busy week for me and i haven’t even been at work yet.  quick trip to visit family involved lots of traveling over three days.  home now and really appreciating the weather even though it is wet and cold.  mainly because cold here is not even close to as cold as it is in victoria.  the temperature as we passed through ballarat in the morning was 6 degrees.  on the way back in the afternoon it was 7 degrees.

kit collection – the kit has been sorted and will be available for collection at the coffee shop after the saturday ride.

quiz night – still some more places for this fund raiser if you want to join in. more info here.

pickering brook race series – easy entry into racing in case you wanted to give it a go.  looking at the forum there will be quite a few spr riders attending, so you will see some familiar faces.

ride routes – remember the ride routes if it is raining…stay the same and you just get wet.

saturday 9th june

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

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

saturday hills – spr sunday 87.72km (kahuna & peet & patterson)

sunday 10th june

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 66.71km (greenmount & gooseberry)

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

so the painters have finished but i spend most of thursday evening getting the bedroom back together so didn’t have time to post the ride routes.  still got lots to move and there is definitely going to be a garage sale at the end of this.  can’t think of what else is on at the moment as i am quickly trying to get the ride routes out.  see you out there all rugged up.

ride routes – the saturday hills ride seems to be going well lately with about 15 riders last week.  as such we will keep this going as a regular ride.  this also takes a few riders out of the main groups to make the size more manageable.  for saturday, the main groups will be doing a relatively new route (only done twice so far).  make sure you know when to turn as there are a few tricky ones.  the sunday hills ride will try to avoid kalamunda as much as possible as the tour de kal is on.  not sure where the coffee stop will be yet.  it might be back in town.

saturday 26th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.18km (alexander drive)

saturday hills – spr sunday 90.23km (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd)

sunday 27th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

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

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

still a bit restricted on the bike this week as the house is still in turmoil due to the team of painters.  moving furniture late into the night (quietly of course so as not to wake the kids) does not make for a lot of motivation to get up early to ride.  hopefully i will get out a bit this weekend.  make sure you come along to coffee after the saturday ride to see the new vista at the coffee shop.  the wall has finally come down and has opened up the area extensively.  we will have to work out where to park the bikes now.

fundraisers – as you may have seen on the blog, there are a number of people that have qualified to go to south africa for the masters world champs.  as such they will be running a series of fundraisers between now and the race to help get them over there.  the first thing is the quiz night, but will be followed by other events like raffles, tipping comps and participation rides.  make sure you get involved to help your fellow club members race overseas.

ride routes – after the success of last weeks saturday hills ride, we are going to see if it was just an artifact of mother’s day being on sunday.  if the numbers are still good, then we will continue to run a hills ride on saturday leaving after the last main group.

saturday 19th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 41.73km (canning vale reverse)

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

saturday hills – spr sunday 85.76km (gooseberry & kalamunda & bickley)

sunday 20th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 66.71km (greenmount & gooseberry)

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

carlos (the ironman) is around at my place at the moment with his posse (the avengers) painting the inside of my house.  as such, the kids are in the lounge room, the kitchen is in the store room and the computer is packed away.  lucky i have a computer at work…

spr kit – the order has been sent off so i really need to clarify something here.  once we have the kit, the distribution will be at the coffee shop after the saturday ride for a number of weekends.  i recently received an email from a very unhappy camper who was asking where his kit was and how come i haven;’t contacted him after i took his money.  and now he doesn’t want the kit as it has taken so long that he has bought other kit.  so anyway, it was obvious that he didn;t ride with us regularly or even read the website, so not sure why he bought the kit.  the point is, keep your eye on the website for information as to when the kit will be ready for collection.  i did reply back to this guy and offered him a refund, but it has been a week and an half and he still hasn’t responded.

saturday hills ride – there has been a request for a saturday hills ride this week as it is mothers day on sunday and a lot of people are not allowed out of the house…or should i say, a lot of people have to stay to supervise young ones attempt to make breakfast in bed for mum.  as such there will be a hills ride planned that will leave at 7am just after the rest of the rides.  there has been some talk for a while about offering a ride on saturday, so we will see how this week goes to determine whether we can run this on a regular basis.

you tube – check out the link below.  nice quite road, good conditions, easy downhill, too damn fast.  watch it all the way to the end to see how luck he was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3FvSq2xNU8

ride routes – i got many requests about the ride routes this week.  can we have this…can we go there…can we mount lennie hill road again…etc.  i have tried to please everyone…tried.

