Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ride routes 3rd – 9th October

Skippy the bushranger

It has not been a particularly good week for the club as far as accidents have been concerned. There were 3 incidents on Saturday and luckily all were bike vs bike interactions with only one requiring medical attention. Sunday, however, was a bike vs kangaroo during a descent which resulted in a concussion, bruises and a destroyed bike. Tuesday then saw a couple of members (not during an SPR ride) hit from behind by a light truck resulting in some serious bone fractures and other injuries but luckily both these riders didn’t end up under the vehicle.
So, what is the best we can we do to try to avoid these incidents? We have a range of situations in these examples and there is lots that we don’t have control over. Kangaroos, for example, are notoriously stupid animals that will change direction multiple times when trying to avoid a predator (bike, car). They are unpredictable, so we need to account for that as much as possible. Being spatially aware of your surroundings and situation can allow you just a bit more reaction time in case you need it. For the bike vs bike incidents, are you watching the bike in front or watching what the group ahead is doing? For the bike vs vehicle, where in the lane are you riding, do you have good lights and are wearing bright clothes?
I am in no way blaming the riders in these incidents for the resultant crashes, and sometimes no matter how aware you are or how prepared you are, things just happen. However, we know that riding bikes can be risky due to the fact that there are so many things out of our control. Just make sure you are aware of the risks and control the things you can, to give yourself the best chance.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – So you may have heard that the WaterTower Challenge had to be postponed due to the sub-par riding conditions. 30-40km/hr winds gusting to 60+ on the coast would have made the event not very pleasant. We have therefore postponed to the 11th October with all entries honoured for that date. If you have already entered and that date doesn’t work for you, head back to the EntryBoss website and you can scratch your entry for a full refund. If you now are available to ride, you can put in a team via the same link.

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – Thank you to those that have volunteered for the WaterTower Challenge, we will double check this week to make sure you are still available for the new date. If you have entered the Challenge, make sure you thank the volunteers for their time and effort in keeping you hydrated and fed.

We also require a few more volunteers for the Beverley Race on the 17th October. If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do. Roles include marshalling, lead car, rego desk and SAG wagon.

Cycling research study – An Honours research student at Curtin University is seeking participants to join the study “Handling of Bicycles”. Participants must have at least 1 years’ experience in competitive road cycling or equivalent. If you fit this description, then they want to hear from you!
The objective of this study is to analyse road cyclist’s performance during typical cycling manoeuvres including accelerating, decelerating, ascending, descending, and cornering. This will involve placing sensors on your whole-body to record changes in your movement patterns, muscle activity and posture. You will be required to attend 1x session of approximately 2 hours in duration. 
Please contact Caitlin via email at caitlin.hillier@student.curtin.edu.au for more information.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

Kit order distribution – The missing items from the last kit distribution had finally turned up after cutting a lap of Australia first. If you ordered a winter jacket, long sleeve jersey or skinsuit they will be posted out if that is the option you selected. For pick up, they are now available at R&D Cycles.

2020 SPR Ride Leaders program calls for expressions of interest – Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program.
If you are interested, check out the previous post for more details.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – This weekend, the hills will be alive with the sounds of SPR. We have a put on a feast for those that love inclines and descents. It all starts Saturday with the second of our Saturday Hills ride trials up Welshpool road. Just to remind you if you have forgotten, the ride will kick off at Coode Street meeting with the rest of the riders at 7am. Based on the numbers and capabilities of riders for the last one, it’s likely there will be 2 groups, a ever so slightly faster group (suitable for those who regularly ride M1 and up) with the second group based around M2 speed/capability. These will be lead by Laurensia and Christophe, so look for them in the usually vacant middle lane of the car park.
But this week, the hills fun doesn’t stop there as we have a special treat for regular riders of the Sunday Hills. Whilst the ZigZag remains open to climb for just another month, we have created a short hills and long hills option that goes up this iconic Perth road and continues further into the hills. If you love hills riding then this may be the one and last time that you get the chance to go up and not down on a group ride. So don’t miss this potential one off opportunity.
For the rest of us, on Saturday, South Lake beckons now that roads works along Jandakot road are considered safe enough for groups to navigate, so this will also be new to everyone.
Whatever you choose this weekend, please look after yourself and those in your group. Enjoy the riding.

Saturday 3rd October

Sunday 4th October

Monday 5th October

Tuesday 6th October

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 7th October

Thursday 8th October

Friday 9th October

Ride routes 26th Sept – 2nd Oct

Rainbow Inception

There was a vote over the weekend in which 6 of the 8 state cycling bodies voted to disband Cycling Australia and join AusCycle. Westcycle abstained from voting on the grounds that none of their concerns had been answered. Some of this had to do with governance other had to do with who gets the money. At the moment this leaves us in a middle ground and we (being the WA clubs) have until the 1st November to work out what we are doing. As members of the broader organisation, you are riders are still covered regardless, but how this is structured moving forward is still under serious discussion. As for the day-to-day running of the club, nothing much changes. We will still be there on Saturday and every other day of the week. Hopefully, though, we see a rainbow coming out of this potential storm.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – So you may have heard that the WaterTower Challenge had to be postponed due to the sub-par riding conditions. 30-40km/hr winds gusting to 60+ on the coast would have made the event not very pleasant. We have therefore postponed to the 11th October with all entries honoured for that date. If you have already entered and that date doesn’t work for you, head back to the EntryBoss website and you can scratch your entry for a full refund. If you now are available to ride, you can put in a team via the same link.

