unbelievably arrogant.  so i was asked during the week about the clubs official response when a video similar to the truck overtaking the two riders in freo happens to someone in spr kit.  officially our response will be….nothing.  in that particular case, the riders were doing nothing illegal so to comment on it would just start an argument for arguments sake. you could say that the riders could have moved to single file, you could say that the truck could have changed lanes, you could even say that the council should not have made the kerb kick in and then out again for no apparent reason.  there are lots of things that could be said but it also just gives airplay to those that want to fight for their right, to be right….regardless of the situation.  not only does it give them a platform, it allows them to find other people with the same bias to affirm their beliefs.  i have seen time and time again people try to explain that they legally can ride single file, don’t have to pay rego, should be given more space, but at the end of the day, the people that you are arguing with, just don’t care.  if that truck had connected with the rider, then the driver would probably be charged under the new 1m rule, but being right is no good if you are dead or injured.

in the case of the picture above, the group was following proper road rules and were stopped at a red light yet still we cop abuse for essentially getting in the way of the truck that wants to turn left.  if there were two cars waiting at the lights, he would have been in the same situation, but i am sure that he would not have snapped a photo.  lately we are under the spotlight and it seems that people feel that they can gain some notoriety from posting pictures of “arrogant” cyclists using the road.  on two occasions during the saturday earlybird we had vehicles video us as we were riding along.  in both cases we were not doing anything illegal (unlike the two individuals using phones in their cars) so if the footage does hit the web, our response is still nothing.

there is a war on our roads, but in reality it is a cold war where the two sides are building up their stockpiles of video evidence in order to go – “ha, you are worse than me”.  it doesn’t solve anything, it just starts arguments.  if you are not using the footage to report incidents to the police, then just be careful where and how you use it.  we know there are stupid drivers and out there just as much as we know there are stupid riders out there.  fueling the fire and arguing with trolls does not help our case.  however, if you are caught on a club ride or in spr kit doing something illegal, dangerous or stupid, we will be calling you out for it and expecting you to own it and formally apologise.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for january is Valetudo Health.  SPR club member Corrie Fillmore (Johnstone) coaches triathletes and cyclists at Valetudo Health and also provides injury rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, sports dietetics, and exercise physiology services.

the ring crits (australia day) – the next race in the ring series will be next week on australia day where rccc and spr will be hosting the event at tech park.  a great circuit for spectating so, even if you are not racing, come down and check out the action.  entry for the race can be found on this link.

tour de bintan – the tour de bintan is a great 3 day race on the island of bintan in indonesia.  not only is the race well organised and in beautiful tropical surroundings, but it also a qualifier for the UWCT final to be held in italy in september.  toby brown’s strive cycle training, has once again organised a combined travel and training package that includes return airfares, accommodation and transfers, and access to strive coaching services for the event.  there are approximately 5 spots on the trip left to fill, and these now available for SPR members.  if you’d like the opportunity to qualify for the UWCT final, and experience racing in asia get in touch now. dates: 23-25 march. cost: $1666 per person
info@strivecycletraining.com

ride start locations –just a friendly reminder that the bike path under the narrows is a public thoroughfare that needs to be kept open.  please make sure that bikes and pedestrians have access in both directions.  we are getting more and more people on our rides and it is starting to become a problem.  please be considerate and move down rather than stand 3 abreast.

2018 licences renewal – any race licence that you purchase now will be valid until the end of 2018.  recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year.  if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it.  a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr.  if you want to change clubs, email through your membership number and we can initiate the change.  make sure you are insured while riding, even if you are not racing.

group sizes and ride etiquette – a timely reminder from our training and development officer on just why we split the ride up into certain size groups.  why we need to keep separated on the road and what it means for your safety.  have a read of the previous post, because if you get pulled up for one of these issues don’t expect that “i didn’t know” to be a valid excuse.

