Recent Rides
There have been 5 WATCAC rides since the last Tandem Talk, 2 Rec rides and 3 Club rides.

The March Rec Ride started out from Bassendean. Two tandems (Kerry & Debbie and Steve & Justin) and David faithfully followed Jennifer the long way around to East Perth and a very nice coffee shop…..that was closed. We ended up at The Royal in Claisebrook right between the end of breakfast service and the start of lunch. In other words, the kitchen was closed. Chalk this one up to experience.

The April Rec Ride fared so much better. Four tandems and Domestique David pedalled from Bayswater to Crawley. It was a beautiful day and the riverside was bustling with activity including dolphins by the Burswood, two weddings on the South Perth Foreshore, a group of yachts (what is the collective noun for that – the nautical equivalent of a peloton?) marooned under Windan Bridge, a vintage Ford Car club rally and a dog club meeting. Chalk this one up as one of the most interesting rides ever – for all the right reasons.

The Club Rides have been besieged by long weekends and member absences. On the Labour Day long weekend in March Hab and Adriana were accompanied by 5 single bikes through the Swan Valley. On Easter Monday Hab and Adriana cycled the Swan Valley again, joined this time by only one other bike.

In between these two rides 3 tandems and 2 single biked made the loop from Vic Park to Jandakot (with some taking a sneaky short cut) and back again on April 6th. The highlight of this ride, if not taking into account all the yummy cakes at Sassy Cookie, was having to detour along Kwinana Freeway by going up and over the pedestrian overpass at Preston Street, Como.

It has been a slow and steady start to the year, but as those of you who participated in the last Rec Ride will know, RIGHT NOW is the perfect time for cycling, not too hot, not too windy, and not too wet. So shake yourself out of bed and come and enjoy it!

Bike Week
Bike week was held in March, with too many events on to mention. I’m not sure if any of our members made it to a breakfast (or two) but we were well represented at several events.

On Sunday 16th March Hab and Adriana, Jennifer and Deanne, and David and Haylee took part in the Giro D’Perth. For this event, participants use a bike, a map and clues to navigate their way through the back lanes of Perth, answering some questions along the way. Before we had even started David and Jennifer had got lost getting to the start point using computer navigation, Hab and Adriana broke two spokes on their back wheel and Haylee missed her train.

Having got all the gremlins well and truly out of the system, the rest of the day passed without incident. It was great fun exploring old areas of Perth that were completely new to us and watching the other teams try to find their way around. Some of them had put a great amount of effort into their costumes and one family completed the ride on unicycles. We looked slick with our WATCAC shirts on, as evidenced in the photo.

On Saturday 22nd March Dee and I put on our sun frocks for a cycle from the city to City Beach with the Frocks on Bikes group. It was a nice ride and I plan to scope it out some time in the future as a WATCAC Rec Ride destination – need to level out one or two hills somehow. “Frocks on Bikes Perth” aims to normalise bike riding for transport, as it is done in other countries, by wearing normal clothing and riding at a relaxed pace. Despite the name, they welcome men and women. Frocks are optional, but Lycra is rather frowned upon. Look up “Frocks on Bikes Perth” on Facebook for more information on this group.

While Dee and I were working on our tans and getting sand in-between our toes, Hab and Adriana, Trevor and Greg and Haylee and Paul H were resting and carb-loading in preparation for the Freeway Bike Hike, the following day. They left Langley Park in the city as the sun was rising, and with a stiff easterly wind blowing over their shoulders, to take part in the 80km ride.

Greg writes:
“Another early rise, quick shower, breakfast, and into nics and one of our new WATCAC cycling shirts.

Today we are once again going to be part of the Freeway Bike Hike; this year is the 10th anniversary, and from memory Trev and I have only missed a couple. Taxi down to Trevor’s place and onto the bike for the short ride from Rivervale down to Riverside Drive and the starting point.

This year for the cyclists the ride is an up and back, travelling up beyond Joondalup and return to the city centre. A round trip of about 80km.

