27/08/2026
Ride Routes 29th Aug – 4th Sept
One of the four cornerstones that the club was built around was “inclusion”. Back in 2008 when the club was in its formative stages, it was important to us to define what it was that we were trying to achieve. Many of the clubs back then concentrated primarily on racing as you needed to be part of a club to be able to race. We didn’t have the 100 year history that many of the clubs had back then, so the skills to organise and run an event were very foreign to us. Coming to the Perth cycling scene from the outside, I did however see a fairly big gap. Many clubs back then had minimal group rides. This was often handled by the “shop rides” and some clubs even directed riders to do the shop ride instead. Our main differentiator was that we had club rides that catered for a variety of people.
When we first met at Coode St, there was only one group. This made things easy, but didn’t give any space for those that were not at a particular fitness/skill level. As the group grew, a faster segment wanted to push harder, so we split. The “fast” group would leave first, and at one stage did a slightly longer route, and then the second group would follow. The second group could not be called the “slow” group, so it became the “main” group.
As time went on and the club grew, it was clear that we were beginning to attract brand new riders that have never ridden in a club let alone a group environment. Social media was in its infancy but we maintained a very active website, so our club was often the first thing appearing when people were looking for rides in Perth. The development or novice group was formed to cater for these newbies and then a “transitional” group that bridged the distance between the novice and main routes.
People often commented that they were attracted to other aspects that mirrored our other cornerstones – “organised” (ride routes published and downloadable), “social” (coffee afterwards) and “safe” (even before ride leaders, there was a standard that was upheld in the groups).
The inclusion part was also in how we ran the club. We have never forced anyone to join the club to be able to ride with us. It is certainly encouraged and if you do ride regularly with us and feel that you are getting something out of it, becoming a member is an easy way of giving back. But another part of that is that you need to be a member to get the kit, so we also don’t enforce a kit policy either. We want people to be proud to represent the club, not have it forced upon them. As much as we love to see as many people in green as we can, we would rather just see them out riding with us.
The rebranding process is currently underway and the EOI for kit suppliers is still open. I have met with a few companies to fully understand what they can do for us and it is great to see such high quality products available to us in Perth. The logo and font is almost finalised, which when added to a new kit design should give us a fresh new look. There has been questions to me an others about when kit can be ordered. Please bear with us, this process takes time and we want to do right by both the club and the members. So as much as I want you in new kit, I want to see you in the right kit, with the right design, for the right price.
https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2026/08/27/ride-routes-29th-aug-4th-sept/
