so a full year has come around and we are having our agm this week.  having an agm, breakfasts, committee meetings and all that stuff seems quite normal now, but it didn’t used to be.  waaaay back in 2008 i wrote a blog to talk about how i got into cycling and how it got me to where we were at the time.  it is funny because we were only just getting the new kit together and it was going to be the identifying feature to distinguish the club. now, 5 years later, there are spr jerseys everywhere and the new kit is even more noticeable than before.  i am going to have to sit down as some stage and write the part II to the old blog.  a lot has happened and the growth has been phenomenal.  we are expanding out into new areas all the time and, as can be seen below, the next generation are coming up fast.

club breakfast and agm – this saturday is the breakfast and agm.  check the previous post here but $15 will get you a beverage and some food.  the agm will follow directly after.  make sure that you sign in if you are a member so we have a record of agm attendence.  it is important to attend as we will elect the committee members that will shape the club for the year.

giro d’perth – this sunday a very different type of event will be held in perth.  some of the club members are helping out and i will be manning a refreshments tent on the day.  entries closed after participant numbers hit 500.  it is good to see that cycling is well and truly alive and people are looking for different events to enter.  entries have closed but more info here.

road works –  as was pointed out in the previous post, there are roadworks on preston point road again.  please be careful when negotiating the area as there still may be loose gravel.  this is especially important to the earlybird riders as it still may be a bit dark.

ride routes – no 7am uci ride this week as there has not been any interest.  it seems that anyone doing it is pitching up at 6:00am and cutting laps with the bonner group.

saturday 16th march

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 6:00am

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 39.81km (shelley & bannister)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.09km (abernathy rd)

sunday 17th march

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 61.14km (welshpool & weir rd)

long – spr sunday 87.99km (welshpool & observatory & camelberg & gooseberry)

winter is over in the northern hemisphere and the big boys have come out to ride their bikes.  strade bianche, paris-nice and tirreno-adriatico all had/have some big names involved.  back home we are finishing up our criterium series but there was also some good racing down at pemberton and both the spr and DOME teams rode well.  there were some unfortunate accidents, though.  check out the footage from des’ gopro in the ‘b’ grade road race.  just a friendly reminder for those riding this weekend…don’t brake, don’t overlap wheels, keep control of your bike.  stay safe.

it is also the state election on saturday, so don’t forget to vote after the morning’s ride.

junior champs, final criterium and women’s race – this weekend we will be holding a criterium with the rccc that will try to cater for pretty much everyone.  add your name to the comments on the previous post if you can help out.  more info can be found here.

club agm and breakfast – our club agm will be held on the 16th march after the saturday morning ride.  to assist in getting numbers to the agm, we will also be having our quarterly breakfast.  check the previous post here and make sure you put your name in the comments so we know how many to cater for.

giro d’perth – a different type of event to help get your family involved in cycling.  registrations have been extended till the 12th and so far there are just under 400 riders registered.  more info here.

next kit order – kit orders are currently open and close midnight, 10th march.  more details here.

ride routes – we need volunteers for the criterium on sunday, but i realise that people will do their own hills ride anyway.  as such i have still scheduled a ride in, but if you can swing by afterwards, it would be appreciated   the crits will be going till after 12:30 so you should still be able to find time after your ride. hot windy day on saturday with a high potential for rain.  should be good.  then you need to vote.

saturday 9th march

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 6:00am

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.86km (rebold hill)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.98km (benara rd)

sunday 10th march

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am (although there is a criterium on and you could be helping)

short – spr sunday 61.14km (welshpool & weir rd) (follow the long course to the first climb)

long – spr sunday 101.86km (welshpool & mundaring & kalamunda)

