ride routes 16th – 22nd november

from a results perspective, last weekend was one of the most successful appearances for spr at the tour of margaret river ever. with 3 very competitive teams and 1 not so serious team fielded, there was some very good results posted.  there is a more detailed report coming soon, but as a taster a very solid showing by the men’s team that ended up in division a.  finishing 4th behind the dome team and with some gutsy results from john carnicelli who came 10th on stage 2 stuck in his big chain ring.  there were, however, up against a very stacked unicorn team with current national champions, ex-pros and beautiful hair.  the women’s team was engaged in a very emotional up and down battle with chaotic energy (who are also mostly spr members). taking stage wins in both road races (a 1st & 3rd both times), darcy also won the fastest u21 rider.  in the end the chaotic girls put on two solid team time trials to take the overall honours over spr and dome. from a personal perspective, i had an awesome tour.  yes i suffered through pretty much every stage, but i got to spend 25min straight talking to marrianne vos (pictured with our girls) as we rode along at the start of stage 3.  she dropped me on a later hill, but that good start made the rest tolerable.

tour of margs – from race@spr: Last weekend was a big showing from the SPR teams at Tour of Margaret River. We were also joined by photographer Zac Williams. Race reports and photos to come soon.

AusCycle – as most you have seen via social media, there is a change coming to the way that cycling will be run in the country.  the current cycling australia will cease to exist and AusCycle will take it’s place.  this will combine the road/track disciplines with mountain biking and bmx.  what they fail to mention is that going to this type of unity model also means that all funding gets centralised at head office…in melbourne.  this is the major concern amongst non-victorian associations as how that money gets doled out will be up to how the governing bodies sees fit.  what it also means, is that the state gov here has refused to fund a national body that may use that money for other states.  some states, like wa, have provided an alternative solution to how the new model will run.  CA/AusCycle have said that they didn’t ask for that and have only asked if associations want to be a part of the new structure.  overall it’s complicated.  kind of brexit-style complicated and the losers will likely be all of us.  club treasurer, daniel harvey, had been attending some of the road show presentations, so we will get a better run down soon.  the social media campaign by cycling aust has been very one sided, and rolling out past stars to “endorse” the new product is just a way of patching over the potential gaps.  what does it mean for us as a club??? well from a daily riding perspective, nothing should change.  from an insurance, racing, events & funding perspective, there could be some changes on the horizon.

hotel funivia – many of the spr members that have taken the trip over to ride in italy have tackled the famous stelvio.  odds are that they stayed at hotel funivia whils they were there.  next weekend the team from hotel funivia are in perth and will be on our saturday and sunday rides.  if you are thinking of riding the mountains in italy make sure you have a conversation with these guys whilst you have the chance.  check out the previous post for some more information.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  we had 5 with us last week including a first-timer who climbed 3 hills in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – This weekend marks another milestone for the club as we welcome the Class of 19 ! No, we are not talking about any graduates from high school or university or business school. But what I am referring to is something that other cycle clubs are envious of. Yes, we welcome a new bunch of ride leaders into our “ride leading school” this weekend. This is an awesome programme that really sets our cycling club apart from the others and has the others asking us questions on how we do it. So if you see Rob out with his “students” this weekend, give him (& them) a big cheer as these people, who give their own time to make your ride enjoyable and safe, will more than likely lead you on a future ride.

saturday 16th november

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans cresswell 40.21km spr saturday

fast/main – morley drive 50.77km spr saturday

sunday 17th november

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday

long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday

monday 18th november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 19th november

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 20th november

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 21st november

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 22nd november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

Hotel Funivia is visiting Perth!

Hotel Funivia (www.hotelfunivia.it) in Bormio, Italy has played host to many of our SPR members over the years and everyone who visits has come away with treasured memories of epic rides, amazing landscapes and the warmth and passion of the team at the hotel.

As travelers increasingly seek convenience and personalized experiences, hotels like Hotel Funivia can explore innovative ways to enhance guest satisfaction. Implementing AI concierge services could further streamline guest interactions, offering tailored recommendations and seamless booking experiences. For those curious about the future of hospitality, read more about online concierge possibilities for hotels to discover how technology is shaping the next generation of guest services. Looking ahead, integrating AI-driven concierge services represents a promising evolution in hospitality, allowing hotels to anticipate guest needs and deliver personalized recommendations effortlessly.