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

ride routes – so after an absolute soaking this week, we are seeing some fine riding weather on the horizon.  just be aware that it is starting to get a bit darker in the morning with official sunrise now close to 5:30am.  make sure people can see you when you are riding to the start of the earlybird rides.

saturday 20th january

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast/main – holmes rd 50.42km spr saturday

sunday 21st january

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna can mills 94.55km spr sunday

monday 22nd january

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 23rd january

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 24th january

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 25th january

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 26th january – aussie day

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

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

public hol 58.97km spr special

you don’t need to ride to represent the club.  you don’t even have to wear kit.  just when we were about to head off after the regroup at the top of haddrill, up rocks doug with an esky full of ice and water.  the day wasn’t that hot, but with limited facilities in brigadoon (i.e. none), it was a welcome relief for the riders.  his real reason for being out that way was to take his son to the petting zoo, but a slight detour was appreciated by a lot of people. doug finishes off the year as the “good bloke” of the week award.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for december is  Travis Meyer from Finance Detective.  Travis Meyer is an ex-professional cyclist having raced with some of the biggest teams in the world such as Orica-GreenEdge & Garmin Slipstream. He has turned his attention to his new venture, as a Mortgage & Finance Broker, working alongside the best in the business, Finance Detective.    please see the previous post for more details.

2018 licences renewal – any race licence that you purchase now will be valid until the end of 2018.  recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year.  if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it.  a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr.  if you want to change clubs, email through your membership number and we can initiate the change.

group sizes and ride etiquette – a timely reminder from our training and development officer on just why we split the ride up into certain size groups.  why we need to keep separated on the road and what it means for your safety.  have a read of the previous post, because if you get pulled up for one of these issues don’t expect that “i didn’t know” to be a valid excuse.

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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

ride routes – with a lot of people having this week off and doing an insane amount of k’s, this weekends rides will seem a little mundane.  still, some will still need to finish their festive 500 before the end of the weekend.  maybe the nightowl may be an option on saturday morning…

saturday 30th december

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional – trans benara 39.90km spr saturday

fast/main – morley drive 50.77km spr saturday

sunday 31st december – new year’s eve

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – roley obs 100.16km spr sunday

monday 1st january – new years day

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

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

public hol 58.97km spr special

tuesday 2nd january

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 3rd january

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 4th january

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 5th january

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

so to save me from trying to think of something insightful or witty thing to write about this week, toby brown has posted a very important piece to his facebook page.  with his permission i have copied the majority of it below as i totally agree with the message and sentiment of what he has written.

If you ride in Western Australia this summer, you are riding directly into the zeitgeist. The constant irritation that has been bubbling away between cyclists and motorists in our state for the last few years is coming to the boiling point.

What’s turned up the heat? In my estimation, three main things.

Firstly, and we should get this out of the way early as it is beyond the scope of this discussion, is the fact that cycling infrastructure spending has not kept pace with the development and growth of the sport. This means that cyclists and motorists are interacting much more than they have in the past. We as cyclists hear a constant grousing from motorists that cyclists ‘belong on the bike paths’. Believe me, we would all prefer to ride in an environment that is free from the dangers that come from riding close to traffic. The truth is though, without purpose built infrastructure it is just not going to happen. We will continue to share roads with motorists.

The second issue that brings up the temperature in this near boiling point environment is the proliferation of new technology which gives both motorists, and cyclists, the ability to record each other’s poor behaviour and then post it on social media. Both sides do it. In fact Western Australians are so good at this we have become a fertile ground for tech start-ups that produce really great cameras for bikes that record endless hours of motorists behaving poorly. Dash cams in cars, and yes, drivers recording on their mobile phones do the same thing. We are adept at catching each other doing something stupid and airing it out in the public domain. We find it vindicating that we are right in our side of the debate. Cyclists are dumb and should be on the bike paths. Motorists are entitled and show little regard for human life. Evidence now exists that both of these statements are true.

Finally, the straw on the camel’s proverbial? The 1m rule. The safe passing legislation. The cycling community and lobby groups have long wanted legislation that protects vulnerable road users. After all, what is legislation if it’s not a means to regulate people’s behaviour who have shown that they can’t regulate it themselves? The 1m rule is necessary. It’s a sad fact that cyclists have died on Western Australian roads because motorists have been too close, too impatient, and perhaps just too preoccupied.

And it works. The anecdotal feedback from the cyclists is that since the implementation of the safe passing legislation, they have felt safer on the roads. Motorists have been more respectful, more patient, and have been giving more room. Its great and it will save lives.

However, there has been an unintended consequence. We, the cycling community have demanded better behaviour from the motoring public. Now they in turn they are demanding better behaviour from us.

