point Rd lights. Again the idea is to get everyone back to the coffee shop to celebrate Christmas with each other.

At the end of the ride, we are also going to ask ALL groups to proceed all the way down Riverside Drive and up Barrack Street. We are aware of the preference for M2,3,4 and transition to turn up Victoria Avenue but on Saturday you may find some of those groups with a faster group behind them on the sprint so the last thing we need is riders pulling across a lane in front of each other and causing mayhem, so for this week we ask all groups to keep going until the end.

Saturday 18th December

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Hills ride starts at Coode st carpark at 6:30am
    • Short Hills – <not this week>
  • All rides start at Coode St carpark at 7:00am

Sunday 19th December

Monday 20th December

Tuesday 21st December

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

Wednesday 22nd December

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 23rd December

Friday 24th December

Ride Routes 11 – 17th December

The Rotary Tour of the Blackwood 2022 is set for 12 March 2022. It is a timed event over undulating terrain offering three distances: 134km (elevation 1,700m) or 65km (elevation 841m) or 30km.

The accommodation around Bridgetown is going quickly and although registrations are yet to open, if you are interested you will need to book accommodation as soon as possible as most can be cancelled. For more details about the event including accommodation please check out their web site https://www.blackwoodtour.info/.

For more SPR specific queries please email race@southperthrouleurs.com.au. 

Note that this ride is on the same time as the CanTeen ride for which some have already registered.

SPR Annual Christmas Ride – This picture goes back a few years (2014 actually), but can perhaps serve as inspiration for 2021. So get your Christmas best ready for our Christmas ride to be held 18 December.

And don’t forget to vote! Each year SPR recognises riders and volunteers for their achievements and contributions to all things cycling. Please give a few minutes to nominate these individuals in a quick survey via this link. There is a prize of nutritional goodies for cyclists for one lucky responder so don’t delay.

The awards will be announced and presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on 18 December 2021. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.

And join us at DOME after the rider for breakfast, coffee and the award presentations.

Any queries, get in touch with Carol at comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.

Criterium racing this weekend – If you’re interested in racing this weekend, you have options.

1. PDCC Summer Criterium Series #3 (Alumina Road, Rockingham)

2. West Coast Masters DRMC criterium

Keep in mind that entries close Friday evening / Saturday midday respectively.

And don’t forget that RCCC’s twilight criterium series continues this Tuesday. Details and entry here.

From the Ride Coordinator – For all those who rode during this week we definitely got had some warmish mornings to start with and a continuation of those wicked easterlies from last weekend all through the first part of the week. At least for this weekends ride we will experience a respite to those easterlies in the form of south to south westerlies arriving. That will also cool the temperatures down for the rides so expect numbers to be big for the groups this weekend.

Something to be aware of for both the Friday ride AND our choice of main ride for Saturday is the road works that have commenced as you turn off the Leach Highway onto Webb Street in Rossmoyne. For the last few weeks we have been signaling works are about to commence and at last glance (about 5pm Thursday),  the road is open but they have “skinned” the surface, making it rough as you turn off Leach. Please be aware of this and slow down on the turn. It’s expected that the road will be open, it’s just a little more dangerous to navigate than normal so please exercise caution on the approach.

One last thing to mention is that it has been reported that there were quite a mechanical issues reported during last weekends main and hills rides.  Whilst many of these are difficult to anticipate (& I’m not talking flat tyres here), it is encouraged in our ride etiquette page (click here to view) that all riders riding SPR rides are aware of the importance of good maintenance for their bikes. This is not just because of the disruption that can occur to the ride if a mechanical is experienced, it is also that sometimes these issues can lead to safety issues and crashes on rides. So please be aware that it is expected that you will have a well maintained bike for riding with SPR.

Saturday 11th December

Sunday 12th December

Monday 13th December

Tuesday 14th December

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

Wednesday 15th December

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 16th December

Friday 17th December

Ride Routes 4 – 10th December

Each year SPR recognises riders and volunteers for their achievements and contributions to all things cycling. Please give a few minutes to nominate these individuals in a quick survey via this link. There is a prize of nutritional goodies for cyclists for one lucky responder so don’t delay.

The awards will be announced and presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on 18 December 2021. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.

And join us at DOME after the rider for breakfast, coffee and the award presentations.

Any queries, get in touch with Carol at comdev@southperthrouleurs.com.

