a little while back we ran a survey and have since published the results in a previous post. quite a few of the questions had a space for comments. in the interest of transparency all the comments from the survey will be listed below and i will attempt to answer them as best i can. since the survey was anonymous, this is the only way that people can be responded to. on occasion, i may group a number of comments together and answer them together. if you need further clarification on any of the replies, please feel free to send me and email and i can answer you personally.
As there were so many areas to add comments, we have broken it done into 5 main topic groups with posts around each – club & safety, kit, racing & volunteering, social and a final one where the general feedback on any topic was given.
If there are any other general comments that you would like to make in regards to the club and how it operates, please feel free to express yourself below!
Keep up the great work it’s an awesome club
I wonder if the club could sponsor a club coach/training programme subsidized for members. But still potentially fee based if necessary. Something for us newbie women to look at the 3 dams training etc if we aren’t that confident to go up in the hills with the Sunday rides. Like a more specific training for an event but probably with a leader. Just a thought. I’m finding myself looking/ investigating other training programmes for 3 dams training that offer a have a go approach so you don’t feel too threatened.
yep, fair call. the dams ride is an event that many in our club do and many do for the first time as a challenge. organising set training rides for dams preparation for newbies should not be that hard for the club to do. usually, our biggest problem is finding the appropriate person to look after the group.
I think when passing a rider first person should indicate how many more are going to pass eg 15 riders
courtesy to other rides should not have to be a club driven mandate. i agree that this helps and have done it myself in the past. some riders start to freak out when a big group comes past. letting them know how many more to come can certainly assist.
Happy with the way club is run
Very well run club thanks to the efforts of the committee. Keep it up!
I am only new to SPR but am thoroughly enjoying it. I only ride with the club on weekends, and every ride has been enjoyable.
Thanks for your great work club committee. The only concern I have is that this year the club concentrates on club racing, which is highlighted by many blog posts. I wonder what the recreational riders would like to have more from the club. I do not know what the stats is but this is something to be considered. I agree that you can keep everyone happy. Hopefully the survey helps the club to give directions of what the members expect from the club.
it’s not that we deliberately don’t post blogs on recreational rides, but cycle clubs predominately run race events and as such we are trying to assist other clubs in making their events successful. there is also a bigger step for some people to take in order to start racing, so we try to assist as much as possible. the other factor is the reduction in recreational events. in the past there was the great perth bike ride, the freeway bike hike and a host of cyclo-sportif events throughout the year. some have totally disappeared off the calendar and others have lost their shine over the years. the club, however, does recognise that more than half of our membership has a recreational licence. we need to allow for this and will be looking at our own events like the water tower challenge. we are, however, more than happy for people to write a blog post on any event that they participate in.
No
Great club. Suffers only because of its success. Bigger numbers means more outlier events. I have mates who won’t ride with SPR because it’s “dangerous”. I tend to think that riding in groups is a great foundation for racing as you learn to position yourself and pre-empt the moves of those around you. Awareness is a great bike skill. Anyhow, kudos SPR and the people who make the club possible!
A huge thank you to all the committee members and volunteers. You all do an amazing job.
I might have to give up my SPR membership next year so that I can qualify/participate in some races which require a Victorian cycling club membership. If it wasn’t for that I’d be perfectly happy to keep representing SPR from afar.
Full credit to a well run club. I love the professional website and communications. And especially love the way the club is inclusive and welcomes new riders. Well done.
It’s a little bit hard to feel “in” as a rider in the club as I’m a development rider. I don’t know if there are others out there like me but perhaps a mentoring or buddy program and specific skill building rides might help newer riders develop quicker and keep coming along.
we did have a buddy/mentor program running a little while back, so maybe we look at reinvigorating that. it paired up newbies with experienced riders and they rode with them at a few saturday rides. skills building is also an area that we are looking into.
Committee, volunteers & ride leaders do a good job. like many organisations it falls to the few.
It is a great club, run excellently by volunteers. thank you to all those involved.