Travelling up towards Joondalup weaving between large groups of riders was a fairly uneventful cruise until we got to the area beyond Joondalup, then things got a little harder with a few hills, riders starting to bunch up a bit, and some frustrated car drivers becoming a little impatient with their wait while the riders moved through.

We got to the point where we turned for the return journey; it was then we realised that this ride was going to be a little harder than we thought. We were into a head-wind for the 40km ride back!

This is where tandems have their great strength; with many single bike riders struggling into the wind, we passed hundreds on our way back to Perth. The legs were a tad on the tired side when we crossed the finish line though.

We didn’t hang around the finish line for long, choosing to head up to the Sassy Cookie in Vic Park for a well-earned coffee with the rest of our WATCAC riders.

All up, from Trevor’s place to the starting point, the ride itself, and back to Trevor’s was just short of 100kms.

A great event, lots of fun, and that coffee sure was nice.”

Mountain Bikes
With the assistance of a Lottery West grant and a lot of research and diligence on the part of several committee members, our first two mountain bike tandems have been ordered and are on their way from MTB Tandems in America.

While we wait for delivery of the bikes Paul M has also sourced a mountain bike skills training company. Combined with their knowledge of mountain biking and our collective knowledge of tandem bike riding we will be able to provide an excellent induction to those who want to have a go. Please let a committee member know if you are interested.

Shoe Safety
On a final note, please remember to wear appropriate shoes when riding – secure footwear with a good grip is essential if you don’t want an unplanned pedicure. If your shoes have laces be sure to tuck away the ends to stop them getting caught in the chain or around the pedals. I distinctly remember riding home from primary school marvelling at how my untied shoelace was winding around the crank with each turn of the pedal. Until, that was, I lost my balance and couldn’t put my foot out to stop from falling. Embarrassing.

Happy and Safe Pedalling

Jennifer

2013 AGM and Christmas Ride
The WATCAC AGM and Christmas ride was well attended. Five tandems and two single bikes completed the Rec Ride from Winthrop around the Canning River to Kent Street Weir for a quick coffee before returning to Winthrop for the AGM.

Seventeen members attended the meeting.

The WATCAC committee for 2014 consists of
Greg Madson – President
Adriana Lepore – Vice President
Paul Metcalf – Treasurer
Trevor Maslen – Secretary
Jennifer Musgrave – Committee Member
Jo Burgess – Committee Member

Adriana Lepore’s dedication and hard work in volunteering for over 10 years as a committee member was recognised with a life membership.

The minutes from the AGM and all reports are available in full and in alternative formats (audio, large print, Braille and electronic formats) on request.

Recent Rides
There have been two Rides since the start of the year: One Club Ride and one Rec Ride.

The club riders started early to avoid the heat. 2 tandems and 5 singles started the Vic Park-Jandakot ride. However Paul and Margaret were sent back early to save a table at Sassy Cookie due to mechanical problems.

The first Rec Ride for 2014 started from Vic Park with 3 Tandems and 5 singles doing a loop around the foreshore to Mt Henry Bridge and back. It was great to welcome new pilot Steve and stoker John. Special mention must be given to John who did more kilometres on his first tandem ride than he had ever done on a bike before.

Our next Club Ride is scheduled for Sunday 16th February and the Rec Ride is scheduled for Sunday 9th March. Let’s see if we can get more tandems than single bikes out there!

New Tandems
Several new tandems will soon take pride of place in the WATCAC trailer.

At the end of last year Dr Brian Moon very generously donated a near new Cannondale flat bar tandem that he and his wife failed to make good use of. In addition, WATCAC was able to purchase Vicki Dilley’s racing Vetta at a very good price. Finally, our Lottery West grant towards two brand new mountain bikes has come through.

Your committee is very busy working out the best possible specifications for the new bikes as well as sourcing people to collaborate us in a mountain bike tandem clinic and planning a South West tour where we can take full advantage of these new machines. Stay tuned…..