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – Thank you to those that have volunteered for the WaterTower Challenge this weekend. If you have entered the Challenge, make sure you thank the volunteers for their time and effort in keeping you hydrated and fed.
The next event is the Beverley Race on the 17th October. If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
Volunteer numbers and positions are still being organised and we will let you know what the roles are.
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Thursday morning street sweeper – As some of you may be aware the Thursday earlybird group has had a few altercations with the street sweeper along Marine Parade in Cottesloe. We sent a letter to the Town of Cottesloe expressing our concern that these incidents could result in some very serious injuries. We received a letter from the Executive Manager Engineering Services and have been told that the contractor that runs the street sweeper has had the matter discussed with them. They raised our concerns and have been told that the drivers have been briefed. Please continue to observe caution when interacting with the street sweepers as they don’t always have good field of vision, but at the same time, if there are any more altercations, please report them through to the club.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

Kit order distribution – The missing items from the last kit distribution had finally turned up after cutting a lap of Australia first. If you ordered a winter jacket, long sleeve jersey or skinsuit they will be posted out if that is the option you selected. For pick up, they will be at Dome lunchtime Firday and after the ride on Saturday. They will then be taken to R&D Cycles midday Saturday.

2020 SPR Ride Leaders program calls for expressions of interest – Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program.
If you are interested, check out the previous post for more details.

Smart active transportation survey – A PhD candidate at the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University is researching active transportation (walking/cycling) and its relationship with technology, and how technology can improve and assist walking/cycling. As part of the study, there is a survey to understand peoples idea about the active mode of transportation. Please help out and spend a few minutes to fill in the survey here.

Club Van – We are currently looking for a new location for the club van to reside. After a few years at Laurensia’s (which we are very appreciative about), it is looking for a new home. If anyone has any spare garage space and would be willing to have our club van sit quietly, then please contact the club and let us know. Either residential or commercial properties are okay, as long as we can access it for events.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – How good was that Tour De France! And how good was Mr Porte. Talk about inspirational! The whole spectacle just makes you want to go and ride in Europe and see some of those wonderful sights. Hopefully we can dream again for a visit for the next European summer. In the interim, it does inspire you to want to get back out on the road to do your little thing in the WA cycling community. Good luck to all those who are going a little off-road this weekend with the Seven event on down south.  Just a reminder too, the club will be holding its second Saturday Hills trial ride next Saturday October 3rd, so if you do want to start training and dreaming of a European Summer cycling trip, perhaps this is a good ride to start with.

Saturday 26th September

Sunday 27th September

Monday 28th September

Tuesday 29th September

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 30th September

Thursday 1st October

Friday 2nd October

Ride routes 19th – 25th September

Photo: ZW Photography

It’s not easy being green, but it certainly makes it better if you win your race. SPR had a number of podiums last weekend at the State Championships with 6 medals out of the 24 club members that entered. 4 of them were 1st place with Teneal Attard, Andrew Lilley, Sam Smith and Fiona Whelan taking out their divisions. This weekend the focus is on the more recreational side of events with the WaterTower Challenge taking place on Sunday. Whether its the Metric or Imperial Century, it is a challenge and an opportunity for some to complete the distance. Throw in some nice climbs and some navigational skills, and I am sure that everyone that finishes will feel a sense of achievement.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – We have 92 riders entered into the WaterTower Challenge with 18 teams doing the Metric Century and 13 teams tackling the Imperial Century. Rider instructions and start times will be emailed out tonight. Good luck to all, and for those in the Imperial Challenge, please don’t hate me too much.

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – Thank you to those that have volunteered for the WaterTower Challenge this weekend. If you have entered the Challenge, make sure you thank the volunteers for their time and effort in keeping you hydrated and fed.
The next event is the Beverley Race on the 17th October. If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
Volunteer numbers and positions are still being organised and we will let you know what the roles are.
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Thursday morning street sweeper – As some of you may be aware the Thursday earlybird group has had a few altercations with the street sweeper along Marine Parade in Cottesloe. We sent a letter to the Town of Cottesloe expressing our concern that these incidents could result in some very serious injuries. We received a letter from the Executive Manager Engineering Services and have been told that the contractor that runs the street sweeper has had the matter discussed with them. They raised our concerns and have been told that the drivers have been briefed. Please continue to observe caution when interacting with the street sweepers as they don’t always have good field of vision, but at the same time, if there are any more altercations, please report them through to the club.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

Kit order distribution – The latest run of kit has mostly landed and is being readied for distribution. When you purchased kit, there were 2 options: pickup at R&D cycles, or delivery via post. The posted deliveries you should have received already. The rest will be at R&D. Certain items have not arrived yet but we will let you know when they arrive.