I am probably not the best of your members to provide good feed back. However, organisations like SPR are essential to the sport and I am willing to support in a limited way to assist. Thank you for your good work and all the best for the future.
Update your kit design and switch supplier.
comments on this are addressed in the kit feedback post. we don’t have a case to change either at the moment.
This club always aims to improve its riders and their knowledge whilst retaining a social friendly club.
Every weekend I am looking forward to cycling with my friends. Thank you for organizing!
The office-bearers and key members of SPR continue to do a great job and should be rightly proud of their efforts. Thank you!
Definitely the best club in WA.
As fairly new to cycling I would like to see the club run some bike maintenance classes, tyre changing oiling etc so that we could become more self sufficient and any other handy hints! there is a wealth of knowledge in the club, but is not passed on to the lower levels.
agreed, and it shouldn’t be that hard. we can either come down early before the ride or at the coffee shop afterwards. it doesn’t need to be a big song and dance about how to strip the bike down to the frame, just the basic things that people need to look out for.
It is great club. Vibrant and inspirational. Club seems to shy about making crashes/accidents know as the occur. Why? We could all learn from them – like a few weeks back a guy landed on his face caught out on a sudden stop in a bunch at an circle. Hope we are not hiding the facts!!
nope, nothing is being hidden. the club vice president has been tracking all the accidents that either known members or anyone on club training rides has been involved in. we were looking at doing up a post, but might just include it in the annual report that we put together for the agm. does give us an idea of what we need to work on, i.e. skills sessions.
I’ve always been impressed by the friendly SPR atmosphere and the way the club mixes dedication to racing with cooperation on training rides. I haven’t had much social involvement since I always have to run home to do family stuff, but hope to make up for this in the future.
Thanks so much to you Pete & other committee members for putting your time into the club. I appreciate it a lot.
I am not an active member any more but I may change, happy that my membership supports the club.
Overall, SPR does a very good job.
Great club, thanks for looking at ways to make it even better!
I ride mainly socially but i think SPR is a great group as it encourages everyone to cycle
Reduce the big groups allowing a smoother and better organised ride.
this has been addressed in the club and safety feedback post. yes we agree that sizes need to be manageable, but it is up to the riders to adhere to this. this morning (thursday) 3 riders took off after the group had been split and rode with the group in front.
Great club keep it up
The Club has an excellent base, with loads of members and a big presence in WA with loads of experience. As the biggest club I would like to see our best do better in top competitions with greater team management. The Committee are very committed, but there’s very little change over the years. It’s not that the incumbents are doing a bad job, but new people bring new ideas and fresh approach so I think it should be mandatory the leadership positions have maximum terms.
our constitution has been written so that every position is vacated before the agm each year. when the club was formed, there were many examples of mismanagement within some of the other clubs in wa. we wanted to make sure that there was no individual or clique that could take control of the club and destroy all the hard work that has been put in. saying that, we also make en effort to ensure that we get a good group of people that believe in what the club stands for and wants it to continue that way. being on the committee is not a prerequisite to getting new ideas heard. the committee are the ones that need to do the work to implement the new ideas. if you have thoughts on what can change there is nothing stopping anyone from nominating for the committee or even a subcommittee.
keep doing what you are doing. Great club and definitely my cycling family
Great club and something to be proud of. Our kit is our identity and seeing a low % of kit wearers does not help.
Encouraging newbies with bike skills sessions.
yep, comments above and in the club and safety post.
I love this club, words can not express how much joining this club has changed my life for the better. I have made so many wonderful friends. And the support you gave me when I was battling cancer, I am forever grateful. Thankyou
It’s not that easy being green Having to spend each day the color of the leaves When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
red and yellow. you secretly want to be ironman, don’t you.
Thank you to the president and the committee and all other volunteer team members for your hard and great work you are doing day in day out. Well done ! Thank you
We NEED a structured program geared towards group skills & bike handling. We need to pay instructors to do this regardless of their sideline coaching businesses. Most of these people who would do this are loyal and active members of the club.
yep, skills sessions are being looked at as mentioned in the club and safety comments post.
