i know that i talked about seVen last week, but with over 500 riders in attendance, it is seriously becoming a iconic event for wa.  there were a number of categorised climbs, but in between them was generally more climbing as the roads wound their way around hills and valleys.  the highlight was a lady playing violin seemingly in the middle of nowhere as we crested the arcadia climb.  stunning scenery at every turn made up for the over 3000m of climbing that you endured.  seeing a number of other spr riders along the way also made it bearable.  however, i may do a bit more training before next years event.

ride leader sponsor –there is no ride leader sponsor for may.  if you want to promote your business to our 400 members and 2500 facebook followers, get in contact with the club.

spr giro dinner – This year, SPR is heading to local South Perth haunt, Solo Pizza. Owned and operated by our favourite local Italians Stefania and Giovanni, Solo Pizza will host SPR for an evening of Giro, pizza, gelato, vino and birra.  After Stage 15 from Ivrea to Como (true story) , Solo Pizza is opening exclusively for SPR with a selection of the Solo Pizza menu, garden salads, desserts and corkage – the venue is BYO for beer and wine only.  see the previous post for more details and links to tickets. Members, partners, kids, hangers on and all in between are welcome.

• Venue:       Solo Pizza, 135A Coode St, South Perth
  Date:          Monday 27th May
  Time:          Starting at 18:30 to 21:00 – very cyclist friendly
  Tickets:      $35.00 per person

entertainment book – once again we are selling the entertainment book as a fundraiser for the club.  available as a digital version, you can carry it anywhere on your phone to make sure that you never miss out on those discounts.  if you do want a physical book, these are still available but you must select a postage option.  click here to order your new book.

junior jersey policy – In order to further encourage junior participation the Committee has resolved to offer all junior members a free club jersey!  And in recognition that juniors will keep growing, the policy allows for one jersey per year (as  long as they are a member) until 18 years of age. Please see the previous post for more details.

memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up  cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number.  i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.

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 – before the weather gets too cold, get your kids out for some laps of kings park or optus stadium.  juniors will continue to run over winter so if you have kids that are keen, then we will still be there.

from the ride coordinator – As the days get shorter and the nights grow colder, it definitely takes more motivation to get out and get going. Couple of inspirations for me. One is the magnificence of the sunrises that happen around this time of year. The other is a quote from Alistair Humphreys in his book on cycling around the world – Moods of Future Joys “ I’ve never met anybody who regretted taking a long ride. But I’ve met many who regretted not doing one”. So whilst our weekend rides are not quite as epic as Alistair’s, it’s always good to have some other perspective to help you get out there and create your own adventures.

saturday 25th may – presidents day

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 (with parent) – 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 – south st 51.23km spr saturday

sunday 26th may

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh obs kal 90.32km spr sunday

monday 27th may

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 28th may

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 29th may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 30th may

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 31st may

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

there are some events that you do where you just say to yourself “wow, that was a great event, but i would probably enjoy it a lot more if i was fitter”.  seVen is like that.  technically, it is not that hard, but fitness-wise it is brutal.  127kms with over 2500m of climbing and all on dirt roads.  last year i was fairly fit.  leading into the event i had been over to the tour of bintan and done a number of race events in and around perth.  this year……i’ve been riding with the kids on saturday.  hmm. someone didn’t think that through too well.  as far as events go, though, this one is awesome.  as usual the team behind the tour of margs brings another well run event to the south-west with numbers now exceeding 500 entrants.  there are a number of returnee’s from spr heading down to tackle the course again.  there are a few spr first-timers but hopefully next year, as it’s reputation spreads, that translates into a whole bunch more.

ride leader sponsor –there is no ride leader sponsor for may.  if you want to promote your business to our 400 members and 2500 facebook followers, get in contact with the club.

spr giro dinner – This year, SPR is heading to local South Perth haunt, Solo Pizza. Owned and operated by our favourite local Italians Stefania and Giovanni, Solo Pizza will host SPR for an evening of Giro, pizza, gelato, vino and birra.  After Stage 15 from Ivrea to Como (true story) , Solo Pizza is opening exclusively for SPR with a selection of the Solo Pizza menu, garden salads, desserts and corkage – the venue is BYO for beer and wine only.  see the previous post for more details and links to tickets.

junior jersey policy – In order to further encourage junior participation the Committee has resolved to offer all junior members a free club jersey!  And in recognition that juniors will keep growing, the policy allows for one jersey per year (as  long as they are a member) until 18 years of age. Please see the previous post for more details.

memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up  cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number.  i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.

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 – before the weather gets too cold, get your kids out for some laps of kings park or optus stadium.  juniors will continue to run over winter so if you have kids that are keen, then we will still be there.

from the ride coordinator – cold mornings predicted for this weekend.  i hope that you got your order in for some warmer gear before the club kit orders closed.

saturday 18th may

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 (with parent) – 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 19th may

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna can mills 94.55km spr sunday

monday 20th may

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 21st may

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 22nd may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 23rd may

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 24th may

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

El Prez is still in absentia, enjoying Utah, so it falls to the VP to provide the spiel.   There has been some discussions this week regarding wet weather riding.  The “Belgian” fan club has been tut-tutting the Fair Weather Riders for not venturing out last Saturday.  From my perspective, the FWRC is a great ride option for those not wanting to risk riding in the rain, and after last year, when I was confined to a trainer for 4 months, it was the only way to do group rides.  I’m sure that the FWRC will have several more outings this winter, but this weekend won’t be one of them.  Come out and enjoy the sunshine, the camaraderie and the post ride hot chocolate (or something else for the caffeine freaks).