For the first time ever Daniele a.k.a. Stelvio Man, Elisa and the HF team are coming to Perth to check out our beautiful city and share a few rides with SPR!

The Hotel Funiva team are planning to join the Saturday ride on 23 November and Stelvio Man is also keen to sample our hills and will be along for the Sunday Hills ride on 24 November. Don’t hesitate to come along and say G’day!

Post ride they will also be available to reminisce about the wonderful experiences they have shared with you and answer any questions for those who may be considering a cycling holiday in Italy.

Hotel Funiva is a family owned hotel located in the cycling mecca of Bormio in the Italian Alps which is a great base to ride the epic Stelvio, Gavia and Mortirolo Passes, all of which are iconic climbs that feature regularly in the Giro d’Italia. In fact next year’s Stage 18 of the Giro will feature an ascent up the Stelvio Pass as well as an uphill finish at Lake Cancano which will be featured for the first time. Anyone who has stayed at Hotel Funivia would have had the opportunity to ride this beautiful climb affectionately known as ‘The Princess’.

As a hotel operated by cyclists and dedicated to serving cyclists, at Hotel Funivia you will have the opportunity to ride not only the iconic climbs but also discover the beauty of this alpine region and all the secrets it has to offer. Cycling packages at Hotel Funiva feature all the amenities a cyclist needs to enjoy the perfect cycling holiday; daily group rides from the hotel with van support, gourmet meals, secure bike storage and cycling kit washing service. Not to mention the Stelvio Experience Bicycle Café dedicated to ‘the rules’.

The beautiful town of Bormio has everything to cater for cyclists and non-cyclists alike. So if you are thinking about a cycling holiday in Italy say G’day to Daniele, Elisa and the Hotel Funivia Team.

ride routes 9th – 15th november

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so the tour of margs is on this weekend, but last weekend another lot of rouleurs headed south for the tour of gracetown.  the great thing about cycling is that there is usually something for everyone.  don’t like racing, then try fondos. don’t like touring, then try mountain biking.  like to hurt yourself, then time trials are for you.  from young to old, fast to not so fast, cycling gives you the opportunity to meet others and form those long term bonds.

tour of margaret river – good luck to all the teams competing this weekend down at nannup. we have 3 men’s team, a women’s team and a team of volunteers.  3 days, 4 stages, lots of hills, heat, rain, flies and camaraderie.  check out the previous post to see who is on the team.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  we had 5 with us last week including a first-timer who climbed 3 hills in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – Woah ! 37 degrees maximum for Saturday. Where did that come from ? It’s just a lazy 17 degrees more than last week! I’m sure our ToMR teams are looking forward to that one. As will the rest of the crew as we navigate our eastern suburbs starting with Abernethy Road. Change in weather is a good time to remind everyone of the need to slip on some sunscreen and hydrate well for the conditions.  Iced Latte’s will be popular back in the coffee shop this week. Good luck to all the SPR teams down in Nannup this weekend. May it rain green, black and white on Sunday!

saturday 9th november

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast/main – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday

sunday 10th november

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh obs kal 90.32km spr sunday

monday 11th november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 12th november

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 13th november

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 14th november

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 15th november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

Tour of Margaret River 2019 – Squad

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Your ToMR Squad for 2019 are prepared and are heading South this weekend for the big event. We are fielding four teams this year – 1 women’s, 3 open teams.

SPRouleurs, your Squad for 2019:

  • Kate Bonner, Olesya Alutina, Maddy Rhodes, Darcie Richards, Rebecca Kelly, Natalie Laurendeau
  • Craig Denham, Lloyd Forsyth, Andrew Lilley, Brook Burgess, John Carnicelli, Callum Millard-Webb
  • Paul George, Adam Ralph, Steve Burns, Graham Begg, Mitchell Spencer, Craig James
  • Damon Sutherland, Mike Barrenger, Ashley Brown, Chris Fox, Peter Mah, Greg Murray
Occasionally there is no better volunteer than Mum. Love your work, Michelle.