2020 SPR Ride Leaders program calls for expressions of interest – Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program.
If you are interested, check out the previous post for more details.

Smart active transportation survey – A PhD candidate at the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University is researching active transportation (walking/cycling) and its relationship with technology, and how technology can improve and assist walking/cycling. As part of the study, there is a survey to understand peoples idea about the active mode of transportation. Please help out and spend a few minutes to fill in the survey here.

Club Van – We are currently looking for a new location for the club van to reside. After a few years at Laurensia’s (which we are very appreciative about), it is looking for a new home. If anyone has any spare garage space and would be willing to have our club van sit quietly, then please contact the club and let us know. Either residential or commercial properties are okay, as long as we can access it for events.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – OK, so the local weather isn’t playing ball with my desire to go out and ride this weekend. After “Roaring for Ritchie” for the last 2.5 weeks and being mesmerized with the power of Caleb Ewan, I was keen to get out there moving from the couch peloton to an actual one. Hopefully we just manage to squeeze a ride in before the rain but as I’m writing that’s not the forecast.
So the “spotlight on safety” item for this week has to be bike maintenance. If it is a wet weekend it’s even more important to check tyres for wear and pressure and brakes for the same. How’s your chain going? Has it been checked for the right tension? Has it been oiled. There’s a massive amount of moving parts that we all take for granted that helps drive the bike and they all need to be checked regularly. So, a bit like checking the ride route on a Friday, it’s always good to do the same the night before a ride. If you do get out this weekend, hope you are safe and most importantly that you enjoy it.

Saturday 19th September

Sunday 20th September

Monday 21st September

Tuesday 22nd September

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 23rd September

Thursday 24th September

Friday 25th September

Ride routes 12th – 18th September

Family is especially important at this time

So, today is R U OK day. It is a special day that has been running for a number of years and for most people it has passed by without question. However, 2020 isn’t any normal year and people are not necessarily going about their lives as they had in the past. Although we are extremely lucky in WA, there are still a large number of people that have been out of work, or have the threat of that happening soon with changes to government support. These people especially may appreciate the question being asked. Not because they are necessarily struggling financially right now, but because that threat can cause them to struggle in other way, especially mentally and emotionally.
Ironically a few years ago on R U OK day, I had a mental breakdown at work due to sub-par leadership, and ended up a blubbering mess. I was fairly good at hiding any issues, left it too way long and was hit pretty hard. My solution was a fairly simple one of changing who i was working for, but the situation became quite an emotional roller-coaster which dragged on for a long time.
Not everyone is good at hiding it, though, and you may have noticed some changes in peoples emotional state. From experience, I know that it is easier said than done to tell someone that they just need to talk about it, however, just open with the question – R U OK?

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – It’s back. The WaterTower Challenge is set to run in September this year after a couple of years hiatus. Choose from the Metric (103km) or Imperial (170km) challenge. Ride against the clock in group of 3 around the suburbs of Perth. Find WaterTowers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you don’t usually ride through. Check out the event page on Facebook, organise some mates and pencil in the 20th September. Entries are now open via EntryBoss (click here).

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – We have two events coming up where the club will need assistance from the members to ensure they run successfully. Firstly is the WaterTower Challenge on the 20th Sept and secondly is the Beverley on the 17th October.

The WaterTower Challenge has the following volunteers –
2 x Registration Desk – Jason Gordon, Mandy McEvoy
2 x Feedzone 1 – Adrian Emilsen , Debbie Bertolatti
2 x Feedzone 2 – Greg Murray, Fiona Williams
1 x SAG wagon – Steve Burns & Holly


If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
The Beverely Race requires the following volunteers –
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Thursday morning street sweeper – As some of you may be aware the Thursday earlybird group has had a few altercations with the street sweeper along Marine Parade in Cottesloe. We sent a letter to the Town of Cottesloe expressing our concern that these incidents could result in some very serious injuries. We received a letter from the Executive Manager Engineering Services and have been told that the contractor that runs the street sweeper has had the matter discussed with them. They raised our concerns and have been told that the drivers have been briefed. Please continue to observe caution when interacting with the street sweepers as they don’t always have good field of vision, but at the same time, if there are any more altercations, please report them through to the club.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

Kit order distribution – The latest run of kit has mostly landed and is being readied for distribution. When you purchased kit, there were 2 options: pickup at R&D cycles, or delivery via post. To assist in getting the new kit out there especially before the state champs race this weekend, there will be a special distribution at the coffee shop after the Saturday ride. The postage option will have been dispatched today and anything not collected on Saturday, will be available at R&D cycles.

2020 SPR Ride Leaders program calls for expressions of interest – Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program.
If you are interested, check out the previous post for more details.

Smart active transportation survey – A PhD candidate at the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University is researching active transportation (walking/cycling) and its relationship with technology, and how technology can improve and assist walking/cycling. As part of the study, there is a survey to understand peoples idea about the active mode of transportation. Please help out and spend a few minutes to fill in the survey here.

