limited internet and limited time means that this update will be pretty limited. there is a lot going on, however, with the crits in full swing in perth and the nationals happening this week in ballarat.  we have a few riders in victoria already and there are some results coming through.  patrick chucked his hat in the ring against durbo and dennis for the itt and put in a solid effort to come 22nd.  oli stenning also came in 19th in the under 23 event. coming up we have teneal attard in the crit and kate bonner, patrick and oli in their respect road races. some of this will be televised, but also there are a few facebook feeds that show the events. support them if you can.

crit racing – there is racing available throughout summer – pretty much every weekend. this sunday there are races on from RCCC and west coast masters. an updated program with links to the events HERE.  for a bit more info on why crit racing could be for you, check out the previous post.

spr race mentors – the race mentors will be your go to for questions, queries and advice so you can dip your toe with some support. if you think you want to be a race mentor to help those that are curious about racing, then you can sign up to help out.  check out the previous post for more information.

mercantile lane closure – some of you may remember that the pedestrian bridge over mercantile lane fell down last year.  this is the back lane that we take to get from mounts bay rd to st georges terrace.  as of 20th dec it will be closed again to facilitate the rebuilding of that foot bridge.  no idea how long it will be down for, so you will need to take the next road (william st) to hook back around to the cafe after the ride.

hot weather policy – there has been a lot of discussion after last weeks heat wave as to how the club should run the sunday hills rides when the mercury rises significantly. there are a number of options being looked at including shortening rides, cancelling rides or changing times.  as always, we cannot tell you not to ride and you do so at your own risk.  however, if we deem that the conditions are not suitable, the club sanctioned training ride may be adjusted to suit. watch this space as more develops.

cycling trip to france – this year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is awesome out there, so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  come ride your bike and you may get to feed the magpies. lets see if there were any bike related presents under the tree this year.

from the ride coordinator – The club committee and ride leaders sub committee has been busy scoping some new ride routes for all members to enjoy. This weekend we commence the roll out of this programme with the introduction of a new long hills ride route for Sunday. This one is an epic with lots of kilometers and plenty of elevation. Great for those is training for either the Peaks and 5 Dams events which are coming up in March and April. So enjoy. As soon as the weather is right, we also have 2 new Saturday ride routes with corresponding transition rides ready to go. Those with a keen eye may have noticed the new additions added to the blog last week.

saturday 11th 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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast/main – holmes rd 50.42km spr saturday

sunday 12th january

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short –wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – zania darl mund dodd obs 111.68km spr sunday

monday 13th january

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 14th january

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 15th january

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 16th 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 17th january

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

i was doing a cupboard clean out this week and found last years festive 500 patch.  i hadn’t removed it from the cardboard and when i did was surprised to see the little poem behind it. “Most lay in bed. Contented, well fed. You forge on ahead Legs like lead Did something great instead.” the last week has been an interesting time and has shown some interesting behaviours from people. who would have guessed that nancy would be first to crack 500kms, that marcel would have a 300km day and finley would do a ride starting before 2am. all three of those people covered more than 800kms in the 8 days and i know that there are many more stories out there from the challenge.  here is your new challenge.  from your own festive 500 experience, write a 5 line poem on what was important to you.  whether it is watching the sunrise for the 5th morning in a row, or riding all the way to a closed coffee-shop, there must be something to inspire the poets amongst us. another pair of sunglasses is up for grabs.

crit racing – there is racing available throughout summer – pretty much every weekend. this weekend alone there are FOUR options available – Midland CC on Saturday afternoon, while Peel District CC, RCCC and West Coast Masters all have races on Sunday. There is an updated program with links to the events HERE.  for a bit more info on why crit racing could be for you, check out the previous post.

social club awards – the weekend before last we had our xmas breakfast and club awards.  the social club awards are voted on by you, the members and feedback is asked for as validation of your nomination.  with the exception of dean roser nominating himself for every award, this is a great way for members to let someone know that they are doing something right.  check out the previous post for the results and feedback.

mercantile lane closure – some of you may remember that the pedestrian bridge over mercantile lane fell down last year.  this is the back lane that we take to get from mounts bay rd to st georges terrace.  as of 20th dec it will be closed again to facilitate the rebuilding of that foot bridge.  no idea how long it will be down for, so you will need to take the next road (william st) to hook back around to the cafe after the ride.

