Recent Rides
WATCAC Tandems were out on the streets of Perth for four out of five Sundays in March.

For the first Club ride of the month 3 tandems participated in the Vic Park – Jandakot circuit, neatly avoiding the cycle path works along the freeway and shaving off a few kilometres into the bargain. Hopefully the Leach Highway underpass will be reopened soon. Hmmm.

The second scheduled club ride saw the dedicated among us get out and train in preparation for Freeway Bike Hike, while the less energetic (but maybe more adventurous) took part in the inaugural Giro D’Perth. More on both of these events below

It took until March, but finally the Rec Ride Program got underway. Three tandems and one single bike set out from Vic Park and over Windan Bridge to Maylands Golf Course, returning via Claisebrook Cove and the Causeway. It was a glorious day and a gentle re-introduction to the joys of cycling for those who had taken a break over summer. However there was room for improvement in the half-way morning tea, so if you know of somewhere near Maylands Golf Course that does a good coffee, muffin and toastie let us know.

Giro D’Perth
On Sunday 17th March Deanne and Jennifer and David on his single bike braved the St Pat’s Day crowds in Leederville and joined 500 other cyclists trying to find their way around Perth. We opted for the 19km circuit which took us down to the Hyatt centre before heading up to Parliament house (Could have done with your help here Adge) and through the back lanes of West Perth. It was by no means a fast ride, with lots of stops to check and re-check the map and clues. Along the way we learnt that there is a giant pencil in Colin Grove and there’s a possum, emu and kangaroo at Aston Stables.

Freeway Bike Hike – Report by Adriana
It was a great ride, we set off from our accommodation to the Mandurah train station which was 6.3 kms (had to mention that as Hab and Haylee were disputing the distance, Hab won ) away, nice warm up as it was a freezing start to the ride.

The start at Mandurah train station was very disorganised, no signs to tell you where you needed to go and trying to get through the crowd of bikes with the tandem and not to mention cars and busses in the carpark. Apparently there were not enough trains to get people there and they had to clear the Freeway of cars at 7am when we were supposed to start the ride.

In view of all of that, we were delayed for an hour which lead us to catching the other groups which was a little tricky and not to mention risky as there were bikes everywhere as there were families with little kids riding. Trev and Greg had a better experience from the Northern end.

Apart from all of that we all had a great ride and did fantastic times. The ride ended up at Sassy Cookie where we sat for quite a while and enjoyed the great coffee and treats.

Tandem Clinics
The first clinic for the year was a huge success, with 4 new front riders and 2 new vision-impaired cyclists having a go. There will be a follow-up, Road Skills Clinic on April 7th. We are excited to welcome all 6 new tandem cyclists to WATCAC and hope to have you join us on a ride soon.

Member News
WATCAC supporters Beau Tang and Janelle Graham enjoyed a break from Perth’s summer by taking a 3 day, 315km circuit ride around the Snowy Mountains. Day 1 covered undulating sheep and cattle country with a stop in for coffee and croissants and a beer and pizza finish. Day 2 was a cold wet climb into the clouds of the high country for a very scenic undulating ride across the top finishing with a fast 30km descent. Day 3 was the shortest and hardest day but had the best weather and scenery and finished with a long 14km climb from the river valleys to Dead Horse Gap and Thredbo.

Beau summed up the experience: “Beautiful country, quiet roads. It would be a tough one for a tandem, but not impossible.”

Fund Raising
This year the committee is working hard to purchase two new mountain bike tandems as well as servicing the current fleet of tandems, including replacing all the wheels. This is being done so that you, our members can enjoy safe, reliable bikes and to provide diverse cycling opportunities.

This involves spending money. Some of it will come from grants, but a major part of our fund-raising comes from a couple of our dedicated members selling chocolates. If you are able to put a box of chocolates for sale in your workplace please contact Adriana.

Another initiative for this year is a movie night. Details so far: it will be at the Windsor Cinema, Nedlands, in late August. It goes without saying that the more tickets we sell the more money we make, so start making a list of family and friends that you can peddle tickets to.

Shirts
The WATCAC Committee are at present having a new cycling shirt designed for WATCAC as we thought it was time for a change.

The shirts will be made in Italy so the fabric will be of good quality and long wearing.

To enable us to get a good price, we will need to order at least 30 shirts. The Committee are also considering giving a subsidy on each shirt purchased by financial members; amount will be determined by number ordered. At this stage we have been quoted $75 per shirt with short sleeves, long sleeves will cost a little more.

The shirts are being designed as follows:
On the front will have the words “Out of sight, Out of mind” and on the back of the shirt will be a stylised picture of a tandem with the letters WATCAC above the picture. The shirt will be a typical cycling shirt with the three pockets at the back and a full zip down the front.

We would appreciate if everyone could give Adriana an indication of whether or not you would be interested in buying one so we can finalise our order. Sample shirts will be available at the next Recreation ride for everyone to try on for sizing.

It will be great to see everyone in the new shirt when we are on our Recreation rides, Club rides and when we join in Community events, it is a great way to promote tandem cycling and increase awareness.