Howdy All and welcome to the May Tandem Talk. Here’s a wrap up of what’s been happening over the last few months.
Recent Rides
Rec Rides
There have been two Rec Rides since the last newsletter.
In March we had a great turn out of 7 tandems and 4 supporting bikes and welcomed some new riders to the group. We took the South Perth Foreshore PSP to the Narrows and then crossed the river to Crawley before heading back along the Perth foreshore to VisAbility. At the turn-around point there was some discussion about how best to get through Elizabeth Quay. A plan was formulated but not everyone was listening. I watched in amazement as four bikes in our group went in four different directions. Turns out that the best way to get a big group safely through Elizabeth Quay is to scatter and meet up on the other side.
In April we took three goes at holding a Rec Ride. Attempt one saw a shortage of pilots and bikes, attempt two was cancelled due to thunder and lightning, but on the last Sunday of the month we made it. Four tandems and 7 support bikes (that’s a lot of support) rode from VisAbility to The Raffles. We had planned to stop for coffee in Applecross, but a strong tailwind on the way out got us there early and we were anxious about heading back into the same wind, so we turned straight back and stopped for coffee in Lathlain.
Our next Rec Ride is scheduled for Sunday 13th May, leaving from VisAbility at 8:30am.
Club Rides
There have been three Club Rides since the last Tandem Talk.
In early March we continued our training for the LifeCycle On-Road ride, riding loops behind the airport and working on group riding and cornering skills. Read more about the LifeCycle ride later.
After the big effort of the LifeCycle weekend we took a break and got back on the bikes on April 8th. This ride coincided with the 3 and 5 Dams Challenge ride, an epic ride of 200 plus km over plenty of hills and past the dams of outer Perth. We rode the 5 Domes; a less challenging route that took us past 5 Dome Coffee Lounges. Thankfully Steve was able to guide us past some roadworks that blocked our planned route to Dome number 3 in Caning Vale.
Yesterday, Dee and I on a tandem and four gents on single bikes, braved the wind and rain to ride the Jandakot loop. We fought a brisk westerly breeze around three quarters of the course, but it did assist with the last bit of the ride home. And the river spray washing over us along the Como foreshore was refreshing. The oversized, home-made sausage rolls at The Stadium Coffee Shop (note: this is not at The Stadium) were rated second best in Perth by Paul, and really hit the spot post-ride.
The next Club Ride will be on Sunday, 20th May. Check your email or Facebook for Details
Upcoming Rides
Several WATCAC members, including myself, will be away for June, as we are off to cycle The Camino de Santiago in Spain. Roland will be organising the rides in my absence. Please be kind to him, as he will also be short a pilot or two. I’ll see you in July.
2018 LifeCycle On-Road (by Roz)
On Saturday 10th March some of WATCAC joined Canteen Lifecycle on a very fun and rewarding South West fundraising ride. On single bikes we had David, Paul, Haylee and Ian, and on tandems there was Connie & Sue, Dee & Jennifer, Adriana & Hab, Kate & Roland and Meredith & Roz. Our crew joined approximately 125 other Lifecycle riders. The trip started bright and early in Bassendean and we made our way to Busselton via campouts at Pinjarra SHS and Brunswick Junction footy club.
This is the first time that WATCAC has joined this event and I am sure it won’t be the last. The event was so well organised regarding traffic logistics, food, accommodation and safety. We were all moved by the stories from young people who spoke throughout the event and inspired us to keep peddling for this important cause of supporting young people affected by cancer. WATCAC was the 4th top fundraising team for this event raising over $8,800. Thank you so much to all our supporters.
Roz
The local news was there to watch us roll in to Busselton and interviewed Adriana & Hab for that night’s news report. GWN News Report
We also made the Harvey-Waroona Reporter, with WATCAC represented by Dee and Hab – the page 5 news article appears at the end of this newsletter.
Clinic – Save the Date
A clinic for new and existing pilots and stokers is planned for Sunday July 22nd.
If you have someone you want to cycle with, this is a great opportunity to introduce them to tandem cycling. If you have been thinking about helping pilot but aren’t sure where to start, please save this date (with Sunday 29th July as reserve).
