We are an MCA cycling club based in Winnipeg, formerly known as Alter Ego Cycling Club. We host twice weekly group road rides from April through October, and a Kids of Mud program from April through June.

NEWS: Our weekly Thursday evening road rides will resume on May 2 2024! Our weekly Sunday morning road rides started on 7 April 2024. Our Kids of Mud program started in April 2024.

OPEN HOUSE: Red River Cycling Club will host two open house group rides for prospective new riders who are interested in trying a club ride at 9:00 am on Sunday May 12 and 6:30 pm on Thursday May 23. The open houses provide opportunities for road cyclists who are new to group riding to try it out (membership purchase not required). A road/gravel bike and a helmet are required. The open house includes a brief orientation session and an introduction to cycling as a group in a paceline. Interested riders must contact Red River Cycling Club by email in advance.

Road Rides

Overview

We have two weekly road rides, on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings, from April through October (weather permitting). We ride as a group in a double paceline. All rides are no-drop, i.e., we adapt the pace so it's comfortable for everyone. If you're new to group riding, the draft greatly reduces the effort required to ride faster (e.g., ~5 km/h faster for a similar effort relative to cycling solo). A road bike is required, as is a helmet. We usually end rides at a coffee shop near the starting point for refreshments and socializing.Once scheduled, upcoming group road rides are listed on our Spond group and on our Strava club page.

Sunday Road Ride

Meet at Crescent Drive Park at 9:00 am. Our usual route is 50-60 km total, south to St-Adolphe. We take three breaks on the way, south of St-Norbert, in St-Adolphe, and again south of St-Norbert on the return (washrooms available at each stop). We often split into two groups in St-Norbert, and regroup at each stop: a fast group (~35 km/h) and a moderate group (~28 km/h). Once a month we ride to another destination, e.g., St-François-Xavier/Headingley or Selkirk/Lockport. We have one longer ride later in the summer: 100 km/160 km.

Thursday Road Ride

Meet at the No Frills supermarket on St-Anne's Road, north of the Perimeter Highway, at 6:30 pm. Our usual route is to ride south to Grande Pointe, ride two or three laps, and return, for a total distance of 40-50 km, depending on the number of laps. Evening rides always return to the start point before sunset.

Club Membership for Participation in Road Rides

Participants in our group road rides require a paid 2024 adult Red River Cycling Club membership, available through ccnbikes.com. Individual rides are coordinated through Spond, accessed either by a web browser at spond.com or through the Spond mobile app (available on Google Play and the Apple App Store). Spond is free to use. Route details, meeting times, locations, a list of riders, discussion about upcoming rides, etc., are all on Spond. Participants in every group road ride are required to confirm their attendance on Spond. New members can contact us by email to request a link to join our group on Spond.

Register for a 2024 Red River Cycling Club membership.

Pace, Effort and Safety

Safety is our topmost priority. While our group does not seek to break speed records, we do enjoy cruising at a fast pace while remaining safe. Riding fast requires some effort, which decreases with efficient group riding. One of the joys of group riding is being able to share the work with others and enjoy the speed advantage of the draft, where you’ll find yourself riding faster while putting in less effort. If you’re not up to the effort on a given day, you can always “sit-in” and benefit from the draft at the back of the paceline for the entire ride without being expected to pull at the front of the paceline (which requires greater effort).No rider is ever left behind. If you find yourself falling off the back of the paceline or struggling to keep up, inform the rider beside you so they can help communicate with the group to adjust the pace. If the effort remains too high, at least one ride leader will accompany you to the next rest stop to rejoin the group or back to the start point.

Riding in a Paceline

If you are new to group rides or would like a refresher, we suggest reading the following short article that explains group riding in a paceline. RRCC rides in a double paceline most of the time, but we are occasionally forced into a single paceline if the road is narrow (e.g., cycling on the shoulder of Hwy 75 on the return from St-Adolphe) or if the group is too small for a double paceline to be used. Occasionally we use a rotating paceline if it's very windy. We will discuss the key points of pacelines as a group before rides to help remind everyone.

Kids of Mud

Please contact the director of our Kids of Mud program by email for additional information and inquiries regarding registration to our Kids of Mud program.

Click here for information on Kids of Mud coach certification.

Join Us

We provide additional information by email to anyone considering joining. Please write us an email if you are interested!

New Members

New riders are always welcome! It can be intimidating to join, but we encourage you to come check it out! Prospective new members can join one group club ride free of charge before committing to a paid membership. Contact us by email if interested. In the absence of a paid club membership, the Manitoba Cycling Association requires signing a release of liability waiver.

Open House

We schedule an open house group ride during the spring for all interested cyclists. This provides an opportunity for road cyclists who are new to group riding to try it out (membership purchase not required). The open house includes a brief orientation session and an introduction to cycling as a group in a paceline. Our 2024 open house rides will be held at 9:00 am on Sunday May 12 and at 6:30 pm on Thursday May 23.

Membership Benefits

An RRCC adult membership provides the following benefits:

  • Red River Cycling Club group road rides on Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings

  • group road rides with Green Route Cycling Club on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Friday and Saturday mornings (does not require an additional Green Route membership)

  • all benefits provided by the Manitoba Cycling Association, including insurance coverage during our club rides, in addition to other benefits provided by MCA

  • 20% off purchases from Popeye's Cycles and Sports

  • annual club fat bike ride at Fort Whyte Alive with fat bike rental from Kendrick's Outdoor Adventures paid by RRCC

  • participation in our special event rides, including Ahead by a Century (100 km, 160 km), joint rides with other cycling clubs in Winnipeg, destination rides to Selkirk, St-François-Xavier, Landmark, etc.

  • downwind ride (new for 2024) where we take a chartered bus upwind and enjoy the tailwind as we ride back to Winnipeg

  • social events: coffee, beer, holiday dinner

  • represent our club in MCA race events, such as a team time trial (requires upgrading to a MCA race membership)

  • purchase a new club jersey (we are planning a new jersey design in 2024)

See our Kids of Mud section for benefits provided by a RRCC Kids of Mud membership.

Registration

An annual adult membership for Red River Cycling Club costs $35 plus the cost of a Manitoba Cycling Association Membership. Both memberships can be purchased together at the link below.

Register for a 2024 Red River Cycling Club membership.

Resources

Manitoba Cycling Association

Red River Cycling Club is registered with the Manitoba Cycling Association.

Bike Winnipeg

Bike Winnipeg is an advocacy group that supports cycling in Winnipeg and provides resources and information for cyclists.

City of Winnipeg

The City of Winnipeg provides resources for cycling in Winnipeg, including its map of the city's cycling network.

Contact Us

Please contact us by email if you have questions.

email: redrivercyclingclub@gmail.com

Red River Cycling Club maintains a partnership with Green Route Cycling Club.