All posts by Daniel Harvey

Ride Routes 3rd – 9th December

Good evening all. Just a few things to highlight this evening. First up, you can still get tickets for our out-of-lycra Christmas event in the shop – all the details below. On a related note, don’t forget to nominate someone for an award in our Social & Race Award Nomination survey below.

Next up, congratulations to Toby Brown for his win at the Westral Wheelrace last week! The Westral is the 2nd oldest Wheelrace in Australia, dating back to 1897. It is a handicap race over 6 laps (1,500m) with riders assigned staggering starts around the track according to their heats. Nice one Toby.

Lastly, on behalf of the Committee I would like to offer thanks to Mandy McEvoy for her contribution to SPR’s social media presence these past twelve months. Many of you will have seen Mandy’s announcement in her last post yesterday of her decision to step down from the Committee. Thank you Mandy 🙏🏻

See you at the races now that the Crit season is here – if that is your thing. Seriously, though – if you are interested in racing, whatever your level of experience, please get in touch with Steve by email on race@southperthrouleurs.com.

Daniel

 

The Rouleurs Run Radelaide — The Tour Down Under is a festival of cycling, first staged in 1999 and now the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere. There is The Race, The Challenge Tour, the buzz of the village and the overall electric atmosphere. Get amongst it, go to everything, get up early for a ride, catch the starts, the finishes, ride everywhere and swim at the beach. This is when the City of Churches becomes the City of Cycling.

If this is something for you, contact Andrew vp@southperthrouleurs.com.au to find out more or be added to the “The Rouleurs Run Radelaide” Facebook group. 

https://tourdownunder.com.au/

 

Tickets available here!

 

SPR Social & Race Award Nominations 2022 — 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 presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on Saturday 17 December 2022 at Dome after the ride. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.

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

 

SPR Kit — The Kit Shop is open. Closes 9 December for deliver mid-January.

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

1. 4Five+ Twilight Series – Round 3

2. NBCC Splendid Park Criterium

3. WCMCC Wangara Criterium

4. RCCC Twilight World Champs @ DRMC Rnd 1

Announcement: We’ve needed to delay the Watertower Challenge until next year. Stayed tuned.

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Glorious weather this weekend, so we’re expecting good turnout for all rides. Main groups will do South Lake on Saturday. While the route is unchanged , the ride is quite different with ongoing improvements to Berrigan Drive and Jandakot Roads over the last few years.

Sunday long hills doesn’t have a late regroup point at a water stop, so make sure to top up with whatever you need in Kalamunda, after the first climb up Zigzag at about 32km. We’re always looking for ways to improve our ride routes, and for new routes to add to our repertoire. If you have suggestions for either, feel free to email these to ride-routes@southperthrouleurs.com.au. The Ride Leader group has initiated review sessions to consider suggestions, and recommend changes and new routes. We’d love to hear from you.

Remember the **all** Sunday rides now start at 6am.

Saturday 3rd December

Sunday 4th December

Monday 5th December

Tuesday 6th December

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

Wednesday 7th December

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

Thursday 8th December

Friday 9th December

Ride Routes 26th November – 2nd December

This evenings guest post is a serious highlight for me, quite literally bringing a tear to my eye reading through.

You will all remember the agonising accident which occurred on Short Hills back in April. I visited Jay in hospital at the time, and the club put together a hamper. I commented at the time that my favourite item was the Sick Puppy Beer – turns out it makes a special appearance in Jay’s recovery. Read on 😎

Life sometimes brings us awful events. I would never wish them on anyone. But I do know that how we respond as individuals (Jay’s story for example) and as a community (kudos SPR) demonstrates the strength, beauty and resilience that lies within.

Read Jay’s story below.

Daniel

Accident to Recovery

“You flew so high – did a massive forward flip”, “Don’t look at your bike – you don’t want to”, I heard awakening from my bitumen slumber. “3x Cervical and 4x Thoracic vertebrae with compression fractures, 3 left Vertebrochodral ribs fractured. A hard collar neck and back brace for 3months” said the doctor in a way that could not be argued. Soon came a hospital visit from Daniel Harvey bearing a hamper and best wishes from the club. He gives it to me, and I wonder if he knows I am not a paid-up member of the club. It didn’t seem to matter, but I ought to promise to join the club in case he already knows. Besides, the importance of insurance was never clearer. The hamper included delicacies and edibles, a copy of Bicycling Australia, and a WA brewed Sick Puppy Retriever Golden Ale beer. Reading the magazine from my hospital bed, my priorities became clear: Get a bike, get an indoor trainer and find a race worthy challenge.

