The Riders Club

It was the TRC seven bound for heaven this morning via Chevin! ( via Mills Road East!). The wind was reasonable on the way up as everyone powered through to the turn off and we progressed at a moderate pace to Brookton Hwy in order to head to the Hidden Cafe for our coffee stop. At Brookton Hwy we were met by none other than the Mighty Mike Moohan! ( now making eight!). We headed straight for the Hidden Cafe. Plenty on offer today for food and as usual good coffee and service. 4/5 Cogs! From here some made their own way back either from the cafe or at parts of the ride. The wind had tuned against us on the way back which made for more effort however a good pace was still held all the way home. A safe trip for all with no incidents ( El Pres was rocking two new tyres today !).

Until next week

Ride Smart. Ride Safe.

El Pres

TRC rides again! 2026 Canola Classic Edition! GT, Erick, Craige, Mike S, Peter F and El Pres all took the trek to York this morning for yet another instalment of The Canola Classic. A much better day in terms of weather. Although it had rained early in the morning, no rain was on course, it was not very windy and it was not that cold. A big change from the last couple of years. It was great to see so many TRC Associates of the past ( Bernie, Rauno, Andrew Oliver,Carolyn Holden, and Albert). Great to see you all! Not forgetting current TRC Disciples. Marty was on hand ( with his daughter I believe ) to lend support ( thanks for making the trip up Marty). As for the ride - oh my! We started out with Erick suffering the effects of what we believe was a bad coffee from the Car Park vendor ( Mmmm… Car Park Coffee!). This caused Erick to have more than a few hurls however I pleased to report that Erick made it through the entire event on his own steam - great work Erick! The rest of the team made our way round. El Pres came to grief on the back leg of the first lap with a rear flat. A tube change ( by Vault as they turned up just in time - I will openly admit that it’s nice when someone else changes your tube!). Unfortunately however the curse of El Pres’s Puncture came back about 3 km later ( Yep!). 4 different people could not find anything in the tyre. A second tube was burnt upon replacement ( sourced from the support vehicle as an 80mm stem was needed) and this unfortunately was curtains for El Pres. Literally out of nowhere, Andrew O appeared in his newly pimped out Ford Transit (it seriously looks pretty good). This could not be better timing as this was El Pres’s ride of shame back to the event village. The first time for El Pres, but as they say- S**t Happens! The Great GT was not feeling that great due to a recently acquired cold and as such made the turn “Right” after the first lap with Craige back to town. This left Pete and Mike to continue on and complete the course. Well done guys! A little disjointed but TRC was present and on course! It’s just one of those days! ( Side note: El Pres needed a new tyre!)

Until next Canola Classic

Ride Smart. Ride Safe.

El Pres

It was Legs Eleven today for TRC on the eve of yet another Canola Classic! We welcomed back Lorelle of The North today. Nice to see you again Lorelle! Pt. Walter was waiting today as the perfect lead in to tomorrow’s ride. The light was coming up earlier and the weather was warmer which made for a nice change. It appeared that many other people thought the same as there were plenty of riders and non riders out today. The ride itself was pretty straight forward and non eventful which, as mentioned, made for a good lead in for tomorrow. The Great Towie ( who acquired the Riders Pack’s for tomorrow - thanks Greg!) was a little taken with a potential cold. We hope to see GT along tomorrow. Social Manna was our stop today (Social Manna)( thanks for listening to the phone booking message!). Up to the usual standard, the Bacon and Egg Sando’s were flying out the door! 5/5 Cogs! (The Manna is the only Cafe to earn a permanent 5/5 Cog rating!). All done, we were back to the store to pick up the Rider Numbers for tomorrow. Good luck to all riding tomorrow.

Until next week.

Ride Smart. Ride Safe.

El Pres

It was Ten TRC today ready for the OG Midland route. No rain and a clear crisp morning which warmed quickly, made for some nice conditions. All up it was a “spirited” ride as aptly described by Paul. Midland Road ( one we have not done for a while) was in high contention this morning and with the wind slightly behind us, made for a good hit out. After this point Gareth was conserving some energy for tree pruning later in the day and met us at the Kettle Cafe. The remainder of the ride to the Cafe was a solid push, handled well by all. Arriving at the Kettle (Kettle Cafe Family) we were met as planned by Gareth and empty seats! The service could not have been any quicker today with coffee’s coming out as soon as we sat down closely followed by the food. This gave plenty of time to discuss random thoughts of El Pres during Greg’s ride ( doesn’t everyone?!) and to ponder why Paul’s inflator pump randomly started during coffee ( presumably it was an inflator pump!). All up an enjoyable coffee break with a 5/5
Cog rating for Kettle today! Heading back out we either headed our own way home or back to the store.

A great day to make the most of a ride!

Until next week.

Ride Smart. Ride Safe.