SPR Christmas Party – OK, so no need to sell more tickets but we do still have a few available.

Here comes Christmas 🙂

Tickets and all the details here.

Criterium racing this weekend – If you’re interested in racing this weekend, you have options.

Keep in mind that entries close Saturday midday.

And don’t forget that RCCC’s twilight crib series starts this Tuesday. Details and entry here.

From the Ride Coordinator – Has anyone noticed just how many different road works that are being undertaken right now! It appears you can’t drive or ride more than a few kilometers in the metro area without coming across either witch hats, temporary barriers or a lollipop person. The last few weeks we have seen the most iconic of our rides, the River loop, being disrupted with off again, on again road resurfacing along Mounts Bay road  and the finishing road for most of our Hills rides – Welshpool Rd and the corner of Leach being diverted last weekend.

The reason for raising this again this week is to highlight two things, be prepared for the unexpected interruption on our ride routes and be careful of hazards that may be there one week and gone again the next.

The chosen ride route this week is a good case in point. The last time we ventured past Bannister Rd on South St/Ranford road is likely to look very different to this time as the road works now take us on a slightly different path just past the set of lights. Similarly we venture through the intersection at Welshpool and Leach which, whilst expected to be open when we go through, may have some added twists and turns to navigate through and may be different to when you last rode it. Perhaps some are thinking – well choose another route to take but in all honesty, there’s not many left we can take where some part of it isn’t affected by road works. Moral of the story is be vigilant, expect the unexpected and if you are at the front, call the necessary changes/hazards early so the group can navigate safely.

I’ll finish with a couple of updates on previous posts made. The first one relates to some more works expected on our Friday ride at Webb St as we turn off the Leach Hwy. Webb street remains open at this point for tomorrow’s ride and we are seeking more information on potential closures from the council. So all good for our ride tomorrow.

Finally just another reminder on the back of last weeks post that ALL Sunday rides will revert to the 6am start time from THIS weekend – including the coffee ride.

Saturday 4th December

Sunday 5th December

Monday 6th December

Tuesday 7th December

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

Wednesday 8th December

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 9th December

Friday 10th December

Ride Routes 27th November – 3rd December

Many of you may remember December 2017 when we took the SPR club photo above. Good looking club right?? But since that time we’ve refreshed our club kit with Mayeur as our new kit supplier, and we feel the time has come to see how everyone scrubs up in 2022.

And yes, you read right – 2022. We figured to provide everyone plenty of notice, not to mention the opportunity to order kit before 1 December (see below) and have it arrive in time for our club photo. We will confirm soon but the date will likely be 29 January or 5 February 2022.

We think that the result is most spectacular when everyone is the same kit – so fair warning – current kit only, no Ride Leader or TOMR editions allowed 🙂

SPR Christmas Party – We still need to sell a few more tickets, not just because we want the pleasure of your company (!!), but also as we are still a little short of the minimum for the venue.

Get on it people! Hope to see you there 🙂

Tickets and all the details here.

SPR Chicks Monthly Coffee Ride – Calling SPR Chicks for the final ride of 2021. The ride starts at 6:00am under the Narrows (city side) and ends with coffee at Botanicals Cafe Kings Park at 7.00am.

The ride is an easy conversational paced ride (approx 25 km/hr on flat) with new/beginner riders & all types of bikes welcome! Strictly no-drop.

And this this ride, we have plans afoot to capture some of the ride on film (well ok, digital footage) for a promo we are working on.

You can get a preview of the course here.

Love to see you there.

Club Kit Shop Open – The weather has turned and plenty of riders are emerging from their winter hibernation. We all know that the most important consideration when you head out on the bike is…looking good! 😜 The club kit shop is open again but closes on 1 December, so be quick! Don’t forget that you can try the Mayeur Cycling Clubline kit on at R&D Speedshop in Claremont.

The club kit shop is here: https://www.mayeur.cc/collections/south-perth-rouleurs

Criterium racing this weekend – If you’re interested in racing this weekend, you have options.

Keep in mind that entries close Friday evening.

From the Ride Coordinator – So lots going on as we head into the last month of the year and towards Christmas, including our first really hot riding weekend for a while and maybe as far back as last March. Just something that’s worth pointing out to all riders before the weekend as it may be worth considering adding that second water bottle to your bike or possibly that hydralyte booster to your water if that is your thing for this weekend’s rides.