Great club with great leaders. Really appreciate the time and effort put in by the committee. The ride leader program is a great initiative and an example of leadership provided by the club for the growth and safety of its members. Well done SPR.
The club is really well run as it is, comments and complaints are 99.9% of the time the result of those not members who don’t understand how the club operates and what is expected….which you can’t really control. As the clubs grows it is increasingly difficult to keep everyone under control and keep everyone safe so thank you for trying. Oh the only thing I would STRONGLY recommend is subsidised and coordinated first aid training for whomever in the club is interested in taking the course. Accidents on club rides happen and the more people who know how to give immediate first aid is really important. Even in racing, you could be the only person for kms who can help a fellow rider, it is wise to know how to offer assistance as who knows when help would be on the way. A few accidents this year, some very serious, where folks were lucky to have first aiders on hand to help them. Cheers!
as mentioned in the previous club and safety comments post, it will be discussed at the committee meeting.
Many thanks to everyone who contributes to making the club so awesome 🙂
I’d like SPR to partner with DonateLife WA to promote and collaborate around a popular community issue that is focused upon the gift of life
personally i am a bit believer in organ donation. my family know that in the event of an accident, my bits are to go to someone that needs them. i also encourage others to have that discussion with their loved ones as (unfortunately) you never know what can happen. however, the club made a decision a while ago to not really partner with any particular entity. we didn’t want to be seen as a bike shop ride, or coffee shop ride but wanted to be a cycle club. although donatelife is a great cause, there are also a number of other great causes out there. cancer for example, has affected a number of our members over the last few years. we could easily align with any number of charities but have looked to create our own identity to focus on our members.
I’m a new rec member (Oct 17)- only been to three rides so far. Keen for much more. SPR Riders have been helpful when I’ve asked for ‘where do I go’ for such and such ride.
You guys rock!
Committee do a great job 🙂 volunteers might feel more comfortable putting their hand up to help if there was a buddy training system
The club is run well.
I think the club has divided to different group for example only main fast. Riders only social within themselves and I felt is too Competitive among
a large inclusive club is always going to break into a number of groups as generally the people you ride with are the ones you socialise with. there is nothing stopping anyone from sitting with another group for coffee. start up a conversation with someone you don’t know. you already have a common interest so it is not really like tinder. i don’t believe that the barriers that some people see between the groups are actually there. we are talking about social groups here and you can’t force social groups. the club can’t mandate that people must be more social to others, that is up to each of you.
great work, I really appreciate the network and friendship this club has.
No juniors in the club is something we should look at.
these things are a catch 22 situation. it is hard to provide for juniors if we don’t have any, but they won’t turn up if we don’t provide for them. it is an ongoing problem and something that has been looked at a number of times. i think that it is still on the committee agenda as something that a few of us were meant to work on last year. in progress.
Club is well run and has a good following in Perth. Happy to be a member.
I don’t think it is the place of the club to support national and international events at this stage. Perhaps once grass roots issues are addressed and a sustainable approach to club management can be reached, then this could be considered further. I think that the club should focus on members basic skills and domestic racing (if a member wishes) development and use excess funds to support this and the races the club puts on. I would be really proud of a club that promotes a skilful and positive community-focused bike rider. I am concerned that in some instances common sense is overlooked in managing situations, to the detriment of the club outcomes. In some instances, I feel that the communication is not as respectful as it could be, in particular for the recent ToMR group emails. I don’t believe that catering to the lowest common denominator is the way to be progressive and attract high caliber club contributors. If particular people are out of line, then appropriate communication should be directed to them personally and in a timely manner. This should not be avoided, and a club member with appropriate skills in this area should be utilised. Some of the language and tone I have witnessed on group rides, not for safety reasons, but for ego reasons, is not representative of a club that I want to be a part of. I know of riders that no longer ride with the club due to this unfortunately. I believe that some/all club positions should attach payment/club fees covered for ‘volunteer’ time to improve accountability and perhaps attract more candidates to the roles. I would like to see higher quality kit options available. Does the club have goals or targets for each year/2 years? Are these communicated to the club members? Thanks to those taking their time to review these responses, and considering our opinion.
wow a lot in there. any financial contribution from the club is seriously discussed at the committee level before any commitment is made. in certain instances, the club has supported individuals to help them pursue their goals both here and overseas. in other instances, the club has not given financial support but has provided in-kind but organising and supporting fundraiser events. on occasion the club has donated outside the club in areas where we feel we should be actively supporting the sport. none of those decisions are taken lightly and it usually involves a lot of animated discussion.
communication is probably the next important item in here. how we communicate with each other can certainly have a lasting effect on how those parties react in the future. in dangerous or frustrating circumstances people’s emotions often boil to the surface and this may not always have the best outcome. yes, i agree that ego’s should not get in the way of delivering a message and sometimes people should just “take a breath”. how we act forms peoples opinions of the club. whether in kit on the road, as a ride leader within a group or in some designated organisational position within the club. remember, you are talking to a person, that will have an equal reaction to your action.
goals and targets are not always something that we discuss outside of the 1 year period. often there are longer term aspirations, but as with most volunteer organisations, it takes people to drive them along. i feel that we may need to bring more structure to the governance of the club, not in the day to day running, but as to what is the vision, purpose and plan. what are we trying to achieve in the long run.
Love how the club operates,
The number of members and happy faces, to me says you have a good thing going. Even though I am going back to recreational riding I do think others would like more opportunities / introduction to racing. Could this be offered as an alternative to group riding?
i don’t know if you have been in some of the faster groups, but they are races. we tend to find that the best way to experience racing is to actually race. even though some of the training rides we do are pretty solid, they are totally different to an actual race. the biggest difference is the tactics. fitness kind of determines which grade you ride in, but tactics determine whether you win or not. the clubs main focus is the training rides, and this is where we have seen a lot of growth. peel club, however, puts a lot of their effort into almost weekly club races. these are low key, enter on the day graded races. if you are interested in taking a step towards racing, get a few of your riding buddies together and head down to the next peel race. we have used them in the past as development “races” for newbies and found that they are very well run and very welcoming to new riders.
Club kits and design black kits with just green writing ?? groups are good already just riders need to revisit rules instead of abusing other fellow friends for a mistake here and there.
although we put a lot of work into the ride leader program and what that means to the clubs safety, all riders should be looking out for each others safety. as mentioned above in regards to communication, how that is delivered will determine the response. on the flip-side, if you are being constantly told off for “making mistakes” people will get frustrated and their communication style may change a bit. as much as people hate being told off, people also hate having to constantly tell people off. make sure that you take on board the “feedback” and make sure it is delivered in the appropriate manner.
Thank you to the committee for doing a sensational job with the club.
Mentors for new members so you aren’t turning up to rides alone and can be introduced to people.
so, most of the time people do email the club before turning up for the first time. that way we can tell them how many riders to expect, what the different groups do and what we expect in regards to ride etiquette. we always say “just ask anyone” when they arrive to point them in the right direction. i know that it can be a little daunting at first as there are a lot of riders there, but once we split into the groups and the ride leaders give briefings, things seem to settle a bit. what we are hoping is that when you find a new person in your group, you make the effort to help them out in both riding etiquette and also socially after the ride.
The administrators of the club are doing a terrific job, thank you.
The club is inclusive and has been an important part of my cycling journey! Thank you all for keeping it as good as it is!
Have been a member less than 1 year but very impressed with club, very well organised, friendly and welcoming crew and I get a lot out of enjoyment and fitness benefits out it, even though I just do the Thursday and Sunday group rides, so great work SPR team.
The club has honestly changed my life and I certainly appreciate all of the great people within it. 2017 has been an awesome year and hopefully 2018 is an even better one.
