Regular Bunch Rides
Christmas and New Year period
2011 - 2012
Most of our regular rides will be
carrying on right through, with the exception of the Thursday night
races at Te Tumu, which take a two week break.
Tuesday 20th Dec – Training Ride,
Oropi Rd / Ohauiti Rd, 6.00pm from Renner Park Golf Club
Thursday 22nd Dec – LAST Thursday
Night Race for 2011 at Te Tumu Rd, Maketu. Race Start 6.15pm
Saturday 24th Dec – Training Ride,
Leaving Koops cycles at 7.30am
Sunday 25th Dec – Christmas Day, no
club ride
Tuesday 27th Dec – Training Ride,
Oropi Rd / Ohauiti Rd, 6.00pm from Renner Park Golf Club
Saturday 31st Dec – Training Ride,
Leaving Koops cycles at 7.30am
Sunday 1st Jan – First Sunday Ride
for 2012, leaving Barkes Corner at 7.25am (take an extra tube, bound to
be glass on the roads!)
Tuesday 3rd Jan – Training Ride,
Oropi Rd / Ohauiti Rd, 6.00pm from Renner Park Golf Club
Thursday 5th Jan – FIRST Thursday
Night Race for 2012 at Te Tumu Rd, Maketu. Race Start 6.15pm
Saturday 7th Jan – Training Ride,
Leaving Koops cycles at 7.30am
Sunday 8th Jan – Training Ride,
leaving Barkes Corner at 7.25am
Due to extensive road works on some
of our routes, the information
immediately below supercedes that further down the page.
This page will be extensively updated one the situation becomes
clearer, but this information is correct as of 25 Sept 2011.
Tthe ongoing road works on Welcome
Bay Road and on Parton Road make our normal
route unsuitable for the large groups we get on the very popular
Tuesday night training rides. That, combined with the increasing
traffic on all the roads, has required the committee to look
at other options and we have settled on Oropi Road / McPhails Rd /
Ohauiti Road for the Tuesday Night ride. The loop is a bit more
demanding and may not please everyone, but it is the best
option close to town for bunch riding, and as a training
ride, it is very good.
Tuesday Night Training Rides
Meet at Renner Park Golf Club on
Oropi Road for a 6.00pm start. There will be 5 to 6 groups (around a
dozen riders per group), with the faster Group 1 leaving first, and the
more casual groups going last.
Groups 1 to 4 will do the Oropi /
McPhail / Ohauiti / Poike / SH2 loop (start and finish at Renner Park),
while Groups 5 & 6 will head up Oropi Road to McPhail Road and then
return down Oropi Road, at least until the daylight hours increase a
bit further.
Rules of the Ride:
1. It is just a training ride.
2. Riders must be single file for the
entire ride, including the hill climbs
3. You must have front and back
lights on.
4. All road rules apply.
5. Treat other road users with
courtesy (even if they aren't happy!)
6. Riders finishing their turn at the
front of the bunch pull off to the left only
7. Bunch ettiquette applies - those
at the front point out hazards on the road, those at the back warn of
cars
Saturday Training Rides
Meet at Koops Cycles, Cameron Rd for
a 7.30am start. Route determined by those present.
Sunday Training Rides
Meet at Barkes Corner (Pyes Pa /
Cameron / SH29 roundabout) for a 7.25am start.
Route normally Welcome Bay Rd to end
of Papamoa and back up to the Mount Information Centre. (may vary if
road conditions demand)
The ride re-groups at the Papamoa end
of Welcome Bay Road and will split into 2 or 3 groups there, depending
on numbers.
Last Sunday of each month is a Coffee
Ride, so after the Information Centre stop, head across to Zaggers on
Chapel St.
Posted 17 Oct 2011 - A small change
to minimise traffic congestion - the ride will drop into single file
while still on Papamoa Beach Road from now on. The proliferation of
pedestrian islands in the middle of the road mean that cars
can't
safely overtake the bunch, so the single file period will commence at
the Hartford Ave intersection. This is the big wide intersection after
Royal Palms subdivision.