Member News
Over the summer break some of our members were out adventuring while the rest of us relaxed and overate.

Trevor did a cycle tour of Vietnam of which he wrote:
“What an experience. Not only the cycling but the cultural experience, also.

Glad I did some training though, as we had Mountain Bikes and some very bad surfaces to contend with.

There was a group of 8: 2 Male 33 year old Canadians; 1 Female 33 year old Swiss; 1 Female 51 year old Kiwi; Father and son 46 & 17 from Adelaide: 1 Male 30 year old from Sydney and me, but I managed to give them all the heave ho, especially up short hills!

We climbed two Mountain Passes.

• Hai Van Pass is 10 km long, climbing 1,000 meters at 10% took me 55 minutes no respite but I got up it
• Dèo Ngoạn Mục is 30 km long, climbing 1,600 metres at 8% took me just over 3 hours, no respite but I got up that too

Not bad for an ol’ bugger like me eh? Cycled over 600 km between Hanoi and Saigon.

Despite riding on shocking road/path conditions between millions of motorbike riders none of us got injured. None of us had any stomach troubles either. Our Tour Leader gave us good advice on what and where to eat and drink and risks. It is amazing that we even walked across roads without getting hit; but although they don’t not drive as fast, it takes a great deal of nerve crossing the roads by foot let alone riding a bike between them.

Ate Vietnamese food the whole time so I looked forward to my barbecued steak tonight!”

And Paul, Margaret and Jo travelled to south for the Albany Half Triathlon. Jo writes of their adventures:
“For the second year, members Paul Fennell, Margaret Gibson and Jo Burges took part in the Country WA Builders Albany Half Triathlon on 4 January 2014.

Their team, aptly named Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad (given Margaret competes in the swim and cycle leg; not the run … yet) had a successful weekend albeit a couple of small hiccups encountered that were serious at the time, however can now be laughed at.

A smaller event (approximately 450 competitors and teams) than the similar distance Busselton and Mandurah Half Iron Men, Albany is a picturesque and challenging course.

Margaret began the day, putting in a solid swim ably assisted by Jo in the kayak giving instructions where required e.g. turn right now or you’ll end up in Antarctica. For those who have competed in Half Iron Men previously, this swim leg is two laps of an inverted triangle and includes an exit from the water on the first lap, a run around a marker approximately 10 metres from the water’s edge and then a re- entry. The team’s runner Donna assisted Margaret through this process.

It was then onto the cycle leg … Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad have become legendary for their extensive transition period, entertaining the audience with flamboyant throwing off of swimming gear and the transition into cycle wear including drying of feet and cuddles for other team members before setting off.
Unfortunately on this occasion, about three turns of the peddles into the ride, the chain got irretrievably caught and stopped Paul and Margaret dead in their tracks. The tandem was immediately upside down with several onlookers concluding “DOOM”. This was not to be the case, with the call being made ‘let’s get this chain ripped out’ and a technician quickly assisting to cut the damaged links out and putting a joiner in to keep them going. Even with the hold-up and the fact that the course has a climb up Mt Adelaide in the first kilometre, Paul and Margaret managed to achieve a personal best time for their 90km cycle by a minute from last year.

The teams runner Donna finished the day with the 21km run that included close on 4 km on the beach.

We have already registered for next year’s event and encourage others to consider it. The organisers are fabulous and very accommodating of the varying requirements of those on tandems. Both 2013 and 2014 had stellar elite athletes competing including Matty White and Katie Bevilaqua. The venue is wonderful and a spectator’s delight with Middleton Beach offering a fabulous vista for the swim and run legs in particular, and Albany in early January … a wonderful reprieve from the Perth heat … roll on January 2015.”

Giro D’Perth
For the second year running the Giro d’Perth (The backlane bike odyssey) will be part of Bike Week. A few of us rode last year and it was lots of fun. This year they should have ironed out the crinkles and it will be even better.

