President's message

Now that summer is on the horizon we are pleased to announce that Cyclon 2025 registration is open, as we return to Trent University in Peterborough for a second consecutive year. I had a great time at last year's event there. Admittedly there were some issues but the Cyclon committee has addressed those so we're looking forward to an even better event this year. 

The TBN Store is now open to offer the 2025 jerseys and shorts. The big news this year is black shorts with only a TBN logo on them. Bib shorts will also be available. There is a slight change to the jersey to make "TBN" more visible but it is not a new design. Sizing is the same as last year so if you know your size, you can order now.

Finally, on another matter, we are actively looking for volunteers for the  Presidential Nominating committee. This is a very important volunteer role to find the next President. Please see the item about the committee in this issue.

--Gord Irish

Cyclon registration is now open

Hello TBN members, 30-Day trial members and non-members. Yes, It's that time of year again. Cyclon, set for Aug. 1-4 at Trent University in picturesque Peterborough, Ont, is now open for registration. To register go to The Toronto Bicycling Network Inc. - Cyclon 2025 then click on the Cyclon 2025 link (found under "Register for Cyclon 2025" and check out the FAQ link for all the information you'll need (including pricing) for an awesome weekend of cycling and socializing.

Members gather for Spring Kickoff

Despite some cool temperatures in the early morning, we had a beautiful sunny day for the 2025 Spring Kickoff. Many thanks to the volunteers who were there in advance to set up all the food, and a special thanks to Jean Dell’Agnese who shopped for and prepared a lot of the food. We had quite a spread with the highlight being the danishes and croissants that Dennis Szilvasy brought. The best part, of course, was seeing old friends after a long winter and meeting new people, especially the new members and guests. The three rides after the breakfast were very well attended. It was a great way to kickoff the 2025 cycling season.

TBN Social/Education events

Please remember that very popular events fill up and may have waiting lists. If you register for one of these events, and you do not cancel if you can’t attend, you are denying someone on the waiting list the opportunity to attend.

Monthly Dining Out, May 22. The ethnic restaurants where we meet up for this monthly social event are in different parts of the GTA, so everyone should have a chance to attend in an area convenient to them. This month’s dinner at Cumin Kitchen has sold out, but please check the link below on or after May 23 for registration for June’s dinner. Information about the event, the restaurants and registration are available here.

TBN Pub Quiz, May 27. The TBN Pub Quiz series takes place on the last (or second last) Tuesday of each month at Prenup Pub, one of the best and most interesting venues in the GTA, which is quieter on Tuesdays. Registration for the May quiz is now open via the calendar. More details about the new participant-centred quiz format and about the Prenup Pub are available here.

Dancing on the Danforth, May 30. This will be a very special evening as it will feature the band that played the TBN AGM last November. The Tim Bovaconti Band 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.

Cindy's Australian/New Zealand tour, June 16. TBN member Cindy Rogers will tell you about pedalling along the southeastern Australian coast from Adelaide to Sydney with a lap around Tasmania and onward through New Zealand from Auckland to Queenstown, experiencing pleasant wine regions, limestone coasts of the Great Ocean Road, wild Tasmania, a few exciting cities and finally New Zealand’s rainforests, spectacular peaks and rushing rivers. The event is free and open to all TBN members and their guests. It will be held in the main floor meeting room at the Northern District Library near Eglinton subway on the Yonge line, 7 to 8 p.m. More information and registration available here.

Backroad Rambles makes debut

Backroad Rambles has been hatched! This new program has been developing under Program-X for the last few years. Often these rides have been scheduled on Saturdays, but flexibility is key to the program. The line-up of the next 20 Program-X rides includes Backroad Rambles. Not all Saturdays have one of these rides. Please contact Program-X at program-x@tbn.ca to suggest one of TBN's existing ride routes or a ride of your design.

Be assured that Program-X is also the place for pop-up rides. Is beautiful weather coming up and there are no scheduled TBN rides? Like to have some company on a ride of your choice? Again, write to Program-X. 

TBN members get discounts at Bike Depot!

Great news! Bike Depot is offering TBN members 10% off most accessories (some brands like Garmin aren't included) and 20% off services. Just show your TBN membership card from your profile (https://tbn.ca/Sys/Profile) to get the deal.

Head to the Bike Depot site through the link on the bottom of each page in the TBN website to check it out!

Overnight Trips 2025 

As of May 14 the events below with highlighted links have been posted, and the others are in the planning stage. For the latest Overnight Trip information please visit our overnight trips page. 

May 16-19: Victoria Day Niagara Bike & Hike 
June 10-12: Wednesday Wheelies Return to Collingwood 
June 14-15: Toronto-Niagara-Toronto Overnight (TNTO) 
June 27-30: Simcoe County Loop Tour 
July 12-13: Lake Erie Shore Breezes Tour
July 18-20: Barrie: Ride, dance, swim (and ice cream!)
July 26-27: Niagara Winery Tour
Aug. 1-4: CYCLON 2025
Aug. 8-9: Mennonite Country Ramble
Aug. 8-10: Simcoe County Loop XL bikepacking
Aug. 12-14: 3 Days in Orillia
Sept. 6-7: Flesherton Hills Tour

Any questions or suggestions please contact the event leader/organizer or Greg Andre-Barrett, the Overnight Trips Director, at OvernightTrips@tbn.ca.