Club Van – We are currently looking for a new location for the club van to reside. After a few years at Laurensia’s (which we are very appreciative about), it is looking for a new home. If anyone has any spare garage space and would be willing to have our club van sit quietly, then please contact the club and let us know. Either residential or commercial properties are okay, as long as we can access it for events.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – Early feedback from last Saturday’s hills ride was very positive which is great to see. The next trial Saturday’s hill ride will be the first weekend in October, so if you missed the first one, be sure to make the next one. Your committee will be reviewing the approach for possible options for Saturday Hills rides after the next ride.
Week before last I hinted at a “weekly” “spotlight/focus” safe riding item to think about as we prepare for some great weather conditions this weekend. This week it’s the ride route. So if you are reading this and you don’t normally read beyond this point in the blog, do yourself a favour and keep scrolling as the next section details which routes are picked for this weekend. I’m not sure how many near misses I’ve seen riding in groups when people get confused about when and where to turn but it is numerous. It can also add lots of confusion when conflicting calls are made because someone doesn’t know which way the designated route goes. It’s always the safest option to take a little time tonight or tomorrow night to familiarise yourself with the planned route and take control of your own safety. When you combine it with calling up and down the group then it goes a long way to helping you get back to enjoy that much deserved coffee.

Saturday 12th September

Sunday 13th September

Monday 14th September

Tuesday 15th September

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 16th September

Thursday 17th September

Friday 18th September

2020 SPR Ride Leaders Program – Calls for Expressions of Interest

SPR’s training rides set us apart as a cycling Club; we are one of the few clubs in Australia that is not affiliated with a bike shop facilitating a broad range of opportunities for people to cycle in a group every day. Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all.

To this end, the Club developed a ride leader development program, with the objectives of:

  1. developing SPR ride leaders’ knowledge and skills of both ride leadership and core cycling skills
  2. building the confidence of ride leaders to ensure ride consistency and enhanced decision making during group rides
  3. growing the pool of capable, confident ride leaders

We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program. The Program consists of three separate but related components:

  1. Theory: covers the core knowledge and skills required to be an effective ride leader for group rides across the Main, Transition and Development rides conducted by SPR (+/- 2hrs personal time)
  2. Skills Sessions: out on the bike, learning all about what it takes to be a good ride leader as well as having the opportunity to practice your skills and ideas in a “safe” environment. (3 x 2.5 hours sessions)
  3. Ride Leader Observations: This will involve you being the ride leader for up to three (3) separate SPR training rides with an observer to determine how you go about deploying your skills and knowledge in the “real world” environment. (2 – 3 ‘normal’ training rides, weekdays or weekends as required)

As a participant, you will get:

  1. New Skills: You will learn new skills and knowledge about cycling as well as ride leadership.
  2. Kudos: Be part of the “qualified” ride leader team out on the road.
  3. Stuff.Upon successful completion, Program participants will receive a custom SPR Ride Leader jersey to be worn whenever you are leading a SPR ride (new style out soon!!).
  4. On Going Development: Access to private discussion groups; coaching and skills development; ride-leader only events.

In return, once you have completed the Program, we will expect your commitment to the following:

  1. Lead a minimum of 2 rides* per month throughout the year
  2. Be a role model for ride behaviour on ALL rides you participate in
  3. Assist in the recruitment and mentorship of future ride leaders
  4. Assist in training/observing people for their readiness to take on the role of Ride Leader.

*All prospective ride leaders should note that, from time to time, they will need be called on to lead rides of a lower skill &/or fitness level than their own. This means putting the interests of the Club and other riders before their own.

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. While the ability to ride at or above the level of the group you are leading is important, just as critical is the constructive attitude and sound communication skills that are brought to the role. Empathy, care and the ability to encourage others is essential to the success of the ride leader.

In the event we are over-subscribed, the T&D sub-committee will use the quality & content of the EOI’s as well as the need to balance the mix of ride leaders to select the required number of participants. Anyone who is not selected shouldn’t be discouraged; it’s a numbers thing (us) rather than a capability thing (you).

As part of your EOI, we’d like you to outline:

  1. what you hope to get out of being a SPR ride leader
  2. why you feel you will make a good contributor to ride leader team
  3. which SPR group you usually ride with (M2, M3, M4, T), and
  4. your statement of commitment to the role of ride leader in terms of time to complete the Program and to lead the requisite number of rides per month

We anticipate kicking the Program off on the 24th of October and completing it by mid-December.

If interested, please submit your EOI to development@southperthrouleurs.com.au  before 17 October 2019. If you have any questions about the Program before submitting your EOI, please send them through to development@southperthrouleurs.com.au and we will get back to you ASAP.

SPR Training and Development Sub-Committee

New Kit Day

A message from Mayeur…

Great news is that the bulk of SPR order #1 has arrived and is sorted and ready to distribute. This includes all of the short sleeve jerseys, bib shorts, base layers, arm warmers and gilets.

