Let’s make it our biggest Big Ride ever!!

Every year the Waterloo Cycling Club holds our end of season ride to celebrate another great summer of riding and racing – the “Big Ride”.  The intent behind the ride is two-fold: to get club members and friends together for one last big club road ride of the year and to raise funds for a great local cause – the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.

This year’s ride will be on Sunday September 12 and will feature two routes:

• a 160 km route Click here for 160km map
• a 100 km route Click here for 100km map

Friends,               

As local riders prepare to embark on what promises to a glorious day of riding with Lance and other notable celeb's (yes I wish I was there), a small group dedicated of volunteers are working on the details for the WCC Big Ride for Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.  We all have our very personal reasons for supporting the numerous charities and organizations in our community and in the case of cancer there isn't a family that I know of that has not been touched by that awful disease, it is pervasive in our society. 

Date:        September 19th, 2010
Time:        10:00am – 4:00pm
Location:   WCC Trails Glasgow Parking Lot (see http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/trailparking)
Rain Date:  October 3rd, 2010

The WCC Trails are a 25km system of prime quality single-track mountain bike/hiking/running trails; a favorite trail recreation destination in Southern Ontario.  The Trails are enjoyed by an average of 200 users per day; mostly cyclists, but hikers and runners are also frequent guests. The trail network is on Region of Waterloo land in the Petersburg Tract Forest.  The WCC Trails have been established through a joint effort of the Waterloo Cycling Club and The Region of Waterloo.

Local rider & WCC member Melanie Marsland is cranking out up to 900 km per week as she reaches her peak training effort for the 2010 Sears National Kids Cancer Ride.  The ride is an awareness and fundraising event organized by the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation. Now in its third year, Melanie will join 43 other national riders in September to ride across Canada & help raise awareness and funds for the fight against kids cancer.  Over the course of 15 days starting in Vancouver on September 9 and ending in Halifax on September 23, each national rider will pedal on average 175 km/day for 15 consecutive days.

To date Melanie has raised almost $60,000 personally and together with her team, over $1.1M for kids with cancer. 100% of the funds raised will go directly to support the cause. There are no admin fees. This is one of the many reasons why the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation is so unique.

There is an extremely dangerous rail crossing on the road leading to the Pines Parking Lot of the WCC Trails.  This crossing was the site of a fatal accident last month.  The Pines Parking Lot is accessed off Snyders road in Petersburg (not the Glasgow Parking Lot). 

The WCC strongly recommends that the following rules be adhered to:

The Region of Waterloo and the University of Waterloo are conducting a GPS cycling survey to help the Region update its Cycling Master Plan. The purpose of this study is to identify the most popular cycling routes and what types of cycling facilities and infrastructure are most preferred. Results collected from this survey will be used to update the Cycling Master Plan and to discuss snow clearing priority options for cyclists.

Volunteer cyclists are asked to carry a GPS unit when they cycle around the Region for a two week period, as well as to complete an online survey and a one day travel diary detailing how they travel through the Region.

We’re looking for any and all cyclists to participate, whether you cycle long or short distances, use trails or roads, ride only when the weather is nice, or ride through the worst winter storms. We'd like your feedback!

Despite a weather forecast that was less than encouraging, the intrepid Tour of KW riders went ahead with their epic adventure on Saturday July 24, and an adventure it was! With weather that ranged from hot and steamy to sunny and mild, and included a nice hour long torrential downpour in between, the weather certainly was a factor to be reckoned with.  After starting from the parking lot of the WCC Trails, the group proceeded through Monarch Woods, McLennan Park, the Huron Natural Area, and Steckle Woods, before checking out the trails at Homer Watson, a quick loop around Hidden Valley, and then doing a spin up and over Chicopee. The longest section of the ride took us along the Grand River over to Bingemans, then we came back to Waterloo through Breightup Park and the rail line before the final grind up University Ave back to the WCC.

The City of Waterloo is embarking on a new project to create a secure bicycle-parking facility and to produce a map outlining local bikeways. Residents can have their say on what both elements will look like by taking a short online survey.

We want to know:

On Friday, June 25th, horse hoof prints were noticed on 25% of the WCC Trails.  All of the access points to these trails are clearly marked with signs allowing CYCLING AND HIKING ONLY.  The horses are forbidden by the landowner on ALL the single track cycling trails. To inexperienced, these hoof prints might appear benign, but be assured they are very detrimental to the trails. They promote erosion by creating uneven trail surface, which can collect water. Then, with time, the cycling traffic exaggerates the initially tiny puddles, which from that point will only grow in size. The repair of such problem spots is incredibly tedious and labour intensive; very demoralizing for the volunteers that maintain the trails.

Xterra Wetsuits are excited to be a new sponsor of the Waterloo Cycling Club. Xterra has created a special code for WCC members. All you will need to do is logon to www.xterrawetsuits.com using the information below. Once on the site, you may select the product you wish to purchase the instructions.