Couple of notifications worth highlighting. If you’re a regular to our Sunday Coffee ride or our Sunday Short Hills social ride, please note that both of these rides will be changing to summer start times of 6am from the first Sunday in December. This will mean that all our Sunday rides leaving from Coode Street will commence at 6am from Sunday the 5th December until the first weekend in March. Just confirming that is not this Sunday but the following Sunday. 

Speaking about Sunday, a reminder that our monthly gravel ride is on this weekend kicking off and finishing at the Darlington Post Office. As we have a number of our intrepid regular ride leaders away riding the Munda Biddi, only the Heritage Trail will be offered this time as a lead ride.

Saturday 27th November

Sunday 28th November

Monday 29th November

Tuesday 30th November

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

Wednesday 1st December

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 2nd December

Friday 3rd December

Ride Routes 20th – 26th November

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You may describe it as an unintended side effect, but the Tour of Margaret River, in addition to bringing out the best of us on the bike, also seems to bring out an otherwise unseen talent for writing in many of our club members. This time it is a write-up of the experiences of SPR Mens 5 at the hand of David Menarry.

It is a wonderful read, please check it our here.

SPR Christmas Party – There are still tickets available for our annual Christmas Party (2021 Edition) coming up in two weeks time.

It would be wonderful to have you join us.

See all the details here.

SPR Chicks Trash & Treasure Picnic – One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure! Here’s an opportunity for our women and girlfriends to share and swap cycling gear that is no longer needed, or surplus to requirements, and enjoy afternoon tea on the club.

Don’t forget… it is this weekend!

All the details here.

Club Kit Shop Open – The weather has turned and plenty of riders are emerging from their winter hibernation. We all know that the most important consideration when you head out on the bike is…looking good! 😜 The club kit shop is open again but closes on 1 December, so be quick! Don’t forget that you can try the Mayeur Cycling Clubline kit on at R&D Speedshop in Claremont.

The club kit shop is here: https://www.mayeur.cc/collections/south-perth-rouleurs

Criterium Season is here! – If you have been watching social media you will be aware that criterium season is here with both Masters and Peel holding crits last weekend.

This weekend you have options as well:

From the Ride Coordinator – So focus this week is on the ride we do on the favourite day of the working week for many, and that is our Friday morning ride.

Firstly – on the route itself. From November 29th this year, through to “end of January”, there will be works along Leach Hwy including Webb Street, which for those that ride regularly on Friday is the left turn we take off the Leach Hwy at the retirement village on the corner. At this point we are seeking more information on alternate routes where we can maintain as much of the fun roll throughs along Shelley foreshore as possible but this may be compromised for a little while whilst the works are completed. Early indications are that the corresponding bike path may be affected as well. Aside from our Friday ride, this area is also popular for lots of riders so heads up. We will provide more guidance in next weeks blog.

The second thing is also one related to it’s unofficial title as “the recovery ride” (after the Thursday ride). Feedback from more than a few riders of late is that as fitness picks up leading into summer, so too is the pace of the rides and some people are either struggling to stay on or are choosing to stay away from the ride. The route itself takes us on many busy roads at 6am in the morning, so we are keen to emphasise the safety aspects of riding at this time and not have group strung out along the Albany Hwy or Manning Road.  Doesn’t matter if you are a regular rider or an occasional one, we would like to make sure that everyone gets to their destination safely so please be aware of how people are faring during the ride and the capability of the group to maintain speed. If you’re after a fast paced ride then we recommend choosing an alternate ride.

Saturday 20th November

Sunday 21st November

Monday 22nd November

Tuesday 23rd November

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

Wednesday 24th November

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 25th November

Friday 26th November

Tour of Margaret River 2021 – SPR Mens Team 5

The Trophy – 📸 David Menarry

Welcome to the first of our Tour of Margaret River 2021 team write-ups. First up is Mens 5, brought to us by David Mennary. SPR Mens 5 is David Menarry, Jesper Marstrand, Maurice Hermann, Adrian Emilsen, Nigel Coles, and Adam Ralph (left-to-right in the photo below). If you haven’t already, check out our overall event write-up.

First and foremost, the Tour of Margaret River (which is actually based around Nannup, not Margaret River) is a social event.  Yes, everyone trains for it, because it’s a personal challenge and a team event, and you want to do the best you can for your team.  But it’s the social side that makes it so special: living with your team for several days, as part of an amazing club, and just being part of the WA cycling community.