Held on Sunday 16th March this event involves a bike, a map, and clues. Distances vary from 11-31km, not including wrong turns and getting lost. The start time is 8:00am from a secret location somewhere in the City of Vincent. Registration is $28 each for a team of up to 4 people.

Toby, the organiser, has generously said he will give back $13 to WATCAC for every WATCAC tandem registered. Further information can be found on http://www.girodperth.com.au. Let me know if you want to join this event: Jennifer@winthropdc.com.

Freeway Bike Hike
The Freeway Bike Hike for Asthma is scheduled for Sunday 23rd March, with starts as follows:

• 6:30am Langley Park 80km $97.50
• 7:30am Kwinana 30km $55.00
• 9:00am Currambine 30km, $55.00
• 9:00am Bullcreek Shops 10km $45
• 10:15am Stirling 10km $45

All rides finish at Langley Park. If you would like to participate please organise to collect your tandem from Adriana’s prior to the event.

Membership for 2014
If you are a former member and have not renewed your membership yet, contact a committee member and sign up for 2014. In addition to being able to join our rides and activities like the Tour de Rottnest, members are able to take our tandems on 6 month loans and benefit from the support and coaching that we provide. It’s still great value at only $30.

Tandem Loan Fees
On the subject of membership benefits, if you have a WATCAC tandem on loan but have not paid your loan fee, please contact a committee member to arrange payment.

And that’s just about everything, I think.

Happy and Safe Pedalling

MTB Tandems
WATCAC has received a grant of $9000 to purchase some mountain bike tandems. That should be fun! Well done Greg Madson for organising the successful application.

Recent Rides
After a long, wet winter it seems we finally have this window of perfect cycling weather before the summer Easterly wind starts up for real.

There have been two Rec Rides since the last newsletter: In September a group of four tandems and one single bike rode from Bassendean to Swan Valley Oasis where we sat for much, much longer than we should have, regaled by James’ tales of his two month cycle trip through Africa. What an amazing adventure! We also welcomed Adriana back from her travels in Italy.

In October the Tandem Circus lived up to its name with 5 tandems and one single bike all seeming to find different ways to get from Bayswater to Gelaré in South Perth, while dodging participants on the Walk for Juvenile Diabetes. Everyone arrived at the designated end points around the same time, and with smiles on their faces so it was all good. Special mention must be made of David and Nathan looking particularly stylish while riding in matching, long, stripy socks.

The Club Rides and riders have been a bit thin on the ground lately, finding all manner of reasons not to get up on a Sunday morning to go cycling. However, I am sure once we all have our matching kit we will be eager to hit the cycle-paths and show it off.

Our next Club Ride is scheduled for Sunday 3rd November and the Rec Ride is scheduled for Sunday 10th November. Hope to see you there.

Shirts
THEY’RE HERE!!!
Our beautiful, bespoke Italian Cycling Shirts have arrived. If you ordered one (or more) it will be available for collection at our next few rides. If you didn’t order one and are now feeling left out, we have a few extras but you had better get in fast.

A huge thank you to Adriana for all the time and effort put into organising this.

Member News
Member Beau Tang attended stoker Leon Larkins’ wedding to Caroline Barnes in their home town, Russell New Zealand. Beau commented “What a beautiful place and fantastic wedding. Tough cycling country though, narrow winding roads and no flat roads – none – it’s all up or down here.”

AGM – SAVE THE DATE Sunday 1st December
The WATCAC AGM is scheduled for Sunday 1st December at David and Jennifer Musgrave’s home, 52 Sutherland Cres, Winthrop. Details are still being worked out, but we will start with a Rec Ride from Bull Creek train Station (or Winthrop) around the Canning River returning to Winthrop for the AGM, a BBQ and a swim, so pack your bathers. Check your email for further information.

Happy and Safe Pedalling

Recent Rides
None! Well, hardly any. It’s been quite a wet winter and it appears that our riders aren’t very keen on braving the elements when they could be curled up in bed.

