Be a RIDE MARSHALL or RIDE AMBASSADOR (scroll down for role definition). Ride the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) while helping to ensure the safety of every participant. 

Event Organizers:  Terry Walsh & Jerry Fisch

Event Assistant: Dawn Dom 

We need people in all time slots as follows:

MEETING TIME: Indiviidual start times are 6:00am, 6:30am, 7:00am, 7:30am, 8:00am, 8:30am. The last ride will be at 9:00am, people that come later can be designated as a Marshall or Ambassador for the family event. The illustration below indicates ride distances of 75km, 50km, 25km and the 10k route opens at 9:30 am and closes at 10:30 am. If your riding partner shows up with you at your designated start time, please begin the ride, otherwise Marshalls will connect people as they arrive if your riding partner does not show.

Select for: Route Maps - Toronto Like You've Never Seen it

SCHEDULED LEADERS:  Arrive one hour before start time and please be prepared to ride.

MARSHALLS & AMBASSADORS:  Location for the TBN participants to meet is at the Better Living Centre (see illustration below).   

Contact Terry Walsh for questions: torontoterry27@yahoo.ca 

In addition, TBN is hosting a VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTY. The cost of the party is covered by the Baycrest Honorarium.  CLICK HERE to register for the Barrel house party

Building layout:

MEETING LOCATION: south side of Better Living Centre outside, near the ride start. Ambassadors are to collect their T-shirts and Marshalls collect Armbands. Please return Armbands to the organizer as soon as the ride is completed. If the organizer is not present, please leave the Armbands on the table and this is important since Brain Health will need the Armbands for next year, 2026.

FREE VOLUNTEER BUFFET LUNCH PROVIDED BY BAYCREST All TBN volunteers are invited to the lunch buffet in the volunteer rest area, which is accessed from the main doors on the south side of the Better Living Centre. This area will be clearly marked at the volunteer check-in location.

Ride Ambassadors: Ambassadors are the eyes and ears of the routes. Ambassadors will be provided the following: T-shirts, a Central Control number to call for cyclists in need. Also, important issues about the routes that event organizers from Baycrest should have.

Ride Marshalls are a  “mobile safe riding team effort” for Baycrest and wearing TBN jerseys, plus supplied armbands. Marshalls work in teams of two and basically look for cyclists who are riding unsafely. When Marshalls see this happening they should ride up alongside the cyclist and politely ask them to stop riding in an unsafe manner (most do not realize they are doing it) and ask the person to stop any unsafe activity which could be riding too fast, swerving ahead or behind other riders or texting.

Once a marshall has made the first warning it is best to fall back a bit and observe that the individual is cooperating and if not, the individual must be told that if this type of behaviour continues the next call will be to Toronto Police Services who will then pull the person off the course or wait at the finish line. This rarely is required but it can be a very effective tool.

If the warnings are not observed, marshalls are asked to call Central Control and provide a clear detailed description of the individual as best they can. Central Control will take it from there.

MARSHALLS KINDLY READ THE FOLLOWING:

Rules of the Road

For Your Safety we have developed the following safety rules and recommendations. Please read them carefully before event day. City of Toronto Police and Toronto Bicycling Network Ride Marshalls will monitor the roads to ensure they are obeyed.

1)    Wearing a bike helmet while riding your bike can reduce the risk of head injury by 85%. Helmets are mandatory for all participants.

2)    Be aware of other cyclists, road obstacles and lane markings. Slower cyclists and children must stay to the right of the road. Do not attempt to pass the pace vehicles at any time during the event.

3)    Communicate your intentions to other cyclists by telling people you are planning to pass using phrases like “on your left”, “on your right” or “coming through the middle”

4)    Cyclists who are deemed by event organizers and Toronto Police to be riding in an unsafe manner will be intercepted and removed from the ride route immediately. This includes weaving in and out of other cyclists, passing other cyclists at high speeds and riding in the midst of other cyclists in a group at high speeds. Please use common sense and ride your bike responsibly and safely.

5)    Watch carefully for your 75km route direction signs on the Bayview ramp, and on the Gardiner Expressway on the return ride, to ensure that you ride the full 75km route.

6)    Use extreme caution on the downhill portions of the DVP & Gardiner Expressway. Stopping anywhere other than Rest Stations is allowed for EMERGENCY SITUATIONS only. If you have to stop for safety reasons, if possible, let the people around you know you are planning to stop and go to the far right of the road.

7)    Be courteous to your fellow participants and remember, by participating in the event and raising funds you are assisting in the defeat of dementia. The Baycrest Foundation thanks you!

8)    At all times OBEY the official Toronto Bicycling Network Ride Marshalls and Ambassadors of the Road. They are there for YOUR safety and to ensure the safety of fellow participants.

Thank-you and have a safe and fun ride!

For further info, check the Bike for Brain Health web site