hot weather policy – there has been a lot of discussion after last weeks heat wave as to how the club should run the sunday hills rides when the mercury rises significantly. there are a number of options being looked at including shortening rides, cancelling rides or changing times.  as always, we cannot tell you not to ride and you do so at your own risk.  however, if we deem that the conditions are not suitable, the club sanctioned training ride may be adjusted to suit. watch this space as more develops.

rapha festive 500 – this year’s festive 500 saw a very competitive finish with a couple of people leapfrogging positions at the last minute.  with 5 people clocking up more than 900kms in the 8 days and 1 exceeding 1000kms, there were a lot of tired legs come new years day.  there will be a final washup post soon which shows the club leaderboard and just who won a new pair of sunnies.

cycling trip to france – this year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is awesome out there, so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  come ride your bike and you may get to feed the magpies. lets see if there were any bike related presents under the tree this year.

from the ride coordinator – Happy New Cycling Year everyone! Well the 2019 kilometers are now in the Garmin/Wahoo/whatever bank and the clock starts ticking again for this year. Hats off to those who completed the Rapha500 over the festive season, unbelievably there was 1 SPR rider who effectively did it twice with a tad over 1000kms (you know who you are). As usual, this time of year there are lots of cycling events on, with the nationals and the Tour Downunder topping the immediate list. Whatever your goal in 2020, enjoy your cycling and I hope you achieve what you are looking to strive for.

saturday 4th 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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans canning vale 42.34km spr saturday

fast/main – maddington 51.87km spr saturday

sunday 5th january

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short –khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna trnr obs 101.76km spr sunday

monday 6th january

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 7th january

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 8th january

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 9th 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 10th january

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

happy new year. as the year draws to a close, i could go on some sentimental trip about how the club has changed over the years, or how successful it has been at this or that, but i would rather save that for the agm wrap up. what i would like to say, though, is for me personally, there has been a big change in my riding between the start and end of this year. at the end of 2018, i really lost my riding mojo. quite possibly just burn-out from years of training, but i just needed to find the love again. a year on and i am now trying to smash out as many k’s as i can to try to get my annual total back up.  i had 5 months this year with a kilometre count under 1000 and 3 of those months were around 500 or under. it wasn’t till the last 2 months that i have managed to get it back to around 1500. in training, k’s are not everything, but i am now motivated enough to actually get out there and even do a few night owl’s. i look forward to what 2020 brings.

social club awards – last weekend we had our xmas breakfast and club awards.  the social club awards are voted on by you, the members and feedback is asked for as validation of your nomination.  with the exception of dean roser nominating himself for every award, this is a great way for members to let someone know that they are doing something right.  check out the previous post for the results and feedback.

mercantile lane closure – some of you may remember that the pedestrian bridge over mercantile lane fell down earlier in the year.  this is the back lane that we take to get from mounts bay rd to st georges terrace.  as of tomorrow (20th) it will be closed again to facilitate the rebuilding of that foot bridge.  no idea how long it will be down for, so you will need to take the next road (william st) to hook back around to the cafe after the ride.

hot weather policy – there has been a lot of discussion after last weeks heat wave as to how the club should run the sunday hills rides when the mercury rises significantly. there are a number of options being looked at including shortening rides, cancelling rides or changing times.  as always, we cannot tell you not to ride and you do so at your own risk.  however, if we deem that the conditions are not suitable, the club sanctioned training ride may be adjusted to suit. watch this space as more develops.

rapha festive 500 – so jamie moyle has kindly donated a few pairs of swisseye sunglasses.  these come with 3 interchangeable lenses, and i guess you can mix and match, if you want… anyway, for the festive 500 this year, we will be giving away a pair each to the top 2 male and female riders in the club with the most k’s. firstly you have to have joined the festive 500 challenge on strava, then you need to have joined our strava club. (i am in the process of removing all the random russian bots and “club collectors” that are not really part of the club.) however, the final qualifier is that you will also need to be a paid up member of spr. i will continue down the list until i find 4 full members who can claim their prizes.  get riding.