The Team – 📸 Arletta Ralph

Having raced the Tour five times before, it didn’t matter that I had never won anything individually or as part of a team.  This year was no different: no expectations, no plans, except to have a great time and just do our best.

The lead up to our Tour was bumpy to say the least.  For various good reasons, not once had the six of us ridden together as a team prior to the Stage 1 team time trial.  Adam Ralph was recovering from a broken wrist (still not healed), Jesper Marstrand was so sick the week of the Tour that he stayed in Perth an extra night, travelling down on the Friday morning before the first stage, and Maurice Hermann was recovering from a blood infection the week before.  Herman du Plessis was a late call up and hadn’t been training and Adrian Emilsen was so busy with work and family that he could only make it there late on the Thursday evening.

The signs were not promising, so we were reasonably satisfied that we were graded in Division K after the Stage 1 team time trial (this year went all the way down to a Division O).  We were ninth out of the ten teams in the Division, albeit with less than a minute between 1st and 10th.  We had planned to finish the stage with all six together, even though the time was taken from the 5th rider and we could have dropped one of us.  More importantly, the heavy rain showers stopped just before the start of the stage, so we also had a dry ride: bonus!

Stage 2 saw us once again at the Nannup Rec Centre.  While there was no sign of rain, it was an early start and a cold, overcast morning.  The warm up beforehand was more to stop us getting colder … but at least we could expect to warm up as the day progressed (little did we realise!)  With a long, challenging hill only a kilometre after the neutralised start, it was important that we were well placed in the bunch of 60 riders.

The plan was for Adam and Adrian to try and make the break and the rest of us to look after our fourth placed rider, because the team times were to be taken on the sum of the first and fourth placed riders in each team.  They managed that perfectly and I ignored the team plans to find myself in the first bunch behind the break of six, with Jesper and Herman in the second bunch and Maurice in the third.  And then it started raining … fortunately only for about five minutes, but definitely not forecast and absolutely not welcome.

As the race went on, the first two bunches merged but there was no sign of the break. I was delighted to see Herman and Jesper join me and we rode the middle of the race together.  I was still cold, so I spent my fair share on the front, hopefully pushing the pace but at least warming up a little.  The merged bunch stayed together until the Kandalee climb and then promptly exploded.  I was fortunate to be near the front and stay there.  I was also delighted not to see Crikey Cadel the crocodile on the way up (a long story).

With riders in ones and twos at the top a few smaller groups began to form on the way to Greenbushes as riders found comfort or motivation in numbers. And so it stayed for most of the remainder, until the final climb past the Talisman Lithium mine into Greenbushes.  I hadn’t realised that Jesper and Herman had re-joined after Kandalee, and the three of us finished the stage within a minute of each other.  While Adam was desperately disappointed to be pipped on the line into second, his result and Adrian’s fourth place were outstanding and laid the foundations for a great team result.  Maurice followed the team plan and saved his energy for Sunday’s stages, but was still not that far off the pace.

And so it was that on Saturday evening we found ourselves in the unfamiliar position of top team in the Division, a minute and a half above the second placed team, and a decision loomed: go for the win on Sunday or just enjoy ourselves.  To be truthful, it wasn’t a hard decision to go for it, knowing that if we didn’t win it didn’t really matter (who were we kidding?)

While Saturday’s stage was the longest and hardest, Sunday had two stages, a road race from Nannup to Balingup and a team time trial on the reverse route.  From prior experience we knew that most people keep some energy in reserve for the time trial, so it was no surprise that the bunch stuck together for most of Stage 3, with the short sharp climb at 2km to go being the only danger.  

We knew we just had to keep our time gap to be in with a chance of keeping our lead until the end, so Adrian and Adam were once again on marking duties at the front.  I had just clawed my way back onto the front part of the bunch at the top when the call came through that our race was being red flagged – neutralised – for the finish into Balingup.  This was because of an accident earlier and the race director trying to avoid further problems, a very sensible decision, but once again Adam was unable to claim his deserved first place.

The good news though, was we still had our full 90 second gap.  Definitely not enough to be sure of the overall result, but enough to give us some confidence it was possible.  The game plan was to go off steadily and try to keep the team together as long as possible, knowing that we could afford to drop two if necessary (the team’s time going off the fourth rider).  Which is exactly what we did. 

