All posts by peter

uci world cycling tour

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so this week is the culmination of quite a lot of extra training from some of our members.  the uci world cycling tour has given the older to elder bike riders something to aim for as far as events are concerned.  the time trial will be held on rottnest on thursday and the road race around kings park on saturday.

the start lists have been published and the road race has been broken into three groups of combined age groups.  basically, it is the “younger than 40”, “older than 40 but younger than 50” and the “older than 50” groups all starting 3 min apart beginning at 7:30am.  It would be great to get a bit of support  from those in spr that will not be racing that day, and i think it would be great if after the saturday ride, you got take-away coffees and came to watch.  probably the best place to see the action would be on malcolm st hill between the end of st georges terrace and kings park rd.  this will be the slowest part of the course and the bit that the riders will need the most support on.

the time trial on thursday has the following spr riders –

UWCT TIME TRIAL FULL LIST
Name Age Gender Start time
Shane Gorman 44 Male 10:22:00
Wes Gorman 40 Male 10:26:30
Jason Cawthorne 36 Male 10:33:00
Nicholas Wachter 31 Male 10:37:30
Daniel Berry 30 Male 10:38:30

the road race on saturday has the following spr riders in the ages groups shown –

Group 1 – Start 7.30am
Name Age Gender
Daniel Berry 30 Male
Claire Aubrey 31 Female
Nicholas Wachter 31 Male
Carlos De Oliveira 32 Male
Lisa Wood 33 Female
Dianne McAuliffe 33 Female
     
Matt Upton 35 Male
Christopher Ainsworth 36 Male
Jason Cawthorne 36 Male
Brendan Nichol 37 Male
Peter Mah 39 Male
Group 2 – Start 7.33am
Name Age Gender
Paul Owen 40 Male
John Gilbertson 40 Male
Jeff Jorgensen 40 Male
Andrew Wong 40 Male
Andrew Ballam 40 Male
Neil Manning 42 Male
Jerard Ghossein 44 Male
     
Simon Millichip 47 Male
Group 3 – Start 7.36am
Name Age Gender
Michael Bonner 50 Male
Neville Mills 53 Male
Stuart Gee 54 Male
Mark Schneider 54 Male
Frank Calcei 55 Male
     
John Phillips 58 Male

the full startlist can be found here.

ride routes 9th & 10th april

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ok, so it rained..a bit.  the forecast says a few more showers expected and not a 30 degree in sight.  may even have to bring out the new armwarmers and vest this week.  or even the new long sleeve winter jersey…not that cold yet.

peter clark classic – this race is on this weekend and does laps around the observatory.  i will be bringing the tent and esky, so if anyone wants to bring their own cheer squad along, there will be somewhere to sit.  it is a circuit race, so we pass by the start finish line a number of times.

uci race – next weekend there will be a number of us racing around kings park for the uci masters race.  we would love to have you guys come and cheer us on after the saturday morning ride.

easter camp – coming up fast.  register your interest via the link on the right.

spr in europe – as you have seen during the week, davina is over in europe racing in a uci women’s team.  she has updated her blog and promises me that she will keep it updated.  you can find it here or via the menu on the right.  subscribe to get updates sent to your email.

ride routes – strong easterlys are predicted for saturday, so why don’t we do benara rd.  well, why don’t we all do benara rd.  on sunday, the course will head up welshpool rd so that those that are racing can do a warm-up hill.  be aware that when you get up there there will be a race on.  the long course will miss the observatory climb and the short course needs to go follow the long course on the first climb and then head down lawnbrook as well.  the main guys that lead the sunday ride will probably be racing, so make sure you know the ride routes (with the variations above)

saturday 9th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional 1 – spr saturday 39.04km (benara rd)

fast, main 1, 2 & 3 – spr saturday 50.98km (benara rd)

sunday 10th april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

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

long – spr sunday 87.99km (welshpool & observatory & camelberg & gooseberry)

important that you read the notes above

 

spr ride etiquette

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there has been quite a bit of talk lately and a few posts about people in the various groups not behaving properly during rides.  some of this is how we act in relation to the general public and some of this is how we treat the other people in the group.  by this i don’t mean that people are being mean or nasty to anyone, but people just not being aware of the impact that their actions are having on the group.

so, if any of you are fairly new and have emailed me recently, you most likely would have received a reply that had the following line – “have a look at our ride etiquette guide so you know what we expect”.

for those of you that have forgotten, here is a link and i will be explaining some of the finer points now.

