TBN AT TORONTO BICYCLE SHOW

It's time to think spring! We are excited to participate once again in the Toronto Bicycle Show and E-Bike Expo, which will take place March 7–9 at the International Centre, Hall 5, 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga. Free parking will be available. During the show, TBN will share cycling information with prospective members, promote enthusiasm for the sport, and raise awareness about the many cycling opportunities available in our city and beyond. We’re looking for volunteers to help out during the event. If you’re interested, please sign up for a shift using this link. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Italo at publicity@tbn.ca. Thank you for supporting TBN!

TBN SOCIAL/EDUCATION EVENTS

Dancing on the Danforth, Jan. 18, 8 pm. This will be a very special evening as it will feature the band that played the TBN spring party and will also play at our next AGM later this year. The Junctioneers play a mix of covers, mostly from the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Come to Noonan’s Irish Pub and dance to or just listen to this great band. There is no cover. More information, music videos, and registration can be found here.

Prince Edward County trip presentation, Jan. 20, 7 pm. This month’s event at the Toronto Public Library's Northern District Branch, 40 Orchard View Blvd., features Ken Lackman with a presentation about a self-organized, two-day overnight trip in a quiet part of Prince Edward County. Cycling routes were of medium length and he visited several small charming wineries and artisanal cheese factories. The 45-minute presentation will be followed by 15 minutes of Q&A, which, for those interested, can spill over to the nearby Duke of Kent Pub. More information and registration can be found here.

Monthly Dining Out, Jan 23. This new social event, where we eat at different interesting ethnic restaurants each month, has become very popular. The restaurants will be in different parts of the GTA, so everyone should have a chance to attend in an area convenient to them. This month’s restaurant is a fabulous Georgian restaurant. There may still be space available. If not, registration is now open for our visit to a highly-rated Peruvian restaurant on Feb 13. Information about the event, the restaurants and registration is available here.

TBN Pub Quiz, Jan. 28, 6:30 pm. The TBN Pub Quiz series has been moved to the last or second last Tuesday of each month. The change was made because the Prenup Pub, which is one of the best and most interesting in the GTA, is much quieter on Tuesdays. Registration for the Jan. 28 quiz is now open here. More details about the new quiz format and about the Pub Quiz series are available here.

Movie Night at Bike Depot Leaside, Feb. 20, 6:30 pm. We will be meeting for a social movie night. Registration is now open here. 

HIKES, WALKS AND SKATING

"No-drop" is having an exciting four days of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at Arrowhead Provincial Park, Feb. 21-24. Members and non-members can join for one to four days. Beginners are welcome. Registration is open. See overnight trips chart for links. Contact Alice at no-drop@tbn.ca for questions.

Other TBN winter activities continue in January and February, with rural hiking running every Sunday morning. Ice skating is on now too, on Friday evenings at various rinks in the city. Check the calendar.

OVERNIGHT TRIPS 2025 

TBN offers multi-day trips for cycling, cross-country skiing, camping and hiking, so join us for fun, social and athletic trips full of fresh air with your TBN friends. Visit the overnight trips page. You must register, before the set maximum limit is reached, to attend these events. So far, 15 overnight trips are scheduled in 2025. If you have other ideas and want to organize and lead a trip, please contact weekendtrips@tbn.ca. We can help you with event page creation, promotion and registration. We also welcome your recommendations and feedback on trips, as it is vital to the program. 

NEW “30-DAY-TRIAL" MEMBERSHIP

We are changing how we offer non-members a chance to try out TBN. We have heard feedback that non-members do not like the $10 fee to try out a ride in a TBN ride program that may or may not have been at their level. Or perhaps that specific ride was cancelled due to weather. So starting in 2025, we are changing to a new "try-us-out approach" to include a new “30-Day-Trial" membership class. For $10, an individual can ride on as many rides, across all our ride programs, during a 30-day window from the day of purchase. We hope that after trying us out, these Trial members will upgrade to full membership. When upgrading to a full membership, the $10 trial fee will be refunded to the new members.

