This week a shout-out to women’s racing in Perth. We had a most excellent turn-out at the Tour of Margaret River, with opportunities at all levels for racing.
And now in January, we have some more excellent opportunities.
First up, 4F is running a Summer Criterium series – starting this Saturday – and running over three Saturdays (15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb).
Then RCCC is running a SheRace WA Come & Try criterium session as part of the Australia Day criterium on 26 January.
SPR has three teams entered in the 4F series, so head out to Midvale SpeedDome to this Saturday afternoon from 4:30pm (first crit at 6pm).
And don’t forget our SPR Chicks Monthly Coffee Ride coming up next on Friday 28 January.
Free Track Sessions – We may need to defer to the experts on whether sessions at the track count towards your Festive 500, but other than that, if you (or your children) have ever thought about giving track cycling a try, then this is for you.
Midland Cycle Club is offering both Junior and Senior cyclists Three (3) Free Sessions at the Track with a fitted Track Bike. In particular, this is a good opportunity for Dad’s / Mum’s in our sport to encourage their kids to come and try cycling in a safe and controlled environment, namely being the Velodrome.
Criterium racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.
From the Ride Coordinator – Well what a summer we have had so far. Took a little while to kick into gear but we reached overdrive over Christmas and New Year, just in time for those pushing through for the Festive 500.
For those that like your riding temperature hot, you won’t have to wait very long before our next wave of heat kicks in but for those that like it “just right” or perhaps a little cooler then this weekend is the one for you. With the forecast for Saturday in the high 20’s and Sunday in the low 30s we are expecting some strong numbers again this weekend.
With numbers expected to be big this weekend, you can do your best to prepare yourself for the ride. Everything that the club expects from those that ride with us is detailed here, in the ride etiquette page. Apart from the obvious things like keeping your bike in good order and obeying the road rules, bringing a positive attitude really contributes to the group as well as a sense of fun. I know there are some serious riders with some serious goals but our rides are not races and the person next to you can really help you out so perhaps consider them part of your team for the time you are out there as opposed to someone I can smash during the ride. The importance of listening to your ride leader was the theme of last weeks post, this one’s about what all riders can bring to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the rides and we all have a part to play in that.
Saturday 15th January
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
It has been most excellent to see lots of green at the crits recently. Even better that I know many of the faces are new to racing and/or criterium racing.
Not to mention that the C Grade podium at the most recent RCCC Twilight Criteriums (#5) was all green. Well done to Daryl Puyales (1st), Mike Harper (2nd) and Shae Watmore (3rd).
Nicely done.
Festive 500 – Now I can’t be sure (not every SPR member is a member of the the SPR Strava club) but I am pretty certain line honours go to Marcus Van Dalen on 1,007km, followed by Stefanie Van Amerongen on 803.6km, elPrez on 701.3km and Jake Harper 700.0km.
And again, I can’t be certain but it looks like around 60 SPR members got over the line with 500+kms.
Well done. Seriously festive.
[Update #1]: I did say it was difficult. Go on Marcus, join the SPR Strava club 🙂 Line honours updated to reflect the Festive 1,000 result from Marcus Van Dalen. I did say we had some seriously festive km going on. I remember talking to Marcus at Christmas – it seems he kept to the plan!
Free Track Sessions – We may need to defer to the experts on whether sessions at the track count towards your Festive 500, but other than that, if you (or your children) have ever thought about giving track cycling a try, then this is for you.
Midland Cycle Club is offering both Junior and Senior cyclists Three (3) Free Sessions at the Track with a fitted Track Bike. In particular, this is a good opportunity for Dad’s / Mum’s in our sport to encourage their kids to come and try cycling in a safe and controlled environment, namely being the Velodrome.
Criterium racing this weekend – There are some good options, with racing this weekend and the twilight crit series continuing.
For women racers, entries have closed for the 4Five+ Sanctuary Summer Series being held 15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb (with more details here). SPR has a number of teams entered. Enjoy!
From the Ride Coordinator – 2022 got off to a flying start last weekend as the groups searched high and low for those elusive TV Stations ( I swear I saw them once many years ago 😁) Numbers were really good considering it was the 1st January.
