a busy week this week and it was compounded by my #2 son giving me a cold.  i haven’t been on the bike since sunday and had tuesday off work.  if this is lining up to be anything like last year, i am expecting to have pretty much continuous colds till about mid-year.  as such, i will be riding with the intermediate group this week as i was already dropped by the advanced group last week before i was sick.

the transitional group has gotten bigger again and as these are the riders that can learn the most from the more experienced riders, we really need a few more helpers to guide this group.  if you don’t feel like smashing it and want to help impart some knowledge, feel free to help dr ronny out with this group.  remember, these are the guys and girls that will be eventually mixing it up in the faster groups, so we want them to learn as much as possible now.

the kit order has been placed so if you want to order anything….get back to me in about 6 months time.  as predicted, it was the biggest order we have  had and came in at over $17,600.  there were over 200 garments ordered so our brand will be well and truly splattered across perth.  for those that did order, you will be receiving an email soon containing the amount you owe plus the netbank details where to send money too.  we will need all payments in before the kit arrives.  the entire order will be here in about 4 weeks, but certain items may turn up sooner.  we will need to be progressively paying cannibal, so we will need your payments as soon as possible.

the next breakfast will be on the 20th of march and will coincide with the kit distribution and also the club’s agm.  we will update details of both very soon so keep your eyes on the blog.

races.  there is renae’s race this sunday at tech park.  see a previous blog entry for details.  if you are not busy, come down to support the spr riders that are having a crack.  this race is all about promoting women’s racing so there is a support women’s race on as well for those without much race experience.  pemberton is the following weekend and there are a bunch of spr riders heading down.  maybe a bit far to go to show support, but good luck to those that are heading down.

the weekends rides are as follows.  some routes have been changed to extend/reduce kilometres so if you are downloading it to your gps, make sure you have the latest version.  over the next few weeks i will be changing the format of the maps.  instead of specifying a map for intermediate or advanced or traditional, i will just have routes of different distances in different directions.  the groups can then be sent out on any of them rather than being specific to a group.

see.  busy week for me.

saturday 20th feb- all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am

novice – spr novice saturday ride 01 – 35.48km

transitional – spr transitional saturday ride 13 (canning vale reverse) – 41.73km

intermediate – spr intermediate saturday ride 12 (hale rd reverse) – 50.47km

advanced – spr advanced saturday ride 13 (canningvale reverse) – 54.82km

sunday 21st feb– all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:0am

transitional – spr transitional sunday ride 03 (zig-zag) – 57.66km

intermediate – spr intermediate sunday ride 13 (kalamunda) – 56.93km

advanced – spr advanced sunday ride 13 (kalamunda & observatory) – 90.1km

there has been quite a bit of discussion back and forth on the blog about rolling through and ride etiquette in the groups.  i guess since we are bigger, it is harder to keep everyone happy.  however, a proper roll through is all about keeping everyone happy.  therefore, watch what other riders are doing, close gaps without sprinting, don’t slow or speed too much and you will all enjoy it more.  if you want to smash it, come up to the advanced group.

there has also been a bit of discussion about coffee shops as some people head over to atomic after the ride.  i suppose now more than ever the splitting of the groups can draw a distinct line between them.  the coffee shop is a place, however, that we can all get together afterwards and continue that social aspect.  i’m not about to tell anyone where they have their coffee, but there are few places that can cater for the size of our group as it is.

this is the last weekend for getting a kit order in.  the closing date is monday the 15th and i will be sending it off on tuesday.  for those that have been asking, once the order is in, you will get emailed a total cost and a bank account in which to deposit your money.  delivery is expected to be about 4 weeks after the order is finalised.

rides are listed below.  i have taken on board the feedback from the intermediate group and have extended the route to closer to 50km.  i will make the changes progressively to the other routes to make sure they are all that distance.

don’t forget it is valentines day on sunday.  i still expect you to be on the bike, just make sure you have arranged something to smooth the waters afterwards.

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

novice – spr novice saturday ride 01 – 41.28km

transitional – spr transitional saturday ride 18 (leach & shelley) – 36.05km

intermediate – spr intermediate saturday ride 18 (canning vale & welshpool) – 49.01km

advanced – spr advanced saturday ride 12 (hale rd reverse with guilford) – 53.81km

sunday – all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:0am

transitional – spr transitional sunday ride 06 – (welshpool & north lake) – 64.27km

intermediate – spr intermediate sunday ride 06 (welshpool & weir rd) – 61.14km

advanced – spr advanced sunday ride 06 (welshpool & observatory & kalamunda rd) – 90.23km

my last weekend of holidays and i will be back to work on monday.  after 7 weeks off it will be a struggle to function effectively and apparently there is a bet going around work that i will hand my notice in when i get back.  something i should think about.  anyone want to pay me not to work???  needs to be competitive with a mining salary so i can continue to buy bike parts.