Having had such great races until now, it was perhaps no surprise that Jesper’s cold caught up with him and he dropped off after about a quarter of the way into the Stage 4 team time trial.  Down to five, Herman, Adam and Adrian continued to ride very strongly while Maurice and I were hanging on, knowing we need at least four together at the finish.  Three quarters in the elastic broke for Maurice and we were four.  Herman’s strong first half was starting to bite a little and so we were both reliant on Adrian and Adam putting enough pressure on to keep us in contention but not too much that we blew up.

The last 10km was extremely tough and both Adrian and Adam were doing longer turns on the front.  We had overtaken two teams who had started before us, so we knew we were doing OK, but our main competition, Denmark Mitre 10, had started several minutes before us and we had no idea how they had been going.  Eventually we hit the 2,000m to go sign and reaching the downhill into Nannup with four of us together was a huge relief.  

We were expecting the tight corners through Nannup so we avoided going full gas through them.  And then there was the kilometre – which seemed like five – along Brockman Highway as Adam gradually ramped up the power before turning into the finish straight back at the Rec Centre.  Avoiding a single rider from another group, we went a little slower than we would have liked around that last corner, but we avoided any last minute catastrophes and finished together, exhausted.  Well at least for me and Herman.

It took a couple of minutes before we heard our result, by which time the final team from our Division had also finished, around a minute or so after us, so we knew they didn’t provide any threat. In fact other teams came to congratulate us before we had the times confirmed: we had managed to win not only our Division, but also the stage, by three minutes and two seconds respectively.

Lessons learnt: a) have a plan and stick to it (but adapt if needed); b) play to your strengths; and c) most importantly, have fun.  As a primarily social event, I’d like to say it wasn’t important to win, but being able to deliver for the team and the club made it all the more enjoyable and a Tour to remember. I’m not ashamed to say that I may have had a few emotional moments once the result sunk in.

And finally, the thank you’s.  Of course, to the rest of the team (in first name alphabetical order), Adam Ralph, Adrian Emilsen, Herman du Plessis, Jesper Merstrand and Maurice Hermann (our team captain).  But it’s not just about the racers: there is a huge team behind the scenes who also share the success, our wonderful volunteers, the South Perth Rouleurs director sportif and race organiser, Steve Burns, and not forgetting the sponsors who made the ToMR kit and apparel possible: Pilbara Resource Group, Drillman, Total Marine Technology and Cathay Mortgages.

Winners are grinners – 📸 Mandy McEvoy

Ride Routes 13th – 19th November (TOMR 2021 Edition)

I sat down today to reflect on the week that was, with the club participating in the Tour of Margaret River held in Nannup over the weekend. From a whole range of perspectives, it was a huge success. The chance to race though some of the South West’s best countryside. Opportunities for club members to participate together in our sport in new and exciting ways. The chance to grab some podium glory with teammates.

I’ve attempted to gather some key photos of all of our teams, and their successes for tonight’s blog. Enjoy. And keep your eyes out for posts in upcoming days where our teams will share their stories.

But before we get to photos, stay with me just a moment to capture the highlights. This year saw SPR field nine teams in club colours (not to mention the many members racing in other teams – some shoutouts below), with 6 mens and 3 womens teams. Finding ways to encourage and support women’s participation in the sport of cycling is something that has been a focus within SPR for many years, and this year’s result is a credit to our SPR Chicks with 33% of SPR teams being female – a statistic that reflects very favourably when you consider that overall the TOMR 2021 saw female teams make up 22 as compared with 146 male teams (some 13%). Not to mention that in particular both Womens 2 and Womens 3 teams saw a number of riders both new to SPR and new to a stage race like the TOMR.

The weekend also saw many of our teams earn kudos and respect in achieving podiums. Congratulations go to our podiums (and honourable mentions!):

  • Mens 5 – 1st Place overall (Division K)
  • Mens 4 – 2nd Place overall (Division F)
  • Mens 3 – 3rd Place overall honourable mention (Division G)
  • Anny Kidd (Women’s 2) – Winner in the Stage 3 Road Race (Division WB)
  • Adam Ralph (Mens 5) – 2nd in the Stage 2 Road Race (Division K)

For full results see https://my.raceresult.com/173520/results.