saturday 12th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 39.81km (shelley & bannister)

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

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

sunday 13th may (mothers day)

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

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

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

someone at work sent me a link to the velominati or “the rules” as it has been known.  i have seen them numerous times before and i know that they are meant to be a bit “tongue in cheek” but some people seem to take them serious.  then today, in the online paper there is an article about how much you should spend on a bike.  in both cases, regardless of the humor involved, there seems to be this elitism involved if you want to be a cyclist.  some people won’t be seen riding shimano because it is not european, some just scoff if you mention certain brands.  the newspaper article seems to think that you need to spend at least $10,000 to get a seat at the special cyclist table.  as a club that is meant to be open and welcoming i hope that we don’t invoke the same prejudices to any new comers.  i have heard some people remark that on some group rides in perth, you will be lucky to even get a conversation started with someone as you are riding along.  having the right gear is essential to riding but sometimes people just need a little advice.  don’t dismiss the guy that turns up to a hills ride wearing running shorts as he might be the next ryan. (note: ryan turned up to his first hills ride wearing running shorts)

ride etiquette – it is unfortunate that this needed to be brought up again but there have been quite a few issues arising lately.  interestingly enough, the tues, wed & thurs rides that i went on had people stop at the lights when they had to.  i expect that we will get complacent again, but it is up to individuals to actually use their voice and take that stand.

focus group – this saturday after coffee we will be taking the kids with disabilities for a ride.  i will be gang-pressing people at the coffee shop for you to help out with this.  it is a no stress ride (with no traffic lights, so you won’t get dropped) and all you have to do is be very positive and encouraging.  not sure how the weather will affect the ride, but we will play it by ear.  do your bit for the wider community and help out here.

busso half-ironman – there are some people in our club that like to swim before a ride and then go for a nice brisk run afterwards.  their pinnacle (or half-pinnacle) is this saturday with the half-ironman being held down in busso.  good luck to those competing (or in brendan’s case, seeing who comes first, the half ironman or the baby).  on a different note, way back in 1986, the half was held on rotto and the course record for bike and run was held by our very own stuart gee.  i think he might have even won it outright that year.

tom lowry – a few people heading down to race this weekend in collie.  my man-flu has gotten the better of me so i have unfortunately had to withdraw.  it is unfortunate as this is a race i really enjoy.  it has a bit of everything and usually get a good turnout.  all the best to those racing.

ride routes – since you all loved holmes road last week, we will head out that way again.  this time up hale road but will take on ridgehill (also known as “lennie hill road”) to make sure you get a climb in.  actually, i am planning rides that avoid great eastern hwy as much as possible at the moment while the road works are going on.  sunday is all about the kahuna.  you know you love it.

saturday 5th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

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

sunday 6th may

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

short – spr sunday 70.93km (kahuna)

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

easter is over and there seemed to be lots of kms ridden, possibly to get rid of some chocolate indulgence.  the year is flying by and soon we will get a few “unpleasant days” to contend with.  we are lucky with our weather and having 30 degree days in april makes for an extended period of good riding.  this is especially apparent when the east coast is getting battered by driving rain and gale force winds.  however, the rain and cold mornings will soon be upon us.  i have a saying, though – “don”t look at the weather report to see if you are riding, look at the weather report to see what you are going the wear while riding.”  see you out there.

peter clark classic – there are a few riders that will be racing this weekend in the northern districts classic.  good luck to those competing and julian has volunteered to take the tent up so you will have a focal point in which to meet.

the focus group – a month or so ago a bunch of us met online casino with a group of disabled kids that wanted to have a go at cycling.  we rode from the coode st carpark, along the path towards the causeway and back again.  there were a number of kids (with their parents) and a number of spr riders to chaperone the group.  we would like to make this a regular occurrence on a monthly basis.  our next ride with the kids is on the 5th of may and starts at 9:30am.  this gives you all time to do your earlybird plus main ride, have a coffee and still be able to volunteer a bit of time to the cause.  i will put another post up closer to the ride, but give it some thought as we would appreciate as much help as we can get.  the kids really enjoyed it and the parents were rapt that so many of our riders gave up our time to spend time with their kids.