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is awesome out there, so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  come ride your bike and you may get to feed the magpies. lets see if there were any bike related presents under the tree this year.

from the ride coordinator – With Christmas now past, we look forward to a safe and prosperous 2020. It’s definitely a time of reflection on the year gone and planning ahead for the new year and our great cycling club is no different. From a ride leader’s perspective it’s great to have welcomed some new ride leading recruits last weekend and we look forward to adding a couple of new routes early in 2020 to our existing ones. We still need to keep an eye on safety into 2020. There are still too many accidents on our rides, so that will be a focus of the ride leading sub committee going forward to understand this better. But there are some immediate things that everyone can do that can help. Knowing the ride route, regular bike maintenance and above all communication are all things that all riders can control. It really doesn’t take much effort for everyone to contribute to a safe ride. After all, as ride leaders, this is our top priority to get everyone back for a coffee and chat. Believe it when I say, we all feel it when we have an accident on our rides. So, whilst the club is preparing for another big year ahead, it’s good if everyone from the fast groups, through all Main groups, down to transition understands how they can contribute to the safety of their own group. Have a happy, safe and hopefully prosperous 2020.

saturday 28th 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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans shelley 40.59km spr saturday

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

sunday 29th december

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short –grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday

long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday

monday 30th december

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 31st december

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 1st january – new years day

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

early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special

rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

public hol 57.62km spr special

thursday 2nd 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 3rd january

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

so we wrapped this year up with the final committee meeting at the windsor where items were discussed over pizza and drinks.  the main topic was the weather so make sure that you are prepared this weekend for what the weather brings.  don’t over commit and bring lots of water. the sunday hills is doing loops around kalamunda, so if you need to pull the pin early, you can.  look after each other, out there.

crit season – criterium racing is making you choose agian this week with rccc, peel and masters all holding events. the rccc race includes the before mentioned “come and try” for female racers.

spr xmas drinks – keep the evening of sunday 15th december free for our annual out of lycra xmas drinks night.  this is always a great night and allows you relax and tell lots of lies about your prowess on the bike. tickets can be found in the blog shop and more info can be found in the previous post.

spr xmas awards – every year we give the members a chance to nominate people that have made a difference to the club.  this may be via direct contact, though inspirational performance or just something that really sticks out (like years ago when ballam threw a water bottle at my head during the uwct final).  check out the previous post for more details and a link to the survey.

entertainment book – tis the season for supporting and we have a great gifting opportunity which helps our fundraising efforts. the gift of entertainment is a new digital membership valid for 12 months from the day of activation. you can buy that special someone a single city or multi city membership so they can save year-round on everything they love to do. simply buy it, print it, gift it!

AusCycling – so i asked the question at the WestCycle AGM held this last week about the timing of AusCycling and how it related to our current memberships and licence.  some of the social media was suggesting that come 1st jan CA would cease to exist and AusCycling would be the new body.  apparently this in not the case and the change over will more likely be around Q2 next year.  this gives us some reprieve around renewing licences and doesn’t force people into an early renewal to ensure consistency. a lot of it is still up in the air and they are still pushing a single unity model.  however, feedback from a source at the department of sport and rec said that many other sports had pushed that early in the process and moved to a state based model after negotiation.  we are still hopeful for a good outcome, but we will just have to wait and see.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  there were some new juniors out last weekend so the numbers are growing heading into summer. A few more returns from last year and we will have quite a squad in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – We are pleased to introduce the ride leader class of 2019. Keep an eye out for their first observation rides this weekend

saturday 14th 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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans cresswell 40.21km spr saturday

fast/main – cresswell & herdsman 48.86km spr saturday

sunday 15th december

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short –kal goose 67.63km spr sunday

long – kal obs goose 97.40km spr sunday

monday 16th december

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 17th december

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 18th december

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 19th 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 20th december