A week out of hospital and I had my replacement bike, blind to the reality that it would be months before I could ride it. It was old and had aerodynamics of a brick, but envelope calculations convinced me a componentry swap would make it a lightweight gem. As for the aerodynamics, I’d just have to get better at sucking other people’s wheels. When expressions of interest were called for the Tour of Margaret River I knew the event would be the perfect goal. Far enough away to make a viable recovery, and big enough to be meaningful. I was ready to start training – or so I told myself. Reality kicked in when my Physio dressed me down about how my body was unready, and I had caused tears to the muscles in my knee. I had to wait. When I resumed on the trainer, 70km into my first century I learned my neck was not going to let me at the last 20ml of my drink bottle. I had lost 60W from my FTP and was concerned I wasn’t getting it back. Eventually it came though, helped by the ToMR training sessions at Kings Park where I’d give it all to hang on to Mike Harper’s and David Mennary’s wheels. The Maccas, beers and chocolate had to go. I was going to get serious.

November arrived and I made it to the ToMR event with my awesome teammates. At the start of Stage 2 I lined up next to Daniel Harvey and pronounced that Dan Davey and I were going to make a break for it halfway through the stage. Our club president didn’t have the heart to tell me that I had no chance, that people don’t break away on that stage. So entertained by my own naivety I soon discovered the hill we were attacking on only rose by 11m. While it was a buzz to look back and see Dan and I clear of the pack, it was short lived. The ridiculousness of the attempt was highlighted by the fact that far faster riders than ourselves had gone through the course that day, but we had the Strava KOM trophy. Success did come later in the ToMR when on the ‘Queen’ stage I notched up third place. Some tactical riding near the finish involving six riders including Doug Pavlovic and Mark Sinclair from SPR M5 decided the outcome. The podium was a satisfying moment, but to me it was beaten by one other. From receiving the SPR hamper in hospital to where I was now, I had saved up that Sick Puppy Retriever Golden Ale. It was saved for when I completed the ToMR and to me it symbolised that I had recovered successfully and received some great support from the club.

Thank you SPR.

Jay

The Hamper
The Podium
The Sick Puppy Beer

 

Tickets available here!

 

SPR Social & Race Award Nominations 2022 — 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 presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on Saturday 17 December 2022 at Dome after the ride. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.

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

 

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

1. 4Five+ Twilight Series – Round 2

2. PDCC 22-23 Summer Criterium Race 2 (State Round #1) @ HMAS Stirling

Announcement: We’ve needed to delay the Watertower Challenge until next year. Stayed tuned.

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Summer is sort-of, almost, nearly, really here (I think). To kind-of celebrate, we’re heading out to “TV Stations” on Saturday, which we last rode in January. It’s a little bit lumpy – good to stretch the legs, but there should be a tailwind to bring us home.

Sunday’s short hills, Lesmurdine & Observatory, doesn’t have a water refill point in the hills, so remember to carry enough to cover 64km with 700+m of climbing. While on statistics, at 86km, long hills this week is our shortest long course, but with 1219m vertical, it’s the most climbing per km of all our hills courses.

Please note that the 10am Wednesday Transitional rides will resume on 8 March 2023, and the Sunday 7am coffee ride and Social Hills will move to 6am starting from 5 December. Enjoy the rides and stay safe.

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 26th November

Sunday 27th November

Monday 28th November

Tuesday 29th November

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

Wednesday 30th November

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

Thursday 1st December

Friday 2nd December

Ride Routes 19th – 25th November

Gravel Worlds — The chance to be part of cycling history lured a small group of friends with common allegiances (SPR, 4Five+, Strive Cycle Training) to northern Italy to compete in the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships.  

Adam Ralph, Amy Currie, Deb Kempe & Vanessa Johnson had to dip into their buckets of bravery to book flights and accommodation, and commit to a race where the location and course details remained undisclosed until 3 weeks before the event.

The course was about as different from the SeVen qualifier as it could be, and the criticism of the lack of elevation from afar was plentiful. Yes, the Saturday course for the women and men 50+ was a mostly flat 140km with less than 700m of elevation, traversing typically European urban-countryside. The unexpected challenge was the many technical direction changes and enormous variation in surface which was mentally fatiguing. The course followed the Bacchiglione River from Vicenza to Padova to Citadella, traversing gravel paths and roads, fields, river banks, levees, forested single track, rocky paths, fields, and yes – quite a bit of paved road to link the gravel sectors…

If you would like to read more about the race pop over to the 4Five+ blog https://www.4fiveplus.org/blog/uci-gravel-worlds (spoiler alert – someone came home with a rainbow jersey).

Vanessa Johnson

The course on race morning

 

Tickets available here!

 

SPR Social & Race Award Nominations 2022 — 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 presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on Saturday 17 December 2022 at Dome after the ride. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.

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

 

SPR Chicks — Reminder that the next SPR Chicks event is on Sunday 20th November,  our social ride followed by dinner at the South Perth Food trucks.

We will meet at 5pm at Coode Street jetty for a 30 km, no drop ride (we stay together and ride as a group), returning back to Coode St, finishing with dinner at the South Perth Food Trucks. Remember your lights particularly if you are commuting to/from the event. If you just want to join us for the food trucks, we will be back roughly 6.15pm.

