September 20, 2023

Gord's message: Enjoy those fall colours

Fall will be arriving in a few days but don't set up that Zwift trainer just yet. There are plenty of rides scheduled over the next few weeks, so please check our calendar. With a good jacket, the cool days of autumn can be a beautiful time to ride and take in our stunning Ontario colours. Just remember how hot you were back in the summer.

Other news for this fall is that the AGM returns as an in-person event this year. See an announcement in this issue. 

Also in this issue we have an item regarding open positions on the TBN Board of Directors. Please consider serving on the Board. I enjoy it and I recommend it to anyone looking to get involved. 

It has taken a while since the COVID shutdown but I am back riding at the velodrome in Milton. If you are also riding at the track or interested in trying it this winter, drop me a line at president@tbn.ca. Trust me, it's not nearly as scary as it looks.

And do keep an eye out for our excellent Zwift program which will return soon enough (more below).

--Gord Irish, President

We're back! Get ready for TBN's AGM and Social

After a three-year Covid break, our in-person Annual General Meeting and Social will be back. Be sure to add the date and place, Nov. 4 at the Canadiana Restaurant in Etobicoke, to your calendar.

Stay tuned for more information and registration.

Board of Directors seeks new volunteers

The board is looking for a new Social Director and a new Communications/Publicity Director. Being on the board is a great way to be more deeply involved in the club and influence the direction. If you have skills or an interest in organizing events, please consider the Social Director position. If you have an interest or skills in sales and marketing, the Communications/Publicity role might be for you. Contact Gord Irish at president@tbn.ca if you are interested.

Zwift your way to winter fitness

TBN will renew 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. Starting Oct. 23 we will be scheduling morning rides on Mondays (regardless of weather), and on Wednesdays and Fridays when the outdoor weather forecast is poor. Watch the TBN Calendar for scheduled rides. Later in the season, we will host Tuesday and Thursday evening rides. If demand is sufficient, we will host weekend rides (we need some more volunteer virtual ride leaders!)

From fall 2022 to spring 2023 TBN hosted almost 100 Zwift Meetup 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.

Cyclon 2023

On behalf of the Cyclon Committee, we'd like to thank all volunteers from this year’s Cyclon. By all counts, year two in London, Ont., over the Aug. 4-7 weekend was another huge success, thanks in no small part to TBNers who graciously stepped up to give their time in various capacities, including hosts at the registration desk, porters, snack distribution, dinner hosts, ride leaders and sweeps. Without you there is no Cyclon!

As the incoming co-directors we would like to pay tribute to three irreplaceable key members leaving the committee. After seven years of unselfish service and leadership RJ Peterson, Mireille Macia and Tony Lau are stepping down from the committee and are looking forward to joining future Cyclon weekends as regular participants.

RJ, Mireille and Tony, thank you for EVERYTHING; the committee WILL miss you! Some photo memories appear below.

--Marc Giles and Manuela Gobbato, in-coming co-directors, Cyclon

Minor changes to the Get List of Registrants application

In response to feedback from our Ride Leaders that the Get List of Registrants application was taking too long to respond, Technical Director Martin Lansche has modified the application to not do separate calls to get date of joining, and number of registrations. This is the default behaviour. The original, slower behaviour is available by selecting the checkbox prior to submitting the request. 

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.