ROOM AVAILABLE FOR FLESHERTON WEEKEND – SEPT. 5 & 6

A spot has opened up for a gentleman seeking to share a motel room for the Flesherton Weekend, Sept. 5 and 6. The cost for two nights’ accommodation, including breakfast, is $160 for the weekend. If you’re interested, contact Dennis at touring@tbn.ca

Cyclon 2025 wraps up

The Cylon committee offers congratulations and a warm thank you to all participants and volunteers taking part in this year's gathering, held Aug. 1-4 at Trent University in Peterborough. By most accounts, it was a highly successful and enjoyable event. A few photos appear below.

Please help improve future Cyclon weekends by completing the survey sent out last week, as soon as possible. There will be two draws for a $25 & $15 gift card for everyone who completes the survey.

Sadly we, the committee, are losing four of our members and as such we are in need of a few of you to come forward to help out in the preparations for next year's Cyclon. Naturally any assistance is more than welcome, regardless of your background. However, if you have an IT background or experience with RideWithGPS and route development experience (to assist our current route guy) please join our hard-working team to make future Cyclon gatherings as successful as past ones. While on committee matters, I'd like to give a huge shout out to Katrina Hall for stepping up to join me to co-direct the committee. Thank you Katrina!

Finally, we have 2026-27 Cyclon weekends down to two venues and will be announcing the decision at this Fall's AGM.

--Marc Giles, Cyclon 2025 director

TBN on Instagram

Did you know we have a lively presence on Instagram? Follow TBN on IG at @torontobicyclingnetwork. Let's show Toronto that we are the biggest, friendliest and best club in the six (416)! Calling all ride leaders and members to get group pics on rides and get tagging. Like and comment and we'll chat. Let's get to know each other better and show off how much fun we have riding around town and out of town. Share your group shots, selfies and scenic views on your own IG and collaborate/tag TBN! Or, send by private message on IG to @torontobicylingnetwork, send via email to our Instagram manager, or share on TBN's Facebook page. Just make sure you take those pics and share them.

Summer picnic fun

Hundreds of TBN members gathered on Aug. 10 at Milliken Park in Whitchurch-Stouffville for the club's annual summer picnic. A good time was had by all, with rides for all speed groups and a wide variety of food options. Congrats to all of the volunteers who made this possible once again. 

BRING BACK OPEN STREETS TO TORONTO

Does anyone remember the OpenStreetsTO and ActiveTO programs that temporarily closed down streets like Bloor, Yonge and Lakeshore Drive West so that people could walk and bicycle on them without being menaced by automobile traffic? Well, some people do remember it and they would like to bring it back next summer (2026)! Check out the online petition to Mayor Chow and the City Council for details. The TBN board has endorsed this effort and we hope you will too!

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, Aug. 21. This social event, where we eat at different interesting ethnic restaurants each month, has become very popular. The restaurants will be 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 Mai Bistro has limited space, but please check the link below on or after Aug. 22 for registration for September’s dinner. Information about the event, the restaurants and registration is available here.

Trip presentation: Epic bike and boat adventure through Croatia, Sept. 29. Come relive the magic of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through southern Croatia, where every turn of the pedal brought breathtaking views and gastronomic delights. Presented by wheel wanderers Nilavanh, Dan, David, Caroline, Renu, Meena, Natalia and Kim. The event is free and open to all TBN members and their guests. Main floor meeting room, Northern District Library near Yonge and Eglinton, Sept. 29, 7 to 8 p.m. A photo from the trip appears below. 

Committee volunteers needed

Volunteer of the Year and Awards Review Committee. There was significant feedback regarding the volunteer of the year citation at the AGM. The program needs a review and some improvements. The board has decided to create a committee of three to five members to conduct the review and recommend changes to the program. Typical tasks for the committee would be to review the current feedback, conduct research and then compile the results and recommend changes. The term of the committee would run until the changes are accepted by the board. We need some input on this, so please do consider volunteering, especially if you have wondered in the past how these decisions have been reached. Fresh ideas are most welcome and the time commitment is minor.

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.

Fall and winter hiking is back

TBN’s schedule of fall and winter out-of-town hikes kicks off on Oct. 26, in Rouge Park. Each hike starts at 10 am, and they will take place every Sunday until late December. These are for the most part loop hikes and will be about 13 km. Fall hiking will require you to have proper clothing and footwear. Winter hiking is a different animal. It 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 via the Calendar 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.

At this time we are not sure whether hikes will be scheduled in the New Year, as interest dropped off for those in 2025. If they are planned, they could take place less frequently. Watch the Calendar for dates, which will be posted as details are confirmed.  

Backroad Rambles makes debut

Backroad Rambles is a new program that 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. All ride classifications are welcome. True, most of the posted rides are Tourist-class rides, but note that a Leisure Wheeler ride is scheduled on June 28. It's a new ride that we will be exploring, so it's a Program-X ride.

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!

Emergency First Aid and adult CPR course for 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 located 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’.

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!

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. 

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.