El Pres

A slightly different feel today with a Sunday ride! Yes. We do them every now and then! It was a good choice as well as today’s route of Canning Dam would have been basically, miserable if we road it yesterday! There were 6 TRC Takers today. It was cold but not as cold as we have had and there was no rain at all and very little wind. We were off from the start with a Towie Take Off! We think this may have been powered by a translucent “Stitch” OOSHI delivered by El Pres as a secret trade this morning (can’t be 100% certain!) In any case, we made good time down to the Brookton Hwy turn off. It was here that Brad and Gareth decided they would head up Brookton Hwy and then head back as they were both making their come back. The remainder of the group headed into and out of Canning Dam. Again making some good time, it was a foggy affair at the lowest point but this cleared up as we made our way back up towards Albany Hwy. We headed back down Albany Hwy and straight to Hidden Cafe. It was here that we intended to meet up with both Brad and Gareth however they informed us that they were in attendance to a rider accident during a descent down Brookton Hwy. The rider turned out to be Andy ( Mandy and Andy) Lynch ( TRC OG’s!) Andy had hit a pot hole and come off the bike ( near the Caltex Station). TRC Legends Brad and Gareth were on deck to assist and stay with Mandy till the ambulance arrived. Unfortunately, this resulted in two fractures of Andy’s pelvis however the latest update from Mandy indicated no surgery was required (👍). We wish Andy the best in his recovery. As for Hidden today, I cant say more. Fast, friendly service, hot coffee and good eats! 5/5 Cogs!! We headed back towards the store via Corfield which we also had a good run down. Everyone made their own way home just prior to the store to enjoy the remainder of the day with out rain .

All up, a great day out!

Until next week

Ride Smart. Ride Safe ( pot holes etc!!).

El Pres

August 2026 Saturday Ride Routes

Saturday 8th August - Route Brookton/Canning Dam - Cafe Hidden Kelmscott

Saturday 15th August - Route Midland - Cafe Kettle Lathlain

Saturday 22nd August - Route Point Walter - Cafe Social Manna

*Sunday 23rd August York Canola Classic *

Saturday 29th August - Route Chevin Road - Cafe Hidden Kelmscott

Saturday 5th September- Route Spearwood - Cafe Social Manna

Saturday 12th September- Route Waterwheel (Reverse) - Cafe Hidden Kelmscott

It was eight to the plate today ready for the Stock Road assault. Cool air ( not as cold as last week!) and minimal wind made for some good conditions. The Stock road route allows for some good, consistent stretches of riding. The exception to this today was the Stop Lights which seemed to be against us somewhat but otherwise all good with only one re- group at the Raffles. We made our way round to Dome Deep Water Point today for coffee. Mike S demonstrated a roll dismount as we arrived, stressing the importance of going with the flow! The same orders were flowing today as we ordered our Dome favourites and some good banter ensued while enjoying the River views. We set off before the chill really set in ( 4/5 Cogs for Dome today) and had a solid run back heading through Shelly. A great day out , enjoyed by all.

Until next week.

Ride Smart. Ride Safe.

El Pres

The coldest day of the year to date was enough to evoke a big day of returns. We had 8 TRC Associates which included Brad Elliot back in action post surgery, Kelly back in action post hamstring injury(time to give up the running!) and Kozi post cold/flu. As noted by Mr Elliot, Kozi was the first rider on the scene this morning! Kozi had been away so long, he could not recall what time we started!😂 El Pres was also back on deck with a bike with secure cranks ( just for good measure!). The set route today was the new Lewis Road route ( via the hills first!) however due to their returns , Brad, Gareth, Kelly and Kozi road a flatter reverse Midland. That left El Pres, GT, Craige and Mike S to tackle the hills. All up it was a good ride and effort by all with only a dropped chain by Craige to report. A shout out to Dan who we saw as we started our climb towards the Welshpool Road descent. Good luck with the Giro trip Dan! We made our way to Gracie’s Cafe on Berkshire Road. Once again we had another surprise meeting with Paul who, while not minding the cold, does mind the dark. We hope to see you back soon Paul with the group as the mornings slowly get lighter. As for Gracie’s, the second visit for TRC, service is friendly and fast and the coffee and food is spot on. The facilities are good and there is plenty of room for the bikes. I’m calling it…5/5Cogs! While it was nice to enjoy a coffee, it was still bloody cold so we set off home, breaking off in various directions. All up, a chilly but solid day out .

Until next week

Ride Smart. Ride Safe

El Pres

A little earlier with the write up today as El Pres waits, for the third time in his cycling career, for a mid ride pick up from Mrs El Pres ( yes, still in bed!😬). Excited to ride the Perry Lakes route with 6 other keen Winter TRC Troopers ( welcome back to the original duo , Dan and Todd today - Dan recovering from the same affliction as El Pres), on the newly revamped Corsa DR. This included a new crack set ( El Pres had worn the other out - too much power??😂). The problem with crank sets in general is that when they are not put on properly, they tend to come off! A first for El Pres, as he was wondering why it was so hard to keep up pace!Luckily we stopped to see what was going on. Note to self: the crank arm should be on the bike and not just your shoe ! So, despite attempts from resident ride mechanics,El Pres was forced to retire early on Stubbs Tce.
Gareth, I hope you feel better. Nice attempt today. Enjoy coffee guys!

Until next week

Ride Smart. Ride Safe( with secured cranks!!).

El Pres

Six hardy TRC Winter Associates turned up this morning ready for the Bibra Lake Brrrr🥶! A clear, low wind, chilly morning was the perfect fix for both Gareth and El Pres and their lung evicting coughs (seriously, it sounded worse than it felt !). We were booked into Social Manna(Social Manna) for 0845 so off we went. It was quite overcast and as such this made for dark conditions until we got past Shelly. We pushed forwarded without any issues with the exception of a slow leak in Erick’s rear wheel . This was swiftly topped up by the new Towie Tyre pump and was enough to get Erick by until the coffee stop. We arrived at Social Manna at 0841, just before Towie Time! Social Manna was on target today as we have come to expect over time. Today was super fast service and I know this author has said it many times but the bacon and egg sandwich was extra special today. No argument for 5/5 Cogs! All done, it was time to head home with the group splitting in various directions. It had not warmed up too much so was once again it was a cold start !

All up, a good hit out today. We hope to see more back next week. So….

Until next week

Ride Smart. Ride Safe.

El Pres