It would be remiss not to take the opportunity to thank SPR Race Committee Member, Steve Burns, Race Subcommittee members Maurice & Boon, and the team of volunteers for the huge amount of work put in to enable the smooth administration and support the club was able to provide all of our riders.

Please accept our most humble thanks and appreciation. Seriously.

SPR is a large community, and I do want to send a shout out to the many members who had opportunity to race at the TOMR in other colours – many achieving some great results, most notably Chaotic Energy x Animalius as the overall winner in Womens Division A. Shoutouts to Chaotic Energy Racing (2 womens teams), Dome Coffees Cycling Team (2 mens, one womens and one mixed team), VeloFit Australia Racing Team and the 4F Racing Team. Truly wonderful to see so many club members participating.

Let me also offer a huge thank you to event organisers Brendan Morrison and Rebecca Cotton, together with their entire team, in making the Tour of Margaret River possible. It is the largest cycling race in Western Australia and one of the absolute highlights of the club’s year. Thank you.

Finally, thank you again to our sponsors, whose generous contributions saw every rider fully kitted out in club colours. And looking mighty fine. Thank you Pilbara Resource Group, Drillman, Total Marine Technology (tmt) and Cathay Mortgages Pty Ltd.

Now some photos, and scroll right to the bottom for ride routes. Photo credits Zac Williams, James Pei Yee Tan and Mike Stroud.

Mens 5 – 1st Place overall (Division K)
Mens 4 – 2nd Place overall (Division F)
Anny Kidd (Women’s 2) – Winner in the Stage 3 Road Race (Division B)
Adam Ralph (Mens 5) – 2nd in the Stage 2 Road Race (Division K)
SPR Womens 1
SPR Womens 2
SPR Womens 3
SPR Mens 1
SPR Mens 2
SPR Mens 3
SPR Mens 4

SPR Mens 5
SPR Mens 6
Legendary SPR Volunteers

SPR Christmas Party – Get a ticket to our annual Christmas Party, 2021 Edition.

See all the details here.

 

SPR Chicks Trash & Treasure Picnic – One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure! Here’s an opportunity for our women and girlfriends to share and swap cycling gear that is no longer needed, or surplus to requirements, and enjoy afternoon tea on the club.

See all the details here.

 

SPR Kit Update – Check out some more SPR goodness hitting the streets soon.

Keep you eyes peeled for SPR Specialized water bottles.

 

 

From the Ride Coordinator – So anyone riding during the working week just gone in the morning will appreciate the forecast for this weekend. It seems a very long time ago that we would be boasting of both days being over 30 degrees with mins around mid teens, but yay, here it is this weekend. Dare we dream that an actual summer might be just around the corner!!

With the advent of warmer weather our numbers are also likely to swell, and we ask that all riders, whether experienced or not to avail themselves of the expectations we have for riding on our rides. You can read all about this on our ride etiquette post which can be found here. Some of those with a good memory maybe thinking, “hang on, wasn’t this highlighted in early September so why are they saying it again?”. Well yes, we did but it’s worth repeating again now with more riders expected to ride with us again this weekend. And also because the core values of our club (inclusive, organised, safe and social) are neatly woven into the ride etiquette post and so we are very keen for everyone to have read it. Our ride leader briefings at the start of each ride will also reinforce the things to be aware of for the ride ahead, so we ask for the courtesy of all riders to concentrate for just a few minutes and listen to what our ride leaders are saying. You never know, but you might just pick up on something you didn’t know that will get you back to the coffee shop in one piece.

At the end of the day, we want everyone to enjoy group riding with SPR by making it as safe as we can and that relies on everyone understanding they have a role to play in safely riding in a group.  (edited) 

Saturday 13th November

Sunday 14th November

Monday 15th November

Tuesday 16th November

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

Wednesday 17th November

  • Ride starts Raffles bike path at 5:30am
  • Rides start at Coode St carpark at 10:00am
    • Mid-week – <not this week>

Thursday 18th November

Friday 19th November

Ride Routes 6th – 12th November

As you may have noticed over recent weeks, many of us are heading down south for the Tour of Margaret River this weekend. A record 9 teams – 3 womens and 6 mens.

For those of you staying home, enjoy the quieter ride and coffeeshop experience.