Also, the annual Giro night is on again later this month.   See previous post (see previous post) for further details.

Also, also, kit orders are closing soon (see previous post) for further details

ride leader sponsor –there is no ride leader sponsor for may.  if you want to promote your business to our 400 members and 2500 facebook followers, get in contact with the club.

junior jersey policy – In order to further encourage junior participation the Committee has resolved to offer all junior members a free club jersey!  And in recognition that juniors will keep growing, the policy allows for one jersey per year (as  long as they are a member) until 18 years of age. Please see the previous post for more details.

memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up  cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number.  i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.

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 – last week the juniors tried something different and we went to optus stadium to do laps around the outside.  this provided a good safe environment which allowed us to teach them how to form a paceline.  15 sec on the front then peel off and head to the back.  after the first few loops they had it running smoothly.  in the future, we will rotate between kings park and the stadium with this week us heading back to the park for hill climbs.  under 10’s or over 10’s welcome with parents.

from the ride coordinator –

The European cycling season steps up another gear with the start of the legendary Giro d’Italia this weekend. In sympathy with the challenges that all those participants face over the next 3 weeks, our Saturday main ride this week is one of our more difficult circuits through our own foothills of Perth. So whilst you push through the pain going up Hale and Ridgehill Roads, spare a thought for those cyclists about to tackle the magnificent peaks of northern Italy.
If that is not enough to motivate you, then think of it as preparation for SPR’s upcoming Giro Pizza night at Solo Pizza on 27th May (see other blog note). More energy used = less guilt.

saturday 11th may

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 (with parent) – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans benara 39.90km spr saturday

fast/main – hale & ridgehill 50.58km spr saturday

sunday 12th may

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – kal goose 67.63km spr sunday

long – kal obs goose 97.40km spr sunday

monday 13th may

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 14th may

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 15th may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 16th may

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 17th may

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

Apologies for the brief post this week.  El Prez is away in the USA for the next couple of weeks, where the weather seems much colder than Perth.  Therefore, and after  just completing on indoor trainer FTP session, I realised I’m meant to post the routes.  So, here they are, as I recover and wait for Stage 1 of the Tour de Yorkshire to start.

The weather is not looking too flash for Saturday morning and some groups may need to combine.  Don’t forget to listen to ride leaders and ride to the conditions.  Alternatively, the South Perth Rouleurs Fair Weather Riding Club have a Zwift ride organised.  See the Facebook page for further details

ride leader sponsor –there is no ride leader sponsor for may.  if you want to promote your business to our 400 members and 2500 facebook followers, get in contact with the club.

junior jersey policy – In order to further encourage junior participation the Committee has resolved to offer all junior members a free club jersey!  And in recognition that juniors will keep growing, the policy allows for one jersey per year (as  long as they are a member) until 18 years of age. Please see the previous post for more details.

memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up  cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number.  i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.

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 – last week the juniors tried something different and we went to optus stadium to do laps around the outside.  this provided a good safe environment which allowed us to teach them how to form a paceline.  15 sec on the front then peel off and head to the back.  after the first few loops they had it running smoothly.  in the future, we will rotate between kings park and the stadium with this week us heading back to the park for hill climbs.  under 10’s or over 10’s welcome with parents.

from the ride coordinator – With the weather predicted to be changeable over the weekend, if you ride, take extra precautions to ensure the safety of yourselves and those around you. Let’s be careful out there.

saturday 4th may

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 (with parent) – 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 – karrinyup 52.14km spr saturday

sunday 5th may

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh weir kal 101.71km spr sunday

monday 6th may

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 7th may

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 8th may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 9th may

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 10th may

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

the good friday ride this year became the easter monday ride as the weather on friday was not what you would consider to be good.  a brisk start turned into a marvellous day and we started with about 60 riders.  there was a short option this year and a few opted for that.  as with most of our rides, we try to let them develop organically.  now in it’s 7th year, we have seen that the popularity of the vp ride means that next year we will need to make some changes.  originally organised by julian as a warm up to doing the 5 dams ride, the numbers have swelled to the point were we are thinking of splitting the ride next year.  what we are looking at is a typical long hills smashfest group and a more sedate group for those that are after the achievement of completing 150kms.   this is pleasing to me for a couple of reasons.  firstly it is always good to see any of the rides getting so popular that we need to add extra layers of control as it shows that we must be doing something right. secondly, this is not something that i have had to contribute to.  julian has run with this from the beginning and has now roped vanessa in to providing catering at the last dam.  here is to more hot crossed bun fuelled rides in the future. (note: nabi has special censorship aussie stripes on her jersey)

ride leader sponsor –The ride leader sponsor for april is West Australian Cyclocross WACX.  cyclocross is a cross between road and mountain biking usually held on a grass or dirt circuit. there are divisions for all abilities and a kids race before on a shortened circuit. check out any of the events coming up soon and get on down to ring a cowbell.