As I am sure you all know, a triathlon specific wetsuit will improve your overall swim. Xterra Wetsuits are known for being the fastest and most flexible wetsuits on the market. Check out who is first out of the water at most of the top races!  

Here are the 2010 prices for the club:

The inaugural 2010 Tour de Waterloo got off to a great start on Fathers Day - Sunday June 20. The ride raised $8,150 for the Grand River Hospital Foundation's - Architects of Care program, funds came from a  portion of the participating cyclists registration fee and private donations.

Approximately 129 cyclists rode in either the 70 km or 130 km ride on a sunny beautiful day. The riders did experience some steady winds which provided an added challenge on the Tour, but feedback has all been very positive. Hog Tails Barbecue restaurant cooked up a great meal of Ribs, Chicken and salads for all the participants and volunteers.

Waterloo Cycling Club's original roots focused on road racing.  We've come a long way since then to become a well rounded Community Cycling Club.  We still have many riders who ride to race, MTB or road, but there are just as many or more riders who enjoy cycling for the fresh air or fitness.  Whatever bike type you have, we hope you'll find people here who share your interests and excitement in cycling.

Our rides are currently categorized into Mountain Biking, Rail Trail Riding and Road Riding but that's just to make it easier to find your way around our site.  There are beginner and advanced road rides, and MTB rides.  The Rail Trail rides are new for us and are off to a successful start. 

For Immediate Release

Canada’s first “3 foot” Bicycle Safe Passing Law to be Introduced in the Ontario Legislature

Burlington, Ontario – Media are invited to attend a rally at Queen’s Park in support of safe cycling legislation in Ontario. On Tuesday, May 18 the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in partnership with cyclists and cycling advocates from the Toronto Cyclists’ Union will join NDP Transit critic Cheri DiNovo as she introduces a private members bill requiring vehicle drivers to give 3’ or one meter of clearance when passing cyclists.

So-called “3 foot laws” have been passed in 17 U.S. states as a means of educating motorists and making cycling safer in both urban and rural settings. The Bill represents an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act and would require motorists to provide at least 3’ or one meter of space to cyclists when passing, and at least 5 feet space when traveling more than 50 km/hr.

Announcing a new WCC ride.  The WCC Thursday Evening Rail Trail Ride!  Come out and show your support for this new ride.  It should be fun now, but we're sure it will be the ride of choice when the hot weather comes.

Rail trail rides are held along abandoned rail lines where the tracks have been removed.  There is usually a base of packed stone or gravel.  They offer a relaxed alternative to a road or mountain bike rides. There are a number of great maintained trails in our area. The closest line runs east/west through the north side of Elmira. It's a great chance to ride whatever bike you enjoy in an atmosphere where you can talk to other club members while enjoying the exercise and scenery. The Rail Trail Ride is new to the club so make sure you come and support the ride so it becomes a regular.

Scheduled Rides 

Click here for information about the Thursday Evening Rail Ride

Hello from the Waterloo Cycling Club,

It's only been three weeks since our last newsletter, but we have a few things to tell you about that just can't wait.

WCC Beaver Valley Road Ride

The first annual Beaver Valley road ride is happening Sunday May 16th.  This is a 112 km ride (shorter route available) just west of Collingwood.  There's no charge to WCC members and it's sure to be alot of fun.  Please go to http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/node/1072 for more details and the route map.  A signup form is there as well.

The paparazzi caught up with Brent (our prez) during the MTB ride on Monday. See the KW Record article at http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/705998

The two new rides Brent talks about are the Monday Evening Skills Development Ride http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/node/734 and the Tuesday Evening Learn to ride program shown on http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/node/81

The WCC trails have changed considerably last Fall and this April. The new entrance and exit are two trails now.  Kaitlyn's Switchbacks are the way in and Rockin' Ronnie is the way out.  It's all clearly shown in the WCC Trails map:

http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/node/46

The Kaitlyn's Switchbacks have an Easy or Difficult option which is marked with a sign.  Please do the Difficult option only when your skills are ready for it.  Hesitating, braking or skidding over the trails is detrimental to the trails.

For those doing the WCC Trails Time Trials, please note that the course is now to the spot where Kaitlyns Switchbacks start and Rockin' Ronnie ends.  If you are a beginner and choose to avoid the difficult options of the Switchbacks and the difficult line in the Kamikaze pleas note that in your time submission form.  http://waterloocyclingclub.ca/node/48

We all love to ride, and we try hard to make the rides fun and keep them safe for everyone. One thing that we can't seem to stress enough is how important it is for all club ride participants to become WCC club members.  Most of the money for the membership goes to insurance.  If you are not a member and are involved in an accident, then the insurance of those around you becomes void. To protect you, the people around you, and all organizers, it is critical that you are a club member.

Because people sneak into rides, it forces us to have to police the rides to keep us all insured.  To have a few thoughtless individuals force the volunteers to do this is unfair to the volunteers, and unfair to the paying members. 

If you have a friend, or notice someone who is attending a ride as a non member, please try to pass this message along to him or her.

Thanks,