As always, we bring a team volunteers to make the weekend happen seamlessly for the racers and to just “Be More Club”. The Vollies are as much a part of the ToMR adventure as the racers, and year after year put in a huge investment of time and emotion to making things just happen – as far as the racers know, anyway!

Our ToMR Volunteers for 2019 are:

  • Michelle Bonner, Mark de Castro, Craig Spencer, Aaron Stroda, Frank Richards.

We also have the new addition of Zac Williams, who has photographed all three Grand Tours this year and a host of other WorldTour level races with legends such as Rupert Guinness and Beardy McBeard. In between engagements with the ToMR Eent Organisers (Hi Bec and Brendon!!) Zac will be documenting the SPR experience for us. And also lifting heavy stuff – he is a unit!

There’s likely to be some coverage on the “socialz”, as el Prez calls it – getting down with the lingo of the kidz – so keep an eye out.

Wish us luck.

ride routes 2nd – 8th november

good to see some green on the podium to go with that gold at last weekend’s state championships down in bunbury.  this pic shows the gold medal winners from each division in the road race, but we also had some success in the individual time trial as well.  well done to all those that took part, especially those that raced on a very hot and windy sunday.  also, don’t forget the sunday ride now starts at 6:00am sharp.

cycliq camera lights – the lights have been dispatched so we will distribute as soon as they hit my doorstep.

ToMR race team – final teams for the tomr will be announced soon.  we have 3 men’s teams and a women’s team and more importantly a team of awesome volunteers.

ToMR Breakaway 2019 – There’s more to ToMR than just racing ToMR!!! ToMR are hosting their “Breakaway” rides – get to ride the full race courses ahead of the race in a fully supported group.
Last year, that group was headed up by none other than Jens Voigt – who else would you get to lead a Breakaway if Thomas De Gendt isn’t available? If there is suitable demand from non-racing SPR members, we can look towards packaging an accommodation bundle to travel with the SPR ToMR-ers. If you like bikes and riding it is one of the best weekends away all year.  For more info on the Breakaway rides, check out the ToMR event website. Email if you are interested or chat to Steve or Greg after Saturday Main rides at Dome.

The Beverley – a couple of recaps from the beverley race the other weekend.  a race report from kate bonner and a race overview from mo von moinstein.  check them out so you know what you missed out on this year and hopefully inspire you to get on board for next year.

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  we had 5 with us last week including a first-timer who climbed 3 hills in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – A reasonably practical one from me this week reinforcing to everyone the change in start time for this week’s Sunday Hills ride to 6am, as posted by El Prez earlier in the week. Note also the intent to split both short and long hills groups to cater for different speed/capability (if there are sufficient numbers to allow).

saturday 2nd november

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans reabold 38.69km spr saturday

fast/main – reabold & cottesloe 50.91km spr saturday

sunday 3rd november

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna trnr obs 101.76km spr sunday

monday 4th november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 5th november

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 6th november

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 7th november

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 8th november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

sunday hills ride – 2019-20 season

summer is approaching fast and last sunday’s taste of it was an indication that it may be a warm one.  along with the heat, comes longer days and more riders returning from hibernation.  as such we are making a few changes to the sunday ride to  account for all three.

firstly, the start time.  as of the 3rd of november (i.e. the first sunday ride in nov) we are changing the time to a 6am start.  this is for all groups – long, short & coffee.  please make sure that others that you ride with that may not read the blog know about this or they may be a little lonely this sunday at 7am.

this earlier start time primarily allows the long hills ride to get back to the city before the day gets too hot.  however, there are lots of occasions where riders have started the long hills and have not had a good day, so have waited for short hills at the top of the first climb.  this is why we need all groups to change their start time.

the sun is also getting up early, so we can take advantage of not having daylight savings, by moving our rides forward.  however, we will not be matching this ride with daylight savings changes for a few key reasons.  firstly, it is very rare that we get a 40 deg day in october or march.  secondly, come the end of feb, the sun is not rising till 6am.  likewise in october, there is both limited light and a higher risk of riding into the sun during this time. therefore the 6am time change for the sunday rides will be in effect from november through to the end of february.

to account for more riders coming out we want to split the rides where we can.  this means that, if numbers allow, we will have –