If interested in either event, please respond to the event on the Facebook SPR Chicks page, or by emailing women@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

Tour of Blackwood — Blackwood 2023 is on 18 March, a timed event over undulating terrain offering three distances: 134km (elevation 1700m) or 65km (elevation 841km) or 30km.

The accommodation around Bridgetown is going quickly and although registrations are yet to open for 2023, if you are interested you will need to book accommodation as soon as possible due to limited availability. Details for the 2022 event https://www.blackwoodtour.info/.

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

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

1. 4Five+ Twilight Series – Round 1

2. PDCC 22-23 Summer Criterium Race 1

3. WCMCC Bibra Lake Criterium

Announcement: We’ve needed to delay the Watertower Challenge until next year. Stayed tuned.

 

From the Ride Coordinator — The BOM are saying we’ll be OK on Saturday morning as I write this – but we’ll wait and see with fingers crossed.

A few people pointed out that they encountered lots of red lights on last week’s ride – so I’m hoping this week brings better luck. Either way, please err on the side of caution when deciding whether to stop or go for an amber light; there is a blanket rule to ease up for a split caused by a red light – it’s good to know these club protocols. On that note, if you move to a faster group for the first time, it’s a good idea to let the ride leader know, and if you bring a friend to a ride with SPR we always recommend their first ride be with the Transitional group.

On Saturday we’re doing Stock and Shelley, a relatively new and always popular ride, with less dependence on green lights. Take care changing lanes for the right turn from North Lake into South St, and enjoy!

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 19th November

Sunday 20th November

Monday 21st November

Tuesday 22nd November

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

Wednesday 23rd November

Thursday 24th November

Friday 25th November

Ride Routes 12th – 18th November

Last weekend our 12 SPR teams represented our club over 3 days of racing and 5 stages. 12 teams are not only a record for SPR but a record by any club at the Tour. This was 72 riders plus volunteers making it a logistical effort record also.

For many riders training started in May or June, through the wet, dark, cold mornings so great effort and dedication. The Tour is about team work and riding together. Our teams had the added bonus of Graeme Brown training sessions, which changed the way we approached the event. 

There were many great results across the 3 days with our Mens 1 team winning the B Grade division, our Mens 5 team winning the K Grade division and our Womens 3 narrowly missing our on first for a well deserved 2nd place. On the GC standings, Mark Sinclair (Mens 5) was the division winner and Doug Pavlovic 2nd, Jacob Langham – 2nd and Sam Mettam 3rd both from Mens 1. In the Womens B grade Lily Handoyo was 2nd and Manou Rosenberg was 3rd.

Besides the official placing many of our SPR rider raced for the first time in one of the hardest road races in WA. That effort alone was simply magic to witness. Our riders getting PBs and completing the event is a top achievement but the Tour is about friendship and to see the teams of all speeds interacting together and just enjoying the experience is what we set out to achieve.

A big thanks goes out to our volunteers who did a brilliant job this year and who without we would not have had such a great time.

Steve

 

Save the date – shop open tomorrow Tickets now available here!

 

A European Honeymoon! We – Heiko Potzeldt and Louise McKay – met through SPR and Strive Cycle Training…and we just got married! 

Those of you who have ever trained or ridden with us will know that Heiko was born half-mountain-goat, whereas Louise tends to prefer river loops with a healthy serve of coffee…so for our honeymoon, Heiko plotted an incredible bikepacking route through Southern France, Andorra and Spain. Plenty of mountains, rivers, and coffee 😀

We drove the 12 hours down from our home in Leipzig, Germany to Clermont-Ferrand, France, and parked the car at the hotel there. From there, we embarked on our 12-day ride through the volcanoes of Massiv Central, the Gorges du Tarn, to Albi then Carcassonne, where we enjoyed a rest day before heading into the Pyrenees. We rode over the mountain pass Pas de la Casa at 2408m elevation, following the one road that goes from France into the single-city country of Andorra and out the other side into Spain. From there it was *mostly* descending to Barcelona – although we certainly felt the climbs along the way, with so many kms in our not-particularly-well-trained legs! After a day enjoying the sunshine and a leisurely bus tour of the big city, we headed back north along the Spanish coast, then inland to Figueres to visit the Salvador Dali museum, before crossing the Pyrenees again to enjoy a few last days of French baguettes and croissants (and more stunning scenery). From our final stop, Beziers on the Canal du Midi, we took the train back to where we left the car.