We are back to full swing this weekend and expect group numbers to increase again with those coming back from their holidays and perhaps those that have a cycling goal as part of their New Years resolution. It’s important for all of us to reflect and recognise that we have a “broad church” across our membership base and everyone has different motivations for riding. Some of us ride for the social aspect, some of us to push harder for a new goal, for many of us it’s part of heathy lifestyle choices. But whatever motivation that you have for riding with SPR, please be aware that one of our core values as a club is to get you back back to the coffee shop/or your home in one piece. To this end, we have something unique relating to organizational safety that is the envy of other cycling clubs and one which many have tried to emulate – our troup of wonderful, dedicated and often passionate ride leaders who in many cases sacrifice their own goals and ride preference to focus on safety whilst we are all out there enjoying ourselves. In the coming weeks we will be calling for any members who may want to assist along the way, but we thought it would be a good start to the year to acknowledge just what they do week in and week out as volunteers. So perhaps this weekend, if you enjoy your ride – give them some acknowledgment. You may want to shout them a coffee if you loved the ride. But for many, it’s just simple thanks that keeps them fronting up again and again throughout the year. So if you think about it – just let them know that you appreciate what they do because without them our clubs values of organised, safe, social and inclusive would be just that more difficult to achieve.
Saturday 8th January
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
So here is hoping that you all have had a wonderful Christmas week, with friends and family, not to mention downtime and riding (sometimes but not always one and the same thing), and perhaps even a cycling gift or three. Perhaps use the downtime to ponder the n+1 rule 🙂
The photo above was taken from the Bonner’s Christmas Special, which has become a very popular way to start Christmas Day, with 100-ish riders joining us for a very casual loop out to Cottesloe and back.
Thank you to all who have been part of SPR for 2021. I for one am enjoying some leave and downtime. It has truly been an interesting year, with WA in the main shielded from the impacts of COVID-19 and the lockdowns that have been very much a part of life in other parts of Australia. For each of you, I trust that the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 is a restful time, with time to relax, and space to reflect on the many good things life in our city has for each of us. Cycling may only be part of life, but certainly for me it is a hugely significant part – everything from time spent with friends, time away from the stuff that often crowds my life, time to stretch myself racing, and not to mention the opportunity to maintain my health & fitness. I know for many of you it is the same.
Enjoy your New Year. Feel free to join us for our New Years Day rides (normal Saturday – Dome is open).
Then join us again for the Public Holiday rides on Monday.
Dome is open Saturday – Just a reminder that Dome will be open Saturday (New Years Day) after the ride. No surcharge.
I can’t promise Toby will be there so this picture may have to suffice. But the coffee will be fresh and the breakfast menu ready and willing to be of service.
See you there.
Festive 500 – Personally, I started well and then an old back injury flared up putting my Christmas riding on hold 🙁
It seems many at SPR have not been similarly afflicted, and have put in some serious kms.
One day to go, and we have some 34 SPR members who has clocked the 500 already, with Mr Vice President, in at number 35 and saving himself 8km for the final day.
First place so far goes to Jake Harper on 639.9 km. Keep in mind though, late minutes changes are not unusual. You have to ride the kms by the end of tomorrow (New Years Eve) but you have some space to upload to Strava after the end – it has been known for riders to delay uploading that last ride to avoid late minute challengers heading out for an extra ride. You have been warned 🙂
Masks Again – Unfortunately, COVID is still with us, and as most of you will have seen, we need to bring out our masks again for coffee after the ride.
It should only be for a couple of days, but don’t forget 🙂
Free Track Sessions – We may need to defer to the experts on whether sessions at the track count towards your Festive 500, but other than that, if you (or your children) have ever thought about giving track cycling a try, then this is for you.
Midland Cycle Club is offering both Junior and Senior cyclists Three (3) Free Sessions at the Track with a fitted Track Bike. In particular, this is a good opportunity for Dad’s / Mum’s in our sport to encourage their kids to come and try cycling in a safe and controlled environment, namely being the Velodrome.
Criterium racing this weekend – There are some good options, with racing this weekend and the twilight crit series continuing.
