Ride routes 17th – 23rd October

An absolutely perfect day for riding last weekend and an excellent day for finding some Watertowers. We are hoping that we get the same this weekend for the Beverley TTT to complete the back to back weekend events. Both of these are neatly constructed with set team sizes for safety and control. Keeping riders safe at all times is our priority and we strive to do that on all our rides. As such, when we split groups at the start of a ride, this is for exactly those reasons. Safety and Control. It has nothing to do with you as a rider and it is not a slight against your perceived ability. We want to make sure that you have a positive riding experience and bigger groups make that hard. Roll throughs are more difficult, getting though traffic lights are more difficult and the number of uncontrollable things goes up significantly. So, when the ride leaders split the group, and you decide that you are going to go in the other group, because (insert lame reason here), just remember that you have now added to the unpredictability of that group. We also realise that some of those people do not read the blog, so it is up to everyone else in the club to assume control via peer pressure. Don’t just accept that behaviour, call it out.

The Rules – just a reminder that it isn’t business as usual.

As we progress through WA’s phased approach to reopening, how the club interacts within itself and the wider community will also change.
Rightly or wrongly, the lack of community transmission in the state has meant that a lot of the social distancing rules have disappeared. As such we want to streamline what the requirements are from a club perspective. Basically there are 3 main things we want people to keep in mind.

  • The virus can spread via human contact, so minimise the amount of touching between people and each others bikes/helmets etc.
  • No spitting, snotting or sneezing within the group. If you need to, move to the back of the group, but please look behind you to make sure that it is clear of traffic. That is all traffic, not just bikes. We don’t want some dash-cam footage of someone blowing their nose on a car.
  • Personal hygiene becomes very important in the spread of the virus so make sure that you either wash your hands whenever you can or carry a small container of hand sanitiser. Limit your exposure to common surfaces (chairs, tables) and don’t be sharing items.

Cycling research study – An Honours research student at Curtin University is seeking participants to join the study “Handling of Bicycles”. Participants must have at least 1 years’ experience in competitive road cycling or equivalent. If you fit this description, then they want to hear from you!
The objective of this study is to analyse road cyclist’s performance during typical cycling manoeuvres including accelerating, decelerating, ascending, descending, and cornering. This will involve placing sensors on your whole-body to record changes in your movement patterns, muscle activity and posture. You will be required to attend 1x session of approximately 2 hours in duration. 
Please contact Caitlin via email at caitlin.hillier@student.curtin.edu.au for more information.

Thursday detour – Claremont Cres westbound in Swanbourne will be closed for quite a few months. Our Thursday ride will start to follow the detour by going up Shenton Rd, but will continue on until the end of the road and then head left to the traffic lights. You now get the added bonus of a longer harder hill.

2020 SPR Ride Leaders program calls for expressions of interest – Since its inception in 2009, a key feature of the feedback the Club receives is the need to improve the way our group rides are led. With more consistent, trained and visible ride leaders, the result will be safer, more enjoyable ride experiences for all. We are now seeking Expressions of Interest from SPR members who would like to be part of our second public Ride Leader Development Program.
If you are interested, check out the previous post for more details.

Our commitment to Core Values – We are a diverse club that made a point early on of committing to a number of core values to which we have built everything upon. These are – Safe, Inclusive, Organised & Social. It is under these values that we want all club interaction to occur, whether on the road or in cyberspace. Please read the previous post so you understand what we as a club, expect from you as members.

SPR Chicks Social ride is back – Every last Friday of each month, the ride will start at the Narrows Bridge (city side) and end in Kings Park at Fraser’s restaurant for coffee. This is an approx 25km distance, 25km/hr easy pace, no drop ride. End of ride coffee is the key priority ☕️???? All riders are welcome and encouraged.
A Club kit is encouraged but not essential. If you don’t have a club kit that’s ok but you may lose out on a chance to win a prize!! ???? Find out more details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/668254434092767/

Sunday Summer Hills Start – As per the results of the feedback from the last few year, the Sunday hills rides will change to a 6am start time at the beginning of November and continue that way until the end of February. The extra sunlight early on and the hotter days means a more pleasant riding experience for all. Yes, you miss out on a slight sleep in, but you will be home earlier and can have a nanna nap on the couch instead.

Where do i need to stand again?

Saturday Start Locations – In order to adhere to the new gathering regulations, we need to slightly change the meeting points of the groups. There is a 100 person gathering limit and when all groups are combined, we often exceed that when everyone is waiting for the start. There was a discussion about different start times for different groups, but what we settled on was moving half the groups to different sides of the carpark. This is not ideal as there are usually more cars using the eastern most parks, but we will just have to work around that for now. We understand that the COVID risk isn’t high, but it is more about how the club is viewed from outside. So, please congregate in the assigned locations, so we can continue to hold group rides in the future.

From the Ride Coordinator –  So rider numbers might be a little skinny this week with the club hosting the TTT at Beverley this weekend and there is a big contingent of SPR members riding in SPR team colours as well as for other teams. But for those not heading East, the show still goes on in Perth this Saturday morning with one of our more popular northern routes riding westward (with a nice easterly tail wind) along Morley Drive. Good luck to all those club members participating this weekend in Beverley and a big shout out to Steve Burns who has worked tirelessly to get the event into shape this year. Hope it all goes well.

Saturday 17th October

Sunday 18th October

Monday 19th October

Tuesday 20th October

  • Ride starts under the Narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
  • Ride starts Frasers ave at 5:45am
    • Development group – interval training kings park

Wednesday 21st October

Thursday 22nd October

Friday 23rd October