  • a fast/long hills ride
  • a long hills ride
  • a fast/short hills ride
  • a short hills ride
  • a relaxed/short hills ride
  • a coffee ride.

although it would be best to split at the top of the first climb, this is not always practical and therefore we will break into groups in the carpark before we leave.  this will be modelled on the saturday rides and therefore have a look at the map below to see where you need to meet.

there is already an unofficial relaxed, short hills ride that has been operating for a while, so we will formalise it from now on.

the main caveat around splitting the groups is the number of riders in each group.  there needs to be a minimum of 12-15 riders in a group to make this work.  if, for example, we go to split the long hills and everyone thinks that they are so fast that there are only 5 people remaining in the second group, then there will be no split.  trying to fight your way into the wind with a small group is just not fun and a group that small creates a bigger risk being harassed by traffic.

hopefully, by riders, self seeding in the carpark, we can filter the groups out into safe sizes.  remember that these are club training rides and as such are run in accordance with our ride etiquette guide. looking after each other is key to ensuring that everyone has a safe ride.

ride routes 26th oct – 1st nov

things do not always go to plan and bike rides/races can often be the worst example of things not going right.  one minute you are riding along in a peloton and next minute you are not even on your bike.  there are many in the club that have experienced something similar, but i am pleased to say that most have got back on the bike and out riding with groups again.  it is what we learn during the process that is important.  what we learn about the incident an what we learn about ourselves when faced with adversity.  what i find most learn is just how valuable bike helmets are when you need them most.

ride leader program – We are now seeking expressions of interest from SPR members who regularly ride with the Main 2, 3 & 4 as well as Transition groups. We currently have a good number of riders from the Main 1 cohort; we really need to boost our numbers further down the line.  please see the previous post for more info.

weekend racing – here is what is on offer this weekend if you want to pin a number on.

  • state championships at bunbury

cycliq camera lights – we have a hit the required amount of orders to get our discount.  we will finalise payment and hopefully get them out next week.

ToMR race team – final teams for the tomr will be announced soon.  we have 3 men’s teams and a women’s team and more importantly a team of awesome volunteers.

ToMR Breakaway 2019 – There’s more to ToMR than just racing ToMR!!! ToMR are hosting their “Breakaway” rides – get to ride the full race courses ahead of the race in a fully supported group.
Last year, that group was headed up by none other than Jens Voigt – who else would you get to lead a Breakaway if Thomas De Gendt isn’t available? If there is suitable demand from non-racing SPR members, we can look towards packaging an accommodation bundle to travel with the SPR ToMR-ers. If you like bikes and riding it is one of the best weekends away all year.  For more info on the Breakaway rides, check out the ToMR event website. Email if you are interested or chat to Steve or Greg after Saturday Main rides at Dome.

The Beverley – a couple of recaps from the beverley race the other weekend.  a race report from kate bonner and a race overview from mo von moinstein.  check them out so you know what you missed out on this year and hopefully inspire you to get on board for next year.

saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning.  please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate.  this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts.  see the previous post for more details.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  we had 5 with us last week including a first-timer who climbed 3 hills in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – So – last week’s howling easterly sure played havoc with some of the groups. Conditions like that are always a good test for group riding. Last week at the coffee shop I had a chat with a few people to suggest “best ride ever coming home with the breeze”. But I also got “worse ride ever, group fractured into many groups”. Got me thinking about this group riding stuff and how everybody  is seeking a different challenge in their Saturday rides including “riding the legs off your fellow riders” to “silky smooth roll throughs” with the group working well together. I know which one I prefer. I have a feeling I know which one which brings out the most compliments for the club. Perhaps those who want to ride for themselves could test themselves with an extra stint on the front into the wind, or there is always a step up to the next group as a good way to test yourself. From a ride leaders point of view, we are just trying to maximise the enjoyment for the majority and get everyone back in one piece. On both counts, it’s definitely harder if we are strung out in dribs and drabs and small groups that are tricky for cars to continually pass. Yes – those howling winds sure can challenge the way you think about group riding !

saturday 26th october

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans canning vale 42.34km spr saturday

fast/main – maddington 51.87km spr saturday

sunday 27th october

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday

long – cann dam 100.13km spr sunday

monday 28th october

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 29th october

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 30th october

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 31st october

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 1st november

ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

The Beverley Wrap 2019

It’ll be OK on the day.