For women racers, entries are open for the 4Five+ Sanctuary Summer Series being held 15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb (with more details here).
From the Ride Coordinator – At this time of year, I’m always reminded of the words from that famous Lennon song “…another year over and a new one just begun…” and for our SPR main rides you can’t get any earlier than the 1st of January. As the 1st this year falls on news years day, we thought we would run our normal ride programme for this week. We are a little uncertain as to how many riders will turn up so we have scaled back the number of ride lead groups accordingly but we still think that we will have enough on the day for those eager to work off the Christmas pudding or have eaten too many ham/turkey/chicken sandwiches over the last week. So for those that are not planning a big night the night before and/or who are not somewhere else in the state, come join us for what is usually the most quiet traffic conditions that you will experience on one of our rides throughout the whole of the year.
Saturday 1st January
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
The SPR Annual Christmas Ride was last Saturday, and we have the photos to prove it (check them all out here).
Thank you to all who either dressed up, or cheered on those who did. It was a most excellent ride. I maintain that my performance was significantly impacted by the tinsel drag factor. It’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
We followed the ride with the announcement of our annual awards for 2021. It was quite a buzz to recognise everything from Most Inspirational Rider through to a truly Epic Moment. And the rest. Join me in celebrating our winners below.
“People’s Choice” via the Club Survey
Most Inspirational Rider – Adam Ralph
Most Improved Rider – Amy Currie
Ride Leader Award – Steve Burns
Volunteer Award – Mandy McEvoy
Good Samaritan – Andrew Ballam
Epic Moment – Mandy McEvoy
Committee Awards
Race Award Female – Rebecca Kelly
Race Award Male – Shae Watmore
President’s Award – Steve Burns
Club Participant of the Year – Michelle Bonner
Club Participant of the Year – Mark de Castro
(**) Both racers were away, so no photos 🙁
Best Dressed Awards
Best Dressed Rider – Tom Goerke
Best Dressed Bike – Nicki du Plessis’ Trek (+elf) (**)
Finally, congratulations to our award survey lucky draw winner, Maurice Hermann!
(**) Sorry… I failed to get a photo of the winning bike!!!
Masks Again – Unfortunately, COVID is still with us, and as most of you will have seen, we need to bring out our masks again for coffee after the ride.
It should only be for a couple of days, but don’t forget 🙂
Public Holiday Warning – With Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day falling this year on weekends there will be a fews things to take note of in this and next week’s ride routes, both for our rides and for Dome’s opening hours across the break.
Rides – all the details below, but we have a new Public Holiday ride route to try for our Tuesday ride. See you there!
Coffee – Dome will be closed 25, 26 and 27 December public holidays but OPEN on Tuesday 28th and OPEN News Years Day.
Free Track Sessions – We may need to defer to the experts on whether sessions at the track count towards your Festive 500, but other than that, if you (or your children) have ever thought about giving track cycling a try, then this is for you.
Midland Cycle Club is offering both Junior and Senior cyclists Three (3) Free Sessions at the Track with a fitted Track Bike. In particular, this is a good opportunity for Dad’s / Mum’s in our sport to encourage their kids to come and try cycling in a safe and controlled environment, namely being the Velodrome.
Festive 500 – Don’t forget the the Rapha Festive 500 starts tomorrow.
Eight days. 500km. 24th – 31st December.
Criterium racing this weekend – It’s Christmas in case you had not noticed, so not much going on in terms of racing this weekend, but there is a twilight crit next week.
For women racers, entries are open for the 4Five+ Sanctuary Summer Series being held 15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb (with more details here).
From the Ride Coordinator – They say a week is a long time in politics, so to it is for a cycling club trying to navigate through a very hot festive season with the threat of a looming Covid outbreak.
Firstly let’s tackle the extreme heat conditions that are forecast for the next few days. On Christmas Day, the Bonners Christmas Day ride will now commence at 6am to assist in mitigating the heat later in the morning. Sunday Hills rides (on Boxing Day) will depart as normal at their 6am Summer time schedule.
With the heat also forecast to be around for both public holiday rides on Monday and Tuesday, we did deliberate with changing, but ultimately decided to keep these unchanged at 7am to allow the EBR to remain at a respectable 5:30am.