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

numbers for racing have been in decline lately as people, for various reasons, drop out of the competitive aspect of local sport.  for the women’s field, this means that an already small startlist is compressed further until it is merged into the men’s grades.  to try to build up the numbers, you have to start at the grass roots level.  people don’t just fall out of bed and become an ‘a’ grade racer, they need to develop over time.  as such club member and coach, davina summers, has organised a “she race” program to run in conjunction with the rccc crits.  this “come and try” event will be held at tonkin business park in bayswater during the 15/12, 22/12 and 12/01 races.  cost for these sessions is only $10 and you can enter online here or on the day.  the circuit is wide, smooth, closed to traffic and short so it is a good opportunity to give it a go without the risk of being left behind.   experienced riders will take you around the circuit giving tips and help you understand what is going on.  if any of our female members (or any women) have ever wondered about what it is like to race, but been too apprehensive to dip a toe in, then this is for you.

crit season – criterium racing continues, with west coast masters running an event down at kwinana motoplex.  next week the rccc race includes the before mentioned “come and try” for female racers.

spr xmas drinks – keep the evening of sunday 15th december free for our annual out of lycra xmas drinks night.  this is always a great night and allows you relax and tell lots of lies about your prowess on the bike. tickets can be found in the blog shop and more info can be found in the previous post.

spr xmas awards – every year we give the members a chance to nominate people that have made a difference to the club.  this may be via direct contact, though inspirational performance or just something that really sticks out (like years ago when ballam threw a water bottle at my head during the uwct final).  check out the previous post for more details and a link to the survey.

entertainment book – tis the season for supporting and we have a great gifting opportunity which helps our fundraising efforts. the gift of entertainment is a new digital membership valid for 12 months from the day of activation. you can buy that special someone a single city or multi city membership so they can save year-round on everything they love to do. simply buy it, print it, gift it!

AusCycling – so i asked the question at the WestCycle AGM held this last week about the timing of AusCycling and how it related to our current memberships and licence.  some of the social media was suggesting that come 1st jan CA would cease to exist and AusCycling would be the new body.  apparently this in not the case and the change over will more likely be around Q2 next year.  this gives us some reprieve around renewing licences and doesn’t force people into an early renewal to ensure consistency. a lot of it is still up in the air and they are still pushing a single unity model.  however, feedback from a source at the department of sport and rec said that many other sports had pushed that early in the process and moved to a state based model after negotiation.  we are still hopeful for a good outcome, but we will just have to wait and see.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  there were some new juniors out last weekend so the numbers are growing heading into summer. A few more returns from last year and we will have quite a squad in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – Well last weekend’s main ride was a cracker. Boring into gusty winds going out, and almost sailing home with the wind behind. It had almost everything. Including a couple of crashes ! Been saying it for a little while now, the role of our ride leaders is to try to get you back in one piece so please please listen to your ride brief. The brief often contains really important messages about the ride, including terrain, obstacles, speed and most important – communication. As one who delivers ride briefings frequently, sometimes I do get a sense that some riders think “here we go again, I’ve heard this before”, similar to a safety briefing on a plane. Well like the stewards, our ride leaders are interested in the safety of the group, so please do yourself a favour and listen to what is being said to minimise the chances of being a crash stat next week.

saturday 7th 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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans reabold 38.69km spr saturday

fast/main – scarbs beach & hale 51.21km spr saturday

sunday 8th december

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short –wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh weir kal 101.71km spr sunday

monday 9th december

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 10th december

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 11th december

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 12th 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 13th december

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

so there were a couple of instances last weekend and even this morning that frustrate the crap out of anyone trying to organise the groups.  it is all about why we split the groups up.  we have been through this so many times before and everyone knows that we split for safety so the groups is not so big on the road, gets caught at every light change and is difficult to maintain a smooth roll through.  unfortunately trying to split the long sunday hills last week was a waste of time.  there were around 40 riders and 35 of them all self selected to ride in the fast group.  this was after i beat a number of them up the climbs the previous week in the second group.  in other words, they were not fast and hence would force the long hills group to wait longer at the top of each climb.  we ended up going as one group as there was no point 5 of us trying to ride into the headwind ourselves.  what it meant was that the group split on pretty much every red light all the way down albany hwy.  now i don’t know why the human psyche works that way, and it is primarily the males, but we don’t post hills group results on facebook, so no-one is going to think that you are less of a rider in the second group.  on that day, it was very, very clear that there was a have and have-not when it came to climbing and the faster riders did have to wait a lot longer before they could continue.  we are trying to look after all riders when we do this.  we don’t want the faster ones to get frustrated and wait just as much as we don’t want the slower ones to feel pressured that they are making people wait.  all our rides are there for everyone to enjoy.  however, trying to organise it takes away a lot of that joy if you are constantly battling against people.  the weather is nice so more people are turning up for our rides.  help keep them safe and enjoyable by doing the right thing.