Peter Mah deserves all the credit he gets Race committee have been excellent 2017
I notice that there is always talk if developing women’s racing and engagement in cycling but when I have attended beginners cycling events there is no race briefing and I am not always sure of what I should be doing, simple things like where do I attach the chip, how do I read the results, maybe the club could hold a presentation/training day to explain the basics of racing
so the race committee is looking at organising a post saturday q&a on racing with some seasoned spr racing types. hopefully this answers some of peoples questions. at individual races though, if there are spr riders around and you have a questions, don’t be afraid to ask. i am pretty sure at any race event you could ask just about anyone anything and they will help you. we all started somewhere.
Very proud to be a part of the SPR community!
I am so happy to be a member of this club. Committee does an exceptional job. The great thing is no politics. In fact the committee carries out its job without even seeming to. Brilliant.
My guess is that 50% of members don’t know who the committee members are or what they do
so there is the agm that everyone is invited to and that is where the committee gets elected. we have a breakfast and everything. pretty much anything that happens within the club happens because of the volunteer time put in by the committee and sub-committees. anyway, there is a page on the blog that lists everyone.
Waiting for the quarterly cycle for club kit is a big long other than that the club is great
Wanted to see some hills rides on Saturday instead of all hills rides on Sunday. Also if could get the buffet breakie once a month either first week of the month or last week would be great.
due to people working or having other commitments like kids sports, the saturday ride is always around the 50km mark. this allows people to get a good ride in and be finished before 9am. some commitments start even earlier, so we started the earlybird ride for that reason. as for the breakfasts, we used to have 4 per year, but that has been dropped to 2 per year. having them to frequently meant that people didn’t see that value in them and didn’t attend. even worse were those that didn’t pay, but still took food from the buffet. in the interest of both the club and dome, we now have the agm breakfast and the xmas breakfast.
Overall a really well run club. Special thanks to president and committee for the hard work they put in.
Operates really well. I think because we all ride in close quarters and many race, some training in close quarter riding would be of great benefit to most.
The club has an excellent ethos on being inclusive and providing safe rides for everyone no matter their level. The committee, ride leaders, and majority of members believe strongly in this. On busy days numbers can be very high, including non members who can be less willing to follow the direction of ride leaders. I’m not suggesting calling numbers, however regular riders who aren’t members should be encouraged to join, and there needs to be a way to express to riders that they may not be welcome due to the way they ride. This can be difficult to do on the ride and if they don’t finish the ride and stay for coffee.
a lot of this is covered in the club and safety comments post.
A terrific club which is very inclusive of all abilities from the serious racer to the social rider
Well let’s see… I think the spr club structure is brilliant. I don’t ride with spr very often any more, hills ride… The odd Saturday ,spr Groups are just too big. I like being the quite organiser for stuff with the club , happy to help out when l can.
Keep up the good work!!!
Too many issues to list here but the ongoing problem of unsafe groups, ineffective ride leaders and no skill tearing system to prevent unskilled riders joining any group they wish need to be addressed.
so when we open ourselves up to the public, i expect that we will get a few comments like this. not uncommon and there are comments in a similar vain in some of the other topics. when i look at all the positive comments just in this post, i know that this isn’t the common belief within our groups. basically, if you feel that the groups are that unsafe, with ineffective leaders and a raft of unaddressed issues, then maybe you should not be riding with us. we, the club, not just the committee work hard to make sure that we have safe, organised and inclusive rides every week. if you have particular issues that you want addressed, i am more than happy for you to contact the club personally. i do however, take umbrage to a generalisation that says that we have done nothing to keep riders safe.
so as a final overall comment, i would like to thank everyone that contributed to the survey this time around. there is lots of feedback in there that the committee can use to make sure that the direction we are heading aligns to what the membership wants. it is not all bad, and i thank you for any of the positive feedback that was given. it is all important as it lets people know that we aren’t totally stuffing everything up and just spend hours trying to keep certain people happy. stay safe.
