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Adventurer for a cause

Christophe Borrel Ducroz from SPR – Adventurer for a cause

The Telethon Adventurers was founded by Perth’s Rick Parish, who was devastated by the death of his toddler son Elliot, who fought a brave battle with Medulloblastoma (Terminal Brain and Spinal Cancer).

Whilst the treatment the Parish family received in Princess Margaret Hospital was of the highest quality, he resolved to become involved in aiding research to find a cure for this deadly disease in children.

In early 2010, together with his friend Peter Wilson (former champion Eagles footballer), he established The Adventurers. The primary aim was to fundraise, with the result of all efforts directly provided to the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Total Care Unit – Ward 3 (the children’s cancer ward).

In 2010 The Adventurers launched ‘The Mont Blanc Project 2010’. This involved an attempt to reach the summit of Mont Blanc (the highest mountain in Western Europe). The challenge was undertaken by 19 people from all walks of life. Each Adventurer committed to raise a minimum of $20,000 towards the cause, separate to them personally covering all the costs of their adventure.

Together with other fundraising events, The Adventurers successfully raised and donated $920,000 in this first year. This enabled the purchase of a 3D Molecular Imaging machine, costing $650,000 by the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.

The Adventurers’ success was recognised by Telethon, with Mr Kerry Stokes AM agreeing to partner with the group over five years (2011 to 2016), under the name of The Telethon Adventurers.

Through the association with Telethon and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research the Telethon Adventurers has a bright and exciting future that will deliver equipment, research funding, brain tumour treatment drugs and services to sick children in Western Australia.

Teams of Adventurers continue to participate in various adventures each year, as part of the ongoing commitment to Telethon.  They attempt to summit the Mont Blanc in ‘The Climb for Elliot’; ride from Esperance to Perth in ‘The Woolworths Ride for Elliot’; ride Harley Davidson motorcycles on the West Coast of the USA on ‘The Tour for a Cure’; climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in ‘The Climb for Childhood Cancer’ and more.

Individual Adventurers like SPR cyclist Christophe Borrel Ducroz also undertake activity that offers an opportunity to contribute to this very important cause.

The aim is to raise in excess of $2 million dollars per year and he would like to invite you to become a part of this worthwhile journey that has already, and will continue to, improve the lives of sick and terminally ill children.

In August, Christophe will be competing as a Telethon Adventurer in the Haute Route from Geneva in Switzerland to Nice in France. The Haute Route is the world’s highest and toughest cycling race over seven days, 800km, 21,000m of cumulative climbing and 19 mountainous passes. You can read much more about this incredible race here: http://www.hauteroute.org/en/

Every little bit counts and anything you can offer would be very much appreciated by the eventual benefactors – children with terminal cancer. Donating online is easy. Simply click here to go directly to his donation page: http://www.theadventurers.com.au/content/our_adventurers/christophe_borrel_ducroz/31

 

ride routes 21st & 22nd july

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it’s tour time and i should be excited.  i have been waiting all year for this and am currently feeling very blah about the whole event.  not really sure what it is exactly and maybe it is a combination of things that have made me feel a little disappointed.

  1. i know cadel could be riding better.  he has won it before.  the last 2 mountain stages of the 2011 tour were awesome and he just put the whole race on his shoulders and did what he had to do to win.  just not seeing that this year and it is a bit disappointing.  not that i think he should retire or anything, but he is just not on form like last year.
  2. the course.  what is it with getting rid of most of the mountain top finishes???  are they trying to make it easier for cav???  the alps hardly even featured and when it did, there was a big descent or even worse, a HC climb followed by a 100km flat section to finish off.  what GC rider is going to attack the climb so they can be pulled back by a team train.
  3. the sterile and robotic sky team.  besides the little “faux pas” when froome dropped wiggo, they have played the team game to perfection.  possibly too perfect.  i think that i like to see my tour winners show a little emotion, whether it is aggression or suffering.  the yellow wiggle has shown neither.  the only person that seems to want to animate the tour is nibali and as i write this he has attacked on the first climb.  shame he will just be reeled back in by a bunch of aussies in wolfs sky clothing.
  4. i totally suck at our tour tipping comp.  that makes it hard to follow when your tip seems to be the kiss of death for any rider.