crit season – criterium racing continues, but you have to make a choice this weekend. both peel and rccc are running a race on sunday at pinjarra and the tonkin business park respectively.  entries for peel can be found here and entries for rccc can be found here.

spr xmas drinks – keep the evening of sunday 15th december free for our annual out of lycra xmas drinks night.  tickets can be found in the blog shop and more info can be found in the previous post.

great southern ultra challenge – perth – toodyay – northam – meckering – merredin – lake grace – newdegate – ravensthorpe – albany – pingrup – katanning – wagin – narrogin – brookton – perth.  fancy a casual 1600km event??? the great southern ultra challenge began at 8am last saturday and although a number of riders have already finished, there are still more on the road.  tony smith finished midnight wed night after a stupendous effort.  it kind of makes the festive 500 seem a bit lame.  check out this promo vid if you have time.

tour of margs – waiting for race@spr to put the finishing touches on the tomr race report and some photos from zac williams to come through. mo said that he was running out of nick-names so have your glossary handy.

AusCycle – so there has been a bit of an update over the last week in relation to AusCycle. Tasmania came out and voted no to join NSW.  it is expected that WA votes no even though our official vote isn’t in, the in-house vote said that we want a different model than what has been proposed.  you can find out mode from the cyclingtips blog that is currently covering it.  there is lots in social media about it and there are lots of heated conversations going on that i have decided to keep out of.  however, the question i have for the states that are all for it is this; qld, vic, nsw are three states that have dedicated crit circuits.  are the riders in those areas okay with their licence fees and state funding going towards building a crit circuit in wa? that is one of the fears from the association over here. the centralised mtb model has shown similar things in the past with no money being spent in wa, so they went ahead and setup their own wa association to get stuff done.  not saying that coming under one banner can’t work, just that it seems to have not been well thought out.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  there were some new juniors out last weekend so the numbers are growing heading into summer. A few more returns from last year and we will have quite a squad in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – This week’s ride route was inspired by the old saying “The Best ride routes are the ones you haven’t ridden”. It’s been a while since we have done Ridgehill Road. So long I’ve almost forgotten it. Enjoy your riding this weekend.

saturday 30th november

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans canning vale 42.34km spr saturday

fast/main – ridgehill rd 50.55km spr saturday

sunday 1st december

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short –khna weir 72.23km spr sunday

long – khna trnr obs 101.76km spr sunday

monday 2nd december

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 3rd december

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 4th december

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 5th 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 6th december

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

just a little housekeeping for the club this week.  while we may be out enjoying a little birdwatching while riding, there are a number of other things that we should be paying attention to.  i was contacted this week by a person that was using the pedestrian crossing on st georges terrace just as one of the groups was finishing their ride.  they say that the light was red, so they were crossing back to the bhp building for work.  a group of riders in our kit came through the light to access the footpath and cut off this guy and his mate.  some raised voices occurred but only one cyclist replied and the rest just ignored it and went to coffee.  now regardless of whether you are allowed to ride on the path or not, the group was riding on the road as it approached the red traffic light.  as we always obey traffic rules, that group should have given way to the pedestrians before using the crossing to access the footpath.  its not a good look and some people bias all cyclists as “rule breakers” when they see acts like this. please be more aware of your surroundings as even hitting a pedestrian can mean that you end up having time off your bike.

crit season – criterium racing kicks off this weekend with midland holding a race on saturday at behind the velodrome and rccc running a race on sunday at the tonkin business park.  entries for midland are on the day but more info can be found here and entries for rccc can be found here.

spr xmas drinks – keep the evening of sunday 15th december free for our annual out of lycra xmas drinks night.  tickets can be found in the blog shop and more info can be found in the previous post.

tour of margs – waiting for race@spr to put the finishing touches on the tomr race report and some photos from zac williams to come through. mo said that he was running out of nick-names so have your glossary handy.