so, lately i have been doing some cross-training on a tuesday and thursday mornings.  i struggled with the decision to do this as the 2 rides on these days are the most popular and therefore often need the most direction.  i thought that being popular, there will be enough “old hands” along on the ride to keep it all together.  the stories i am hearing back are not really filling me with confidence.  a couple of weeks ago there was a crash on the thursday fast ride.  now the crash was half way back so the front guys were not directly involved, but half the group just kept on riding.  i am sure that you can hear the sound of metal and carbon on the pavement and call up the road to stop.  our group stops whenever there is an accident.  it is not a race, you do not win points, we stop to make sure that there are not serious injuries.  even worse in the guy that caused the crash, didn’t actually crash himself and also didn’t stop.  it is not just the thursday fast ride either.  i have heard (and seen strava/facebook comments) that the tuesday small chain ring ride is getting smashed apart.  we have talked many a time about doing a fast group on tuesday and the consensus is that people would rather do an easier ride.  well this is also being smashed apart to the detriment of riders that are being shelled out the back.  there are fast sections and regroup points on that ride.  save your ego for those bits and keep the group together the rest of the time.  the reason our rides have continued to attract new people are the fact that they are organised, safe, friendly and inclusive.  that means YOU also have to be organised, safe, friendly and inclusive.  we do have enough “old hands” on our regular rides.  be vocal and let people know when things are getting out of control, especially those people that don’t read the blog and are not members, but still come on our rides.

club agm and breakfast – our club agm will be held on the 16th march after the saturday morning ride.  to assist in getting numbers to the agm, we will also be having our quarterly breakfast.  check the previous post here and make sure you put your name in the comments so we know how many to cater for.

giro d’perth – a different type of event to help get your family involved in cycling.  more info here.

next kit order – kit orders open this weekend and close midnight, 10th march.  watch the blog for further details.

ride routes – lots and lots of rides on this weekend.  kids ride is on so make sure you get your kids down to the boatshed for a 9:30am ride.  uci at 6:00am plus one at 7:00am that will meet up with the earlier ride.

saturday 2nd march

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 6:00am

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 39.04km (benara rd)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

ride starts behind boatshed cafe (coode st carpark) at 9:30am

focus kids group – ride along bike path to causeway and return (7kms)

sunday 3rd march

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 63.49km (gooseberry & kalamuda)

long – spr sunday 100.45km (darlington & mundaring)

 monday 4th march

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

early lap – spr monday 33.72km (south & freo)

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

trans & main group – spr public holiday 59.35km (shelley & freo)

so the papers seem to be filled with articles about federal and state elections.  everyone trying to outdo each other and making promises that you know they can’t keep.  i actually find all the negative ads quite disturbing.  they should change the laws so that they can only promote their own positive spin rather than say how negative the other parties are.  the problem i find with perth is that everyone complains that neither party will do something, then when they do, all people do is complain that they are doing it wrong.  i.e. convention centre, bell tower, arena.  well, i like the convention centre, the bell tower and the arena.  i think the new quay development is a good idea, the sinking of the northbridge rail and the new stadium at burswood are also good (even if graham doesn’t like the name of the quay).  if none of those thing ever happened, what an absolutely boring place perth would be.

uci training – as per the previous post, there will be a uci specific training ride at 6:00am meeting under the narrows.  the 7:00am uci ride will be on every second week.

state criterium championships – this weekend we are helping the rccc run the state criterium championships at the tech park cicuit.  we really need people to come and help, or at least hang around after their race to help out.  this is a state level event that we are running, we need to make sure that it is run well.  make sure you do something for the club and find the time to volunteer.  ‘c’ grade starts at 7:30am so we will need volunteers from 7:00am onwards.

pemberton classic – held over the march long weekend there are a couple of races on across various grades.  andrew is trying to organise some joint accommodation of which there is still one spot left.  let him know via email if you are interested.  more info here.

giro d’perth – a different type of event to help get your family involved in cycling.  more info here.

next kit order – the next kit order will open late next week.  keep an eye on the website for more details.

ride routes – a new-ish ride route this week.  similar to last week, i have just modified an older 55km route to be closer to 50km.  there are a few right hand turns across hwys so make sure you move together as a group so as not to disrupt the traffic too much.  no hills ride this week.  come along and help us run the state criterium champs.

saturday 23rd february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 6:00am

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 41.18km (reverse river ride)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.55km (shelley & mosman park)

sunday 24th february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

we are organising the state criterium championships on this day so no hills ride.