But please be aware that we have some ***hot*** temperatures forecast. Do consider adequate hydration (before, during and after the rides) and well as protection from the sun.
Finally, we will be introducing a new “PH ride – North” route that is scheduled up for Tuesday morning. So if you are planning on riding Tuesday, please familiarize yourself with the route and don’t rely on others to tell you where to go on the day.
The SPR Annual Christmas Ride is this Saturday. The votes are in, and we look forward to sharing the winners with you all. Join us at DOME after the ride for breakfast, coffee and the award presentations.
Don’t forget to come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist. The picture above goes back a few years (2014 actually), but can perhaps serve as inspiration for 2021. Get your Christmas best ready for our Christmas ride Saturday.
*** Important *** Please see the ride routes section below as we juggle rides and routes for special events like this one to see everyone arrive back at close to the same time so no one misses out on the proceedings.
See you there.
Public Holiday Early Warning – With Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day falling this year on weekends there will be a fews things to take note of in next weeks ride routes, both for our rides and for Dome’s opening hours across the break.
Rides – all the details next week, but we will see the return of the Bonner’s Christmas Day ride, as well as the release of an all new Public Holiday ride given that we will have two Public Holidays in a row on 27 and 28 December.
Coffee – Dome will be closed 25, 26 and 27 December public holidays but OPEN on Tuesday 28th and OPEN News Years Day.
More details next week.
The Rotary Tour of the Blackwood 2022 is set for 12 March 2022. It is a timed event over undulating terrain offering three distances: 134km (elevation 1,700m) or 65km (elevation 841m) or 30km.
The accommodation around Bridgetown is going quickly and although registrations are yet to open, if you are interested you will need to book accommodation as soon as possible as most can be cancelled. For more details about the event including accommodation please check out their web site https://www.blackwoodtour.info/.
And don’t forget that RCCC’s twilight criterium series continues this Tuesday. Details and entry here.
For women racers, entries are open for the 4Five+ Sanctuary Summer Series being held 15/Jan, 29Jan and 12/Feb (with more details here).
From the Ride Coordinator – So before we get into the detail this week, just a big Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our regular riders/members. This weekend will be our last main Saturday ride for the year with the following Saturday being Christmas Day. Whilst the Bonners will be once again hosting a morning ride, there won’t be an organised main ride scheduled for that day for obvious reasons. However we will be back for an organised main ride on New Years Day, but more on that next week.
So all of that means that this weekend is our official Christmas ride. We will be running this a little different this weekend but similar to the last few years. In an attempt to get everyone away fast and efficiently so you can enjoy the festivities and presentations back at Dome, we will be once again scheduling 2 different ride routes. We will be having the Fast, F2 and M1 ride groups heading towards Freo and back through Canning Vale, whilst our M2,3,4 and transition riders will be heading out to Abernethy Rd. We will also be alternating departure from the Coode Street carpark as follows:
Sequencing like this means that groups don’t have to wait 1-2 mins to leave (apart from Fast2 and M1.1 and Transition) as they can queue up immediately behind the group in front as it will be going in a different direction at Mill Point Rd lights. Again the idea is to get everyone back to the coffee shop to celebrate Christmas with each other.
At the end of the ride, we are also going to ask ALL groups to proceed all the way down Riverside Drive and up Barrack Street. We are aware of the preference for M2,3,4 and transition to turn up Victoria Avenue but on Saturday you may find some of those groups with a faster group behind them on the sprint so the last thing we need is riders pulling across a lane in front of each other and causing mayhem, so for this week we ask all groups to keep going until the end.
Saturday 18th December
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
The Rotary Tour of the Blackwood 2022 is set for 12 March 2022. It is a timed event over undulating terrain offering three distances: 134km (elevation 1,700m) or 65km (elevation 841m) or 30km.
The accommodation around Bridgetown is going quickly and although registrations are yet to open, if you are interested you will need to book accommodation as soon as possible as most can be cancelled. For more details about the event including accommodation please check out their web site https://www.blackwoodtour.info/.
Note that this ride is on the same time as the CanTeen ride for which some have already registered.