AusCycle – so there has been a bit of an update over the last week in relation to AusCycle. Tasmania came out and voted no to join NSW.  it is expected that WA votes no even though our official vote isn’t in, the in-house vote said that we want a different model than what has been proposed.  you can find out mode from the cyclingtips blog that is currently covering it.  there is lots in social media about it and there are lots of heated conversations going on that i have decided to keep out of.  however, the question i have for the states that are all for it is this; qld, vic, nsw are three states that have dedicated crit circuits.  are the riders in those areas okay with their licence fees and state funding going towards building a crit circuit in wa? that is one of the fears from the association over here. the centralised mtb model has shown similar things in the past with no money being spent in wa, so they went ahead and setup their own wa association to get stuff done.  not saying that coming under one banner can’t work, just that it seems to have not been well thought out.

hotel funivia – many of the spr members that have taken the trip over to ride in italy have tackled the famous stelvio.  odds are that they stayed at hotel funivia whils they were there.  this weekend the team from hotel funivia are in perth and will be on our saturday and sunday rides.  if you are thinking of riding the mountains in italy make sure you have a conversation with these guys whilst you have the chance.  check out the previous post for some more information.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  there were some new juniors out last weekend so the numbers are growing heading into summer. A few more returns from last year and we will have quite a squad in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – Great to see the numbers out and about on such a hot Saturday last week with most groupings swelling to the brim. Thinking that this week we might see healthy numbers again for our main ride. Whilst it’s awesome to see so many out, large numbers often means larger groups. Larger groups often means different abilities and more risks riding in a group. So this weeks commentary is all about making sure we have a safe mindset when riding. Whilst your ride leaders will do their best to split the groups into manageable numbers, you can also contribute to the safety of the group. The usual suspects including calling up AND down the line for hazards, being watchful at roundabouts and knowing the ride routes become really important when the group sizes are big. So do yourself and the group a favor by preparing a little and being a participant in the group. Happy riding !

saturday 23rd november

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans shelley 40.59km spr saturday

fast/main – south st 51.23km spr saturday

sunday 24th november

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday

long – carr peet obs 97.72km spr sunday

monday 25th november

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 26th november

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 27th november

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 28th november

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 november

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

from a results perspective, last weekend was one of the most successful appearances for spr at the tour of margaret river ever. with 3 very competitive teams and 1 not so serious team fielded, there was some very good results posted.  there is a more detailed report coming soon, but as a taster a very solid showing by the men’s team that ended up in division a.  finishing 4th behind the dome team and with some gutsy results from john carnicelli who came 10th on stage 2 stuck in his big chain ring.  there were, however, up against a very stacked unicorn team with current national champions, ex-pros and beautiful hair.  the women’s team was engaged in a very emotional up and down battle with chaotic energy (who are also mostly spr members). taking stage wins in both road races (a 1st & 3rd both times), darcy also won the fastest u21 rider.  in the end the chaotic girls put on two solid team time trials to take the overall honours over spr and dome. from a personal perspective, i had an awesome tour.  yes i suffered through pretty much every stage, but i got to spend 25min straight talking to marrianne vos (pictured with our girls) as we rode along at the start of stage 3.  she dropped me on a later hill, but that good start made the rest tolerable.

tour of margs – from race@spr: Last weekend was a big showing from the SPR teams at Tour of Margaret River. We were also joined by photographer Zac Williams. Race reports and photos to come soon.

AusCycle – as most you have seen via social media, there is a change coming to the way that cycling will be run in the country.  the current cycling australia will cease to exist and AusCycle will take it’s place.  this will combine the road/track disciplines with mountain biking and bmx.  what they fail to mention is that going to this type of unity model also means that all funding gets centralised at head office…in melbourne.  this is the major concern amongst non-victorian associations as how that money gets doled out will be up to how the governing bodies sees fit.  what it also means, is that the state gov here has refused to fund a national body that may use that money for other states.  some states, like wa, have provided an alternative solution to how the new model will run.  CA/AusCycle have said that they didn’t ask for that and have only asked if associations want to be a part of the new structure.  overall it’s complicated.  kind of brexit-style complicated and the losers will likely be all of us.  club treasurer, daniel harvey, had been attending some of the road show presentations, so we will get a better run down soon.  the social media campaign by cycling aust has been very one sided, and rolling out past stars to “endorse” the new product is just a way of patching over the potential gaps.  what does it mean for us as a club??? well from a daily riding perspective, nothing should change.  from an insurance, racing, events & funding perspective, there could be some changes on the horizon.