Along the way, I’d say we probably rode about 60% on tarmac, but the other 40% was a real mix of gravel, grass, sand and rocks. Mostly we followed the suggestions provided by our Karoo Hammerheads, but we also learnt from a few extra-challenging experiences that the Karoo isn’t alwaaays right…sometimes it’s worth stopping to check google too! In any case, having gravel bikes (Rose Backroad and Koga Colmaro) was an excellent choice for this adventure. The bags we packed to take with us probably could have been lighter, but there were one or two days when we were both very very glad for the extra layers we had packed. On one day in particular, this was even supplemented by glad-wrap over our feet, legs and arms to combat the rain and wind, but on the whole we had sunshine and great riding conditions. Bikepacking is an amazing way to travel, especially if you are in a place with great food and plenty of hotels along the way. Would 10 out of 10 recommend a trip like this!

Clermont-Ferrand : 83km : Condat : 102km : Nasbinals : 102km : Millau : 118km : Albi : 92km : Carcassonne : 79km : Ax Les Thermes : 65km : Andorra La Vella : 87km : Solsona : 119km : Barcelona : 93km : Caldas de Malavella : 64km : Figueres : 86km : La Barcarles : 90km : Beziers

 

SPR Chicks — For all us wonderful women that cycle, we have two last events for the year coming up…The first is on Sunday 20th November,  our social ride followed by dinner at the South Perth Food trucks.

We will meet at 5pm at Coode Street jetty for a 30 km, no drop ride (we stay together and ride as a group), returning back to Coode St, finishing with dinner at the South Perth Food Trucks. Remember your lights particularly if you are commuting to/from the event. If you just want to join us for the food trucks, we will be back roughly 6.15pm.

The second event is on Wednesday 21st December, yes a school night for those still working!

Meeting somewhere in South Perth near Mindeerup, final location yet to be confirmed, at 6pm, where we will have something to eat or drink. Then as the sun is starting to set, we will catch the ferry from South Perth to the City, where we will walk the Christmas Light Trail around Elizabeth Quay, St Georges Tce, to Hay St, returning to South Perth via ferry.

We would love to see as many of you as possible, to meet new people, see new sights and get some
exercise.

If interested in either event, please respond to the event on the Facebook SPR Chicks page, or by emailing women@southperthrouleurs.com.au

Cheers,
SPR Chicks

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

1. WCMCC Kewdale Criterium

 

From the Ride Coordinator — I’m sure there are plenty of tired legs out there after last weekend for those who went down to Nannup. Think about the group you ride with on Saturday, and consider dropping down one if you’d prefer to take it a bit easier.

Weather looks good, and the South Westerlies are back, so we’ll head out to Scarborough Beach & Hale on Saturday with a good tailwind home along Mounts Bay Rd.

With the increase in riders on the road, and higher number of spills we’ve been seeing, a reminder that if there does happen to be an incident in your group, don’t turn around to see what happened – it just adds risk. Focus on the wheels in front, and on staying upright. There’s plenty of time at the coffee shop to find out what happened. Whether you’re having an easier few weeks heading towards the festive season, or building up for another event, enjoy the riding and the good weather this weekend.

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 12th November

Sunday 13th November

Monday 14th November

Tuesday 15th November

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

Wednesday 16th November

Thursday 17th November

Friday 18th November

Ride Routes 5th – 11th November

So lots of people will be down at Tour of Margaret River 2022 this weekend.

For those participating… go well and have a ball! Fingers crossed all that training paid off.

For everyone else, we still have ride routes below 😎

See you out on the bike.

Daniel

SPR Chicks — For all us wonderful women that cycle, we have two last events for the year coming up…The first is on Sunday 20th November,  our social ride followed by dinner at the South Perth Food trucks.

We will meet at 5pm at Coode Street jetty for a 30 km, no drop ride (we stay together and ride as a group), returning back to Coode St, finishing with dinner at the South Perth Food Trucks. Remember your lights particularly if you are commuting to/from the event. If you just want to join us for the food trucks, we will be back roughly 6.15pm.

The second event is on Wednesday 21st December, yes a school night for those still working!

Meeting somewhere in South Perth near Mindeerup, final location yet to be confirmed, at 6pm, where we will have something to eat or drink. Then as the sun is starting to set, we will catch the ferry from South Perth to the City, where we will walk the Christmas Light Trail around Elizabeth Quay, St Georges Tce, to Hay St, returning to South Perth via ferry.

We would love to see as many of you as possible, to meet new people, see new sights and get some
exercise.

If interested in either event, please respond to the event on the Facebook SPR Chicks page, or by emailing women@southperthrouleurs.com.au

Cheers,
SPR Chicks

 

 

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

1. WCMCC Speed Dome Criterium

 

From the Ride Coordinator — With TOMR on this weekend there’ll be fewer people on both Saturday and Sunday rides. This means that groups are likely to contain a wider mix of capability. Please factor this in when setting the pace, and deciding which group to ride with.

There has been a disturbing rise in crashes on both Saturday and Sunday rides recently, and most concerning is the number of crashes involving multiple riders. Lets all take a step back and enjoy the outing. Races are for racing – SPR rides are for training and for enjoyment, and our number one core value is SAFETY. Our stats and anecdotal evidence confirm that the best way to improve safety is to pay attention; mostly to the wheel in front of you, but also to the people and hazards around you.