SPR Annual Christmas Ride – This picture goes back a few years (2014 actually), but can perhaps serve as inspiration for 2021. So get your Christmas best ready for our Christmas ride to be held 18 December.
And don’t forget to vote! Each year SPR recognises riders and volunteers for their achievements and contributions to all things cycling. Please give a few minutes to nominate these individuals in a quick survey via thislink. There is a prize of nutritional goodies for cyclists for one lucky responder so don’t delay.
The awards will be announced and presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on 18 December 2021. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.
And join us at DOME after the rider for breakfast, coffee and the award presentations.
Keep in mind that entries close Friday evening / Saturday midday respectively.
And don’t forget that RCCC’s twilight criterium series continues this Tuesday. Details and entry here.
From the Ride Coordinator – For all those who rode during this week we definitely got had some warmish mornings to start with and a continuation of those wicked easterlies from last weekend all through the first part of the week. At least for this weekends ride we will experience a respite to those easterlies in the form of south to south westerlies arriving. That will also cool the temperatures down for the rides so expect numbers to be big for the groups this weekend.
Something to be aware of for both the Friday ride AND our choice of main ride for Saturday is the road works that have commenced as you turn off the Leach Highway onto Webb Street in Rossmoyne. For the last few weeks we have been signaling works are about to commence and at last glance (about 5pm Thursday), the road is open but they have “skinned” the surface, making it rough as you turn off Leach. Please be aware of this and slow down on the turn. It’s expected that the road will be open, it’s just a little more dangerous to navigate than normal so please exercise caution on the approach.
One last thing to mention is that it has been reported that there were quite a mechanical issues reported during last weekends main and hills rides. Whilst many of these are difficult to anticipate (& I’m not talking flat tyres here), it is encouraged in our ride etiquette page (click here to view) that all riders riding SPR rides are aware of the importance of good maintenance for their bikes. This is not just because of the disruption that can occur to the ride if a mechanical is experienced, it is also that sometimes these issues can lead to safety issues and crashes on rides. So please be aware that it is expected that you will have a well maintained bike for riding with SPR.
Saturday 11th December
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
Each year SPR recognises riders and volunteers for their achievements and contributions to all things cycling. Please give a few minutes to nominate these individuals in a quick survey via thislink. There is a prize of nutritional goodies for cyclists for one lucky responder so don’t delay.
The awards will be announced and presented at our Annual Christmas Ride to be held on 18 December 2021. Come along for the ride in Christmas dress – there is a prize for the best dressed bike and/or cyclist.
And join us at DOME after the rider for breakfast, coffee and the award presentations.
And don’t forget that RCCC’s twilight crib series starts this Tuesday. Details and entry here.
From the Ride Coordinator – Has anyone noticed just how many different road works that are being undertaken right now! It appears you can’t drive or ride more than a few kilometers in the metro area without coming across either witch hats, temporary barriers or a lollipop person. The last few weeks we have seen the most iconic of our rides, the River loop, being disrupted with off again, on again road resurfacing along Mounts Bay road and the finishing road for most of our Hills rides – Welshpool Rd and the corner of Leach being diverted last weekend.
The reason for raising this again this week is to highlight two things, be prepared for the unexpected interruption on our ride routes and be careful of hazards that may be there one week and gone again the next.
The chosen ride route this week is a good case in point. The last time we ventured past Bannister Rd on South St/Ranford road is likely to look very different to this time as the road works now take us on a slightly different path just past the set of lights. Similarly we venture through the intersection at Welshpool and Leach which, whilst expected to be open when we go through, may have some added twists and turns to navigate through and may be different to when you last rode it. Perhaps some are thinking – well choose another route to take but in all honesty, there’s not many left we can take where some part of it isn’t affected by road works. Moral of the story is be vigilant, expect the unexpected and if you are at the front, call the necessary changes/hazards early so the group can navigate safely.
I’ll finish with a couple of updates on previous posts made. The first one relates to some more works expected on our Friday ride at Webb St as we turn off the Leach Hwy. Webb street remains open at this point for tomorrow’s ride and we are seeking more information on potential closures from the council. So all good for our ride tomorrow.