And it was too. The Beverley 2019 has been an interesting lead up. Lots of variables are expected, and pretty well planned after a few years in practice.

This year has been a process of handover. After three years as a near one-Mo-show, this year was approached with the aim of handing on the experience and knowledge to others in the Club.

Running The Beverley day entails a volunteer group – at Registration managing any changes, misses or requests from racers; volunteers to build, manage and pull down the start/finish area and timing systems; a convoy of lead and follow car drivers with radio communication and coordinating with Commissaires and external bodies, like Traffic Management.

Listen up, and no one gets hurt. Photo: Jedsman

Some things crop up and just get managed on the fly and no one notices. It’s these issues in that no one is aware of that make the directing of The Beverley rewarding. Last year, when we expected to have Stop/Slow bats available for the Start/Finish area – they didn’t show up. Some quick thinking, and one race convoy vehicle hightailed it out to our traffic managers to borrow a set and we were sorted. 12 minutes is all it took. No one outside of the Event Staff even noticed and on we went with the day.

Warning – deep excavation ahead. Photo: Mo

This year was an unavoidable pot hole at the 50km mark that appeared days before race day. Spanning half the road width and several inches of deep wet sand there was risk involved. We talked it up at rider briefing, and again on the start line, the area was spray painted pink, attended by Event Staff (thanks Fi for waving arms furiously!) and it was safely navigated around by the whole field. Sorted. Smooth as…..

Our Volunteers for your Beverley 2019 were:

Back at Base: Race Convoy:
Steve Burns David Menarry
Nick Vinson Adam Ralph
Selina Hanson Fiona Williams
Megan Fyfield Dan Harvey
Mike Morris Marcel Willimann
Kathryn Dines Pete Mah
Charles Roche Andrew Williams
Ingrid Roche
Neil Gerace

Thank you, Crew.

The feedback from our Chief Commissaire and racers really hits home why we do this. “Favourite race of the year”, “best managed race on the calendar”. The weekend must be fun. There must be a good time had, or why would we bother? There are always things we can improve, and there is a hit-and-miss aspect to things we do, no doubt. But to have this sort of message come back indicates we are generally on the right track. May we be even better in future.

There are a number of other thank you’s that need to be given:

  • David Menarry and Steve Burns have stepped up to run with The Beverley Race Director responsibilities
  • Cycling Australia Commissaires Ken, Richard and Gary – our WA Commissaires are the BEST
  • Beverley Shire President Dee Wridgeway, and the Shire Councils of Beverley, York and Northam
  • Local Police Commands of Beverley and York
  • Clint and Co from Peel District CC ran the timing system, Midland CC supplied radios and equipment, WestCycle provided sanctioning and equipment
  • Toby Hodgson – Mr Vesparazzi. The mind, spirit and soul behind The Beverley Heroic weekend.
Made it. Just. Photo: Mo

WA club run race events, in general, have become much more challenging to host over the years since we started this. Participation numbers at club run events have suffered enormously. So a wholehearted thank all of those racers and volunteers that came out to make The Beverley happen this year. SPR racers – first timers AND all-the-timers. Midland CC who brought a huge contingent along,  those in Race Team colours holding memberships across a range of clubs – Dome Coffees Cycling Team, Chaotic Energy (with a bit of SPR mixed kit!), King KOM, Cove Legal, VeloFit to name a few. The event is hosted FOR you and happens BECAUSE of you.

Thanks for coming out to The Beverley and we hope to see you all and MORE next year.

Race Report – The Beverley via Version 2.0

1st female, fastest female time, 5th overall, 1st female teams classification.

A race report from Kate Bonner. Over to you Kate. (Feature image: The Legend – Daniela Tomassi)

Race day. Excited. An hour and a half of sitting in the car with Ben. Not so excited. Arrived at Beverley Hall to see it entirely decked out with some of the coolest bikes, awesome, totally vintage cool. 22 mins from Scratch, sweet. Olesya, Darcie, Teneal and Annie, so much strength in this group. Ness, Bec, Ali, Kirstie and many other talented women within 7 minutes. Scanning the list for other familiar names… Hang on, how did Hanno get off at 34 mins! The cheek of it!