anyway, this post has taken me about 2 hrs to do now as i have to update all the new ride routes. since we now have 7 different rides each weekend, i need to make sure that they are all mapped properly. 

don’t forget that this coming week is your last week to order kit.  get your order in before the 15th feb if you want to look part of the group.  there hasn’t been a big pick up in things like arm warmers and vests this order.  remember, it will get cold and this morning was the first time i saw armwarmers out on a ride in ages.  sadly, they were not on me so i shivered through the first part of the ride.  info on spr kit can be found here.  i will be updating the kit page with the current order, so make sure you have a look and check that i have marked you down with the correct size and style.

saturday has the novices heading out on a new course that mark has mapped out.  it will give them a lot more experience at hills and heavier traffic (both bike and car).  the transitional group will do a similar route, but follow the intermediates through mosman park before coming home along stirling hwy.  the intermediates will do  river route that we do on a tuesday morning  and the advanced will be doing a totally new route along shelley and then the other direction through mosman park.  there is a good chance that each group should pass by each other.

sunday will tackle greenmount with the intermediate group doing the first climb then returning via eat eastern and guilford rd.  coffee will be back at the belltower, unless they want to climb kalamunda road to get a coffee up there.  the advanced group will continue on through parkerville and mundaring weir.

saturday – 7:00am coode st

novice – spr novice saturday ride 02 (dalkeith) 29.69km

transitional – spr transitional saturday ride 02 – mosman park 40.21km

intermediate – spr intermediate saturday ride 02 (river ride) 50.97km

advanced – spr advanced saturday ride 19 (shelley and mosman park) 55.76km

sunday – 7:00am coode st

transitional – spr transitional sunday ride 03 (zig-zag) 60.49km

intermediate – spr intermediate sunday ride 01 – (greenmount) 52.75km

advanced – spr advanced sunday ride 04 (greenmount & parkerville & mundaring weir) 95.04km

did i miss something???  oh yeah.  january.  after this weekend it will be well and truly gone and next thing you know we will be buying christmas presents again.  but enough about me letting my life slide by before i know it.

last weekend was a fairly successful splitting of the groups and as such, we will continue along these lines.  the advanced group will head off first as they have the most ground to cover followed by the novice ride.  again the transitional group will follow the intermediate group, but this time the route has been shortened somewhat. 

tips for everyone.  KNOW YOUR RIDE ROUTE.  don’t just leave it up to the leader, or the guy with a gps.  if you get dropped you may need to know how to get home.  at least have an idea so you can call someone to come and pick you up if needed.  this is especially important for the advanced group as the saturday route is not a common one so make sure you know where to turn.

there may be a transitional ride on sunday, but i have not been informed at this time.  stay tuned as will update below once the ride is know.  also, i would to start both sunday rides at 7am if possible.  this will then give people an opportunity to do either ride.  i will let you know.

saturday

novice – spr novice saturday ride 01 – 41.28km max.  may be shortened depending on the group

transitional – spr transitional saturday ride 04 (canning vale) – 39.11km

intermediate – spr intermediate saturday ride 04 (canning vale) – 46.23km

advanced – spr advanced saturday ride 16 (sth lake) – 51.36km

sunday

transitional – tba

advanced – south perth rouleurs sunday ride 01 (carradine & peet) – 92.56km

home at last.  after a month over east doing the family christmas thing and visiting family, we are finally back in our own beds and not living out of a suitcase.  as you may have seen on the blog, i managed to catch a few bike races while i was over there, but didn’t manage to “saddle up” at all.  as such, my fitness level is somewhere off the back of the intermediate group.

there have been a lot of things happening while i was away, but the most significant one for spr would be the growth of the novice group.  from the 4 or 5 hardcore mainstays over the winter, the group now regularly boasts around 20 riders.  also, i am hearing that the intermediate and advanced (note name change) groups have also swelled such that there are around 80 riders fronting up on a saturday morning.  while this is great for both the club and cycling in general, it does call into play a few safety concerns.  with more riders in the novice group there needs to be more leaders as these are the riders that need the most attention.  with more riders in the intermediate and advanced groups, we take up a lot more road, meaning more splits at lights, more difficult to change lanes and generally more chance to piss off the motorists.

as such, starting this week, we will make a small change to the way we format the rides.

the intermediate and advanced rides will now split at the beginning with both groups heading out on totally different courses.  although, this does diminish the social aspect of the ride, safety is a higher priority and you can always catch up at the coffeeshop.  for the intermediate group there should be no real change.  just get yourself warmed up and then start a moderate pace roll through.  this does not need to be a race and should be about developing skills in a safe environment. 