12-15 riders is an ideal group size. If the group looks or becomes too big, split it into two – with stronger riders in front. It means less waiting at the top for strong riders, less struggling to keep up for the not-as-strong, and safer more enjoyable ride for all.

Should be familiar routes for most this weekend. Take some time to check the route for those who aren’t sure, and enjoy the ride.

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 5th November

Sunday 6th November

Monday 7th November

Tuesday 8th November

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

Wednesday 9th November

Thursday 10th November

Friday 11th November

Ride Routes 29th October – 4th November

One week to go! Tour of Margaret River 2022 here we come.

The Tour de Gracetown just gone and Tour of Margaret River coming up represent the club’s biggest events in terms of member participation. Check out all the photos down below.

Bring it on.

Daniel

 

Tour de Gracetown — What fabulous weather for the Tour de Gracetown with 52 riders, the majority female and 20 doing the event for the first time.

For many this was their first event over 100km and with an elevation gain of 963m, a big congratulations to all who participated. The ride finished at Juniper Estate for pizzas and wine with many relaxing on the lawn enjoying the festival feel. It was a great weekend to get to know other cyclists and their partners with a recovery ride the following day and morning tea at the Berry Farm. This was followed with a catchup at the Ginversity; the balance between cycling and socialising was actively maintained and seriously supported.

Seems there is a lot of interest in participating again next year.   

 

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

1. MCC Midland Traders 100

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Almost November, and rain forecast again for Saturday. Take extra care – many in the groups will be tapering for TOMR, and the last thing anyone wants is an accident the week before a big event (think South St November 2018, 5-bike pile-up, two in hospital).

For those that want, we have an SPR  Zwift option on Saturday.

One way everyone can reduce risk is to preview the route and know where the tricky parts are; roundabouts, sharp turns, steep descents etc. Not all of these are obvious on a map so ask if you’re unfamiliar, and ride with extra caution if you’re unsure. Sunday has two new routes again, but both are new combinations of existing segments – nothing unfamiliar.

Enjoy whichever ones you choose to ride.

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 29th October

Sunday 30th October

Monday 31st October

Tuesday 1st November

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

Wednesday 2nd November

Thursday 3rd November

Friday 4th November

Ride Routes 22nd – 28th October

Lots happening again this week. We start with a shoutout to Jake, Dale and John who participated in the Audax WA earlier this month – Jake in the Crazy Edition™️ (1,200km anyone) and Dale & John in the respectable but much more sensible edition. Nicely done gents.

Last weekend was the Peel Classic 2022 including the State Road Champs. With lot’s of green in the mix, I have again reproduced our racing recap below to make sure no one misses it.

Tonight we have the launch of the SPR Tour of Margaret River 2022 Team Kit. Photos to follow!

And this weekend coming up sees the Tour de Gracetown, again with a serious contingent in green. I look forward to photos on the flip side 💚

Enjoy the riding.

Daniel

  

Jake’s Audax WA Report — We set off for my fist multiday endurance ride at 0500 from South Perth near Coode st with 21 other similarly crazy riders, the majority from intersate and several from overseas. I was the only rider not to have riden 1,200km. 

Dale and John from SPR rode the first 200km to Bunbury.  The weather was a shocker with rain and headwinds for the first 2 days.  Suffice it to say riding 367km on the first day was rugged and I arrived at the Nannup Community centre at 8:30pm after 14 hours in the saddle. If you think that’s bad the last rider came at 7:30am the next morning. We were fed by the lovely vollies and then crashed in my swag, till my alarm work me at 4:00am to do it all again the next day.

The next 2 days were similarly rugged. I rode with some really experienced multiday riders and learnt a lot about how to get through crazy long distances. One lady (Sasha from Armadale) was doing 1,200km and then an 800km ride 2 days later! There were quite a few non finishers (4 that I know of), but everyone slugged it out. Saw some areas of the state you wouldn’t dream of visiting. The last day dawned brighter with some sun and tail winds. Dale and John arrived from Perth for the last leg which at only 200km felt easy!!  Thanks to Dale for the draft. Pretty sore in the saddle area but otherwise richer for the experience.  Much wiser also. 

Wont be rushing to do the event when it returns in 4 years but happy to support or give advice to anyone keen. 

Jake (mental health uncertain)

 

Tour de Gracetown — Sending a shoutout and best wishes to everyone riding in the Tour de Gracetown this weekend.

I look forward to a report plus photos when all is said and done. Enjoy 😎

 

Peel Classic 2022 including State Road Champs — Our Wednesday Racing Recap (original here, complete with more photos!) takes us to the beautiful little town of Boddington nestled on the Hotham River in the Peel region, a brand new course for the Peel District Cycling Club ‘s 2022 Peel Classic incorporating the Auscycling WA Open, U19 and Masters’ Road Racing Championships.

