what constitutes a dangerous road??? we are often told not to ride on certain roads because they are too dangerous. so what actually makes them dangerous??? are there potholes and broken glass spread all over the road or is there no shoulder on the edge??? if there was no-one else on the road, is it still dangerous??? there are a number of roads the we avoid on our group rides and some of them i would consider dangerous. not many, however, would be dangerous at 4am during the nightowl ride when no-one else is around. so, for bikes, it is essentially other vehicles that make it dangerous. but what if everyone was obeying the rules, being respectful and playing nice. would it still be dangerous??? so the answer really lies, not just with vehicles, but with the behaviours of road users in general. people that are impatient, people that are entitled, people that just don’t play well with others. this is what makes a situation dangerous. note that i said people and not drivers. we all have a part to play in this and our actions must also not be seen as impatient, entitled and insular. making space when appropriate is just as important to our safety as taking the lane to restrict the close pass. what i find most offensive is when people pretend to be worried about cyclist safety by trying to restrict where we can ride. the whole “cyclists should be banned from certain roads because it is unsafe for them”. this generally smacks of victim blaming and what they really mean is “cyclists should not ride on certain roads because they may cause me to be delayed by a minute and i am entitled to get from a-b without anyone getting in my way”. they can’t be trusted to overtake safely or act politely to other road users, so we tend to remove the obstacle rather than tackle the problem.
ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for february is Central City Health Professionals. SPR club member James Beckett is a physiotherapist at Central City Health Professionals and has a background in exercise science and exercise physiology. James has a particular interest in sports injuries and has built a following of endurance athletes and average Joe’s alike. Whether you have a cycling related injury, are training for an event or goal or just wake up with a sore neck James is there to help.
pemberton classic – The Pemberton Classic 2018 is on the march labour day long weekend, you get to ride your bike, and there’s a brewery. registrations are scheduled to open this week, and with accommodation starting to book out for the long weekend, you should get in quickly. the spr race committee will be there with the van and the support kit of tents, flags, jon hanson’s exceptional stories and poodle’s squeaking turkey. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed. spr post here.
renae’s race report – if you didn’t make it to the race as either a rider or spectator, check out the race report from the race committee on the premier women’s race in the state. lots of spr representation and a good hit out across all grades.
club photo – so the club photo has been delayed again and will not be on this weekend. zac managed to score a trip to the herald-sun tour to cover the event as a photographer. we will look at rescheduling and may wait till the next kit order has arrived to maximise riders in the photo. keep checking the blog as we will post when we get it locked in. in the meantime, i did see a few people that were not in the photo, taking pictures on their phones. if someone can email me a picture it would be appreciated.
ride start locations –just a friendly reminder that the bike path under the narrows is a public thoroughfare that needs to be kept open. please make sure that bikes and pedestrians have access in both directions. we are getting more and more people on our rides and it is starting to become a problem. please be considerate and move down rather than stand 3 abreast.
2018 licences renewal – any race licence that you purchase now will be valid until the end of 2018. recreational licences are a year from the date purchased, but race licences are for a calendar year. if you are looking at changing clubs and wish to join spr, then now is the time to do it. a club change before a renewal is free, so get it done now then when you renew you will be a member of spr. if you want to change clubs, email through your membership number and we can initiate the change. make sure you are insured while riding, even if you are not racing.
group sizes and ride etiquette – a timely reminder from our training and development officer on just why we split the ride up into certain size groups. why we need to keep separated on the road and what it means for your safety. have a read of the previous post, because if you get pulled up for one of these issues don’t expect that “i didn’t know” to be a valid excuse.
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.
ride routes – as we slowly progress out the back door of summer, please be aware of the sunrise times and the need for adequate lighting. although not totally dark yet, sunrise is officially 5:40am and so getting to the start of the earlybird will require some form of lights. ride safe.
saturday 3rd february
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
development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
transitional – trans abernethy 39.96km spr saturday
fast/main – abernethy rd 48.21km spr saturday
sunday 4th february
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
development group – coffee ride
short – wlsh weir 62.23km spr sunday
long – wlsh weir kal 101.71km spr sunday
monday 5th february
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 6th february
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
wednesday 7th february
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 8th february
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 9th february
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am