And rightly so.

We are now moving into a new era, where all road users are going to hold each other to account for the way we use the roads. As a cyclist, if you are doing something unsafe, illegal, or just plain stupid, you should expect it to be filmed. You should also expect to be held to account for your behaviour in the court of public opinion.

As such, there are a whole lot of cycling norms that need to be re-examined.
Riding over the white lines on the Wednesday afternoon ride. Over.
Drafting vehicles on public roads. Over.
Boxing Day Pappas. Genuinely, over.

A failure to reconcile these old behaviours and norms with the new reality we find ourselves in is just going to end badly for everyone. You will inflame tensions, you will lose sponsorship for your teams and ultimately you will risk lives.

Have a safe and merry Christmas, and be safe and respectful out on the roads.

NOTE: Zeitgeist (/ˈzaɪtɡaɪst/) is the dominant set of ideals and beliefs that motivate the actions of the members of a society in a particular period in time.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for december is  Travis Meyer from Finance Detective.  Travis Meyer is an ex-professional cyclist having raced with some of the biggest teams in the world such as Orica-GreenEdge & Garmin Slipstream. He has turned his attention to his new venture, as a Mortgage & Finance Broker, working alongside the best in the business, Finance Detective.    please see the previous post for more details.

xmas breakfast and awards – as xmas this year falls on a monday, the final saturday ride and corresponding breakfast will be on the 23rd dec.  this will be the annual dress-up ride so we hope to see some inventive costumes and bike decorations.  as always we like to take this time to acknowledge peoples achievements throughout the year.  some awards are decided by the social committee, some by the president and others by the riders.  remember that breakfast is $15 cash at the door for a coffee and buffet.  don’t bring your credit card.

club survey – the club survey results have been posted so have a look to see what areas the club will be concentrating on next year.  the additional comments will also be replied to, as we want to make sure everyone understands where the club stands on certain issues.  the winner of the ipad will be drawn at the xmas breakfast on 23rd dec.

2018 licences renewal – any race licence that you purchase now will be valid until the end of 2018.  recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year.  if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it.  a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr.

group sizes and ride etiquette – a timely reminder from our training and development officer on just why we split the ride up into certain size groups.  why we need to keep separated on the road and what it means for your safety.  have a read of the previous post, because if you get pulled up for one of these issues don’t expect that “i didn’t know” to be a valid excuse.

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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

christmas day ride –  not an official ride, but the “mr bonner christmas spectacular” will leave the carpark at 7:00am.  if you don’t have any family commitments, then come along for an easy, mostly flat ride.

ride routes – there will be a small change this saturday.  as we are now getting so many groups at the start, the lower groups are leaving later and later.  as they take longer on the ride, they are getting to the coffee shop even later again.  as we want as many people there for the breakfast and awards, this week there will be a split between main 1 and 2.  fast/fast2/main1 will all go on one course while main2/3/4 will take another.  the transitional groups will head out first followed by 2-3-4, then fast-fast2-main1.  hopefully this means that people don’t miss out at the coffee shop.

saturday 23rd december

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional – trans mosman 40.39km spr saturday