for the advanced group, this will mean that you will set off a couple of minutes earlier and you must know the ride routes.  you also have to make your choice of which group you are riding with before the start as there will be no second peloton to sweep you up.  it will not be flat out from the gun, but rather you should spend the first 10 kms warming up and socialising before the pace goes on.  generally this ride is around the 50km mark, so there will be plenty of time for seemingly endless suffering.

the novices.  once an after thought because i didn’t want to turn people away, has now become a draw card with three (or four) rides scheduled each week.  the majority of emails that i receive during the week of new people wanting to come out riding with us are asking about the novice group.  i am really happy with the way that it has grown and really proud of the people that have stepped up to take on the task of getting them organised.  cycling with a group can be very daunting and back a year ago, any newbie would have been both scared shitless and dropped within 5 kms from the start of the spr ride.  we are one of the few clubs that organise so many training rides and one of the few places that offer a wide variety at no cost.  however, it does come at a price as the more novices we have, the less one-on-one time the leaders can spend with them.  also, there is a much wider spread of abilities within the novice group and as such we will be looking at splitting the novices into 2 groups.

the original intent of the novice group will remain as such.  a standard ride with a smaller group and keeping out of high traffic areas so they can concentrate on developing riding skills.  these should include, how to hold a wheel, where to position your bike, how to move positions within a group safely and how to roll through.  riders should be comfortable with these skills before they move up into a more advanced group.  confidence in your own skills and those around you is the most important thing when it comes to safety in the group.

the second novice group will be called the transitional group.  this group contains those riders that have mastered the basic skill set and need to put it in practice in a smaller and more controlled environment.  this will also include the development of skills of bunch riding on busier roads and a general increase of fitness.  as such the transitional group will follow the same course as the intermediate group.  this allows a more varied weekly route to develop navigational skills and encountering different terrain.  it also allows any of the transitional riders a chance to try out the intermediate group, but if they get dropped, can be picked up by the sweepers. i will be looking for some leaders to take care of this group.  someone from the intermediate group would be more than adequate.  for this first week, however, i will be looking after it.

so, there we have it.  we have now developed into 4 separate training groups with 11 different rides during the week.  not bad for less than 2 years in existence.  all i need to do is work out how to make money off of it and i can move into semi-retirement.

peter

the ride routes are as follows and where there are 2 routes in the link, the intermediate will do the shorter one while the advanced will do the longer one.

saturday

novice – south perth rouleurs saturday novice ride (41.28km)

intermediate/transitional – south perth rouleurs saturday ride 08 (benara rd) (route “a” 42.35km)

advanced – south perth rouleurs saturday ride 18 (canning vale & welshpool) (route “b” 54.03km)

sunday

novice – south perth rouleurs sunday novice ride – freo via cannington (79.48km)

advanced – south perth rouleurs sunday ride 07 (canning mills & peet & patterson) (90.54km)

tuesday (australia day – be aware of road closures if driving to the start)

intermediate – south perth rouleurs public holiday ride (59.35km)

As chosen by Julian

In a fit of madness last week Peter asked if I could pick the rides for this weekend.  Whilst I immediately thought of Gooseberry Hill for Saturday and a 6 climb ride for Sunday, a look at the weather for the weekend suggests I should proceed with care. 

Saturday will see us do the old favourite Ridge Hill Road and we’ll decide on the day if numbers will permit a split of the fast and main groups.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 10 (ridge hill rd) 

Sunday will see us go up Kalamunda Rd,  initially, then head for the Observatory and finish on Lawnbrook.  There are plenty of short cut options on this should it get above the forecast 33°C.

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 13 (kalamunda & observatory)

Monday is a public holiday and its around the river for the recovery ride, with  Johnny volunteering to lead this.  It’s forecast to be 40°C on Monday, so please brings lots of water.  Would there be any interest in starting it earlier??

south perth rouleurs public holiday ride

 Finally, if anyone wants to choose the rides for the first weekend of 2010, please let me know. 

sorry for the delay.  the cycling wa agm went till 11pm last night and was one of the most painful experiences i have had.  i may put up a report later so you all know what goes on at these events.

well it is the last ride before christmas and we will be taking a nice trip up north to the tv stations.  we will split the group just before the hill up past the tv stations and return via wanneroo rd.  just remember that you turn past the hospital as you are coming past kings park.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 06 (tv stations)

sunday ride will be a double whammy of the both sides of the kahuna.  as the weather is getting hotter, water stops are becoming more crucial.  as such we may take a detour after the second climb to head across to the servo for a refill.

