TBN board proposes bylaws change

As previously reported in Chain of Events, our current board President will be retiring from the board at the end of this year. As part of the process of finding a new candidate for President, the board decided to propose bylaws changes to create a Vice-President role that would share leadership responsibility and make future leadership changes smoother. At the upcoming Annual General Meeting on Nov. 15, members will be asked to vote on the following bylaws amendments:

• Create the role of Vice-President to share duties with and be a backup for the President;

• Remove the temporary role of “Past President” as it has not served its intended purpose and the current President does not wish to assume that role after retiring;

• Clarify that board roles can be shared by only two people (previously the upper limit was not defined) except for the the President and Vice-President roles (limited to one person per role as they are expected to share their responsibilities as a team of two).

We invite member comments on these proposals. The current draft can be viewed online at TBN Constitution - Proposed Revisions. Comments and suggestions are welcome, either by adding them as comments in the Google Doc, or by emailing them to dal2@tbn.ca.

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, Sept. 25. This recurring social event, where we eat at different interesting ethnic restaurants each month, has become very popular. The restaurants 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 is back in the east end at one of Toronto's best Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants. 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 (see photo below). 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. 

TBN AGM, Dinner and Dance, Nov. 15. This year we will be at the same location as last year, very close to the Dundas subway station, but we will be in a much larger room. There will be a four-course dinner, followed by the AGM and then dancing to a great live band. Registration opens Sept. 13. More information can be found here.

Fall and winter hikes set to begin in October

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.  

TBN getting (more) social on socials! 

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.

Technical Director's Corner

Recent RideWithGPS App Changes - or "Where are my Downloaded routes?"

Since the last Chain of Events, RideWithGPS has refreshed its phone apps, and the Offline Library has moved. It can now be found via: 

Library -> Collections -> Offline
The iPhone app now looks like the following (the Android app is similar).  

Choose Library:

Choose Collections:

Choose Offline:

Attention Ride Leaders

Thank you for continuing to submit your Ride Leaders Reports. Please be sure to include text in the Route Hazards section only if:

a) there is a permanent change that is needed to either the route, or to the cues (i.e. the RideWithGPS data), or 

b) there is some cautionary text that should be added to the description of the event (for when it is used next time).

Remember, the presence of any text in that field triggers additional work for your Program Coordinators. 

If there is nothing "permanent" to note, don't include it in Route Hazards. For example, if there was road paving underway (which will likely be done within a week), don't enter that information; we don't want to change the RideWithGPS route, then have to undo the change. However, noting, for example, that the Betty Sutherland trail will be closed until 2026 requiring detours on Don Mills is a valid entry, if the RideWithGPS route had you using Betty Sutherland trail to cross under the 401. Hazard info should be something that a future ride leader needs to be aware of, or the route changed, not documentation of the state of the route the day of the ride.

Similarly, do not type None, or Nil or N/A or similar text. The presence of unnecessary text dilutes the real Hazards data. 

Thank you for your assistance here.

--Martin Lansche

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 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!

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!

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 experience@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.

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.

Event registration reminder

Please remember to login to the TBN website prior to registering for our Events. If you are not logged in, the system does not know who you are, and may only offer you the Guest Rider registration choice. Also, when you are logged into the TBN website, a lot of members-only content appears.