For current existing TBN members, this new Trial membership option will be mostly invisible. Our future TBN calendar events will begin to have both the old "Free for TBN Members" registration option, and a new "30-Day-Trial members" registration option. You will continue to use the "Free for TBN Members" registration option.

Exclusions:

• Note that some events, with limited availability, may not be available to 30-Day-Trial members. 
• The Wednesday Evening and Friday Night ride programs will return with the "Free for non-members" option. 
• The Hairshirt ride will continue to offer a simple $10 fee, but will also be open to Thirty-day Trial members. 

TNTO IS BACK FOR 2025

We are thrilled to announce that the Toronto Niagara Toronto Overnight (TNTO) ride is back for its 28th year, taking place June 14-15. TNTO is a two-day cycling challenge for experienced cyclists featuring rides from Toronto and Stoney Creek to Niagara Falls and back the next day. Visit TNTO page for more information.

Registration will open Jan. 18 via the calendar. To ensure everything runs smoothly, we need your help. We are currently looking to recruit one or two enthusiastic volunteers to join our Sag Squad to drive the sag wagon. Specifically, we need a driver to assist with transporting luggage and snacks to the hotel in Niagara Falls. Accommodation is complimentary and a $100 per diem per day to cover food will be provided.

Alternatively, driving the sag wagon can be shared among two volunteers if members are interested on riding only one day and driving the sag wagon the other day.

Your involvement will be crucial in making TNTO 2025 a success. If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering, please reach out to us at tnto@tbn.ca. 

Instagram anyone?

With the Official TBN Facebook group firmly launched and its content growing, we are conscious that Instagram is the Social Network of choice for many and we would like to increase our presence there. We are looking for Instagram-savvy members who can support the Communication mandate of the club in moderating and creating content in the social platform. Please reach out to publicity@tbn.ca if you are interested in the role.

new tbn facebook group

In order to provide a consolidated space to discuss TBN-related rides, social engagements, topics of interest and other activities related to our membership, the Board of Directors TBN has decided to create a TBN-owned Facebook group. We are asking our members to join the group and make it the go-to place for all TBN social interactions. Let's build together this space and make it "home". To join, click here. We are also looking for Facebook-savvy members who can help with moderation activities. If you are interested, please contact publicity@tbn.ca.

New: TBN fees may now be paid via e-transfer 

Invoices for membership applications and renewals are now payable in two different ways. If you select "Pay Online" you will pay via PayPal. If you select "Invoice Me" you must pay via an e-transfer to treasurer@tbn.ca. Be sure to include the invoice number within the comment field of your e-transfer. Note that online payments are registered immediately, but e-transfer payments require a manual processing step to update our payments database. Please allow 48 hours for processing. 

Reminder to update your TBN profile

Please ensure to periodically update your TBN club profile. Perhaps upload a photo of yourself (so other members know who you are), confirm that your email address listed is correct (as this is the primary way for us to contact you), confirm your phone and emergency contacts are still valid, and update your current (or former) occupation and let us know if and how you would like to volunteer with TBN. We are always looking for helping hands, especially those with needed skills. How to do this: Login to the website, click on your name, then click Edit Profile. When you are done, press Save to commit your changes.

UPCOMING RIDES AND EVENTS

Next 20 rides/events

See all rides and events on the main calendar and also check back two hours in advance in case of last minute updates or cancellation due to weather. You can also find past rides on this calendar. 

HOW TO CANCEL A RESERVATION FOR AN EVENT

Due to an issue we have discovered on Apple devices, we have had to revert to the original wording for the link used to cancel your reservation for an event. If you need to cancel your reservation for an event, see the Cancel-my-registration page for details.

Most Recent Newsletter

Chain of Events is TBN's e-newsletter, featuring up to date info about upcoming rides and events. Click here for the most recent Chain of Events.

Share your blogs with TBN members

TBN member Jun Nogami has an informative blog on Facebook, which includes summaries and photos from club rides. Check it out here. If other members would like to request that we share similar cycling-focused blogs with members via tbn.ca, contact the Communications Director.