Recent Rides
Rec Rides are held on the second Sunday of every month. They are about 25km long, at a pace that doesn’t leave anyone behind and there is always a coffee stop before heading back home. The mountain bikes have been coming out of the trailer for our rec rides and are a heap of fun – just ask Adriana. Be sure to let us know if you want to have a go on one*.

The March Rec Ride saw newcomers Pierre and Eleanor (on their tandem) and Michael (on recumbent) join us on a ride from Vic Park to Deep Water Point and return. Our group numbered 12 in total – 4 tandems and 4 singles. Michael has a recumbent tandem and has offered to bring it along to future rides should anyone want to try it out with him.

The April Rec Ride was cancelled, but the May Mothers’ Day Ride was blessed with glorious weather. Three tandems and 4 single bikes left Bayswater train station on a new ride following the train line and Mitchel Freeway to Lake Monger. We did a loop around the lake before stopping in Leederville for coffee and heading back. This route could become a regular one, and we may even venture as far as Herdsman Lake for those who want to get in a few more Ks.

Club rides are held on the first and third Sunday of the month. They are 50 km long, a little bit faster than the rec rides and have the coffee stop at the completion of the ride. Having said that, two of the last four club rides were cancelled due to poor weather, and one of the other rides had the dubious distinction of being the first WATCAC ride in history to not include any tandems. (You have no idea how sad it makes me just writing that.) I can report, however, that 4 tandems and 4 single bikes completed the Guildford loop on May 3rd and were suitably rewarded with a great morning out, including coffee and banana bread.

Our next Club Ride is scheduled for June 7th and the Rec Ride for Sunday June 14th. Put it in your diary. If you are not receiving the email notifications of these rides but want to take part in them please let me know.

*Fun Fact: the wheels on the mountain bikes are the same diameter as the wheels on a Land Rover Discovery. And that’s with proper tyres, and not the silly, low-profile ones.

Member News
Not all our members are scared of the rain and several of them have been out and about participating in other organised rides:

• Several tandems completed the Freeway Bike Hike. Kudos to them for braving strong winds and an exceptionally early start.
• David and Jennifer caught a break in the weather to do the inaugural MS Night Ride around the Swan and Canning Rivers on April 10th. This was fun, very well organised ride and I would strongly recommend putting it on your calendar for next year.
• Hab and Adriana, with Haylee and Paul, took part in the Northam Cyclo Sportif event on the Sunday before last – That was the weekend Perth received record rainfall accompanied by a strong, cold easterly breeze. Proof of their lunacy bravery can be found below.
• The passage of three years helped member Beau Tang to forget the depth of pain associated with Bicycling WA’s 5 Dams ride – which led to a rash rash promise to participate with a friend who was looking for a teammate. Beau’s 2 man team completed the epic 240km ride in 9hrs and 35 minutes. Actually it wasn’t that bad. Beau had a good time and saw lots of mates and… two tandems competing in the 3 Dams event. Definitely do-able for a tandem!
• Beau spent 4 days on the Bibbulmun Track around Kalamunda and Mundaring with some of our friends who have Usher’s Syndrome, a condition which results in gradual deterioration of both vision and hearing. The track was quite tough in parts and the three Usher’s walkers showed a lot of determination to go the distance. The weather was great and the views over the dam’s waters and the river valleys were spectacular. Lots of fun and laughs were had in the group of 8 walkers.
• Congratulation to Erin on her recent wedding.

Mountain Bike Clinic – from Paul Metcalf
As you are aware, the Club invested in two new hard-tail mountain bike tandems last year.

MTB on a tandem is a lot of fun, but much more technical than riding a bike on the tarmac. So, in order to get our members equipped and confident on our new bikes, the Club is running some training sessions for all those interested in taking the MTBs out into the Perth Hills and further afield.

The courses are run by very experienced coaches from Rock N Roll MTB School (http://www.rockandrollmountainbiking.com.au), and are pitched at one of two levels:

• Beginner – for those who are new to off-road riding
• Intermediate – for those who have already completed the beginners course and/or are already confident taking their bike off-road on tracks rated Green or higher.

Whilst completion of the courses isn’t compulsory for hiring the Club bikes, at the same time MTB (particularly on a tandem) is a dangerous sport, and I would therefore very much urge anyone planning on taking the bikes out, to have completed at least our Beginners’ course first.

After having run our last Beginners session earlier in the year, I am currently seeking expressions of interest for our next Intermediate course, to be held in the afternoon of Saturday 4 July 2015.

If this sounds like something for you, and you think you have the requisite skills, let me know via email (paulm@kelstewart.com) quick in order to book yourself a spot on the course.

SW Tour
Committee Member, Jo Burgess has been busy planning a weekend away for WATCAC members, staying in Dunsborough region over 16th to 18th October. Our last weekend away on Rottnest was a heap of fun, and this one should be too. There will be rides planned for those who want to do a lot, and for those who want to do a little, as well as lots to see and do off the bike.

So…. While you have your calendar out marking off the WATCAC rides and Mountain Bike clinic, turn all the way over to October and mark this one in too.

Happy and Safe Pedalling

Jennifer