Inexplicably, the long sleeve jerseys, jackets & skinsuits decided they’d take a more scenic route to Perth, so they won’t be available until next week.

We regret that our delivery time was compromised, and we appreciate everyone’s patience during this challenging time.

We know that people are keen to get hold of the “new green” so we’re adding a couple of options for collection in an attempt to catch the most people as quickly as possible.

The plan for distribution is as follows:
1. We will bring the orders to Dome on Thursday night from 4:30-6pm.
2. We will bring the orders to Dome on Saturday morning after the regular rides.
After that it will be available to collect from R&D speedshop.

The orders are packaged up in a MAYEUR musette, so you can ride away with them. We hope these are a handy extra for racing & commuting.

For those that prepaid postage, if it is more convenient to collect on Thursday, please let us know ASAP and we can refund your postage, otherwise we will express post them on Thursday.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the new kit and the new look for the club. We’re proud of it, and hope you find it as comfortable as we do.

Ride routes 5th – 11th September

Numbers are certainly growing now that the weather is getting warmer and the mornings lighter for the earlybird rides. The Thursday ride, in particular, boasts at least four groups and probably should be more. The ride leaders try to split the groups up for safety as larger groups struggle with smooth roll-throughs and risk being split at traffic lights. This in turn promotes unsafe behaviours where people may overlap wheels or try to make it through red lights. If you think you are fast, stand near the front. Please don’t jump ahead into another group after we have split the numbers. We are trying to make sure you all finish safely, we are not trying to say that you are a slow rider. The last thing anyone wants to do is be responsible for causing an accident that brings others down.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – It’s back. The WaterTower Challenge is set to run in September this year after a couple of years hiatus. Choose from the Metric (103km) or Imperial (170km) challenge. Ride against the clock in group of 3 around the suburbs of Perth. Find WaterTowers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you don’t usually ride through. Check out the event page on Facebook, organise some mates and pencil in the 20th September. Entries are now open via EntryBoss (click here).

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – We have two events coming up where the club will need assistance from the members to ensure they run successfully. Firstly is the WaterTower Challenge on the 20th Sept and secondly is the Beverley on the 17th October.
If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
The WaterTower Challenge requires the following volunteers –
2 x Registration Desk – Jason Gordon, Mandy McEvoy
3 x Feedzone 1 – Fiona Williams, ?, Debbie Bertolatti
2 x Feedzone 2 – Greg Murray, ?
1 x SAG wagon – Adrian Emilsen

The Beverely Race requires the following volunteers –
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Thursday morning street sweeper – As some of you may be aware the Thursday earlybird group has had a few altercations with the street sweeper along Marine Parade in Cottesloe. We sent a letter to the Town of Cottesloe expressing our concern that these incidents could result in some very serious injuries. We received a letter from the Executive Manager Engineering Services and have been told that the contractor that runs the street sweeper has had the matter discussed with them. They raised our concerns and have been told that the drivers have been briefed. Please continue to observe caution when interacting with the street sweepers as they don’t always have good field of vision, but at the same time, if there are any more altercations, please report them through to the club.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

Kit orders reopen – The club kit shop is now open again, primarily to allow those doing the Tour of Margaret River to purchase any additional kit that they might need. If you missed out in the first run get in and order now! https://www.mayeur.cc/collections/south-perth-rouleurs
Update – 2 new garments have been added to the shop. A women’s 3/4 length bibs and a Premium jersey. The fit of the Premium jersey is between the slim and aero and made from a premium fabric.
Update 2 – This order will close now close on the 7th September 2020 to allow enough time for kit to arrive pre-ToMR.

Saturday Hills Ride Option Survey Results – As you may remember the club received some feedback recently from a few members enquiring about an option to hold a Hills ride on a Saturday morning. We then put out a simple survey on this blog to gain an understanding of where members sat on the issue. Some key stats from this survey:-
There were 78 responses
On the question of are you interested, nearly 90% said yes
On the question of how frequent; 34% said once a month, 22% said twice monthly, which was the same response as “occasionally” and every week.
On the question of what distance, 47% said short hills, 18% said long Hills and 35% suggested either

From the results above, the SPR Committee has endorsed a 2-month trial of a Saturday Short Hills Ride on the first Saturday’s in September and October. We will be allocating a Ride Leader to the ride in the same way we do with all Saturday rides; this is an important part of SPR’s goal of providing safe group rides, but also means that we will need to review carefully after the trial as our volunteer Ride Leader’s time is precious! So, the first of these will kick off on Saturday 5th September, leaving from Coode Street at 7am. We will be reminding people next week that it will be on and again in early October via posts and Facebook so if you were one of the 70 that said yes, please support the trial. A decision to extend the trial beyond October will be made pending the popularity of the ride and any issues that may arise from riding in the hills on a Saturday not a Sunday.Given it is estimated that most respondents would have had some experience with Hills riding, it is suggested that the speed and fitness required for these first 2 rides will be that riders can keep up at a minimum Main 2 riding pace / fitness level. If we get feedback that there is a call for a slower Hills ride on Saturday, we can review that when we review the success of the trial.