main 2/3/4 – shelley & mosman 50.14km spr saturday

fast/fast2/main 1 – freo & canning vale 52.11km spr saturday

sunday 24th december – christmas eve

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group – coffee ride

short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday

long – cann dam 100.13km spr sunday

monday 25th december – christmas day

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

mr bonner christmas spectacular

tuesday 26th december – boxing day

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

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

public hol 58.97km spr special

wednesday 27th december

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 28th december

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 29th december

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

so something occurred to me the other day after the new laws came in to play.  cars were actually giving us more space.  most cars moved totally into the other lane to make sure that they were not within a metre of a cyclist.  now besides the law change, the ad campaign has also changed.  now instead of “could be a mate”, “could be a commetti” or “could be a dad”, the slogan also states “could be a fine”.  the disappointing thing about all this is that people are more worried about getting a fine, than actually injuring someone.  i’m not angry.  i am just disappointed.  no, that only works to guilt your kids.  even on the thursday earlybird we were abused by a car trying to get past going up preston point road.  the passenger was yelling all types of stuff out the window, but the driver was all the way into the other lane to overtake.  has there been a change in behavior???  yes, i think so, but we also seem to cop a bit more abuse because of the change.  the important thing is not to flaunt it.  just because you are right, doesn’t mean you don’t end up hurt.  think about where you ride and when you ride, especially when you are on your own.  at the end of the day, in the eyes of a lot of drivers, your life is actually worth less than a $400 fine and 4 demerit points.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for december is  Travis Meyer from Finance Detective.  Travis Meyer is an ex-professional cyclist having raced with some of the biggest teams in the world such as Orica-GreenEdge & Garmin Slipstream. He has turned his attention to his new venture, as a Mortgage & Finance Broker, working alongside the best in the business, Finance Detective.    please see the previous post for more details.

club photo – we are going to update our club photo this saturday before the main ride.  zac williams will be taking the photo so make sure you are there about 10min to 7 so we can setup.  there are some rules so check out the previous post so things can run smoothly on the day.

the ring criterium at tech park – our first crit is on this sunday and entries close tonight at midnight.  more info about not just this race, but the whole series can be found on the ring website.

xmas breakfast and awards – as xmas this year falls on a monday, the final saturday ride and corresponding breakfast will be on the 23rd dec.  this will be the annual dress-up ride so we hope to see some inventive costumes and bike decorations.  as always we like to take this time to acknowledge peoples achievements throughout the year.  some awards are decided by the social committee, some by the president and others by the riders.  check out the previous post where you can nominate people in 4 key areas.

christmas drinks – christmas drinks will be at the empire bar again this year on sunday 17th december, 6:00pm.  this is usually a great night to see the year off without wearing lycra.  please see the previous post for more details.

club survey – the club survey results have been posted so have a look to see what areas the club will be concentrating on next year.  the additional comments will also be replied to, as we want to make sure everyone understands where the club stands on certain issues.  the winner of the ipad will be drawn at the xmas breakfast on 23rd dec.

tomr race reports –lots of race reports have come in so far.  make yourself a cuppa and pull up a pew.  reports can be found for stage 1 mixed, stage 1 women’s 1, stage 2 men’s 2, stage 3 men’s 1, stage 3 men’s 3, stage 4 women’s 3 and stage 4 women’s 2plus an overview from the team organisers.  this gives you a good insight into what it was like to race and what each different team experienced.  a great into if you are keen to join us next year.

2018 licences renewal – any race licence that you purchase now will be valid until the end of 2018.  recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year.  if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it.  a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr.

group sizes and ride etiquette – a timely reminder from our training and development officer on just why we split the ride up into certain size groups.  why we need to keep separated on the road and what it means for your safety.  have a read of the previous post, because if you get pulled up for one of these issues don’t expect that “i didn’t know” to be a valid excuse.

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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

ride routes – looks like the summer storms are just around the corner.  saturday is looking the be the calm before, so conditions should be good for the club photo.  racing sunday, may also be fine, but the afternoon and monday may be a bit stormy.  ride to conditions.

saturday 16th december

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional – trans rebold 38.69km spr saturday

fast & main groups – reabold & cottesloe 50.91km spr saturday

sunday 17th december

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group – coffee ride

short – khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna can mills 94.55km spr sunday