Finally just another reminder on the back of last weeks post that ALL Sunday rides will revert to the 6am start time from THIS weekend – including the coffee ride.
Saturday 4th December
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
Many of you may remember December 2017 when we took the SPR club photo above. Good looking club right?? But since that time we’ve refreshed our club kit with Mayeur as our new kit supplier, and we feel the time has come to see how everyone scrubs up in 2022.
And yes, you read right – 2022. We figured to provide everyone plenty of notice, not to mention the opportunity to order kit before 1 December (see below) and have it arrive in time for our club photo. We will confirm soon but the date will likely be 29 January or 5 February 2022.
We think that the result is most spectacular when everyone is the same kit – so fair warning – current kit only, no Ride Leader or TOMR editions allowed 🙂
SPR Christmas Party – We still need to sell a few more tickets, not just because we want the pleasure of your company (!!), but also as we are still a little short of the minimum for the venue.
SPR Chicks Monthly Coffee Ride – Calling SPR Chicks for the final ride of 2021. The ride starts at 6:00am under the Narrows (city side) and ends with coffee at Botanicals Cafe Kings Park at 7.00am.
The ride is an easy conversational paced ride (approx 25 km/hr on flat) with new/beginner riders & all types of bikes welcome! Strictly no-drop.
And this this ride, we have plans afoot to capture some of the ride on film (well ok, digital footage) for a promo we are working on.
Club Kit Shop Open – The weather has turned and plenty of riders are emerging from their winter hibernation. We all know that the most important consideration when you head out on the bike is…looking good! The club kit shop is open again but closes on 1 December, so be quick! Don’t forget that you can try the Mayeur Cycling Clubline kit on at R&D Speedshop in Claremont.
From the Ride Coordinator – So lots going on as we head into the last month of the year and towards Christmas, including our first really hot riding weekend for a while and maybe as far back as last March. Just something that’s worth pointing out to all riders before the weekend as it may be worth considering adding that second water bottle to your bike or possibly that hydralyte booster to your water if that is your thing for this weekend’s rides.
Couple of notifications worth highlighting. If you’re a regular to our Sunday Coffee ride or our Sunday Short Hills social ride, please note that both of these rides will be changing to summer start times of 6am from the first Sunday in December. This will mean that all our Sunday rides leaving from Coode Street will commence at 6am from Sunday the 5th December until the first weekend in March. Just confirming that is not this Sunday but the following Sunday.
Speaking about Sunday, a reminder that our monthly gravel ride is on this weekend kicking off and finishing at the Darlington Post Office. As we have a number of our intrepid regular ride leaders away riding the Munda Biddi, only the Heritage Trail will be offered this time as a lead ride.
Saturday 27th November
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
You may describe it as an unintended side effect, but the Tour of Margaret River, in addition to bringing out the best of us on the bike, also seems to bring out an otherwise unseen talent for writing in many of our club members. This time it is a write-up of the experiences of SPR Mens 5 at the hand of David Menarry.
SPR Chicks Trash & Treasure Picnic – One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure! Here’s an opportunity for our women and girlfriends to share and swap cycling gear that is no longer needed, or surplus to requirements, and enjoy afternoon tea on the club.
Club Kit Shop Open – The weather has turned and plenty of riders are emerging from their winter hibernation. We all know that the most important consideration when you head out on the bike is…looking good! The club kit shop is open again but closes on 1 December, so be quick! Don’t forget that you can try the Mayeur Cycling Clubline kit on at R&D Speedshop in Claremont.
Criterium Season is here! – If you have been watching social media you will be aware that criterium season is here with both Masters and Peel holding crits last weekend.
From the Ride Coordinator – So focus this week is on the ride we do on the favourite day of the working week for many, and that is our Friday morning ride.
Firstly – on the route itself. From November 29th this year, through to “end of January”, there will be works along Leach Hwy including Webb Street, which for those that ride regularly on Friday is the left turn we take off the Leach Hwy at the retirement village on the corner. At this point we are seeking more information on alternate routes where we can maintain as much of the fun roll throughs along Shelley foreshore as possible but this may be compromised for a little while whilst the works are completed. Early indications are that the corresponding bike path may be affected as well. Aside from our Friday ride, this area is also popular for lots of riders so heads up. We will provide more guidance in next weeks blog.