Smart active transportation survey – A PhD candidate at the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University is researching active transportation (walking/cycling) and its relationship with technology, and how technology can improve and assist walking/cycling. As part of the study, there is a survey to understand peoples idea about the active mode of transportation. Please help out and spend a few minutes to fill in the survey here.

Club Van – We are currently looking for a new location for the club van to reside. After a few years at Laurensia’s (which we are very appreciative about), it is looking for a new home. If anyone has any spare garage space and would be willing to have our club van sit quietly, then please contact the club and let us know. Either residential or commercial properties are okay, as long as we can access it for events.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – So, here we are looking at all the cyclists ahead in the peloton about to climb some hills. Where am I?!
If you answered “in the couch peloton watching Le Tour” then if it’s 8pm you would be right but I’ll give you another clue. It’s after 7am this coming Saturday.
You get the gold star if you answered “I’ll be on the Saturday Short Hills trial ride with SPR”. Yes it’s on this Saturday. Just a few things to note in preparation for the ride:

  • It will be lead by Dean and Laurensia so keep an eye out for them in the carpark. Assembly is expected to be in the current vacant middle lane.
  • Expected pace/fitness level will be ability to ride M2 or above. Idea behind this is to trial with more experienced riders to understand things like traffic and specific hazards etc that might be unique to Saturday not Sunday morning.
  • If you haven’t done many hills rides before but are OK with the pace, please make sure you have adequate water and nutrition to get you through.
  • Ride will leave from the carpark after the last M1 group but before M2. Reason for this is the main ride also initially heads off on the same roads before it turns into Hale Rd whilst you will go straight ahead along Welshpool Rd. So you need to be at Coode Street carpark like normal by 7am.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice morning for you. Chapeaux to all those giving it a go.

Saturday 5th September

Sunday 6th September

Monday 7th September

Tuesday 8th September

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 9th September

Thursday 10th September

Friday 11th September

Ride routes 29th August – 4th Sept

Every year the month of July is usually full of suffering. The Tour de France has normally started and a bunch of riders are cutting a big lap of the hexagon. Although over in France the riders are suffering, I find that it is usually work and home that suffer here in Perth. Trying to catch all the action of a stage finish at midnight as well as still get training rides in at 5:30am does make for a grumpy demeanor. Something has to give and it is usually at teh expense of being pleasant to be around. :). This year, however, has been anything but “the usual”. The Tour starts this weekend with the Giro starting a couple of weeks after the Tour finishes and the Vuelta actually overlapping with the Giro’s last week. This will be an action packed few months whilst the organisors scramble to fit races into the rest of the year. Is this the year for another upset as a number of new names appear in the contenders list? You’ll just have to stay up late for the next three weeks to find out.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – It’s back. The WaterTower Challenge is set to run in September this year after a couple of years hiatus. Choose from the Metric (103km) or Imperial (170km) challenge. Ride against the clock in group of 3 around the suburbs of Perth. Find WaterTowers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you don’t usually ride through. Check out the event page on Facebook, organise some mates and pencil in the 20th September. Entries are now open via EntryBoss (click here).

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – We have two events coming up where the club will need assistance from the members to ensure they run successfully. Firstly is the WaterTower Challenge on the 20th Sept and secondly is the Beverley on the 17th October.
If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
The WaterTower Challenge requires the following volunteers –
2 x Registration Desk – Jason Gordon, Mandy McEvoy
3 x Feedzone 1 – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams, Debbie Bertolatti
2 x Feedzone 2 – Greg Murray, ?
1 x SAG wagon – ?
The Beverely Race requires the following volunteers –
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Kit orders reopen – The club kit shop is now open again, primarily to allow those doing the Tour of Margaret River to purchase any additional kit that they might need. If you missed out in the first run get in and order now! https://www.mayeur.cc/collections/south-perth-rouleurs
Update – 2 new garments have been added to the shop. A women’s 3/4 length bibs and a Premium jersey. The fit of the Premium jersey is between the slim and aero and made from a premium fabric.
This order will close on 1 September 2020 to allow enough time for kit to arrive pre-ToMR.

Saturday Hills Ride Option Survey Results – As you may remember the club received some feedback recently from a few members enquiring about an option to hold a Hills ride on a Saturday morning. We then put out a simple survey on this blog to gain an understanding of where members sat on the issue. Some key stats from this survey:-
There were 78 responses
On the question of are you interested, nearly 90% said yes
On the question of how frequent; 34% said once a month, 22% said twice monthly, which was the same response as “occasionally” and every week.
On the question of what distance, 47% said short hills, 18% said long Hills and 35% suggested either

From the results above, the SPR Committee has endorsed a 2-month trial of a Saturday Short Hills Ride on the first Saturday’s in September and October. We will be allocating a Ride Leader to the ride in the same way we do with all Saturday rides; this is an important part of SPR’s goal of providing safe group rides, but also means that we will need to review carefully after the trial as our volunteer Ride Leader’s time is precious! So, the first of these will kick off on Saturday 5th September, leaving from Coode Street at 7am. We will be reminding people next week that it will be on and again in early October via posts and Facebook so if you were one of the 70 that said yes, please support the trial. A decision to extend the trial beyond October will be made pending the popularity of the ride and any issues that may arise from riding in the hills on a Saturday not a Sunday.Given it is estimated that most respondents would have had some experience with Hills riding, it is suggested that the speed and fitness required for these first 2 rides will be that riders can keep up at a minimum Main 2 riding pace / fitness level. If we get feedback that there is a call for a slower Hills ride on Saturday, we can review that when we review the success of the trial.