 

  • SAFETY is always the number one priority of any SPR group ride

wow, who would have thought that everyone wants to stay upright.  don’t do anything that may adversely affect the safety of others.

  • Choosing to participate in an SPR group ride means you have chosen to be part of a team

this means that the group that you have decided to ride in is the pace that you should be riding at.  if you want to drop down to a slower group for the day for an easier ride, that is fine, but don’t show how “strong” you are by smashing the group apart.  look over you shoulder occasionally to make sure the group is still together.

  • Give and receive advice graciously

when someone tells you that you are not holding a good line, or you are surging, don’t just ignore them.  people generally won’t really speak up until you are consistently doing something that may affect others safety.  have a think about what you are doing.

  • Obey the road rules
  • Remember… our actions as individual riders reflect upon SPR as a whole

besides that fact that the road rules are there to stop you being killed, the respect we get on the road from motorists can be attributed to the respect we give them.  if we cut them off, slide down between cars and go through red lights, don’t expect that they will want to be courteous to us.  also, wearing the spr kit means that you are representing the club.  everything that you do reflects upon the club as a whole whether it is on the road or bike path, on a group ride or on your own, you are part of the club.

  • Riding in Formation

there is a whole section on riding in formation that people seriously need to look at.  the whole point of our training rides is that you are not riding by yourself.  if you can’t seem to grasp some of the basic points under this section, you may need to spend some time in the novice and transitional groups.  it doesn’t matter if you have spend $10,000 on a new bike and have all the gear, if you are not following the rules, riding correctly and listening to the ride leaders, then maybe you shouldn’t be riding with us.

  • Obey the road rules

i put this one in again as it is important.  watch the video and see if you can identify just which road rule was being breached. ok, so the heading may have given it away, but if the 6 guys in front of you can stop, then so can you.


 

peter clark classic

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this weekend the peter clark classic will be held by northern districts cycle club.  unlike the previous years, the course will not be the rough roads of the north but instead loops around the observatory. 

starting at carmel, the course winds out towards pickering brook before climbing up the “easy” side of the observatory.  after a nice descent, there is one last power climb back to the finish line.  the course is 14kms long and the “a” graders do 8 laps, “b” does 6, women do 5 and “c” grade do 4.  if you are planning on doing the uci race next weekend, this will be a good warm up event to test the legs.  if you regularly do the sunday hills ride, then this race is also for you.

the flyers are attached below, but registrations are due by midnight tonight and can be found here.

there are also day licences available so those without a full racing licence can still enter.

flyer – map

add your name to the comments below if you are doing this race so we can organise the tent and refreshments.

Ronde van Vlaanderen

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as most of you diehard fans will know, the tour of flanders is on this weekend.  sbs has a live telecast of the event if you want to stay up till the wee hours of monday morning.  last years race was an absolute pearler with fabian and tommeke breaking away from the pack before fabian engaged his motor to power away to take the victory.

here is a youtube link to last years highlights.

what you probably don’t know is that there is an elite women’s field who race at the same time albeit on a slightly shorter course.  they cover a number of the same climbs as the men and definitely have the same climbs that fabian broke away on.

here is a youtube link to last years women’s highlights.

what very few of you will know is that we have a club member racing in this event on the weekend.  davina summers has signed with a uci women’s team, bizkaia, and will be taking on the cobbled climbs of flanders.  this is an awesome opportunity and we wish her all the best in the race.

if you want to leave some feedback, please add it to the comments as i know she still reads the blog and would appreciate some support from home.

davina in team kit
new team bike

cycling trip to france – last chance

the closing date for this trip is coming up soon so if you are interested, get in contact with christophe.  below is a copy of the previous post.

a couple of years ago, christophe took a group of riders over to france for a week of riding some of the little climbs that they have over there.  this was probably pre-spr days so many of you would not have been around then. 