The second thing is also one related to it’s unofficial title as “the recovery ride” (after the Thursday ride). Feedback from more than a few riders of late is that as fitness picks up leading into summer, so too is the pace of the rides and some people are either struggling to stay on or are choosing to stay away from the ride. The route itself takes us on many busy roads at 6am in the morning, so we are keen to emphasise the safety aspects of riding at this time and not have group strung out along the Albany Hwy or Manning Road. Doesn’t matter if you are a regular rider or an occasional one, we would like to make sure that everyone gets to their destination safely so please be aware of how people are faring during the ride and the capability of the group to maintain speed. If you’re after a fast paced ride then we recommend choosing an alternate ride.
Saturday 20th November
Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
Welcome to the first of our Tour of Margaret River 2021 team write-ups. First up is Mens 5, brought to us by David Mennary. SPR Mens 5 is David Menarry, Jesper Marstrand, Maurice Hermann, Adrian Emilsen, Nigel Coles, and Adam Ralph (left-to-right in the photo below). If you haven’t already, check out our overall event write-up.
First and foremost, the Tour of Margaret River (which is actually based around Nannup, not Margaret River) is a social event. Yes, everyone trains for it, because it’s a personal challenge and a team event, and you want to do the best you can for your team. But it’s the social side that makes it so special: living with your team for several days, as part of an amazing club, and just being part of the WA cycling community.
The Team – 📸 Arletta Ralph
Having raced the Tour five times before, it didn’t matter that I had never won anything individually or as part of a team. This year was no different: no expectations, no plans, except to have a great time and just do our best.
The lead up to our Tour was bumpy to say the least. For various good reasons, not once had the six of us ridden together as a team prior to the Stage 1 team time trial. Adam Ralph was recovering from a broken wrist (still not healed), Jesper Marstrand was so sick the week of the Tour that he stayed in Perth an extra night, travelling down on the Friday morning before the first stage, and Maurice Hermann was recovering from a blood infection the week before. Herman du Plessis was a late call up and hadn’t been training and Adrian Emilsen was so busy with work and family that he could only make it there late on the Thursday evening.
The signs were not promising, so we were reasonably satisfied that we were graded in Division K after the Stage 1 team time trial (this year went all the way down to a Division O). We were ninth out of the ten teams in the Division, albeit with less than a minute between 1st and 10th. We had planned to finish the stage with all six together, even though the time was taken from the 5th rider and we could have dropped one of us. More importantly, the heavy rain showers stopped just before the start of the stage, so we also had a dry ride: bonus!
Stage 2 saw us once again at the Nannup Rec Centre. While there was no sign of rain, it was an early start and a cold, overcast morning. The warm up beforehand was more to stop us getting colder … but at least we could expect to warm up as the day progressed (little did we realise!) With a long, challenging hill only a kilometre after the neutralised start, it was important that we were well placed in the bunch of 60 riders.
The plan was for Adam and Adrian to try and make the break and the rest of us to look after our fourth placed rider, because the team times were to be taken on the sum of the first and fourth placed riders in each team. They managed that perfectly and I ignored the team plans to find myself in the first bunch behind the break of six, with Jesper and Herman in the second bunch and Maurice in the third. And then it started raining … fortunately only for about five minutes, but definitely not forecast and absolutely not welcome.
As the race went on, the first two bunches merged but there was no sign of the break. I was delighted to see Herman and Jesper join me and we rode the middle of the race together. I was still cold, so I spent my fair share on the front, hopefully pushing the pace but at least warming up a little. The merged bunch stayed together until the Kandalee climb and then promptly exploded. I was fortunate to be near the front and stay there. I was also delighted not to see Crikey Cadel the crocodile on the way up (a long story).