Smart active transportation survey – A PhD candidate at the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University is researching active transportation (walking/cycling) and its relationship with technology, and how technology can improve and assist walking/cycling. As part of the study, there is a survey to understand peoples idea about the active mode of transportation. Please help out and spend a few minutes to fill in the survey here.

Club Van – We are currently looking for a new location for the club van to reside. After a few years at Laurensia’s (which we are very appreciative about), it is looking for a new home. If anyone has any spare garage space and would be willing to have our club van sit quietly, then please contact the club and let us know. Either residential or commercial properties are okay, as long as we can access it for events.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – As predicted last week, our numbers for the Saturday ride swelled with the fine weather. It was great to see more people heading out after their long winter’s hibernation and this week it’s also looking good.
But of course, with extra numbers, comes extra responsibility on all riders to be aware of their surroundings and the safety of their fellow riders as group sizes tend to be bigger. So I’ve decided to post a weekly “spotlight/focus” on things to be aware of when riding in groups.
This week it’s on “Calling UP and DOWN the group” relating to riding instructions and hazards. We picked up some feedback last week that one of our pelotons got a little messy moving to single file when the road transitioned from double lane to single lane. Whilst it was called from the back, it wasn’t passed up through the group so a number of riders remained double breasted along the single lane road and caused some frustrations with the motorists behind. Likewise, it’s very important to be calling ALL the way down the line when hazards or traffic appears ahead. One of the most dangerous incidents we have is coming up to roundabouts when traffic is not called down to the back riders. So, please do yourself a favour and make sure a call is passed on to the next person, up or down! It may just be the difference between enjoying a coffee afterwards or getting an ambulance to hospital.

Saturday 29th August

Sunday 30th August

Monday 31st August

Tuesday 1 September

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 2nd September

Thursday 3rd September

Friday 4th Spetember

Ride routes 22nd – 28th August

1 Comment

The WaterTower Challenge, Beverley Race and Tour of Margaret River. September, October, November. From a pandemic stand point we are lucky that they are all coming later in the year. From an organisation standpoint, we have a lot to get through over these three months and the months leading up to it. Volunteers. We need you for all three events. In some cases you don’t have to do that much, but take peoples numbers as they come past, in others it may be a slow drive behind a bunch of riders. Either way the club needs you to help out. We also need you to enter these events. The WaterTower Challenge is one of the few recreational events in Perth at the moment and is not linked to any charity. It is just about challenging yourself. If you are not interested in racing, then how about navigating your way around Perth with two other friends. Marvel at the wonder of mid-20th century concrete architecture asking “how could such a primitive culture create such futuristic structures without the help of aliens?”

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

SPR Watertower Challenge – It’s back. The WaterTower Challenge is set to run in September this year after a couple of years hiatus. Choose from the Metric (103km) or Imperial (170km) challenge. Ride against the clock in group of 3 around the suburbs of Perth. Find WaterTowers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you don’t usually ride through. Check out the event page on Facebook, organise some mates and pencil in the 20th September. Entries are now open via EntryBoss (click here).

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – We have two events coming up where the club will need assistance from the members to ensure they run successfully. Firstly is the WaterTower Challenge on the 20th Sept and secondly is the Beverley on the 17th October.
If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
The WaterTower Challenge requires the following volunteers –
2 x Registration Desk – Jason Gordon, ?
3 x Feedzone 1 – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams, ?
2 x Feedzone 2 – ?, ?
1 x SAG wagon – ?
The Beverely Race requires the following volunteers –
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Kit orders reopen – The club kit shop is now open again, primarily to allow those doing the Tour of Margaret River to purchase any additional kit that they might need. If you missed out in the first run get in and order now! https://www.mayeur.cc/collections/south-perth-rouleurs
This order will close on 1 September 2020 to allow enough time for kit to arrive pre-ToMR…it’s mid-August already so don’t delay!

Club Van – We are currently looking for a new location for the club van to reside. After a few years at Laurensia’s (which we are very appreciative about), it is looking for a new home. If anyone has any spare garage space and would be willing to have our club van sit quietly, then please contact the club and let us know. Either residential or commercial properties are okay, as long as we can access it for events.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – Whilst last week wasn’t as windy as we thought it might have been we’ve finally cracked it for some forecast lightish winds for our Main Ride this week.  So with some sunny weather forecast and Spring just around the corner, expect our ride numbers might be good this Saturday.  This weekend it’s TV Stations but please stay tuned (bad Dad humour) for next week’s post when we publish the outcomes from our Saturday Hills ride survey. Until then enjoy your riding!

