The Croken Classic this weekend was an incredible success with the most attendees we’ve ever had, and somehow the weather managed to hold out our one last celebration of gravel this year! A huge thank you to all of our club participants, and in no particular order, people from the club who helped out: Nina K, Nick C, Kyle E., Wanda M, Joe M., Mike C., Michelle C, Dan Z., Mike B., James G., and Tom M. - It was a couple long days but everyone’s smiles and all the thanks from everyone afterwards made it all worth it!

As we’ve flooded you with information about the track in recent weeks, it's time to give you a little more information about our other winter activities over the next coming weeks. First up on our list is indoor virtual training! ERTC plans on running a seminar in the coming weeks about what trainers to get, what programs are out there, and what other hardware to get. In my opinion it's the best way to hit the ground running in the spring, as much as it might suck sometimes! Keep an eye out for the strava invite as we’ve found it’s the best way to track RSVPs (even though its virtual).

We plan on providing a regular weekly group ride people can participate in via Zwift (if that is your poison of choice), as well as fielding both a Co-ed and Women’s ZRL (Zwift Racing League) team. We are working on getting the weekly meet-up together, however if you are interested in racing virtually, message Dan Zeggelaar for information on joining the Co-Ed team and Wanda Mauricio for information on the Women’s team. 

You can join our indoor training channel here: https://edmontonroada-7u36621.slack.com/archives/C0210LNB59Q - it’s a direct link to the channel in slack.

Picture: “Neutral Start” of the Croken Classic PC: Cody Shimizu

Club Updates: 

As part of our commitment to giving you options to stay active over the winter, we are putting together a schedule of events, along with introductions to these activities. A preview of what we are planning on a weekly basis. More info will be made available when we work it out! 

  • Monday - Track Night

  • Tuesday - Zwift 

  • Wednesday - Drop-in Strength Training at the Velodrome (Start Date TBD)

  • Thursday - XC Ski Night 

  • Saturday - XC Ski / Fatbike

  • Saturday - XC Ski / Fatbike

To help support you in these activities, we plan on running some seminars on how to get started, however, we have slack channels for all the above! Join #zwift-and-winter-training #velodrome-and-track-discussions #rollin-fatties-winter-biking #cross-country-skiing 

Ride Updates:

  • Hills rides are now starting at 5:30PM to account for darkness. Bring lights - you will be sent home without them. 

  • Weekend rides are now “Pickup” Rides with rides occurring when weather allows. They will crop up on strava when there is one.

Racing/event Updates:

  • Last Alberta CX Race of the Season - Snakes and Ladders Oct 25 in Sundre - See ABA for details.

General Reminders:

  • Official Rides are posted on strava. If you haven’t requested to join, please do so here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/2845 if you’ve applied and haven’t heard back, e-mail me, but first, make sure your strava name matches your registration name.

  • Day to day communication and general chatter is via slack. You can join here: https://join.slack.com/t/edmontonroada-7u36621/shared_invite/zt-1t5qvezds-JotWB~e_EJcXrD9NArQarA - this is where you can get real time updates about unofficial rides, talk bikes with club members, and sell your stuff to other club members! If you identify as female and would like to be included in the WoERTC communications and event announcements, please message Heather Curtis on Slack to be added to the private WoERTC channel. Please remember to use the “reply in thread” feature when using slack (especially in the general channel, think about all the group chats you are in, general is like a 400 person group chat) 

  • Remember to review your insurance needs for the season if you registered before March 31st (if you registered after, it will have been an option on your registration. No action means that you will be covered for group rides only. You can learn more here: https://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/insurance-info

  • Have a cool photo from the last week you want featured? Send it to me via email (I need the resolution) and I’ll make it the header photo! Cool way to show off what you’ve been up to!