spr pyrenees trip – as you may know, there are some of the spr crew over in france enjoying the scenery/race/hill climbs.  unfortunately, it hasn’t all gone to plan and cathi dixon took a tumble during a descent.  there were luckily no other cars or bikes involved, but she went over the handle bars and landed on her back.  as a result she was helicopter evac’d to Pau hospital with some broken vertabrae, rib, clavicle.  she is recovering and the spr crew over there are working through all of the insurance, flight home etc. and they have been in contact with her family to keep them informed.  as i am sure that she will eventually see the blog, if you want to post some well wishes to cathi, add them to the comments below and we wish her a speedy recovery.

upcoming events – you may have seen the previous posts about the Cerebral Palsy “Big Wheelie Challenge” and the Pinjarra Classic.  these are a couple of events that the spr crew will be involved in over the next couple of weeks.  click on the links for more information and let us know if you want to join in.

tour tipping – the tour tipping enters it’s final week and there is a clear leader in the gc competition.  still anyone’s game in the other divisions so keep your tips coming.  no-one has been able to pick the more obscure stage wins so the points have jackpotted. (i am sure that is not really a word).

ride routes – there has been a request for the main 3 hills ride to be a fortnightly event.  as long as we continue to get numbers then i am happy to do this.  it may even turn into a long and short hills the same as the sunday rides.  we will see.  there does seem to be an issue with the transitional ride at the moment.  the last few weeks have only seen 1 or 2 riders show up and as such have ridden with main 3 instead.  i am guessing the combination of tour, school holidays and the cold weather has scared a few off.  winter riding = just wear more clothes.

saturday 21st july

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 – spr saturday 39.81km (shelley & bannister)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.69km (holmes rd)

saturday hills – spr sunday 90.23km (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd)

(head straight out shep rd to welshpool)

main 3 hills – spr sunday 52.25 (welshpool)

sunday 22nd july

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 101.86km (welshpool & mundaring & kalamunda)

ride routes 14th & 15th july

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there is only 1 jens

there is only 1 jens.  he is the cyclists version of chuck norris.  he is an animal and i don’t know anyone that doesn’t think he is awesome.  it will be a great loss to cycling when we finally retires, but he is already 40 and probably wants to spend some more time with his 6 children.

am i happy with the tour at the moment???  i’m not sure.  feel a bit let down with cadel so far back after only the 1st week.  not let down by cadel, but probably more by how much better wiggo is.  there is 2 weeks to go and anything can happen, but it looks like wiggo has this one in the bag.

i’m not actually that happy with the course this year either.  there are only 3 mountain top finishes and so the big boys won’t attack on the climbs as they know they will get caught on the run into the finish.

however, we already have a bunch of spr riders over in france.  keep your eyes out as i know that ali, jens and anna were on the main climb on yesterday’s stage.  the spr pyrenees camp will be based around the stages in the third week where we will have about 16 people over there.

spr accessories – we will see if we have enough numbers to fill an order after this weekend.  try the gloves on at the coffee shop and put your order in this weekend.  summer, spring and winter gloves and booties available.

cyclo-sportif waroona – we have one team entered in this event for this weekend.  good luck to those involved and pack a jacket as it will be cold.

ride routes – not much to report on the ride routes this week.  the main groups have a nice and flat/fast route on saturday and the sunday long involves one of the longest climbs we have (brookton & peet combined).  it should be fun.  there was a bit of a challenge set last weekend to see if anyone was going to pay homage to the tour by doing the sunday double and smashing out +150kms.  no takers last week…maybe this week.

saturday 14th july

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 – spr saturday 39.81km (shelley & bannister)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.09km (abernathy rd)

saturday hills – spr sunday 87.72km (kahuna & peet & patterson)

sunday 15th july

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 82.79km (brookton & weir rd)

long – spr sunday 101.29km (roleystone & observatory)

spr accessories – changes

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well the gloves and booties order has been pretty bad, really.  we don’t have close to enough to really fulfill an order.  i was wondering whether all the discussion about designs and colours for next year kit may have cooled some people on getting gloves that match the current kit.  it would not matter that much as our club colours are green, black and white, so any redesign will still need to incorporate those colours.