The Open Men raced 136km with 1350m elevation and all other categories 76km with 800m (approximately). There was a great showing from SPR on a sometimes blustery but very scenic route and congratulations to our Podiums:

WMAS2 : 2nd Nancy Tippaya;
WMAS3 : 1st Olesya Alutina and 2nd Rhianna Farrell; &
WMAS6 : 1st Annie Bramley

Larissa Boon was our only competitor in Women’s Open for a gallant 7th.

MMAS1 : 2nd Mark Claydon;
MMAS2 : 1st Shae Watmore 2nd Lyndon Greeshaw;
MMAS3 : 3rd Christian Mattiaccio & a close 4th Elar Kalda;
MMAS4 : 3rd Giovanni (John) Carnicelli;
MMAS6 : 2nd David Menarry &
MMAS8 : 1st Stuart Gee

We had a handful of Members race Men’s Open with Callum Millard-Webb best placed for 10th in a close race indeed.

Great to see “our Adam” Ralph back home from Italy and straight into WA racing !

Thanks for the photos PDCC and of course our thanks to The Club, AusCycling – WA Clubs and Community and all the wonderful volunteers who make our racing happen.

 

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

1. WCMCC Herne Hill – Season Final Graded Scratch Road Race

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Rain again as I write this, but good weather for the weekend, or at least for Saturday and early Sunday. Not sure if it’s the weather, but there does seem to be lot’s of flu going around at the moment, mixed in with a bit of Covid (round 2/3/4). As regulations around isolation become more relaxed nation-wide, the responsibility comes back to us as individuals to do the right thing so as to avoid putting others at risk; avoid group rides if you have any flu-like symptoms.

Last week’s new hills ride routes produced some interesting feedback, which we’ll take on board with some tweaks to the routes, and more reminders to check the routes before the ride. We’ll go back to some more familiar ones this week.

After a crash in last weeks EBR, following distances have been getting some attention – both for bikes in your group, and for cars that may have slowed up. Your following distance/proximity to others needs to match your reflexes. Chat to your ride leaders if you think the group are at risk for any reason. It’s part of what we do – looking out for each other.

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 22nd October

Sunday 23rd October

Monday 24th October

Tuesday 25th October

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

Wednesday 26th October

Thursday 27th October

Friday 28th October

Ride Routes 15th – 21st October

Good evening all, there has been a lot on this past week – both on and off the bike.

The weekend just gone saw the Gravel Worlds, with significant representation from SPR, as well as our own Jarrahdale Team Time Trial. See below for some photos as well as Mandy’s racing recaps – reproduced with permission just in case you missed them 😎.

During the week we had one of our regular Ride Leader Workshops, complete with some newly minted Ride Leaders. Kudos Jane Maxwell, Mandy McEvoy, Tom Goerke, Greg Hocking, Maurice Herrmann and Jake Harper.

This weekend sees the MACA Cancer 200 ride (go team SPRockets) as well as Hutchy’s Memorial Ride.

Finally, with our Jarrahdale Team Time Trial being the first event that falls under the support of our Tour of Margaret River 2022 Edition, I would love to offer thanks to our generous sponsors.

See you out on the bike.

Daniel

ilberys Lawers xCeed Real Estate Bennett Law Total Marine Technology Cathay Mortgages Highbury Homes ID Fleet Hire Trestle Digital RF Resources Mt Hawthorn Family Practice

Jarrahdale Team Time Trial — another successful TTT Sunday, the third SPR hosted Event and the second time on the very punchy 30km Jarrahdale course.

Jarrahdale Race Director and SPR Club Race Officer, Steve Burns commented “All the teams performed admirably with some great overall performances. The mixed division went to SPR, with Shirley Vine, leading her charges. The Women’s A Grade went to SPR Womens 1, who rode with 4 riders in a standout performance and result. SPR Mens 1 were the defending champions from 2021 in Mens A Grade. They did not disappoint and set a new course record, 1 minute fast than their previous record to win for a second year. Overall a great day and special thanks to all the wonderful SPR volunteers who made it happen” Our sincerest thanks to Steve himself who does a mountain of work to get this Event up and running.

Congratulations to all the winners :

Men’s A : SPR 1 – Ben Bartley, John Carnicelli, Craig Denham, Jon-Paul Grygorcewicz, Sam Mettam & Michael Fitz.

Women’s A : SPR W1 – Rebecca Kelly, Kirstie Moore, Kate Nelligan & Nancy Tippaya.

Mixed : SPR Mixed 1 – Shirley Dow-Vine, Michael Du Plessis, Eamonn McNulty, Natalya Tsirigotis, Robert Wilson & Jon Nelson.

Thank you to our ToMR 22 Sponsors (we’ll announce them all in the Blog tomorrow) and a special thanks to Michael Gresham, the Legal Practise Director of Ilberys for coming out to Jarrahdale to watch the racing and present trophies and prize money.