well he is looking at organising a trip again this year to provence and the cote d’azur in september.  see the attached flyer here, but essentially all the rides are controlled by three experienced tour leaders and will be followed by a service vehicle.  christophe is a native frenchman so you don’t even have to be able to speak a word of french.  this is limited to 20 people only, so if you are interested, get in contact with him soon. 

ride routes 2nd & 3rd april

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april fools day tomorrow.  my favourite quote for this occasion comes from the simpsons where homer says to bart “you couldn’t fool me on the fooliest day of your life if you had an electric fooling machine”.  bart then goes and puts a can of beer in a paint shaker before putting it back in the fridge.  actually, i am more likely to remember april fools day because it is my mum’s birthday.  regardless, come out on the april fool’s earlybird ride and everyone will think you are a fool riding around at 5:30am.  see you there.

club kit – a few left to pick up.  email me to organise a time.

spr/rccc club crit – this is the final crit that we will be running this season.  as such it is the final chance for you to give racing a go in a relatively easy environment.  if you get dropped here, there is not 50kms for you to ride home by yourself.  as in the previous post, we need volunteers for this to finish off the year.  if you haven’t helped out before, come along and do your bit for the club.  more info here.

easter camp – this is coming up soon.  click on the link on the right sidebar for more info and register your interest in the comments.  first pass itinerary can be found here.

ride routes – nothing too outstanding this week except that there is no hills ride scheduled as the club crits are on.

saturday 2nd april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional 1 – spr saturday 39.81km (shelley & bannister)

fast, main 1, 2 & 3 – spr saturday 54.03km (maddington & welshpool)

sunday 3rd april

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

no hills ride on as we have a club criterium on

 

ride routes 26th & 27th mar

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we are coming to the end of march but don’t seem to be coming to the end of summer.  can’t really complain as most of our riding is in the morning which has been quite pleasant lately.  the garden could do with a drink, but at least we are not being held up by rain like the rest of the country.  however, don’t look at the weather report to work out whether you will ride, look at the weather report to work out what you will wear while riding.

kit distribution – there are not that many kits left to pick up so i will not bother to bring them to the coffee shop on saturday.  please send me an email and arrange a pick-up time.

state crit champs – this weekend we are running the state crit champs with the rccc.  if you are not racing, please come down to help out as we need volunteers to get this event to run properly.  this is more than just a club crit, this is a state championship so we need to make a good impression.  please come on down, see more info here.

mtb series – there is also the first round of the mountain bike cross country on this weekend.  if you are looking at getting a bit dirty and want to give the fat tyres a spin head on down.  more info here.

spr/rccc crit series – the following weekend we will finish off the spr/rccc crit series.  come down for your last chance to race this circuit for the year.  we need volunteers for this one too.

easter camp – this is coming up soon.  click on the link on the right sidebar for more info and register your interest in the comments.

ride routes – on sunday, the short course will follow the long up kalamunda hill.  from there they can head down the zig-zag and up gooseberry for a second climb, or just head straight for coffee.  the biggest challenge is for the long course to not stop for coffee before they do the last climb up gooseberry.

saturday 26th march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional 1 – spr saturday 40.86km (rebold hill)

fast, main 1, 2 & 3 – spr saturday 48.74km (ridge hill rd)

sunday 27th march

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – follow the long course

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

 

kit size issues

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now this post is not for issues about the fit of the men’s jerseys around the shoulders.  that matter is being looked into and we hope to have resolution soon.

this post is for those that have ordered the wrong size of anything and are looking to swap.

add to the comments below what you have and what you require as well as some contact details.  hopefully we have enough kit floating around that most people can get their sizes sorted out.

agm & breakfast

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just a quick thanks to those that helped out on the day.

meg and lisa on the sign in table

john g and bill on bike security

kate, jono, emma, kimbo and garry for the friday night kit sorting

toby, emma, jono, paul g and kate for kit distribution

paul g for stapling the reports

lisa for looking after my tear-away boys.

outgoing committee members daryl, mike and lisa for their work last year

new incoming committee members cheryl, meg and jorgy

and thanks to peow from the esplanade river suites for organising the venue as my house is just not big enough any more

full minutes will be posted on the website once they become available