Fundraising
Can you sell chocolates to your work colleagues? If so, please contact a committee member, or talk to Adriana if you want to know how it’s done.
Stay tuned for information about a pancake day coming up later this year. What’s your favourite topping?
Membership
Membership Fees
2018 Membership fees were due on 31st March. Note that if you haven’t paid your membership you will not be covered by our insurance policy. You are still welcome to ride with us, but we would love to have you fully on board. Your membership fees go some way to paying for the continued maintenance of our fleet of bikes.
When paying fees into the WATCAC account by bank transfer please write “Membership Subs” and your name in the narration. Banking details appear at the end of this newsletter.
Bike Loan Fees
Bike loan fees run from 1st Feb to 30th June and 1st July to 30th Nov, at $50 per period.
If you have a WATCAC Tandem on loan, please contact us about renewing your loan or returning the bike.
Membership Forms
Your WATCAC Committee have now finalised the new membership and nomination process as per the Australian Council for Not-for-Profit Charities Constitutional Model Rules. We advised members at the AGM that WATCAC have adopted the Model Rules as our updated constitution. With this comes the need for updated process such as the nomination for NEW membership process.
Returning Members: Please complete the membership only section of the new forms, when paying your fees, as this will update your details and WATCAC then complies with the new Constitution. Please pay your fees by 31st of March 2018 to remain as a financial member – after this date you will be required to complete the full new member nomination process.
New Members: Please complete the full membership nomination form as per instructions in the attached document.
If you have any questions or difficulties with the form, please don’t hesitate to contact Trevor or Haylee.
Have you ‘Liked” us on Facebook yet? Our page can be found here.
We will use the page to promote WATCAC to the wider community, post notifications of upcoming rides (in addition to your regular emails) and report on rides and other events. We will endeavour to do this while maintaining the privacy of our members. Talk with a committee member should you have any concerns.
Congratulations
Congratulations to WATCAC members, Connie and Sue on their marriage. May the wind always be at your back and the pot-holes few and far between.
Upcoming WATCAC and Community Rides
13th May WATCAC Rec Ride– 8:00 for 8:30 from VisAbility
20th May WATCAC Club Ride – Details TBA
22nd June WATCAC Clinic
8th July Cyclo Sportif Swan Valley – 7:00am from Oakover, Middle Swan
14th Oct WATCAC Pedal and Paddle – TBC
25th Nov MSWA Ocean Ride – Fremantle to Hilary’s 30, 50, 70 and 100km
Happy and Safe Pedalling,
Jennifer
The WATCAC Team pose for a photo before taking off on the LifeCycle On-Road for CanTeen.
News Article: Harvey-Waroona Reporter, Harvey
Fundraising ride winds its way south
David Charlesworth
HELPING raise money for youth cancer support organisation CanTeen, almost 200 cyclists arrived in Brunswick on March 11 including, for the first time, blind riders as part of the group.
Now in its 19th year, the ride is part of the Lifecycle for CanTeen charity which makes its way from Bassendean to Busselton over three days.
At the completion of day two’s ride, the group held its fifth annual bowls competition at the Brunswick Bowling Club before dinner at the Tom Pearson Pavilion.
Long-time supporter of the event and Brunswick Lions Club member Laurie Parravacini presented the riders with $1000 on behalf of the club.
“Seeing the number of people around here today with bikes riding in the heat of the day like they have been, they do a wonderful job,” Mr Parravacini said.
Ride founder Jenny Aramini said talks from recipients of CanTeen’s programs at a stopover in Harvey had fuelled the riders on the way down.
More than $140,000 was raised from this year’s ride, smashing last year’s total of $118,000.
For the first time in the ride’s history, the group included four blind riders on tandem bicycles with ‘pilots’ in front.
WA Tandem Cycling Advisory Council president Anthony Collier said he had supported blind cycling for 40 years and this was the first mainstream ride, not a community event, to include them.
“They have asked for no change of rules in terms of what group they’re in, they’ve all trained up to ride a peloton, to ride the 100km a day over three days,” he said.
“It’s been a remarkable event and they are just over the moon.”