📸 Photos thanks to Belinda Evans and Toby Brown

  

Ride Leader Workshop — Our SPR ride leaders met this week to officially welcome the new ride leader “Class of 22”. Congratulations and a special thank you to our newest volunteer ride leaders Jane Maxwell, Mandy McEvoy, Tom Goerke, Greg Hocking, Maurice Herrmann and Jake Harper. 5 of the 6 then joined our fantastic other ride leaders in workshopping ideas to develop their own skills and approaches to bringing to life our clubs core values of safe, organised, inclusive and social. Ideas from the night will be prioritised by our development and training committee, so we look forward to seeing those outcomes in the near future. It’s timely for all members to reflect on the importance of the ride lead programme and our great volunteer ride leaders who give their own time week after week to support our club.

 

SPR @ Gravel Worlds 2022 — how proud are we at SPR of the incredible feats of all our Member riders at the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships in Veneto, Italy this last weekend ? That’s obviously rhetorical as we’re so thrilled for everyone !

Racing the 140km course Saturday, chapeau :

Deb Kempe 1st W60-64 WORLD CHAMPION 🏆;
Vanessa Johnson 5th W50-54
Adelia Neethling 6th W45-49
Amy Currie 9th W40 – 49
Tony Lendrum 10th M50-54
Adam Ralph 25th M50-54.

A special mention to Perth’s Darcie Richards for 30th place in Women’s Elite.

Racing the 167km course Sunday, congratulations: Diego Gomez 17th M30-39 looking swish in his Mayeur Cycling Spain X SPR collaboration kit.

We’ll let the riders themselves tell us more about their incredible personal feats, all sacrificing a lot over the past few months to get to the start and their thrill of representing SPR and indeed Australia on the world stage. Safe onwards journey home all !

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

1. PDCC Peel Classic 2022 incl State Road Champs

2. WCMCC Baldivis Graded Scratch Road Race

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Variety is the spice of life – we love trying new things. Some of our Ride Leaders met recently to review some new options for Sunday hills rides. We approved four new long hills routes, and nine short routes. This Sunday sees the first roll out with both long and short routes being ridden for the first time. Please check the details in the links below and make notes or download to your Garmin/Wahoo if you have a memory like mine. A key difference for both on Sunday is that neither come back via Welshpool Rd, our usual home run. Long hills returns via Spencer & Sevenoaks Rds, and Short hills via Zigzag and Dundas Rd.

Feedback & suggestions are always welcome for new routes or improvements to existing ones, for both Saturday and Sunday rides. Speak to the ride leaders or committee members if you’d like to contribute. Enjoy the voyage of discovery.

Remember the Sunday Long and Short hills rides start at 6am, Social Hills starts at 7am.

Saturday 15th October

Sunday 16th October

Monday 17th October

Tuesday 18th October

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

Wednesday 19th October

Thursday 20th October

Friday 21st October

Ride Routes 8 – 14th October

If you’re watching the inaugural UCI Gravel World Championships this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for familiar faces — there is plenty of green and gold on the list — and also more than a little SPR green on display.

SPR members who will be on the start line are:

503 Amy Currie
512 Rhianna Farrell (*)
305 Diego Gomez
613 Vanessa Johnson
701 Deb Kempe
126 Tony Lendrum
552 Adelia Neethling
106 Adam Ralph

(*) Rhianna unfortunately came down ill and was unable to travel 😥

Not to mention Perth’s Darcie Richards in the elite women’s division.

Read more here and here.

Wishing everyone the best of success!

 

Bike Month — Our Committee’s Greg Jones, Shirley Vine – Dow and Mandy McEvoy along with Ride Leaders Faye Daglish – Jones and Iain Dow represented our great Club down at Mindeerup / Mend’s St Jetty Saturday afternoon for the WA Bike Month Launch seen here with WestCycle ‘s CEO Wayne Bradshaw and our Club’s Stuart Gee who wandered down to say G’day. Kirstie Moore also bought her sons down who enjoyed the mobile pump track on the foreshore.

 

 

Ride Leader Workshop — A reminder for our ride leaders, that we have our next workshop coming up this Wednesday.

Thank you to Adrian Emilsen of Melody Wheels for hosting. Thank you also to Bike Month for the small grant which has helped cover costs for this event.

Date: Wednesday 12/Oct 6:30pm

Location: Unit 7 / 4 Pritchard Street, O’Connor, WA 6163

RSVP: Eventbrite

More Bike Month Events — Check out WestCycle’s website here.

There are a number of opportunities to celebrate with Jai Hindley following his win at the Giro. Details on FB here and here. This is a free event.

There is also a paid event supporting Junior Cycling Development at Midland Cycling Club – where it all began for Jai. See all the details here.