ride routes – they are predicting rain on saturday so the groups may end up being combined if numbers are low.  lets see who is a fair weather rider.  last sunday i was reminded during the ride about the chookenberg.  well reminded was actually a question when someone was hoping we weren”t doing the chook.  this week, we are doing the chook and the goose.

saturday 28th april

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.86km (rebold hill)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.69km (holmes rd)

sunday 29th april

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

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

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

sorry i was supposed to put this out over the weekend.

there will be a number of rides happening this wednesday being a public holiday.  on top of that there will be a special dawn service ride for those wishing to head up to kings park for the dawn service.

there is also a race on at midland that you may still be able to enter if you ring up cycling wa.  more info here.

ride routes – the earlybird ride will be the standard wednesday ride and as such will be a little quicker than the usual public holiday one.  the 7:00am ride may leave a little bit later to make sure that the people from the dawn service have made it down in time.

wednesday 25th april

ride starts at ciao italia cafe cnr douglas and mill point rd at 5:30am

early lap – spr wednesday 41.63km (ciao ride)

dawn service – meet at the base of mount st at 5:30am to head up to kings park.

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

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

not much happening this week.  work is work.  home is home.  riding is going well.  i didn’t win lotto though, so i guess i will just have to do it all again next week.

spr club kit – final orders will be taken this weekend.  the jersey sizing kit will be available at the DOME coffee shop after the ride to help you choose the correct fit.  more info here. 

anzac day – there will be some earlybird rides, public holiday rides and a dawn service ride.  i will post a separate blog about what will happen on wednesday.

dams ride – congratulations to all those from spr that participated (it wasn’t a race…apparently).  a great effort especially by some people that i can remember were in the transitional group not so long ago.

road races – there are a number of road races coming up soon.  if you want to give road racing a go, we generally have a bunch of other members at these events so you won’t feel like you are on your own.  especially if you order some kit so you look like you are part of the club.  if you want to ask questions about any of the races, or just races in general, post a question to the forum and people will be more than happy to answer you.  this also applies to mountain bike races.

club agm & breakfast – i would just like to again thank toby and leo at the DOME for catering for the club breakfast.  it certainly makes it a lot easier than holding it at my place.  i would also like the thank all those that volunteered to be on the club committee for this year.  i will post the minutes on the blog soon so those that were absent can see what was discussed.

ride/race reports – feel free if you want to write up your experiences on the bike.  people like to hear about others perspective of the rides and it is a good way for new people to see what goes on during the rides.  race reports are also a good way to get people involved with racing as a lot of people just need a little prompt to get them to have a go.  let me know if you want to post something and i can give you authorship rights.

ride routes – the saturday main ride is one that we don’t do very often.  the majority of the course is very familiar, but where we usually take the bus lane to turn onto albany hwy, we will cross over and head up towards welshpool road.  make sure you know the ride routes.

saturday 21st april

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 42.94km (freo & cott)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 49.01km (canning vale & welshpool)

sunday 22nd april

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

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

long – spr sunday 101.29km (roleystone & observatory)

so much on.  so little time.  we had 4 confirmed +400km riders from the long weekend.  i will have to hunt down some easter eggs for their efforts.  i only managed about 300kms but that included a 17km ride with the kids where ben managed to beat lennie up the hill to the coffee shop.  she really doesn’t like hills much.

spr breakfast and agm – this saturday after the main ride.  $15 will get you a coffee and buffet.  agm to follow.  more info here.  we are still taking nominations to committee positions.

spr kit – the kit order is open and can be found here or through the tabs at the top of the website. this will be the winter order so make sure you get the armwarmers, vests or jackets you require before it gets too cold.

state time trial champs – we have 10 riders in the open men/women and masters men/women categories competing for the state title.  see if anyone can bring home a medal.

the dams ride – there are lots of rouleurs riding in the dams ride on sunday.  3 or 5, either way it is a big challenge and we wish them all the best.  we will be looking forward to some write ups early next week.

ride routes – if there is anyone left to do a hills ride on sunday, i have tried to make it fairly simple and you will have a good chance of seeing the dams riders coming the other way.

saturday 14th april

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

development group – spr saturday 35.48km (novice shelley)

transitional – spr saturday 40.72km (mosman park)

fast & main groups – spr saturday 50.72km (rebold hill & cott)

sunday 15th april

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

early lap – spr earlybird ride

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

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

long – spr sunday 92.56km (carradine & peet)