monday 18th december

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 19th december

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 20th december

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 21st december

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 22nd december

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

now i never really wanted to discuss this subject, but it seems to be getting lots of airplay lately because to the rule change.  the reason i don’t want to talk about the 1 m rule is that it gets so emotive and most of the comments you see on social media just get me even more angry.  besides the stupid arguments about the guaranteed head-on collisions, there are the just blatantly abusive following comments like “run the f___ing c___s over”.  these types of comments are quite happily next to the name and profile photo of someone that assumes that all his mates will go “yeah, good job at being so tough behind your keyboard”.  so firstly, don’t be baited into a social media discussion about riding.  some of my facebook friends have been commenting on some of the pages (get cyclists off the road…etc), so all this crap ends up in my feed.  no matter what argument you put forward (i.e. the road is clear, just overtake), it doesn’t matter, you are not going to out troll the trolls.  the main reason seems to be that some drivers seem to think that rules that affect them are “not fair”.  this is evident in arguments like “well they should stay 1m away from my car when we are stopped in traffic” and “bike need rego so when they go through red lights, etc etc”.  so lets look at that.  the reason vehicles need to stay away from bike when travelling is because if the two interact, someone either gets hurt or dies (odds are it is not the motorist).  if a car is stopped in traffic and a bike passes within 1 m, it is unlikely that the driver will be placed in danger.  the rule is to protect the vulnerable road users, not make it “unfair” for motorists.  if a bike goes through a red light, drivers are not worried about the rider’s well being, they are just upset that since their vehicle has number plates, someone can report them for doing it.  if a cyclist goes through a red light they are putting themselves at risk.  if a vehicle goes through a red light, they are putting lots of people at risk.  the first fine was issued in perth this week and the initial reports were that the cyclist “abused” the driver, so they drove close to “teach them a lesson”.  however, a subsequent report by our claire tyrrell,  showed that it was much worse than that.  either way, why someone driving a 2 tonne piece of machinery feels that “threatened” when someone in lycra “abuses” them “for nothing”, that they feel they need to put their life at risk is astounding when you read it.  when you live it every time you are on the bike, you just think “welcome to perth”.  we ride on busy roads for a reason (there is more room to overtake), we ride at the non-busy times of the day (so it is easier to overtake), we ride in groups (so we are more visible on the road).  it does, however, still come down to choices, so be careful where you ride, when you ride, and how you react.  we are finding that cars are giving more space, but equally, we are copping more abuse for just being there.

ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for december is  Travis Meyer from Finance Detective.  Travis Meyer is an ex-professional cyclist having raced with some of the biggest teams in the world such as Orica-GreenEdge & Garmin Slipstream. He has turned his attention to his new venture, as a Mortgage & Finance Broker, working alongside the best in the business, Finance Detective.    please see the previous post for more details.

xmas breakfast and awards – as xmas this year falls on a monday, the final saturday ride and corresponding breakfast will be on the 23rd dec.  this will be the annual dress-up ride so we hope to see some inventive costumes and bike decorations.  as always we like to take this time to acknowledge peoples achievements throughout the year.  some awards are decided by the social committee, some by the president and others by the riders.  check out the previous post where you can nominate people in 4 key areas.

christmas drinks – christmas drinks will be at the empire bar again this year on sunday 17th december, 6:00pm.  this is usually a great night to see the year off without wearing lycra.  please see the previous post for more details.

club survey – the club survey has been closed and we are in the process of collating the results.  we hope to have this out soon so you can see what areas were a concern for the membership.  the additional comments will also be replied to, as we want to make sure everyone understands where the club stands on certain issues.  the winner of the ipad will be drawn at the xmas breakfast on 23rd dec.

tomr race reports –lots of race reports have come in so far.  make yourself a cuppa and pull up a pew.  reports can be found for stage 1 mixed, stage 1 women’s 1, stage 2 men’s 2, stage 3 men’s 1, stage 3 men’s 3, stage 4 women’s 3 and stage 4 women’s 2 plus an overview from the team organisers.  this gives you a good insight into what it was like to race and what each different team experienced.  a great into if you are keen to join us next year.

2018 licences renewal – any race licence that you purchase now will be valid until the end of 2018.  recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year.  if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it.  a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr.

group sizes and ride etiquette – a timely reminder from our training and development officer on just why we split the ride up into certain size groups.  why we need to keep separated on the road and what it means for your safety.  have a read of the previous post, because if you get pulled up for one of these issues don’t expect that “i didn’t know” to be a valid excuse.

thursday training ride – we implemented a new system of splitting the thursday group ride to keep the size manageable.    we think that we have come up with a good way of splitting the groups, but we need you to be honest about your own abilities.  have a look at the strava segment for the ride so you know where you sit.  there is nothing to stop you stepping up to challenge yourself, but this will at least provide a guide as to how much more challenging it will be.

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

ride routes – hot days and easterly winds even during the week.  summer is here with a vengeance.  be prepared.

saturday 9th december

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast & main groups – hale & ridgehill 50.58km spr saturday

sunday 10th december

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

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

development group – coffee ride

short – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday

long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday

monday 11th december

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 12th december

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

wednesday 13th december

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 14th december

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

see previous post for ride groups

spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)

ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am

development group – interval training kings park

friday 15th december

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride