With April starting, we will be starting our season in earnest, with outdoor rides starting “whenever the snow melts” look to strava for any short notice rides being put on on by the club. With the outdoor season starting up again I wanted to highlight a couple of upcoming dates:

  1. May 8th - Our Season Opener Social is on May 8, at Plaza Bowling, at 7PM, for $5 you get a drink, shoe rental, snacks, and 3 hours of bowling time. A meal is not included, so please come fed, or Plaza Bowl will accept deliveries for pizza, etc. You can grab your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ertc-season-kick-off-tickets-1986090875272 and guests are encouraged! - they will have to pay $10. The coupon code for a discounted entry is available with the email this is attached to. Bring your interested friends / reluctant partners and try to convince them your hobby is a really good use of your time and money!

  2. May 5th - (Tentative, based on swept roads) - Our skill sessions will start. They will likely be held at the research park as they have previous years.

  3. With the snow melting as well, Spring Series Racing makes a return - first one starts April 12. I’ll drop more details below if this interests you.

  4. We switch to our summer velodrome program. I’ll drop more details below!

And yes, we are still missing 1 bike bag. Yay we found one! WHERE IS THE LAST ONE?!

Pic: Gavin and Michelle living our their Belgian Dreams PC: ?? I assume a confused local

Club Updates: 

  • Training camp is Saturday, April 25 to Sunday, May 3 this year. You can join #training-camp-talks on slack at https://edmontonroada-7u36621.slack.com/archives/C037DGKBB5X (or just find it on your sidebar) if you are interested. 

  • Interested or new to racing? Check out our try racing program here: https://forms.gle/jvtr4eh5awdvmQ6p6 - If you have any questions about starting racing in general, please let Jordon Magico know, as he is stepping up to help administer the program, as well as been another resource for our racing exploits. 

Velodrome Updates: 

  • We will now be switching to our summer Velodrome program - with a focus on fitness building over skill building. Our times are once a month, 3rd Tuesday from 7pm to 8:30pm. We will have gym access before as well so you can warm up on rollers, or do stretching / prehab in the training area. If you have already paid for “Summer Velodrome Access” you’re good to go. If you loved your time at the Velodrome this winter so much and you didn’t get this access, please let me know via email or slack and we will have you pay the extra $30 for 7(!!!) extra sessions! As this is opt-in, we will be reviewing costs as the season goes on but we no more than $50 (so an extra $20 if you already paid in, but hopefully not). If you don’t remember what you got, check your email receipts or log into CCN. You will need to be certified to attend these sessions, however otherwise they are open to all club members who have paid in. As always, ask questions in slack if you have any.

  • Activity Messenger Linkie: https://activitymessenger.com/org/4494/

  • Please continue to RSVP on both Activity Messenger and strava, however only RSVP on Activity Messenger if you are certain you are able to attend, and if you must bow out, to let somebody know ahead of time, as slots are limited to ensure a good experience for everyone and to ensure we are not in violation of safety regulations. We recommend only RSVPing for sessions 1 week in advance, as it has happened where people RSVP for multiple sessions in advance and have forgotten / no showed. 

Ride Updates:

  • Watch Slack and Strava for pick-up rides, with official rides starting as soon as the roads are swept and dry;

Racing/Event/ABA Updates:

  • You can now register for your 2026 UCI Race License (This is especially important if you are attending any events early season) as part of the club registration process. Should you choose to register for your license later on in the season, the cost of a community membership will be deducted from your race license cost.

  • Spring Series Racing is back! More information here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/edmonton.bike.racers (it’s a private group) but they are essentially criterium races with A+B, C, and Women categories, taking place at Ivor Dent Sports Park (711 50 St SW, Edmonton, AB T6X 1A4), April 12, 19, and 26, starting at 12:30PM. It’s a great way to scratch that racing bug without spending too much money. $20 for 1 race, $50 for all 3. Register here: https://zone4.ca/register.asp?id=41543&lan=1&cartlevel=1 - Riding out (and not driving) recommended. Race License Required.

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. Strava RSVP is REQUIRED for 2026. Ride leaders reserve the right to send people home if the ride is over capacity, especially if you RSVPed near the ride start time. We use strava to ensure that rides have adequate resources. An early RSVP (more than 12 hours prior) is preferred as it gives us time to ensure there are enough ride leaders.

  • Front and Rear lights are now required for all rides. If you forget, first time is a warning (and shaming) and second time you are sent home. Lights not charged counts as not having them. As long as they can be adjusted in intensity and mode, they are good to go, as these are “to be seen by others” lights, so nearly any light will do.

  • 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) Starting January 19, 2026 the Reply in Thread Policy will apply in ALL channels. You will be reminded to reply in thread if you dont. 

  • We’ve partnered with the City of Edmonton to offer 20% off monthly memberships and 15% off punch passes at all COE Recreation centers. If you want to use to program, send me an email or a message and I will write you a letter you can present to the front desk (showing them the email is fine) You can find out the full pricing and information here: https://www.edmonton.ca/activities_parks_recreation/corporate-wellness-program

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!