so as i was backing out of the driveway today i had to stop for a bike commuter heading to work.  he wasn’t wearing lycra and had a distinctive bike with a series of small led lights along his forks and seat stays.  i passed him as i went up the hill and turned onto canning hwy and down to the lights.  after waiting for the lights, i headed along labouchere rd, i came across him again at preston st.  he was obviously heading down to the freeway bike path. i was a bit late and didn’t leave home till 8:00 so traffic was a bit heavier.  i had to wait in line for at least 2 light changes before i could get onto the freeway at mill point rd.  as i crossed over the narrows, i notice “the rider” on the bike path to my left.  i was not making good time, but i was sure that i would now beat him into town.  more lights to exit the freeway and again along mounts bay rd.  as i am again waiting to turn up mill st he passes me once more.  another set of lights for me before i have to again wait to turn into central park building.  he passes me again. so, the moral of the story is…i had my aircon running and was not a sweaty mess by the time i got to work like he was.  ha.

orica greenedge jersey – the jersey was put on ebay and managed to raise $1,003 for cathi. congratulations to the winner and i hope you enjoy having it hung on your wall.

state criterium championships – next weekend (24th) we are helping the rccc run the state criterium championships at the tech park cicuit.  last weekend it was hot, and there weren’t as many people racing and even less volunteers.  we really need people to come and help, or at least hang around after their race to help out.  i really appreciate those that did help, especially those that had to do traffic management on more than one occasion in the hot sun.  this is a state level event that we are running, we need to make sure that it is run well.  i will be putting a post up about it soon, make sure you do something for the club and find the time to volunteer.

pemberton classic – held over the march long weekend there are a couple of races on across various grades.  andrew is trying to organise some joint accommodation.  let him know if you are interested.  more info here.

giro d’perth – a different type of event to help get your family involved in cycling.  more info here.

ride routes – fast and main groups have a good look at the maddington ride route as it is kind of new.  actually there are old bits and new bits and bits of other rides (like the public holiday ride) all bolted together to make a new ride.  uci laps are on for those that are interested.

saturday 16th february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 39.81km (shelley & bannister)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 52.17km (maddington)

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

sunday 17th february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 63.49km (gooseberry & kalamuda) follow long course out to first climb

long – spr sunday 90.10km (kalamunda & chookenberg & observatory)

i am seriously loving the drugs scandal in the footy at the moment.  for so long i get people at work commenting on how cycling is so full of drugs and how everyone is on something and how about lance, hey, hey, hmmm.  they are all drug cheats.  i’m not actually sure how anyone thought that there wouldn’t be drugs in any of the footy codes.  as soon as there is money involved and rules in place, people will do what they can to find a way to break them.  listening to the project tonight, they talked about a study that years ago asked professional athletes if they knew that they would die in 5 years by taking something but it would allow them to win a gold medal, would they take it.  the majority said yes.  how far would you go???  or should the question be “how far can you stretch your moral compass before you feel like a cheat?”  is winning the saturday fast group sprint worth the health risks???

signed greenedge jersey – we are auctioning off a signed and framed greenedge jersey to help raise funds for cathi dixon.  there is some more info here, which includes a link to the ebay auction site.

rccc/spr criterium series – the race series continues this weekend with race 3 at technology park.  a few changes to the format.  firstly a ‘e’ grade for the junior riders that starts at 07:40.  secondly the ‘b’ grade women will race with the ‘d’ grade men as there are too many riders in ‘c’ grade.  thirdly, due to an increase in capitation from cycling wa, the entry fees have increased by $5 to $20 (or $15 for spr/rccc members).  more info at our series page here.

state criterium championships – we will also be running the state criterium championships on the 24th feb at the tech park circuit.  more info on the facebook page here.  i will set up page on our website soon

ride routes – the saturday main ride will finish on riverside drive with the usual sprint to the hospital sign.  unfortunately the north bound lanes along barracks st are closed so we need to access st georges terrace at a different point.  we will need to turn directly after the sprint point up victoria ave and then left onto st georges terrace at the duxton.  sunday we have a crit on so no 7am hills ride is organised.  come and race or help us out instead.