Our last Rec Ride was early July; a rather impressive affair involving 5 tandems and 3 single bikes riding from Vic Park to Crawley. We were pleased to welcome some new riders along from the June Clinic and out of 16 wheels there was only one puncture.

The August Rec Ride was cancelled due to bad weather. Our next Rec Ride is scheduled for Sunday 15th September to Swan Valley Oasis. This time of year, between winter wind and rain and summer heat and strong easterly winds really is the best time for riding, so dig out your riding gear and plan to join us.

The Club Riders have shown themselves to be just as delicate as the Rec Riders, and two of the scheduled four rides were cancelled due to inclement weather. Five of us braved the cold in July to complete the Vic-Park Jandakot loop and last weekend Deanne, Jennifer and Trevor explored the riverbanks between Vic Park and Guildford.

Member News
Deanne and Jennifer recently joined the Gosnells Bicycle User Group (Go BUG) on one of their leisurely Saturday morning rides. This group of very friendly, relaxed cyclists meet at the clock tower in Gosnells at 7:30am every Saturday. Unfortunately we were unable to stay for the coffee stop, which I think means we committed the biggest sin possible in the cycling world. We were also the only drop-bar bike in the group and the only cyclists in lycra. That said, we were made to feel very welcome and we plan to return. The emphasis of this group is SOCIAL. There were frequent stops to make sure everyone stayed together, and the earlier start time compared to WATCAC rides in no way indicated an earlier home time. Jillian Woolmer co-ordinates the rides and she can be found via the Facebook Group “Frocks on Bikes Perth”.

Fund Raising
Please consider placing a box of chocolates at your workplace for fundraising. Adriana would love to hear from you if you can help. A big thank you to Steve Green for raising $50 selling chocolates at his workplace

Shirts
Our Shirts have been made and should be delivered very soon. I can’t wait to see us all out riding in them.

Fit Your Lid
Next time you get out on the bike take a moment to check how your helmet fits.

• Your helmet should sit level on your head, and the front of the helmet should cover most of your forehead. If the helmet tilts back and exposes your forehead, it’s not going to protect you.
• Connect the chin strap, and tighten it so that it’s snug beneath your chin-you should barely be able to fit a finger between the strap and your chin.
• Finally, find the plastic disks that connect the strap coming from the back of your helmet to the strap from the front. This should fit to make a V just below your ears, with the front strap heading straight down in-front of your ear.
• Push the helmet back on your head. Can you move the helmet more than an inch? Tighten the straps in front of your ears (loosen the rear straps so that the V points still sit just below your ears). If you can push the helmet forward, adjust the straps behind your ears. In the end, you shouldn’t be able to move the helmet more than an inch in any direction.

Of course, if you have taken a tumble or your helmet has been subjected to any kind of impact (say, from being dropped), you should consider replacing it.

Have a look at the following video for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aci99b1soBQ

Happy and Safe Pedalling
Jennifer

Recent Rides
There have been two Rec Rides since the last Tandem talk.
On Mother’s Day those of us that got a leave pass, and those that were forced to go cycling with their Mum enjoyed a very pleasant cycle from Bayswater to Matilda Bay. There were six tandems in all, and one single bike. David and Nathan were able to sneak away to join us for morning tea at Matilda Bay. The trip back to Bayswater was fairly swift as some in our group needed to get to Mother’s Day lunches.

The June Rec Ride was a bit of an adventure. Four tandems and Hab on his own bike (missed you Adriana) cycled from The Association along the South Perth foreshore and over the Narrows. It tried to rain on us between the Narrows and the Causeway, but we were undeterred and cycled on to Calisebrook, crossing the river at Windan Bridge before heading back home. Breaking with tradition, our coffee stop ended up being at the end of the ride at Sassy Cookie. This was a very scenic ride, following close to the banks of the Swan River, Near Trinity College and the Burswood Golf Course it would seem that the path is a little too close as we had to negotiate some rather large puddles. More on that later….

