November 22 2023

Gord's message: Let's keep moving over winter

It seems our outdoor riding season might be over now, alas. Some hardy folks are still willing to put up with the cold, the wind and (likely soon) the snow and ice. If you are one of those, be sure to bundle up with layers and, where possible, don't stray too far from home.

Others are already set up on their bike trainers and, maybe, taking part in TBN's many, regular Zwift rides in the virtual world. If you haven't joined our Zwift rides yet but are thinking of doing so, see the item below in this issue, as well as the various rides set up on the website calendar.

TBN's ice skating meetups will be back this winter but unfortunately cross-country skiing activities will not be scheduled. Watch for skating events on the calendar.

If you are a hiker or city walker, be sure to take part in our various activities on the website calendar. Both offer a great way to stay in shape and meet up with members outside of the cycling season.

Whatever you do, keep moving. Staying in shape through the winter makes the spring cycling season a lot easier and much more fun.

--Gord Irish, President

TBN's AGM and Social wraps up

By all accounts, TBN’s first in-person AGM, Dinner and Dance in four years, held Nov. 4, was a huge success. A total of 80 members attended the general meeting and afterwards enjoyed a great meal and lively dancing.

A huge thank you to Paul Price and Brenda Sweet for organizing and running the slide show displaying this past year’s club memories; to J.T. Productions DJ Services for the awesome dance music; and, of course, The Canadiana Restaurant for the wonderful meals.

The AGM portion included a summary of the club's financial position as well as confirming the makeup of the Board for 2023-24. We are still looking for volunteers to fill the Social Director and Communications Director positions. If you have an interest in either of these positions, and believe you have the right skills and experience, please contact Gord Irish at president@tbn.ca with any questions.

Finally, the location for next year’s Cyclon was announced. We’re delighted to be going to Trent University in Peterborough. Be sure to mark your calendars and we'll see you at Cyclon on the August civic long weekend (Aug. 2-5, 2024).

Weekend trips

RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa)

July 20-27, 2024

TBN is hoping to organize a group to participate in RAGBRAI, an epic eight-day rolling festival of bicycles, music, food, camaraderie and community in Iowa, which was started in 1973 by two columnists at the Des Moines Register (hence the name). It is the oldest, largest and longest multi-day bicycle touring event in the world. For more info, check out ragbrai.com.  If you are interested in participating, please email weekendtrips@tbn.ca.

Save the Date! Camp Wanakita, Feb. 23-25, 2024

TBN will be going to Camp Wanakita on Koshlong Lake, near Haliburton, Feb. 23-25, 2024. Activities will include Cross country skiing, tobogganing, night walks on the lake, guided stretching, ropes course and more. More details will soon be posted on the TBN website, so stay tuned.

Zwift your way to winter fitness

TBN has renewed its winter program of virtual rides this year, using the Zwift computer platform to provide an almost limitless number of indoor rides as the weather turns cold, wet or snowy. We are currently scheduling morning rides on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. As well, we are hosting Tuesday and Thursday evening rides. If demand is sufficient, we will host weekend rides (we need some more volunteer virtual ride leaders). Check the TBN Calendar for scheduled rides.  

Zwift allows us to offer curated rides in two fantasy worlds: Watopia and a Japanese-themed Makuri Islands, as well as virtual routes in London, France, Innsbruck, Yorkshire, Richmond, Scotland and a futuristic New York City. There are more than 100 different routes, from gentle to extremely strenuous. Many of our rides will use the "rubber band" feature in Zwift to keep all participants close together.

If you are interested in Zwift rides, either as a participant or as a volunteer virtual ride leader, please email virtualrides@tbn.ca with your preferences (day, time, distance and duration) and whether you are willing to host an event. Details about upcoming Zwift meetups will be posted on the TBN website. For more information about the meetups and how to get started, see https://tbn.ca/zwiftmeetups.

Hardy members complete Guelph to Goderich ride

TBN member Greg Andre-Barrett teamed up with three others on the weekend of Nov. 11-12 to ride the challenging "G2G" rail trail from Guelph to Goderich, staying over in Goderich and returning to Guelph on the second day. The two-day, 290 km trip was made more tricky with cold weather and tough headwinds, and although leaving early each morning they arrived at each of the two destinations after dark.

Greg offers his hearty thanks to his riding mates and fellow TBNers: Italo Bravo, Alvin Murphy and Salih Can Demir (pictured below). He was especially grateful to Italo for suggesting this trip and helping all to push their boundaries through several mechanical issues, including a broken shifter-brake unit (fixed with some quickly purchased tape). And to Al for "bringing the huge sandwiches, endurance and cheery disposition even after dealing with two flats." And also to Salih for "drafting slipstream and a smile even when locked out of his room" at the Bedford Hotel in Goderich.

Greg created the G2G RideWithGPS routes from G2G’s website interactive map. He submitted the routes to TBN’s Program-X event coordinator, Dave Mader, who loaded the routes onto TBN’s RWG Club account (which any TBN member can use) and published a TBN calendar event.

All hope this could become a regular TBN event in future years, possibly over three days rather than two.

Here’s a link to Greg's blog report on the trip (with additional photos and birds-eye videos). 

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.