however, i am also aware that people do also wear other kits besides the club kit and as such, green branded gloves may not go that well.  so in an effort to provide gloves and booties that complement the current and future kits, as well as allowing you to show your club allegiance while wearing that rapha hipster kit, the suggestion has been made to neutralise the colours and provide all black accessories.

this means that all styles of gloves and booties will be plain black with the basic spr logo on them.  this also allows you to wear a trade team kit and still show you belong to spr.

anyone that has already ordered that is not happy with this, can request a refund (but as it stands, i will have to give you one anyway due to lack of interest).  the designs on the orders page will change in due course, but hopefully this will generate a few more orders.  order page can be found here.

 

ride routes 7th & 8th july

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to offset last weeks post of gweneth, here is a half naked matthew mcconaughey

with the tour underway, things like sleep, family, friends and work start to suffer.  this is a common affliction but take heart that for once, the 2 hr time difference to the east coast falls in our favor.  even worse if you are a kiwi and you have to get up at 1am to watch the race.  the coverage has been excellent, as usual, and regardless of how you feel about the commentators, at least we get to see it live.  when i first started to watch the tour (way back in the late 80’s) the only coverage was a 5min segment as part of channel nine’s wide world of sport.  in those days, there was a 3 hr sports program on a saturday arvo that covered all the main sporting events.  no ipad apps or streaming footage.  just a week of cycling squeezed into a 5-10 min segment.

focus group – it is the first sunday of the month and as such we will be running the focus group ride.  if you have any kids under 10, feel free to bring them along.  more info here.

spr accessories – the orders are now open for the accessories order.  gloves and booties will be available in spr colours.  keep your fingers and toes warm this winter and get your kit matching for summer.  head over to the team kit page for order details.  orders will remain open till the end of next week.  you can try on the different style at the cafe on saturday.

tour tipping – well with the tour underway, the tipping comp is going strong.  there are 25 teams currently registered and the chase for sprint points and stage wins in on in earnest.  a winner has been picked in every stage so far as there have been no real surprises.  the team that guessed the closest time in the prologue was mine (team BumChin) but as i already have a custom bike, i will forgo the bike fitting and give it to the runner-up, team ramrod (luke ellis) who was 1 second off.

ride routes – there has been a request for a main 3 speed hills ride on saturday and the forum suggested that there may be some interest.  this group will be doing up welshpool and home via lesmurdie rd.  it will follow the saturday hills ride out to the bottom of welshpool so that the group has some protection in numbers.  we will see how it goes this week and will determine if it is to be a regular ride.

saturday 7th july

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 – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.23km (ewen st)

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

main 3 hills ride – spr sunday 52.25 (welshpool) (follow saturday hills out to the hills)

ride starts adjacent to the boatshed cafe at 9:30am

focus group – slow ride with kids (under 10ish) to the causeway and back

sunday 8th july

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 70.93km (kahuna)

long – spr sunday 101.68km (carradine & canning dam)

the focus group

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well this saturday is the first saturday of the month so that means that we will be running “the focus group” after the main ride.  this ride started with a group called “therapy focus” that helps disabled kids to get out and have a go at different activities.  they contacted us to see if we would help out with some families that showed some interest in cycling.  we have run about 3 or 4 sessions with varied success (mostly due to weather), but there are some hardcore families that have turned up regardless.

what we would like to do is expand this a bit and open it up to more of our club.  there are a few people that have helped out the last few months, which has been great, but i am now thinking about any kids of our riders.  the ride goes from the boatshed cafe (coode st carpark) along the bike path to the causeway and back.  the pace is slow and it is more about encouraging the kids to ride.  what i am proposing is that any riders out there with kids (usually under 10 yrs old) that would like to come along are also welcome.

this is a two-fold approach.  firstly it provides an opportunity for some of the much younger kids in our wider family to get out on the bike, and secondly, it provides some social interaction for the kids from therapy focus.

the ride starts at 9:30am near the boatshed and is usually finished in and hour.  you can do the main group ride, have your coffee and then ride over to south perth to join in.  i encourage you to get involved with this and we will see what it can develop into.

members benefits helmets

so, anyway, i popped into Ride Advice on monday and grabbed myself a new giro ionos helmet with our members benefit deal.  i was served by simon who used to work at cycle-buzz but before that used to work at bikeforce south perth.  simon was the ride leader for the rides that pre-date the spr rides.

so if you are looking for a new helmet, flash your membership card and you can grab one for the discounted price of $250 ($299 rrp).  most importantly, it has the all important aussie standards sticker that you really do need to be road legal.

ride routes 30th june & 1st july

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gweneth paltrow wondering why she was getting stuck on the front doing all the work. i think a lot of the guys were having trouble passing her.

a great turn out last week at the cyclo-sportif with seven spr teams participating.  the “spr 1” team had the fastest average at around 40km/hr.  the all girls team put in a great showing as well, putting to shame some of the all guy teams they passed.

the winter solstice was last week so we are through the shortest day of the year.  it will only get better (and wetter) as we head towards spring.  pretty soon we will be chasing the sun again on the earlybird rides.  this weekend is predicted to be great riding weather with not too cold overnight temps and low to mid 20’s during the day.  i expect to see a few more on the bike this weekend.

website relocation – as you may have seen during the week we relocated the website to a different server.  when i originally set up the blog, the traffic was very low and the content was very basic.  over the years it has developed into something that is well and truly out of my area of expertise and i have had to call on some local experts in the club to help out.  we are now running on a more stable server so should see a decrease in downtime.  a big thanks to andrew, scott, michael, daniel and jordan for all their help in getting it set up.

spr survey – the survey will close off on sunday so we can collate the results.  there are already some interesting findings coming out of it and we will also endeavor to answer some of your questions.  you can find the survey here.

tour tipping comp – the tipping comp is up and running and everything is set for saturday evening when the first stage is run.  to make the prologue a bit more exciting, there will also be another prize for the team that guesses closest to the winning time.  a bike fit by PIHC will be the prize.  when you make your selection, put a time next to their name.  for those that have already put their tip in, send me an email and i will update their comment.  if you want to enter the tipping comp, you can find more info here.  the first race tips need to be in by 6pm on saturday.  the comments should close off after that time so that you can’t enter your tip.

spr accessories – the orders are now open for the accessories order.  gloves and booties will be available in spr colours.  keep your fingers and toes warm this winter and get your kit matching for summer.  head over to the team kit page for order details.

pickering brook race – race 2 of the series is on this sunday.  there are quite a few spr riders involved so you won’t be on your own if you want to give it a try.  lots of grades so there is something for everyone.

ride routes – the main route on saturday is not a common one so make sure you know where you are going.  to keep it around the 50km mark, it heads back along stirling hwy.  this is a double lane road with plenty of room for traffic to get around and should be fine as long as you stick together.  if you are uncomfortable with this, then heading home via dalkeith will add another 5kms to the route.  decide as a group which way you want to come home.  sunday we will be avoiding the pickering brook area as the race is being held.

saturday 30th june

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 – spr saturday 41.18km (reverse river ride)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.92km (morley drive)

saturday hills – spr sunday 90.23km (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd)

sunday 1st july

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 63.49km (gooseberry & kalamuda)

long – spr sunday 100.45km (darlington & mundaring)

spr kit accessories

ok, we have finalised the kit accessories and the orders are now open.  there are three types of gloves (summer, spring & winter) and two types of booties (lycra & windtex).  there will be some samples available to try on at the coffeeshop on saturday and you can estimate your size from what is available.  these are a different style than the last accessories order we did, so the sizes may be a bit different.

head over to the team kit page and put your order in now.  drink bottles and spr t-shirts are also still available.  orders will close in about 2 weeks.