saturday 9th february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 41.73km (canning vale reverse)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 51.36km (sth lake)

sunday 10th february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

no hills rides on today as we are holding a criterium and need the club to support it by racing or volunteering.

short week this week, but it still feels long.  maybe because it is only my second week back at work and second week back on the bike.  the thursday ride was probably the longest i had done today.  not in distance (i took 5 shortcuts) and not in time (we were back by 6:25.  it was long because i got dropped halfway along mounts bay road (it starts at the narrows, so not that far) and was too stubborn to just wait for the main group.  i kept taking shortcuts and catching back up, then getting dropped again.  it really makes the ride drag out when you do it like that.

kit collection – this saturday is the last opportunity to collect your kit from Dome, the kit committee will be the between 9am and 10am.  They will also have spr water bottles for cash sale, $10 for 650ml bottles and $12 for 800ml bottles.  if you can’t collect your kit (new or fire sale) this saturday, email kit@southperthrouleurs.com.au to arrange collection.

uci training – due to the change in course for the uci race, we will be holding training on every alternate saturday morning.  there will still be a fast and main group, but this week we will also have a uci group for those wanting to train the circuit.  i will post a ride route soon, but basically, we will ride to the perry lakes circuit and start doing laps.  there will be a regroup point in which we will all meet before riding back to the city and meeting the usual saturday groups for a coffee at DOME.

focus group – bring the kids along this saturday at 9:30am for the focus group ride.  nice an easy along the bike path from the boatshed to the causeway and return.

girls ride – the spr girls ride is on this monday. meet under the narrows bridge at 5:30am. the ride waits for everyone and ends at atomic.  speak to emma goodwin for more info.

rccc/spr criterium series – the race series continues next weekend with race 3 at technology park.  a few changes to the format.  firstly a ‘e’ grade for the junior riders that starts at 07:40.  secondly the ‘b’ grade women will race with the ‘d’ grade men as there are too many riders in ‘c’ grade.  thirdly, due to an increase in capitation from cycling wa, the entry fees have increased by $5 to $20 (or $15 for spr/rccc members).  more info at our series page here.

state criterium championships – we will also be running the state criterium championships on teh 24th feb at the tech park circuit.  more info on the facebook page here.  i will set up page on our website soon.

ride routes – the saturday main ride will finish on riverside drive with the usual sprint to the hospital sign.  unfortunately the north bound lanes along barracks st are closed so we need to access st georges terrace at a different point.  we will need to turn directly after the sprint point up victoria ave and then left onto st georges terrace at the duxton.

saturday 2nd february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

uci training – spr saturday (uci perry lakes)

ride starts behind boatshed cafe (coode st carpark) at 9:30am

focus kids group – ride along bike path to causeway and return (7kms)

sunday 3rd february

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 82.79km (brookton & weir rd)

long – spr sunday 94.64km (kahuna & canning mills)

as we get further away from the summer solstice, the days are slowly getting shorter.  coming back from holidays, i was surprised at how dark the mornings have become.  not pitch black, but the street lights are now lit on the way to the earlybird ride.  not only is it dangerous not to have lights on your bike, but it can be expensive as well as toby found out in adelaide.  make sure you have the correct equipment for the riding conditions.  drivers don’t care if you are riding a dogma or a giant if they can’t see you (i.e. a $10 light is more important than a $6k bike)

saturday meeting point – as the foreshore will be getting prepared for the australia day celebrations, access to the coode st carpark will be limited. to accommodate those that drive to the start of the ride, we will be starting the 7:00am ride back at the angelo/coode st intersection.  now there shouldn’t be a lot of traffic around, but please be considerate of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area.  there is a map below and it shows the location of a couple of carparks in the area.  if you do drive, i recommend that you don’t leave your car there for too long after the ride as angelo st gets busy with people getting their morning coffee.

help the novice group – the novice group had 30 people turn up last week.  carol needs some extra help to make sure the group has adequate support.  it is a long weekend so you can do lots of riding the other days.  do the earlybird then sacrifice your main ride and help out the lower groups.  it would be appreciated.

