GREG ANDRE-BARRETT JOINS TBN BOARD

Greg Andre-Barrett has been named TBN's new Overnight Trips Director. Retired from a career in Information Technology, Greg joined TBN in 2023. He is a volunteer bike mechanic at the CultureLink Bike Hub, enjoys travelling with his wife Anneli, and is passionate about cycling, especially multi-day non-paved bikepacking trips locally and in other countries (including USA, Peru, Europe, New Zealand and Australia). At TBN he has planned and led the Guelph-Goderich-Guelph Rail Trail trip (two days, 290 km) and the Simcoe County Loop Trail trip (160 km). As Overnight Trips director Greg’s goals are to engage and support existing overnight trips leaders, encourage and support new trips and leaders, and lead his own off-road bikepacking trips. Greg welcomes your input. Complete bios and photos of the full TBN Board can be found here.

TBN NAMES VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Sam Bootsma, Manuela Gobbato and David Middleton (all pictured below) have been named Volunteers of the Year for 2024. Sam, who is one of three Coordinators of the Sunday Tourist Program (along with Frank Piazza and Terry Walsh), did a great job adding new rides and new people to the program, even some younger riders. Manuela led a successful Cyclon this year at Trent University. She did a stellar job (along with her colleague Marc Giles) registering and rebooking a record number of cancellations with additional help from her husband David. The event was a great success. And finally, David Middleton, Director of the Sunday Urban Roller Program and leader of many rides each and every year, continued to oversee some of the best routes for each of his rides in the city. Congratulations to all!

TBN hiking season continues

TBN’s schedule of winter hikes continues (weather permitting), starting at 10 am on Sundays. These are for the most part loop hikes and will be about 13 km. Winter hiking will require you to not only have proper footwear and clothing but also crampon style icers. These may not be used on the hike but should be included in your backpack in case they are needed.

You must register in advance and cancel that registration if you change your mind and cannot come for whatever reason. Guest registrations at a cost of $10 per person will be allowed if space permits. Parking at some venues can be a challenge, so plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of hikes. Some hikes will require you to pay for parking but these will be noted on the TBN hike posting. We will try and keep these hikes to a minimum.

no-drop hikes

Alice Chan (right, below) has been leading a number of short no-drop TBN hikes in recent weeks. Visit the calendar to register for upcoming hikes on Dec. 22 and Jan. 5, covering distances, respectively, of 4 to 7 km. Contact Alice if you have any suggestions for possible routes.

City walks

Our City Walk program continues in December. On the evening of Dec. 21 we will have our traditional Christmas Lights Walk. Check the TBN Calendar for times and details.

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.