hotel funivia – many of the spr members that have taken the trip over to ride in italy have tackled the famous stelvio.  odds are that they stayed at hotel funivia whils they were there.  next weekend the team from hotel funivia are in perth and will be on our saturday and sunday rides.  if you are thinking of riding the mountains in italy make sure you have a conversation with these guys whilst you have the chance.  check out the previous post for some more information.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  we had 5 with us last week including a first-timer who climbed 3 hills in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – This weekend marks another milestone for the club as we welcome the Class of 19 ! No, we are not talking about any graduates from high school or university or business school. But what I am referring to is something that other cycle clubs are envious of. Yes, we welcome a new bunch of ride leaders into our “ride leading school” this weekend. This is an awesome programme that really sets our cycling club apart from the others and has the others asking us questions on how we do it. So if you see Rob out with his “students” this weekend, give him (& them) a big cheer as these people, who give their own time to make your ride enjoyable and safe, will more than likely lead you on a future ride.

saturday 16th november

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans cresswell 40.21km spr saturday

fast/main – morley drive 50.77km spr saturday

sunday 17th november

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short – grnmt goose 65.22km spr sunday

long – grnmt prk mnd wr 93.71km spr sunday

monday 18th november

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 19th november

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 20th november

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 21st november

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 november

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride

so the tour of margs is on this weekend, but last weekend another lot of rouleurs headed south for the tour of gracetown.  the great thing about cycling is that there is usually something for everyone.  don’t like racing, then try fondos. don’t like touring, then try mountain biking.  like to hurt yourself, then time trials are for you.  from young to old, fast to not so fast, cycling gives you the opportunity to meet others and form those long term bonds.

tour of margaret river – good luck to all the teams competing this weekend down at nannup. we have 3 men’s team, a women’s team and a team of volunteers.  3 days, 4 stages, lots of hills, heat, rain, flies and camaraderie.  check out the previous post to see who is on the team.

cycling trip to france – next year long time spr member, christophe is looking at organising a trip to france to ride in the mountains.  it is 12 nights with 2 french speaking guides cruising around such little hills as mount ventoux.  if you are interested, see christophe at the coffee shop after the ride or email him at crosstraining@optusnet.com.au

sunday start locations – as numbers increase over summer, we are looking at how we can manage the groups on a sunday morning.  as such we are implementing a start location system to give us an idea of how big the groups are.  we can then split them before they leave the carpark to ensure that the groups are a safe size on the road.  see the previous blog post about where to meet and the new start time.

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.

spr juniors – juniors, juniors, juniors. the weather is looking good so get the kids out and onto the bikes.  we had 5 with us last week including a first-timer who climbed 3 hills in kings park.

from the ride coordinator – Woah ! 37 degrees maximum for Saturday. Where did that come from ? It’s just a lazy 17 degrees more than last week! I’m sure our ToMR teams are looking forward to that one. As will the rest of the crew as we navigate our eastern suburbs starting with Abernethy Road. Change in weather is a good time to remind everyone of the need to slip on some sunscreen and hydrate well for the conditions.  Iced Latte’s will be popular back in the coffee shop this week. Good luck to all the SPR teams down in Nannup this weekend. May it rain green, black and white on Sunday!

saturday 9th november

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

juniors – kings park juniors 23.72km spr saturday

development group –  novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday

transitional 1/2 – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday

fast/main – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday

sunday 10th november

rides start at coode st carpark at 6:00am

note: sunday rides now start at 6:00am from nov to feb

development group – coffee ride

short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday

long – wlsh obs kal 90.32km spr sunday

monday 11th november

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

south stock 33.76km spr monday

tuesday 12th november

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

spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)

wednesday 13th november

ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am

interval training – stock road repeats

thursday 14th november

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 november

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

spr friday 42.01km (shelley)

friday training/recovery ride