Cross is coming!

As weather becomes cooler (and seemingly wetter), a reminder about our precipitation policy: we will almost always choose to ride, if the weather is looking iffy. Weather can be unpredictable here and if we didn’t ride every time there was a threat of rain, we’d never manage to get out! If it’s been raining steadily and shows no signs of letting up, your ride leader may choose to cancel it preemptively. Otherwise pack a jacket and some gloves, and hope the skies don’t open up while ya ride!

Photo: Calmar days with the gravel crew! (And somehow half the people in this pic are blinking at the same time?!) PC: Leo

Club Updates: 

  • With the new Indoor Velodrome opening up soon, keep your eyes on this space, as we will be launching a transitional program to help everyone interested get onto the track and be as familiar as possible. Want to get ahead of the curve? Friday Track Nights are your ticket.  As a reminder, ERTC enjoys usage of the track, and rental bikes are included in our membership. 

  • August 23 - Social BBQ  - Location is attached in the email that this update comes with, starting at 5PM, and hosted by Michael. This one is an evening affair and rides will not be routed towards the location. Shoot me a message with any dietary restrictions / preferences (Yes, this means that if you can eat meat, but like to eat veggie, we NEED to know so that we get enough to feed the people who don’t/can’t.)

  • Have friends interested in the club? We now offer reduced membership rates for the remainder of the year, so get them on board! This membership rate continues to enjoy all benefits of membership, until December 31. 

  • If you are already committed to Crossin’ there is a Cross Camp August 30-31 over at Argyll, hosted by Pave Cycling (Sean and Quinn) - Check back for a registration link, but onsite registration is available. The cost is $60, and the RSVP is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkHAGOuAY5RYUicr6_H2KKdcCjJ6Xwp7OpYzraOWmryPuvUw/viewform (ie. when rego is up you’ll be notified) 

  • ERTC has been invited to host a booth at the Alberta Bike Swap on September 7 (https://albertabikeswap.ca/events/edmonton/) volunteer gig, just hang out and talk about the club. we will cover your expenses (ie lunch and breakfast). Email or message me on slack if you wanna help out!

Ride Updates:

  • Tuesday intervals have now transitioned into cyclocross intervals for the remainder of the year. All other road rides will continue until the snow falls (or people stop showing up cause it’s too cold) Don’t know what all the fuss is about? Don’t worry, we will be doing a CX skills clinic soon enough!

  • Date TBD - CX Skills Session - Hosted by Robin and Jay, all you need is an interest in cyclocross, a bike, and shoes you can run in (and pedals that match). While most of the skills will be better done with a bike with wider tires (IE a CX or Gravel Bike), coming to check it out would be a great first step to seeing if you were into it! 

Racing Updates:

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 and I’ll make it the header photo! Cool way to show off what you’ve been up to!