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 15 (kahuna & canning mills)

only 2 more saturday rides till christmas so we had better celebrate this one by making it our christmas breakfast.  as per the previous post, this ride will finish at jerry’s place in city beach.  if you haven’t rsvp’d yet, please scroll down till you find the previous post and let us know if you are coming.  this is mainly for catering purposes, so if you check the blog late, don’t worry, you can still come along.  just remember your $10 to cover all the food, drink and raffle prizes.  partners are welcome so you can show them who these crazy people are that are always hi-jacking your saturday mornings.

this is our second christmas breakfast as a group and as we are a year and a half old it is good to see it continuously growing.  the turn out at the joondalup race last week was excellent and a testament to what a great group of riders and support crew we have.  thanks to all that racedand helped out.  there were also a couple like scott and dave that had recently joined the club that wanted to know if we had a spare jersey so that they could ride in club colours.  podium finishes to jason and sandra as well as bec and davina made it a great (if not hot) day out.

anyway, on to this saturday’s ride.  we needed to add a few kms on as we are pulling up short in city beach.  therefore we will head south east first before cutting back towards the city.  skirting kings park, we make our way onto scarbs rd and then down west coast hwy.  to allow the fast group to work up an appetite, there will be a detour into kings park and up cardiac hill.  once we return to the ride route we will chase the main group until we catch them, then just sit in and let them dictate the pace.  another detour up the hill at ewen st before regrouping with the main group for an easy finish along west coast hwy.  dressing up or decorating your bike is optional and as it is predicted to be a hot one, i think i will give the santa suit a miss.

the novice group will do the usual ride and return to the carpark afterwards.  they will then drive to city beach to the breakfast.

south perth rouleurs saturday christmas breakfast ride

sunday is predicted to be 39 degrees.  as such, i have mapped out a new route that stays nice and close to kalamunda so that there is always an easy out if needed.  welshpool and lesmurdie rd followed by the observatory.  then a new hill aroudn teh camel farm before back up mundaring weir rd to kalamunda.  a final option (depending on the weather) to do gooseberry.  bring lots of food and water.

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 22 (welshpool & observatory & camelberg & gooseberry)

first weekend in december and the hot weather is back with us again.  a predicted max of 37 deg and i think most will be swapping the coffees for coke or one of melvyn’s specials…the strawberry milkshake.  please make sure that you are sunsmart, cover what you can and make sure you have plenty of water.

our final breakfast of the year will be next weekend (12th) at jerry’s house in city beach.  the ride route will probably be a variation on the scarbs beach rd route that finishes at the breakfast.  the group will not be splitting so there will be generally an easier pace but some regroups after certain fast sections.  please be aware that you will need to find your own way home after you have filled up on all the goodies.  the previous post has more details so make sure that you rsvp to lisa so we know how many to expect.  the following week will be the final saturday ride before christmas so that will be our “dress-up ride”, so dig out the santa suit…or satan suit if you are dyslexic.

this sunday is the cyclemania classic race up way past joondalup.  we have an outstanding amount of entries with about 25 people riding in spr colours over 5 different grades.  it is our biggest turn out yet so hopefully we can make a good showing.  either way we will make a good showing as a club through sheer numbers.

the easterly winds predicted to blow the hot air onto us make for a good run along benara rd.  the main group will take the tried and true route and cross at ascot to head along guilford rd.  the fast group will head a bit further out and come back through midland before hooking up with benara rd.  make sure you know the ride route as i will be with the main group so i still have legs left for the race on sunday.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 08 (benara rd)

with the majority of the usual sunday suspects away racing and the weather still predicted to be fairly warm, i have posted a easier route that stays close to kalamunda.  up gooseberry, down the zig-zag, up kalamunda, down towards pickering brook, up mundaring weir rd to coffee.  see how many times you pass the coffee shop before relenting.

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 08 (gooseberry & kalamunda & bickley)

summer is back again this weekend and we are expecting a hot one on saturday.  it’s days like this that you wish you had a nice spr drink bottle.  i will be bringing them along to the coffeeshop again so if you need a bottle they will be available (650ml $10, 800ml $12).  after that you will need to organise a time to see me at home or work.  we also have a few kits that have not been collected yet, so i will bring them along as well. 

summer weather also brings with it easterly winds so expect the ride routes to be heading home from the east for a while.  home with the tailwind has always been my preferred option, so a return trip via guilford rd will be on the cards.  the groups will split once hale rd crosses tonkin hwy and the fast group will also have to tackle ridgehill rd before they make their way home.  hopefully the road works from a couple of weeks ago along helena valley road will not hold us up much.

south perth rouleurs saturday ride 03 (hale rd)

a totally new route for the sunday ride as we will be heading out to brigadoon.  there is only one road into and out of brigadoon and it is steep.  unfortunately this means that there will be quite a bit of transition leading up to and between some of the climbs.  we still have coffee at kalamunda as we will climb kalamunda rd as our last climb.

south perth rouleurs sunday ride 21 (campersic & kalamunda)