With riders in ones and twos at the top a few smaller groups began to form on the way to Greenbushes as riders found comfort or motivation in numbers. And so it stayed for most of the remainder, until the final climb past the Talisman Lithium mine into Greenbushes. I hadn’t realised that Jesper and Herman had re-joined after Kandalee, and the three of us finished the stage within a minute of each other. While Adam was desperately disappointed to be pipped on the line into second, his result and Adrian’s fourth place were outstanding and laid the foundations for a great team result. Maurice followed the team plan and saved his energy for Sunday’s stages, but was still not that far off the pace.
And so it was that on Saturday evening we found ourselves in the unfamiliar position of top team in the Division, a minute and a half above the second placed team, and a decision loomed: go for the win on Sunday or just enjoy ourselves. To be truthful, it wasn’t a hard decision to go for it, knowing that if we didn’t win it didn’t really matter (who were we kidding?)
While Saturday’s stage was the longest and hardest, Sunday had two stages, a road race from Nannup to Balingup and a team time trial on the reverse route. From prior experience we knew that most people keep some energy in reserve for the time trial, so it was no surprise that the bunch stuck together for most of Stage 3, with the short sharp climb at 2km to go being the only danger.
We knew we just had to keep our time gap to be in with a chance of keeping our lead until the end, so Adrian and Adam were once again on marking duties at the front. I had just clawed my way back onto the front part of the bunch at the top when the call came through that our race was being red flagged – neutralised – for the finish into Balingup. This was because of an accident earlier and the race director trying to avoid further problems, a very sensible decision, but once again Adam was unable to claim his deserved first place.
The good news though, was we still had our full 90 second gap. Definitely not enough to be sure of the overall result, but enough to give us some confidence it was possible. The game plan was to go off steadily and try to keep the team together as long as possible, knowing that we could afford to drop two if necessary (the team’s time going off the fourth rider). Which is exactly what we did.
Having had such great races until now, it was perhaps no surprise that Jesper’s cold caught up with him and he dropped off after about a quarter of the way into the Stage 4 team time trial. Down to five, Herman, Adam and Adrian continued to ride very strongly while Maurice and I were hanging on, knowing we need at least four together at the finish. Three quarters in the elastic broke for Maurice and we were four. Herman’s strong first half was starting to bite a little and so we were both reliant on Adrian and Adam putting enough pressure on to keep us in contention but not too much that we blew up.
The last 10km was extremely tough and both Adrian and Adam were doing longer turns on the front. We had overtaken two teams who had started before us, so we knew we were doing OK, but our main competition, Denmark Mitre 10, had started several minutes before us and we had no idea how they had been going. Eventually we hit the 2,000m to go sign and reaching the downhill into Nannup with four of us together was a huge relief.
We were expecting the tight corners through Nannup so we avoided going full gas through them. And then there was the kilometre – which seemed like five – along Brockman Highway as Adam gradually ramped up the power before turning into the finish straight back at the Rec Centre. Avoiding a single rider from another group, we went a little slower than we would have liked around that last corner, but we avoided any last minute catastrophes and finished together, exhausted. Well at least for me and Herman.
It took a couple of minutes before we heard our result, by which time the final team from our Division had also finished, around a minute or so after us, so we knew they didn’t provide any threat. In fact other teams came to congratulate us before we had the times confirmed: we had managed to win not only our Division, but also the stage, by three minutes and two seconds respectively.
Lessons learnt: a) have a plan and stick to it (but adapt if needed); b) play to your strengths; and c) most importantly, have fun. As a primarily social event, I’d like to say it wasn’t important to win, but being able to deliver for the team and the club made it all the more enjoyable and a Tour to remember. I’m not ashamed to say that I may have had a few emotional moments once the result sunk in.
And finally, the thank you’s. Of course, to the rest of the team (in first name alphabetical order), Adam Ralph, Adrian Emilsen, Herman du Plessis, Jesper Merstrand and Maurice Hermann (our team captain). But it’s not just about the racers: there is a huge team behind the scenes who also share the success, our wonderful volunteers, the South Perth Rouleurs director sportif and race organiser, Steve Burns, and not forgetting the sponsors who made the ToMR kit and apparel possible: Pilbara Resource Group, Drillman, Total Marine Technology and Cathay Mortgages.
The club kit shop is open again but closes on 1 December, so be quick! Don’t forget that you can try the 