the numbat cup round 1 – the first round of the numbat cup cyclocross race is on this sunday. there are lots of different categories that you can enter including if you are riding a mountain bike.  as always the every popular u13 kids ride is on before the main races.  entry and further details can be found here.

the dirty dozen 2019 – Back for a third year this coming Saturday, The Dirty Dozen Perth 2019 returns southside and hunts out thirteen more of Perth’s toughest climbs. The Dirty Dozen packs over 2000m of climbing into less than 100km. There is also a shorter Dirty Half Dozen route (1000m climbing in about 50km). With each of the climbs hand-selected for their brutality by climbing masochist and Chief Route Planner Sarah Fitton, this ride will test your legs, lungs and mettle. Both routes start at 8am from Kelmscott Dome (Open from 6am for breakfast and/or caffeine). Both routes also finish at Kelmscott Dome and we encourage you to stay for lunch and share stories with your fellow Dirty Dozen survivors.  for more info see the facebook event page.

junior jersey policy – In order to further encourage junior participation the Committee has resolved to offer all junior members a free club jersey!  And in recognition that juniors will keep growing, the policy allows for one jersey per year (as  long as they are a member) until 18 years of age. Please see the previous post for more details.

memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up  cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number.  i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.

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 – last week the juniors tried something different and we went to optus stadium to do laps around the outside.  this provided a good safe environment which allowed us to teach them how to form a paceline.  15 sec on the front then peel off and head to the back.  after the first few loops they had it running smoothly.  in the future, we will rotate between kings park and the stadium with this week us heading back to the park for hill climbs.  under 10’s or over 10’s welcome with parents.

from the ride coordinator –With a spate of public holidays now behind us, hopefully you’ve had the chance to put a few more Kms on the bike in what has been ideal cycling conditions and it looks like this is set to continue over the weekend. With weather like this I’m reminded of a legendary quote from the great Desmond Tutu “Give a person a fish and feed her/him for a day. Teach a person to fish and feed her/him for a lifetime. Teach a person to cycle and she/he will realise fishing is stupid and boring”

saturday 27th april

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 (with parent) – 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 28th april

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday

long – carr peet obs 97.72km spr sunday

monday 29th april

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 30th april

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 1st may

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 2nd may

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 3rd may

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

the latest uci qualifier was run in brisbane last weekend with a contingent of spr riders heading over.  a new event with a great big hill in it makes this the third qualifier in australia after amy’s and bathurst.  for something a bit different, there was an nrs level event run on the same course before the qualifier with teneal and kate bonner giving that a crack.  teneal was there in the sprint and and came in 8th overall with kate rolling later with the bunch.  there were also a couple of our riders that managed to gain a qualification and now have to decide whether to go to poland.

ride leader sponsor –The ride leader sponsor for april is West Australian Cyclocross WACX.  cyclocross is a cross between road and mountain biking usually held on a grass or dirt circuit. there are divisions for all abilities and a kids race before on a shortened circuit. check out any of the events coming up soon and get on down to ring a cowbell.

the 7th annual vice president’s good friday ride – due to inclement weather predicted for good friday, the vp ride has been postponed to easter monday.  now, in it’s 7th year, it is more about tradition, then training.  see the previous post for further details.

junior jersey policy – In order to further encourage junior participation the Committee has resolved to offer all junior members a free club jersey!  And in recognition that juniors will keep growing, the policy allows for one jersey per year (as  long as they are a member) until 18 years of age. Please see the previous post for more details.

memberships new changes – if you are a member of another club and want to change to spr then it is simply a matter of calling up  cycling australia memberships and giving them your membership number.  i have requested that an additional fee is not required and most people don’t care what club is written on their card as long as they are in the right club in the system. it should be a zero fee transaction and if they ask for anything, tell them to contact the club.

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 – last week the juniors tried something different and we went to optus stadium to do laps around the outside.  this provided a good safe environment which allowed us to teach them how to form a paceline.  15 sec on the front then peel off and head to the back.  after the first few loops they had it running smoothly.  in the future, we will rotate between kings park and the stadium with this week us heading back to the park for hill climbs.  under 10’s or over 10’s welcome with parents.

from the ride coordinator –Hope everyone has a happy & safe Easter. If you are not getting away and are around, there are lots of opportunity to ride as the weather across the weekend improves. Come join us and enjoy a “guilt free” extra hot cross bun or Easter egg. (please note that the 2 public holiday rides this week have a route change where we avoid cottesloe)

saturday 20th april

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 (with parent) – 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 – canning vale & welshpool 49.74km spr saturday

sunday 21st april – easter sunday

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna can mills 94.55km spr sunday

monday 23rd april – easter monday

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

ride starts at coode st carpark at 6:00am

the annual vice presidents good friday ride – 150kms

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

fast/main – public hol 57.62km spr special

tuesday 24th april

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 25th april

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 26th april – anzac day

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

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

fast/main – public hol 58.97km spr special

friday 27th april

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride