damn the weather is nice lately.  shame i have to spend the majority of it bathed in the glow of a computer monitor.  i have been so busy lately that i have had to work back a bit.  don’t know what is going on with that.  i thought that i was at the point in my career that i could avoid that type of thing.  i will be pretty upset if it starts interfering with my riding though.  especially getting back to my first point that the weather is so damn nice.

world championships tipping comp – i missed setting up something for the vuelta as i was away for the first week of it and it is a shame too as you get a better appreciation for the race if there is money at stake.  however, we will be running a tipping comp for the world champs being held in geelong in a couple of weeks.  keep an eye out for more details, but basically you will have to tip every event, including the U23 and women’s events.  so, start reading cyclingnews to see who is on form and more importantly who is going to be competing.

spr accessories – if you haven’t collected your kit yet, pick up by appointment only.  drop me an email here.

juniors – so we will kick off the juniors this weekend.  i put up a post earlier with the details, so hopefully we will get e few down there.  yes i know the map shows them swimming home, and i have to get around to fixing that soon.

memberships – i also put a post up about memberships if you have been trying to join lately.

races – track racing this friday night, come along to watch and cheer on the boys in green.  dwellingup 100km mtb racethis saturday, there will be an official spr tent up and we are in the process of getting mtb affiliation too.  cyclo-sportif at warona where we have a couple of teams entered.

training rides –i have been informed that as of next week, the development group rides that start at 5:45 on tues & thurs will be now starting back up behind frasiers in kings park.  this is due to the fact that it is now light enough to see what is going on.

ride routes – so we will try out the “fast with a main chaser” this weekend and see how it goes.  if it seems to be a winner then i will map a few more routes between 50 and 55 kms as we seem to be at one extreme or the other.  sunday is a killer again while i try to force feed some fitness back into my body.

saturday 18th september – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

juniors – spr saturday 22.11km juniors (mt pleasant)

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 41.73km (canning vale reverse)

fast, main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

sunday 19th september – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – spr sunday 53.55km (kalamunda rd) – follow long course to get to kalamunda

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

so, as you can see by the lack of capital letters, i am now back from brazil.  it was a flying visit and included 55hrs of flying in the last week.  if i ever have to do a long haul flight again, i hope it is with emirates business class.  unfortunately without a multi-national company behind me, i doubt that i would be able to afford it.  for work though, it was all good.

while i was over there i only saw a total of 4 cyclists.  they seemed to be european ex-pats mainly because the locals didn’t have a deathwish.  the place we were staying at didn’t seem to have any flat ground at all.  if the roads weren’t going up they were going down and would provide a perfect training ground.  that is if they survived the year.  the drivers were all mad as cut snakes.  three wide, bumper to bumper with motorbikes cutting in between each lane.  mad.

races –pdcc graded handicap road race saturday, dwellingup 100km mtb race next saturday, cyclo-sportif at warona next sunday.

stickers –as you may have seen, we are getting some feedback on the design of the bumper sticker that we will be getting made.  this is basic club promotional stuff and needs to show that we are a bike club and where to find us on the net.  much like the federal election, there is definitely two designs that seem to be getting the majority of the votes.  keep the votes coming and we will see who the winner is next week.  (i have brought the closing date forward).  vote here.

spr accessories –i will be bringing the gloves, etc to the coffeeshop again this week so if you didn’t manage to collect your kit, then make sure you come along this week.  pick up can also be in the city during the week or at my place after hours by appointment only.  email here to arrange a time.

ride routes – so the question is, did you like the ride route suggestions from toby last week???  i have avoided giving everyone the same route as it means that the slower groups will not get to the coffeeshop till much later than the fast group.  however, if you feel we should trial it, i can give the fast and main groups the same 50km route next week and see how we go.  there are benefits in it and i believe the fast group had a much bigger turn out last week as they could always get swept up by the main group if they got dropped.  give me some feedback.

as for this week, some stock standard rides and a nice one for sunday…

saturday 11th september – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 51.36km (sth lake)

fast – spr saturday 55.76km (shelley & mosman park)

sunday 12th september – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

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

long – spr sunday 94.36km (chookenberg & observatory & gooseberry)

so, i am off for a week for a work trip and will miss 2 weekends worth of riding.  after being sick for 2 weeks, i now am off the bike again so will need to build it back up again.  not really sure what i am building for as there is a serious lack of races coming up.  maybe the state team time trial in october or maybe turn my hand to some mtb races (if i can get the baby seat off the bike).  either way, i feel like i really need some goals to stop from going stale.  sometimes the coffeeshop is just not enough.  maybe we need to plan another 200km challenge…

races – wa mtb xc series round 7 at turner hill, dwellingup.  the state road race championships this weekend have been cancelled.  this is apparently due to a lack of participates and lack of officials to control the race.  pretty bad time for cycle racing in this state.  for anyone that wants to do a bit of racing, have a look at peel districts club races.  they basically have a race every saturday afternoon and a bunch of our guys have been heading down to it. quite often.  if you need more info we can point you in the right direction.

spr accessories – hopefully these should turn up tomorrow and will be distributed at the coffeeshop on saturday.  if you miss out, then you may have to wait another week as i am away for a week.

ride routes – as there hasn’t been a fast group for the past few weeks, the same route still stands waiting to be used.  if numbers dictate that the fast group is not going to form, then it is fine for them to join main 1, however, you must remember that you are not there to control the pace.  join the ride by all means, but the regular main 1 riders should be determining when to go fast and when to wait up.  there is also no reason that the fast group can’t just take it a bit easier and allow a few more people to join in.  if the a difference of a few km/hr means the difference between a group of 10 and a group of 5, then it may be better to ease back a bit and at least get a group forming.  i am sure you can all work it out.

saturday 28th august – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

fast – spr saturday53.81km (hale rd reverse with guilford)

sunday 29th august – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

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

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

finally getting over my cold.  it had turned into a sinus infection so the massive dose of antibiotics looks to have killed it off…for now.  after 2 weeks off the bike, i think i will be taking it easy this saturday.  sunday, hmmm, not so much.  more hurt to come.

spr accessories – the invoice for the gloves etc came in this week, so we should expect them early next week.  nervous times for me as this is the first time we have used these guys.

blogging –it has been a bit quiet on the western front.  if you want to give your perspective on the rides, feel free to write up a blog post.  this is our way of showing potential riders what we are all about.  the way our website is constantly updated makes us stand out from a lot of the others.  please help us out if you have a story to tell.  even a few paragraphs on how the saturday ride went gives people something to read.

track racing –there is track racing on at the velodrome this friday night.  as previously mentioned this is a special night for murray who has recently had a loss in his family.  murray has done a lot in helping out the spr guys at the track and a lot for cycling in general in wa.  if you have never been to the track to watch the racing, then this will be a good opportunity.  come down and show your support.

races –collie-donnybrook handicap race is on this saturday and there are a few people heading down for that.  cyclo-sportif at lancelin is on and there are are couple of spr teams heading up for that.  good luck to everyone.

ride routes –so we are praying that there are some novices out there that want to come out and play with us this weekend.  poor old carol has been on her own for 4 weeks straight.  if you have been avoiding coming out, now is your chance.  you will get some one on one tuition.  for those that are looking at racing the state champs next weekend, we have a special treat on sunday.  an extra hard ride route that takes in the finishline for the champs twice.  if you don’t hate me by the end of this ride, then you are not trying hard enough.

saturday 14th august – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.47km (south st)

fast – spr saturday 53.81km (hale rd reverse with guilford)

sunday 15th august – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

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

long – spr sunday 101.29km (roleystone & observatory)

so, i am sick again.  well the whole family is sick and there are stacks of people at work sick as well.  funny how while there were no races on, i am fine, and then when there are a couple i want to do, i get sick.  the pinjarra classic is my favourite race on the calendar as the course is a bit testing and then i wanted to follow this up with the state champs.  i have entered for pinjarra, but i guess i will be playing it by ear come sunday morning. 

so i had mon & tues off this week (sick) went back on wed and home again by thurs.  hence why the ride routes are coming out so early this week.  tomorrow…we will have to see.  saturday is looking doubtful.  racing sunday seems to be a dream.

200km challenge –a very successful day and it gave us a few good insights on how we needed to run a challenge like this.  it was a “test event” but i think that the response was such that we may run something like this a couple of times a year.

races – the pinjarra classic is on sunday and we have a few riders heading down for it.  one of the more challenging races on the calender but a good warm-up for the state champs in a few weeks time.

ride routes – apparently it has been three weeks in a row since the development group has had any riders.  i guess the cold weather has stopped any new people coming out to play.  luckily this gives carol a bit of extra training by heading out with the transitional group.  this week, however, we have no leader for the transitional group as mark is away and i am looking doubtful.  if anyone want to step up, it would be appreciated.

saturday 14th august – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 49.01km (canning vale & welshpool)

fast – spr saturday 53.81km (hale rd reverse with guilford)

sunday 15th august – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – spr sunday 70.93km (kahuna)

long – spr sunday 87.72km (kahuna & peet & patterson)

just when you thought all the fun of the tour de france was over, the vuelta a espana starts in a little over three weeks time.  another grand tour, so another tipping comp on the horizon.  august is a pretty big weekend for racing around perth too.  mtb, road, cyclo-sportif, track and time trial.  if you have ever thought about giving it a go, there are lots of people in our group you can talk to that can help you out.  don’t think that you are not good enough (i didn’t finish my first three races this year) it is all about getting out there and having a go.

200km challenge –the response to this has been great.  it seems that there are a lot of people that want to hurt themselves this weekend.  we have around 50 riders that have put their name down for the 200km challenge so we will need to split the groups accordingly and separate them by 5 min.  this is purely from a safety point of view but both groups will run their own king of the mountains challenge up mosman park hill.  as stated before, you need to complete all four laps to be eligible to claim the kom title.  after the second lap, both groups will be pulling into the carpark for supplies.  the club will be providing food (rolls, fruit, choc bars) and drink (coke, water) but if you want to bring stuff down for yourself, feel free.  there will be cars that you can leave the food in and where you can dump your lights in.  the “rest break” will be around 15 min and then the groups will head off again.  kate will be setting up at the carpark at around 9:00am to provide the refreshments, but will require a hand distributing the goods.  if you (or partner) can lend a hand it would be appreciated (actually, more than that.  it is needed).  please let me know via email.  the 100km challenge has about 10 riders and they will be lead by mark at 9:00am.  nominations for this event need to be in by the end of the friday so we can organise catering.

memberships – there has been a slight change to the terminology in the memberships online.  the recreational licence is now called “cycling for all”.  we will update the page on our website to reflect this.  the licence is still the same price $77 and the cover is the same.

races –mtb xc this sunday, road pinjarra classic next sunday.  check calendar for other events.

ride routes –the big change this week is that the sunday hills ride will not be on.  the 200km group will leave at 6:00am so will need lights.  the 100km group will leave at 9:00am.

saturday 7th august – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 49.38km (tv stations)

fast – spr saturday 51.36km (sth lake)

sunday 8th august – all rides start at coode st carpark

short – 100km challenge – 9:00am more info here.

long – 200km challenge – 6:00am more info here.

well there goes july and another three weeks of sleepless nights.  well done to the winners of the tipping comp and i suppose well done to the guys that actually rode their bikes for three weeks straight.  i guess they are probably tired too. 

200km challenge –scheduled for next sunday 8th august along with the 100km challenge.  expect a post shortly.

races –lots of races coming up.  atta this weekend, mtb xc 8th, pinjarra classic 15th, collie-donnybrook 21st, cyclo-sportif yanchep 22nd, state road championships 29th, mtb xc 29th. lots of opportunities for you to get involved if you what to test yourself out.

website and email –as you can see the website has changed and the email for the club has changed too.  update your bookmarks and contacts.  if anyone is having trouble working out how to login to post things to the blog, let me know.  there was a bit of a gap in the blogging activity last weekend.  you can actually now login with your facebook account so your little avatar will be your facebook pic rather than the generated monster.

ride routes – good chance that i will not be at the start on saturday, so make sure you all know your ride routes.  if your group has no leader, here is your chance to step up.

saturday 31st july – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.98km (benara rd)

fast – spr saturday 54.03km (maddington & welshpool)

sunday 1st august – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – follow long route to top of first climb then across to kalamunda approx 60-70km

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

so, the tour de france is almost over but what a roller-coaster ride it has been.  the peloton being neutralised, the cobbles smashing the field, cadel crashing..again, favourites losing hunks of time and the big debate over whether contador should have attacked or not.  i was checking out the official online website while i have been writing this tonight.  it seems that sammy sanchez (currently 3rd) had a crash.  so what happens next, well contador slows the peloton down so sammy can get back on.  well he is a fellow country man after all.  they replayed the schleck chain slip this evening on sbs and i kept an eye on contador.  he was quite a few bike lengths behind schleck when it happened and saw what was going on.  he was also in front of sanchez and menchov for quite a while after the attack so he can’t even say that he was just following.  right or wrong, he certainly lost a lot of respect that day.  luckily we wait for people that have a mechanical.  maybe contador should come out with us to learn a few things. 🙂

races – mtb enduro on sunday.  atta wandi following sunday.

200km challenge – we are aiming for the 8th august for this event.  there will be a 200km challenge plus a 100km challenge that leaves a bit later and will be lead by mark from the transitional group.  expect a post this coming week with more info and some “rules of engagement”.

website – as of this weekend, we will be switching over to a new website.  www.southperthrouleurs.com.au is already up and running but is not live yet.  once it is setup, the current blog will be ported over to it and we will run everything through it.  you can bookmark the site now as it is running, but expect a bunch of new email addresses.

pilates- we have now opened up the pilates training on monday night to both members and member families.  see the previous post here for more info.

ride routes– the groups will all be making their own traverse around different sections of perth on saturday.  if all the routes were superimposed on one map it would make a nice four leaf clover.  maximise the advertising potential for the kit sponsors.

saturday 24th july – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.97km (river ride)

fast – spr saturday 55.32km (maddington & hale & ridge hill)

sunday 25th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – spr sunday 67.96km (greenmount & zig-zig)

long – spr sunday 95.04km (greenmount & parkerville & mundaring weir)

tour de france.  poor cadel.  i think every australian watching the tour that night just died a little bit inside.  so close and yet so far.  back home though, we are forecast to have a dry weekend.  cold but dry.  this should mean that numbers will be back up after the 20 that braved the rain last weekend.

memberships – i got an updated membership list the other day.  we were sitting at 137 members at the start of july.  that means that we now have the most cycling australia members in the perth metro area.  not bad for a club that has been going for less than 2 years.  only south west have more members at 177 but they are down in bunbury.  we will catch them eventually.

pilates –chrissy has been taking  the monday evening pilates class and feedback has been positive so it will continue. 

races –sdcc at pickering brook this sunday, cyclosportif at pinjarra on the 25th july, mtb 4hr enduro also on the 25th.

200km challenge – there will be more details on this as it gets closer.  we are aiming for the first weekend in august so either the 1st or 8th.  we will also be looking at running a 100km challenge at the same time for those that don’t think they can make the 200km.  stay tuned.

spr accessories – most items have had the artwork approved.  just waiting on the shoe covers.  order will be sent then.  there are about 13 people with outstanding bills.  these need to be paid asap.

ride routes– a new route for the tranistional group for saturday.  don’t get lost.

saturday 17th july – 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)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 50.04km (hale & ridge hill)

fast – spr saturday 55.76km (shelley & mosman park)

sunday 18th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

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

long – spr sunday 101.68km (carradine & canning dam)

this tour will be the death of me.  favourites crashing, the swiss playing the neutral mediator and killing a stage, awesome, edge of your seat cobbles stage, ale-jet making a tour comeback in style, cadel being in a good position.  add all this to the early morning rides and the combination makes for a very grumpy work day.  can’t wait till the mountains start.

website – a refreshed website is coming soon with a new domain name that is easier to remember.  will keep you posted.  massive thanks to scott and michael for their work on it.  especially the new ordering system.  makes things a lot easier on this end.

spr accessories – orders are still open.  it is anticipated that they will be finalised at the end of this weekend.

1st time – we had a couple of first time events this last week.  chrissy ran the first pilates class and from what i hear it was a great success.  13 members turned up in spandex and legwarmers in true 1980’s fame-style.  also, lisa had her quiz night fundraiser to help her get to india for the commonwealth games test event.  pilates will be back next week, the quiz night will not.

200km challenge – i have been throwing this idea around for a while and have decided to just go with it.  the weekend after the tour (1st aug) instead of the normal sunday hills ride we will be doing a 200km challenge.  this basically involves 4 laps of the tuesday river route.  there will be rules in place and it is not a race or even a participation race.  the group will stick together and look after the weaker riders on each lap.  however, if you are struggling on a lap, you are expected to retire at the end of that lap.  this doesn’t mean you can’t keep going (as it is public roads) just that the group will no longer be looking after you.  anyway, mark it in your diaries and keep en eye out for more info.

ride routes – this week the development group, transitional group and main 2 are without their regular leaders.  i need people to step up into these roles to help develop the riders coming through these packs.  all it really takes is for someone to know the route and to help keep the group together.  it is important that we don’t rely on the same people every week, or the place will fall apart as soon as people are not available.  put your big boots on and step up.

raining on saturday – in the event of a heavy downpour, anyone dedicated/stupid enough to still turn up can do the standard tuesday morning river ride and keep the group together.

saturday 10th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 42.94km (freo & cott)

main 1 & 2 – spr saturday 48.67km (cresswell & herdsman)

fast – spr saturday 55.76km (shelley & mosman park)

sunday 11th july – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

short – follow the long course.

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