I would also like to again highlight and thank our sponsors – Pilbara Resource Group; Drillman; Total Marine Technology (tmt) and Cathay Mortgages Pty Ltd – for their generous sponsorship of our club’s participation in the 2021 Tour of Margaret River, Australia’s largest cycling road race, and the highlight of our club’s annual calendar.

I wish safe travels to all our riders, volunteers and support teams.

And top quality racing. Bring it on!

SPR Christmas Party – Get a ticket to our annual Christmas Party, 2021 Edition.

See all the details here.

 

SPR Chicks Trash & Treasure Picnic – One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure! Here’s an opportunity for our women and girlfriends to share and swap cycling gear that is no longer needed, or surplus to requirements, and enjoy afternoon tea on the club.

See all the details here.

 

SPR Kit Update – Check out some more SPR goodness hitting the streets soon.

Keep you eyes peeled for SPR Specialized water bottles.

 

 

From the Ride Coordinator – The SPR green machine will be representing us all this weekend down the Tour of Margs. Good luck to all the teams entered this year. Weather conditions look favourable for the next few days and all of you have trained really hard over the last few months. Here’s hoping you all meet the goals and aspirations that you have set yourselves. Special shout out to Steve Burns who not only organised a successful club TTT in Jarrahdale a few weeks back but has done a magnificent job in coordinating the tour of Margs teams, accommodation and training options along the way. A huge effort and one that should be acknowledged. Thanks Steve.

If you’re not heading down south, our metro show rolls on with one of our favourite ride routes making a comeback after a few months in hibernation. Yes it’s the return of South Street this weekend.

One final reminder for those that are looking for an intro or mid week slower ride our monthly mid week, mid morning ride is planned to roll through again this Wednesday leaving Coode Street at 10am.

Saturday 6th November

Sunday 7th November

Monday 8th November

Tuesday 9th November

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

Wednesday 10th November

Thursday 11th November

Friday 12th November

Ride Routes 30th October – 5th November

Congratulations to our winners of the inaugural Jarrahdale Team Time Trial held last weekend. It was good to see the strong turnout from the club, and nice to see some new kit on show – SPR TOMR and Chaotic looking good.

All the results are on MyLaps:

– Team results

– Individual results

Check out the winners below and see all of our photos on Facebook.

Winners – Womens Division 1 – Chaotic Energy x Animalius
Winners – Men Division 1 – SPR TOMR Mens 1

Winners – Womens Division 2 – Avoca A Team

Winners – Mens Division 2 – Dome Coffees Mens 2 (**)

Winners – Mixed 1st – Dome Coffees Cycling Team Mixed
Winners – Mixed 2nd – The Wheel Deal

(**) Sorry Dome Mens 2, we did not have a podium photo so this will have to do 🤣

SPR Kit Update – Check out some more SPR goodness hitting the streets soon.

Keep you eyes peeled for SPR Specialized water bottles.

 

 

From the Ride Coordinator – Congratulations to all those who participated in the lead up events to the Tour of Margs last weekend (Tour of Gracetown and the club TTT), only 1 more week of training to go, perhaps you’re thinking of tapering already.  Wouldn’t it be a shame to waste all of that training through a little inattention on the road this weekend. For those that have been around a while and those ride leaders who volunteer every weekend, we all know that “inattention” is the number one cause of crashes within our club and that cause is 7 times more prevalent than the next one down the list. “Inattention” can be a lot of things, from looking down at your bike computer at the wrong time, to chatting away and loosing awareness of what’s ahead of you and many things in between. The underlying contributing factors can be things like fatigue, choosing the wrong group to ride in, not knowing the ride route or simply being distracted with day to day personal issues . Whatever it is, inattention is not good for any riders but especially those that are 1 week out  from the ToMR. Over the years I’ve seen so many last minute “hard luck” stories of riders being injured a week or two out from major events. Sure, not all of them would be through inattention, but our stats suggest that this is the one to be aware of. I say that not to jinx anyone this weekend but draw this to your attention because we want you to get back safely to have coffee after all our rides and we especially want everyone who’s done the hard training yards to enjoy the event in the first weekend of November.

PS – just a quick reminder for those who like the red dirt stuff, the monthly SPR gravel ride is in this Sunday again, starting at 7.30 from the Darlington Post Office. Hope to see you there.

Saturday 30th October

Sunday 31st October

Monday 1st November

Tuesday 2nd November

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

Wednesday 3rd November

Thursday 4th November

Friday 5th November