Saturday 22nd August

Sunday 23rd August

Monday 24th August

Tuesday 25th August

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 26th August

Thursday 27th August

Friday 28th August

Ride routes 15th – 21st August

It was a dark and stormy night, but we have had a few of them lately, so another one won’t be much of a surprise. What was a surprise was that our club reporter Claire Tyrrell has recently returned from not-so-sunny England. Like most well laid plans, the coronavirus has made her cut her trip short and head back to Perth. However, since Clive Palmer hasn’t stuffed it all up for us yet, she is on a 14 day non-parole lock down in a city hotel. If you know Claire, drop her a message, as she has nothing but 4 walls and a crap view for another 12 days, so will enjoy the distraction. Its always good to see some familiar faces return to our peloton, and even better that fact that we can ride and enjoy a relatively free existence. The UK, however, did not fair as well, so it will be good to get a different perspective on what is happening across the world.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

Collie to Donnybrook – Good luck to all the riders heading down to Collie this Saturday for the 95th running of the Collie-Bonnybrook return handicap race. As you can see from the photo, it doesn’t always come down to the scratch riders dominating the finish. Stu was narrowly pipped at the line by Gary a couple of years ago when they managed to stay clear of the main bunch.

Gravel Ride – Looking for an easy Sunday ride but getting bored of doing river loop? or you want to do something different? SPR are very excited to bring you the Inaugural SPR Sunday Gravel on August 16th. This will be an easy-paced ride, leaving from Bellevue RSL, pub lunch at Parkerville, and an easy roll back down the hill. See the event details on the SPR Facebook page and please RSVP asap so a table can be booked for lunch.

Looking fresh on the start-line

SPR ToMR Teams – We now registering 4 men’s teams and 1 women’s team. We have a number of men on the reserve list and as previous history has shown us, they will be required closer to the event. We are still short a couple of women’s riders, so if you are interested, please email the club race address. We also have enough volunteers for this event as this year does not require multiple car shuffling for those stages that start and finish in different spots.
Those riders that have indicated that they want to race, but have not yet paid their deposit, please do so as soon as possible, or you may lose your spot.

SPR Watertower Challenge – It’s back. The WaterTower Challenge is set to run in September this year after a couple of years hiatus. Choose from the Metric (103km) or Imperial (170km) challenge. Ride against the clock in group of 3 around the suburbs of Perth. Find WaterTowers that you never knew existed and visit suburbs you don’t usually ride through. Check out the event page on Facebook, organise some mates and pencil in the 20th September. Entries are now open via EntryBoss (click here).

The Beverley Race – The club is again holding this event as part of the Heroic weekend, but this year we have changed the format of the road race. As the perfect preparation for the Tour of Margaret River and it’s 3 team time trials, this years Beverley will be a Team Time Trial of between 4-6 riders. No special TT bikes or fancy helmets allowed, just ride your bike hard. Register your teams today via EntryBoss.

The Beverley Heroic – The Heroic involves many aspects of cycling spanning the weekend of the 17th and 18th of October. On top of the aforementioned team time trial, there is a cyclo-cross race, gravel race and heroic ride.

Volunteers – We have two events coming up where the club will need assistance from the members to ensure they run successfully. Firstly is the WaterTower Challenge on the 20th Sept and secondly is the Beverley on the 17th October.
If you can assist the club, send an email through to club to let us know what you can do.
The WaterTower Challenge requires the following volunteers –
2 x Registration Desk – Jason Gordon, ?
3 x Feedzone 1 – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams, ?
2 x Feedzone 2 – ?, ?
1 x SAG wagon – ?
The Beverely Race requires the following volunteers –
Positions announced soon – Fiona Williams, Andrew Williams.

Kit orders reopen – The club kit shop is now open again, primarily to allow those doing the Tour of Margaret River to purchase any additional kit that they might need. If you missed out in the first run get in and order now! https://www.mayeur.cc/collections/south-perth-rouleurs
This order will close on 1 September 2020 to allow enough time for kit to arrive pre-ToMR…it’s mid-August already so don’t delay!

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator – Well it’s “ground hog” day for the weather forecast this week with fresh north/northeasterly for our main ride and rain/hail forecast scheduled for Sunday. Let’s hope the Sunday weather clears enough for the inaugural gravel ride the club is putting on. Then again, if you know a few of the people who are into CX and/or mountain biking, wet weather is something they relish. Hope it goes well. For those that are road warriors only, this week’s main ride is one of the more challenging gradients we have for Saturday morning. At least by the time you get to West Coast Highway the wind will push you back home. Whatever cycling you do, enjoy !

Saturday 15th August

Sunday 16th August

Monday 17th August

Tuesday 18th August

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 19th August

Thursday 20th August

Friday 21st August