Happy Pride Month! ERTC is proud to be an inclusive club aiming to welcome and support LGBTQ2S+ community members. Road cycling has traditionally been dominated by cisgender, heterosexual males, and this continues to be an issue in the world of cycling that extends far beyond our club. We're aware of this, and doing our best to move the needle by creating an inclusive club for all. ERTC is one of the most diverse cycling clubs in Edmonton, we hope to see that diversity grow - and thank you for being a part of what makes us unique, diverse, and able to challenge cycling's cultural norms.
One way we have been fighting these norms is through our Women of ERTC (WoERTC) program which has evolved to become a safe, inclusive space for those looking for an alternative option to intimidating sports/fitness focus and/or cisgender male environments. Our group welcomes all trans, genderqueer, and cisgender women, (and any other humans who identify as sexual and gender minorities), those who may not feel comfortable joining other ERTC group rides for whatever reason, or who want a place to gain some confidence as they start their group riding journey. The WoERTC focuses on relationship building, skill development, and safe-space creation first - and fitness and speed gains as convenient byproducts of this focus. We are proud to be pioneers of this inclusive road-riding space in Edmonton, starting our journey in late 2015 - and are encouraged by the number of similar-focused groups who have developed in Edmonton and around the province since. If you have any questions about the WoERTC, our focus, or have any feedback - please reach out to Tiffany Baker (women@ertc.org).
We know we still have significant work to do to be a more inclusive club, and to continue to encourage cultural change within the larger cycling community. But without your support and partnership in this effort, we can't move the needle. So while we celebrate Pride month, and our focus on inclusion is heightened - on behalf of the ERTC Executive, I encourage you to extend this focus to your cycling community. If you don't fit the cisgender, heterosexual male cycling stereotype, please know that we welcome you, encourage you, and thank you for being a part of what makes our club diverse and unique.
Club Updates:
Clothing orders continue to be open. Have any questions about fit or want to know about custom tailoring with no extra cost? Hit up the clothing channel on slack and ask away! Store link here: https://www.rogellicanada.com/ertc
Amanda Scott is collecting survey responses regarding Velodrome usage: please fill it out if you are interested or have been to the track at all this year. Your feedback is important to us(woo cliche) but it really is and we want to make our track program a success! https://forms.gle/JCn1AsEaNTU33unJ9
ERTC will be putting together a team for both the Urban Fondo and National Championships - Join the slack to organize and figure out logistics!
August 7 - Our Pigeon Lake Road Race has been postponed to August 7. Sign-up to volunteer here.
August 14 - For those interested in the L’Etape Edmonton , ERTC has a discount code available. It is “ERTC20” We should have a pretty good showing so come join us as we show off how great ERTC is to everyone!
Friendly reminder to join slack here: https://join.slack.com/t/edmontonroada-7u36621/shared_invite/zt-r9cz31ub-0OIcKY_Ow33BJCw_yyAQCg
Friendly reminder to join strava for all ride updates here.
Ride Updates:
Rain rain go away!
Thursday hill nights are becoming quite full so we encourage you to look at the lite option (for less hills, but you can still do them quicker if you like) or reverse hills (for something a little different) in order to make our large group a little more manageable.