rolling through – we had a few accidents last year during messy roll throughs and as such we kind of stopped doing them except on certain stretches of roads.  i am thinking that this is the wrong method and what we need is to roll through more often to get people used to it.  i am not saying that the rides should be “pressure on” from the gun, but it is possible to roll through without going hard.  just maintain a nice pace and share the load across the whole group.  this allows people to practice their skills without being under fitness pressure.  whenever a nice stretch of road presents itself.  initiate a roll through.

uci training – due to a change in the uci course for this year, we need to change where we train.  unfortunately, the new course is at rebold hill and not as accessible from our usual meeting point at the narrows.  there is also a timing issue as people need to get back at a certain time to get to work.  what i am suggesting is that we continue using the kings park circuit for the wednesday morning training ride as it is a good testing course that will make you strong.  for the actual uci course, every second saturday there will be a uci group that will head to the circuit, do a number of laps, then ride back to coffee together.  saturday usual has more time so we will be able to get more laps in before regrouping.  this will start next saturday.

kit collection – kit will be available to collect at DOME after the saturday ride.  more info here.

australia day crits – our race partner club, rccc, will be running the australia day criteriums at the tech park circuit.  races start at 7:40 with juniors and work their way through the grades till 10:00am for the “a” grade race.  we have a number of spr riders entered across all the grades, so head down to support them.  more info here.

ride routes – apologies in advance as the ride route will not be coming home with a taliwind on saturday.  with all the road closures for aussie day, we need to head away from the river and then come back in from the mounts bay road end.  the transitional group has an easy start to their route as it is straight out along coode st.  the main/fast group will need to make their way to canning hwy.  the easiest way i can see is to start up coode, then turn left into hensmen, then left onto canning hwy.  if anyone is running late make sure you meet the group along that route.

saturday 26th january

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

all rides start at coode st/angelo st intersection at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 41.18km (reverse river ride)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.38km (tv stations)

sunday 27th january

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 70.93km (kahuna)

long – spr sunday 92.56km (carradine & peet)

monday 28th january

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

early lap – spr monday 33.72km (south & freo)

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

trans & main group – spr public holiday 59.35km (shelley & freo)

so apparently there is this guy named lance that won by cheating.  his crime is so important that instead of confessing to the governing body, or the anti-drug associations, he confessed to the most important person on the planet…oprah.  i am hoping that there is some couch jumping (tom cruise style) and that he ends up blaming everyone else instead of himself.  it will be interesting to see if he actually apologises for all the other careers that he has destroyed by being a bully.  i would blame strava if i every got caught…not that i have done anything…much.

kit collection – we are expecting the new kit this week and it should be sorted and ready for distribution on saturday.  thanks to the kit committee for all their hard work over the last few months.  more info here.

tandem pilots – this is a good opportunity for our club to branch out a bit more.  it is quite rewarding and could end up with some racing opportunities that you may not have known off before.  more info here.

ladies training – tom is kicking off his ladies training information sessions.  if you are of the correct gender and are interested, leave a comment on the previous post.  more info here.

ride routes – nice strong easterly predicted for saturday so we will get a tailwind along benara road.

saturday 19th january

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 39.04km (benara rd)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.98km (benara rd)

sunday 20th january

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 56.93km (kalamunda)

long – spr sunday 96.05km (kalamunda & observatory & gooseberry)

bit short on words this week and having trouble thinking about anything to have a whinge about.  life is always better on holidays.

national road race – come on down to the wembley hotel this sunday at 2pm to cheer on jonny as he sticks it to the pros in the national road race in ballarat.  more info here.

good causes – midland club is raising money for a couple of good causes, including supporting one of our members.  get behind them,  more info here.

tom’s training – tom has offered to help out any of the ladies in the club that want to get a bit more out of their riding.  more info here.

ride routes – not much to say about the ride routes this weekend. prevalent easterly, or south easterly winds will be dictating the ride routes this summer.

saturday 12th january

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 51.36km (sth lake)

sunday 13th january

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 70.93km (kahuna)

long – spr sunday 97.99km (carradine & peet & observatory)