Photo: #ralpha

Race smart, not hard. We knew we were out for a tough day. Ladies agreement that we would use the first part of the ride to ‘warm up’, forming a paceline and taking even, steady turns along the rough as guts road. It wasn’t long until the 21 min group caught us. Toby, Ross, Tom, Chris… hell this is just like a Fast Too group. This. Is. Going. To. Hurt. “Up, up, up, up” we hear as the group has already swamped us, they had us sprinting to get up to speed and start rolling through immediately.

After a messy 10-15km, we finally got the group working well. Yes, that’s right, only one side needs to be riding hard to drive the pace. Unsurprisingly, the women were holding their own. At various points on the way out, we picked up Bec, The Chaotic Energy Crew (incl. Nancy, Kirstie, Jo and Shannon) “Have a rest and then roll when you can” was echoed throughout the group. Nope, none of that. Straight into it. Inspirational stuff.

Photo: #jedsman

Unfortunately, with the weather being warm (yet not apocalyptically warm) and a high average speed, I looked back to find a smaller and smaller group. Within a km of the turn-around, we caught sight of the leading group, they didn’t seem that far ahead, but they had more numbers. Once we cleared up the confusion of the U-turn (where the cones finish is where we are meant to turn around, Roger, stress less) we faced the reality of our smaller group and our roll throughs turned into a pace line. As we continued down the road, we saw the flood of smaller groups coming the other way. Bloody hell, they seemed close – I’m sure we would be caught. Once they joined to form a bigger group, they would overpower the 6, 7 maybe 8 of us left working together.

Current plan, keep this group as far ahead as we can for as long as possible, retaining enough energy so that the jump onto the next group would not result in a leg explosion and getting dropped. 2 gels, 4 Clif blocks, a bottle and a bit down. Plenty of food and water left, I felt confident. 66km… 75km… 80km… I started looking back. Where the hell was scratch? Tom very kindly reminded me “Stop looking back Kate, Hanno’s up ahead, we have to catch him first.” Right you are Tom, let’s keep rolling. By 95km, we caught sight of the front group, rounding a slight uphill bend, a few shouts of encouragement and we were pulling short, hard turns to bump up our speed. With a steady surge up the hill, we started to absorb those who had been distanced. This change in pace also put a few others in strife, leaving wheels dropped and only 4 of us left from the 21/22min group.

At 105km, suddenly the realisation that Scratch was not going to catch us sunk in, and if we wanted to catch the front group, we had to do it ourselves. Ross, Tom, Darcie and I had our work cut out for us. We edged closer and closer until we hit the final hill, roughly 4km from the finish. Ross rolled off the front, and the front group was in sight, and what seemed to be within reach. It would take a pretty hard turn to close that gap, as they could taste the win on the tip of their tongues. Right, I thought, now was the time. I pushed down on the pedals harder and harder, and tried and reduce the gap to the front 5. When I looked back and saw a gap had formed between myself, and the other 3, I decided to attempt to catch them in a solo pursuit. Cresting the hill with around 300m of distance between myself and the leaders, I tucked down as low as possible in the drops and pedaled manically down the other side of the hill. The 53/11 was no match for this hill and I found myself spinning out very quickly.

Photo: The Legend – Daniela Tomassi.

The last person I would pass would be Adrian, barely off the back of the front bunch but 112ish kilometres had taken their toll, a fantastic ride none the less. I pushed on for those last 3 and a bit kms solo but couldn’t quite match the speed of the group ahead, rolling across the line for 5th place, and 19 seconds down.

What a day. While I was undeniably happy with my personal results, I was more thrilled with the atmosphere and the privilege of being able to race with so many fantastic personalities that I ride with weekly. The banter in the groups were second to none, and the familiar faces eliminated any nervous energy that might have otherwise been present.

Thank you Beverley Heroic, I can’t wait to be back next year.

New kit day!

Kit order has arrived!

If you had kit on the order, or previously ordered kit that you have yet to collect, it will be available to pick up from the DOME post ride tomorrow and next week as well (19/10 & 26/10).

The website for the South Perth Cycle Club