Remember to keep well left throughout
the ride - for most of it, there is plenty of room to ride to the left
of the solid shoulder line on the side of the road (even when we are
two abreast), leaving the lane clear for cars
Tauranga Road
Cycling Club Race Entry Policy
To enter and race in a race run by
the Tauranga Road Cycling Club you must either be a member of the
Tauranga Road Cycling Club or a member of a Bike NZ Affiliated Cycling
Club. Tauranga Road Cycling Club members are identified by their helmet
stickers. Other riders must produce their Bike NZ racing licence (club,
centre or national license ok). Both helmet stickers and racing
licenses must be valid.
Where the race is a no charge race
for Tauranga Road Cycling Club members there will be a $5 fee for non
members. Where there is a fee for Tauranga Road Cycling Club non
members will pay the non member fee. Only Tauranga Road Cycling Club
members are eligible for prizemoney or club trophies except in open
events.
Thursday night race fees are $1 for
Tauranga Road Cycling Club members and $3 for non members.
Tauranga Road Cycling Club Training
Rides. Non members are allowed to ride two times with the club before
they must join to continue their participation. Members of other clubs
must become an associate member if they wish to ride on Tauranga Road
Cycling Club more than two times in a season.
Saturday Morning Ride
7.30am - Saturday morning
serious training ride, leaving Koops
Cycles on Cameron Rd.
From the 1st February 2010, all
Saturday rides start at 7.30am
Sunday
Morning Ride
Posted 02 April
2010 - Some clarification re the new format Sunday ride. The
number
and make up of the groups is decided at the Papamoa end of Welcome Bay
Road, according to the number and abilities of the riders present at
that point in the ride. Once this has been decided, for
logistical
reasons it cannot be altered to accommodate riders who choose to join
the ride subsequently.
Revised Sunday Ride as from
21 Mar 2010
Due to demand for a more casual group
on Sundays, we will try splitting into three groups at the Papamoa end
of Welcome Bay Rd (instead of the two as at present). This has the
added advantage of keeping the bunches a bit smaller.
Ride will commence as usual at 7.25 from Barkes corner, with everyone
regrouping at the end of Welcome Bay Road. The riders who want to go a
bit faster will head off first. The third bunch will be a "controlled
pace" group, riding at around 30km/h, depending on conditions. All
three bunches will regroup at the Mount Information Centre as usual.
---------------------------------------------
This is the Club's most regular event
- every Sunday except for a
couple of weeks over Christmas.
The bunch leaves the Barkes Corner
roundabout (Junction of SH 29 and
Pyes Pa Road) at 7.25am sharp and rides towards Welcome Bay, picking up
more riders at the Welcome Bay Roundabout. Then it's the full
length of Welcome Bay Road to Papamoa. The bunch breaks up
over the hills, as the sronger riders get ahead, and there will be some
racing up the hills. Once at the junction of Welcome Bay Road and
SH2, we re-group. Then it's a bunch ride along SH2, left into
Bell Road, left into Parton Road, and right onto Papamoa Beach
Road. 
Bunch speed is around 30 - 35kph,
with the stronger riders
doing the work at the front, and yours truly sitting on the back.
At the eastern end of Papamoa Beach Road, it's a U-turn, then back to
the Mount via Ocean Beach Road, and Marine Parade. The pace often
gets cranked up a bit along here. At the Mount it's left into
Adams Ave, then along Pilot Bay, into Salisbury Ave, finishing
at the Information Centre, usually a bit after 9.00am. Distance
is approx 50kms. The unofficial sprint (traffic permitting) is on
Marine Parade, the "finish line " being the speed hump before Banks
Ave. This allows slower and safer riding along the Mount Main
Beach and Adams Ave. Riders are requested not to race along this
section; there is just too much traffic with cars slowing for the speed
humps and trying to find parking spots (and sometimes opening doors or
pulling out with warning. We need to set a good example!