There have been 3 Club rides since the last newsletter; two leaving from The Association and taking the Roe Highway-Kwinana Freeway loop and one ride in the Swan Valley. On all rides there was a mix of tandems and single bikes as well as a mixture of familiar and new faces. If you would like to give one of these longer rides a go please talk to a committee member. I can tell you from my own experience that you will be well looked after. No-one gets dropped from our little peloton.

Clinic
Another beautiful sunny autumn day saw a large contingent of WATCAC members turn out to achieve our mission of providing opportunities for vision impaired members of the community to cycle.

Seven members of the Sense of Adventure Group from The Association lived up to their name and gave tandem cycling a go. In addition another vision impaired lady was also able to come and have a go with her supporters. In all there were 21 people taking turns to do laps around George Burnett Park, Karawara. For some it was their very first time on a bike but with some great instruction from Hab, Beau, Greg and others everyone left with a smile on their face.

Surprisingly Greg didn’t manage to deter anyone when he told of his experience of overtaking a semi-trailer that had pulled out in-front of his tandem when he was training for the Paralympics. The computer on the tandem was maxed out at 100km/hr at the time!

As I write this it looks like we will have every red tandem available on the road, and a few extras to boot for our next Rec Ride, as a direct result of this clinic.

Member News
Whilst there are no wheels involved, Beau and new WATCAC pilot Roz have been helping a group of people who have Usher’s syndrome (hearing and vision impairment) in their preparations for a planned Bibbulmun Track walk with some training hikes in the hills behind Kalamunda. The Usher’s crew includes some of the people we met at the two cycling events we have organised with the Senses Foundation.

Beau volunteered to help with the marshalling of the Midland Cyclo Sportif and spent an enjoyable morning in the sunshine with his arm out saying, “turn left here guys” over, and over, and over again.

Long-time WATCAC supporter Janelle Graham had an early morning stack resulting in 4 cracked ribs and a punctured lung. Happily, she is now on the mend and itching to get back on a bike.

Also in the wars is Life Member Ron Anderson, proving that ladders are more dangerous than bikes. We wish him a speedy and full recovery from his recent misadventure.

Wet Days, Large Puddles and Bike Maintenance
Just a friendly reminder that members have a responsibility to maintain the tandems on loan, and that other members spend valuable time looking after our red tandem fleet. Before starting a ride it is common sense to make sure that there is air in the tyres, that the wheels are turning freely and that the brakes and chain are in good order.

On days when it is wet, or the road is damp, a lot of sand and grit can flick up onto the frame, into the chain, brakes and cogs. Please take a moment to clean your bike and give it a bit of oil and love after riding it. I let the bike dry out a bit and then go over it with an old, soft banister brush to get the sand off the frame. A brush designed for cleaning mag wheels does the smaller gaps. Hab recommends using a cheap de-greaser and then applying the garden hose. Finish by checking the tyres for foreign objects and cuts, and applying a bit of oil to the chian. Household (sewing machine) oil is fine.

Your bike will thank you next time you get on it.

BWA Membership
For those of you who ride outside of the planned WATCAC events it is worth considering becoming a member of BWA (Bicycling Western Australia). You membership includes premium bike crash insurance cover for anywhere in Australia and New Zealand, discounted entry to BWA events, subscription to the bi-monthly magazine Ride On, representation in the community and the latest cycling information and news.

Membership for individuals is $109 per year ($93 concession) with family memberships available from $143. Go to http://www.bwa.org.au for more information and to register online

Fund Raising
Please consider placing a box of chocolates at your workplace for fundraising. Adriana would love to hear from you if you can help.

Stay tuned for news of our movie date. We are hoping to bring you a feel-good family event and are holding out for the right movie.

Shirts
The shirts have been ordered and are currently being manufactured in Italy. Matching knicks are also available for those who really want to look the part.

Happy Pedalling
Jennifer