Emergency First Aid and adult CPR course for TBN ride leaders

The TBN board has decided it will pay for a limited number of TBN ride leaders to attend an eight-hour emergency first aid and adult CPR course, run under the auspices of the Red Cross. The course includes emergency scene management, shock symptoms, adult CPR and choking relief techniques. Available dates are Saturdays starting at 9 a.m. and the courses will be offered at 750 Spadina Ave, at the downtown Miles Nadal JJJ. There is an option for a blended course, where some of the theory is completed online prior to the in-person course. Members interested in attending should email TBN education director Andrew Paterson: education@tbn.ca with the title "First Aid course".

CAN-BIKE courses set for June and July

Martin Lansche, Bertha Hughes, Nik Efimov, Andrew Paterson and Fred Yagi will be teaching CAN-BIKE Level 3 (Core Cycling Skills) and Level 4 (Advanced Cycling Skills) classes for TBN members. 

Do you want to boost your cycling skill level? Be a safer and more defensive rider on the road? Whether you are a novice or a long-time rider, there is always something to learn. For the certificate, the entire weekend program on June 14 and 15, which will take place near Woodbine Park in the East End, or July 5 and 6, which will take place at High Park, must be completed. Level 3 involves just the first day of the practical course, Level 4 entails both days.

Visit the TBN calendar and consult those dates for details. Any questions, please contact Andrew Paterson at education@tbn.ca

We need your photos

We’d love to see all the amazing moments you’ve captured during our club rides and events. If you have any photos or videos from recent outings, please upload them to our shared Google album. It’s a great way to relive the memories, showcase our adventures, and help keep our club page lively and engaging. Whether it’s action shots, group selfies or scenic views, every photo counts. But pease be selective and upload only the photos you feel are your best. Let’s build a collection we can all enjoy and be proud of. Thanks for sharing your experiences—your contributions help tell the story of our awesome club!

Technical Director's Corner

Web Page updates to be aware of: The Ride/Event Leaders Tools page and the Ride Leaders Documents and Notices page have been completely rewritten. Also, there is a new Ride Leaders Checklist PDF.

TBN Applications Dashboard Updates: There are now four applications on our dashboard which is found here.  A video tutorial on these four applications has been posted here on YouTube.

View a Report: Have you ever wanted to view a previously submitted report? Choose the View a Report menu item on the dashboard to view any report.

Hazards Report: Based on feedback from a ride leader last year, we have introduced a mechanism for Ride Leaders to document requested changes to routes to include warnings about hazards or other items of note in the RideWithGPS route information. A new field in the reports called Route Hazards should be used to identify recommended improvements to the route information. Any report containing any text in this field will be listed in the Hazards Report menu item on the Dashboard. Reports marked with a ** have not yet been updated by the Ride Coordinator. Below is an artificial example for demonstration purposes.

Ride Leaders Report: 

The Ride Leaders Report has added support for the Route Hazards feature, and the various help prompts have been clarified.

Who's coming on my ride? 

As the outdoor cycling season will soon be upon us, we will be seeing new faces at our rides. If you are a ride leader, one of your responsibilities is to ensure newcomers are welcomed, assisted and engaged. The new and improved "Who's coming on my ride?" application will give you a list of all who are registered for your event, and will provide clues about those who are "new" to TBN: members who have recently joined TBN, those who have been at few events, those who are 30-Day-Trial members, and those who are non-members are highlighted on the application. 

You can use this tool for events up to seven days in advance, and it can also be used at the start location from a mobile phone for last-minute checking. 

Below is a sample of what this application produces for an event on the calendar.

We are all club ambassadors

Every member should be a TBN Club Ambassador and share the love of riding with someone new! It’s fun, it’s easy and you’ll make someone feel at home with us!

Be a TBN Club Ambassador on a ride, or at any event, welcoming and supporting new club members so they can enjoy TBN as much as you do. Help new members with information about our different rides and paces, finding events (rides, social, etc.) and registering, understanding club policies and rules. Talk up our events and simply get to know new members. Make sure they don’t ride alone. Kindness is contagious and the new members will appreciate it.

When you encounter new members who have recently joined the club:

• Welcome them

• Offer to tell them more about the club and the rides, and answer any questions they have

• Advise them about what rides might be good for them to go on, given their current riding experience

• Make sure they know about resources like the TBN website and Facebook page

• Invite them to attend any new-member events

• On rides …

• Be alert for new members and introduce them to at least three other people

• If you stop for coffee breaks or après-ride make sure they are not alone and ask them to join you or your group

• Make sure they don’t ride alone. Check in on them occasionally or ride nearby so they feel a part of the group

• Let them know about other rides and club events they might enjoy

Any questions or suggestions please contact please contact experience@tbn.ca.

Committee volunteers needed

Presidential Nominating Committee. The President is stepping down at the end of this program year at the AGM. The board is looking for a committee of three to five members to search for and nominate a new President to be elected at the next AGM. The club must have a President to function so this is a very important volunteer position.

If you are interested in volunteering for the nominating committee or have any questions about it, please contact the President at president@tbn.ca.

If you are interested in running for President or nominating someone else directly, please also contact president@tbn.ca.

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. 

Tell your friends who may be wondering about TBN, and who want to give us a try, about our 30-Day-Trial option.

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.

As of this writing, this event is full but members are encouraged to join the wait list. 

Please share your favourite gravel routes

TBN is planning some upcoming gravel rides and we would love to gather your route ideas and suggestions! If you have any favourite gravel routes close to the Greater Toronto Area, please share them with Communications Director Italo Bravo at publicity@tbn.ca. We're especially interested in routes with a mix of scenic paths, safe road crossings, and some great gravel stretches.

Feel free to include details like distance, elevation, gpx files and any must-see spots along the way, such as stops for coffee or lunch. Looking forward to hearing your ideas!

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 www.tbn.ca, click on your name, then click Edit Profile. When you are done, press Save to commit your changes.