After a short break, a group rides
across the Harbour Bridge to
Tauranga, whilst Papamoa residents cycle back along Papamoa Beach Road.
From 17 Feb 2008, the Sunday
Morning Training Rides will now include an after ride coffee stop,
every week for a social chat over a hot brew.
So after we leave the Information Centre at the Mount, and cross the
Harbour Bridge, those keen on a cup of java will turn right at Chapel
St and head to Zaggers, which is about 50m from the intersection,
opposite the Mobil service station. There is plenty of seating both
inside and out, along with room to park bikes. Apparently the coffee
and food is excellent, so remember to bring a few dollars in your back
pocket.
Members of other cycling clubs are
always welcome. Non members
are also most welcome to join the bunch, but after 3 rides there is an
expectation that you will join the Club. TRCC members can be
spotted by the small sticker on the side of the helmet .
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Tuesday
Night Ride
See top
of page for revised information for the Tuesday rise 2011 - 2012 season
Members of other cycling clubs are
always welcome.
Non members
are also most welcome to join the bunch, but after 2 rides there is an
expectation that you will join the Club. TRCC members can be
spotted by the small sticker on the side of the helmet (it could
be on either the right or left!).
Tuesday Night "Rules"
Route - From the Hockey Club, we cut through to Maunganui Rd,
around the Mount, down Oceanbeach Rd, Papamoa Beach Rd to Parton Rd,
out to Bell Rd and across SH2, and then along Welcome Bay Rd.
Tuesday Night Rules:
Group 1 - Faster riders
Group 2 - Strongish riders
Group 3 - Medium riders (to be split into 2 or 3 sub-groups, depending
on numbers)
Group 4 - Medium "control pace" group - will max at 38km/h in
the tail wind down the beach, with no hard accelerations
Group 5 - Casual (this group re-groups at Rocky Cutting Rd)
1. It's just a training ride (although one that will extend you a bit)
2. All road rules apply - you must keep left and give way at all
intersections and roundabouts.
3. Ride to the left of the solid shoulder line wherever you can - leave
the traffic lane free for cars
4. The first part of the ride, through Pilot Bay and the Main Beach, is
just a warm up. Go Slow, careful of the pedestrians and
cars parking and just go with the traffic flow.
5. Single file for the entire ride.
6. When you finish your turn at the front, pull ONLY to the left
(towards the kerb, not out into traffic)
7. Be prepared to stop at every intersection and roundabout.
8. Wait on the other side of intersections until everyone in the bunch
has got through
9 EXTRA careful crossing SH2 - cars are doing 100km/h. Again, wait up
for those that can't get across
10. If you are not good on hills, stay at the back of the group on
Welcome Bay Rd - otherwise you become a mobile road block that others
then have to get around
11. You must have lights on your bike
12. Be courteous to other road users - SHARE THE ROAD.
Some bunch riding tips can be found on the club website,
www.taurangacyclingclub.co.nz check out the bottom part of
the "Cycling Safety" section.
Remember
also your normal bunch riding rules
The ride officially
ends by the Palmers Garden Centre – everyone tends to split off for
home from
there.
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Thursday
Night
Handicap Race
Thursday
night racing resumes 29
September 2011
Meet at Te
Tumu Road,
6.00pm. $1.00 entry for club members, $3.00 for non
members. Cyclists self handicap into groups of simillar
ability. The limit group starts at 6.15pm sharp, others at 3
minute intervals thereafter. Riders in each group co-operate to
maintain a fast pace over 2 laps of the course (26km). The aim
for each bunch is to catch those ahead, and not get caught by the
faster riders behind. As the season progresses, handicapping is
adjusted to try to get close finishes. Spot prizes of cans of diet coke
and chocolate bars after the ride, and some of us stay on for a chat
and a beer on the side of the road. These rides will greatly
improve your cycling ability, 2/3 of the course is virtually traffic
free, and the whole evening is good fun. A few riders may arrive
at 5.20pm or so for a warm-up lap.
Race Reports
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Page last updated 19 Dec 2011