 

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

1. SPR Jarrahdale Team Time Trial 2022

2. WCMCC Chidlow B Graded Scratch Road Race

 

From the Ride Coordinator — I was reminded this week of the need for regular maintenance – by your local bike shop, yourself or whoever you trust. In my case it was brake pads worn out – both front and rear. Luckily I had plenty of spares at home and could replace them quickly, but this isn’t always the case. Bike shops get busy before big events – and with TOMR and Cape to Cape looming, now is a good time to book your bikes in and make sure they’re in good shape for upcoming events, and Summer!

On Saturday we get a chance to meet and ride with Jai Hindley. Why don’t you cruise down to Barrack Square after coffee, and join Jai and lots of fans for a ride down Riverside Drive – with fully closed roads.

More info here. 

Saturday 8th October

Sunday 9th October

Monday 10th October

Tuesday 11th October

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

Wednesday 12th October

Thursday 13th October

Friday 14th October

Ride Routes 1st – 7th October

There has been a lot going on in and around cycling these past few weeks, not the least of which being that “our Annemiek” capped off an incredible year (so far) with a World Championship win. Kudos.

In the green, we have some classic stories from Arletta in Europe (photos below and check out our Racing Recap from yesterday), from Nancy at Amy’s (photos below and check out FB). I know we also had members participating in the Tour of WA earlier this month though I’ve not seen photos yet 😎

There is also lots of opportunities coming up in the next few weeks, both on and off the bike. There is our Jarrahdale Team Time Trial, the October SPR Chicks ride, Bike Month, a number of events celebrating Jai Hindley’s Giro win as well as the Hutchy Memorial Ride for Andrew Hutchison. All the details below.

See you out on the bike.

Daniel

What a year
In the green
Our Annemiek
Arletta 2nd!
In the green
Nancy @ Amy’s

 

Sunday 2 October at 7am meeting and ending at Lo Quay Cafe, Wilson – Coffee/food to end the ride. See FB event here.

 

Bike Month — WestCycle is hosting a “blast-off” even this Saturday. All the details on WestCycle’s website. SPR will be there – look out for the green!

https://westcycle.org.au/bikemonthblast-off/

 

 

Hutchy Memorial Ride — Following the tragic news last week of the accident that resulted in the death of Andrew Hutchison, we would like to let everyone know that there is to be a memorial ride for Andrew held on 16 October. Everyone in the wider cycling community is invited to take part. FB post here.

The details are as follows:

Date – Sunday 16 October
Start time – 6.30am
Start point – Woodvale Bike Shop
Destination – iamFIT Cafe, Joondalup Drive

This is a short 20-ish km social loop and there may well be a police escort depending on turnout.

 

SPR Jarrahdale Team Time Trial — We are very pleased to announce that entries are open to SPR’s Jarrahdale Team Time Trial for 2022.

It is perfectly placed as preparation for the Tour of Margaret River, and will run in Shire of Jarrahdale on the same challenging 30km course as last year. The course is undulating and includes a total of 440m of climbing — designed to provide riders with a very similar experience to Day 1 at the Tour of Margaret River.

The time trial is open to teams of 6 riders (minimum of 4 ) with the team time taken from the 4th rider crossing the finish line. Teams will be released on regular intervals of between 1 and 2 minutes depending on number of teams entered.

All the details on Facebook and tickets on EntryBoss.

If you have any questions, get in touch via our Facebook page or on race@southperthrouleurs.com.au.

 

There are a number of opportunities to celebrate with Jai Hindley following his win at the Giro. Details on FB here and here. This is a free event.

There is also a paid event supporting Junior Cycling Development at Midland Cycling Club – where it all began for Jai. See all the details here.

 

 

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

1. PDCC State Junior Road Champs, State Open/Masters Kermesse Champs

2. [Upcoming] SPR Jarrahdale Team Time Trial 2022

 

 

 

From the Ride Coordinator — Finally – a week of good weather – and all this following an extra long weekend. The great training catch-up we all needed.

As the days get longer, a reminder that our sunday hills start times will change to 6am from 9th October. This is to avoid riding in the heat in summer, and gets us back home sooner (so we can mow the lawn and do all those other fun tasks in the heat of the day instead 🤣). Social short hills will remain with 7am start.

This Sunday stays at 7am start for all rides.

We’ve noticed a few more E-bikes appearing in our group rides. We’re happy to welcome all riders, but if you’re an E-bike rider, please ride at the pace of the group, and avoid long pulls in front, as this can disrupt the experience for the other riders.

As many riders are pushing a bit harder for TOMR training, remember to maintain concentration during rides – particularly the harder ones. Inattention is by far the greatest cause of crashes, and it can happen to anyone, but only if we let it. Watch that wheel in front, stay focussed, stay safe, and enjoy the warm weather.

Saturday 1st October

Sunday 2nd October

Monday 3rd October

Tuesday 4th October

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

Wednesday 5th October

Thursday 6th October

Friday 7th October