2025 Ontario Cycling Women’s Month Recap

As they say, ‘All good things must come to an end’ and unfortunately that includes this year’s Ontario Cycling Women’s Month. Our objective for OC Women’s Month has been to showcase and celebrate all our riders who identify as a female.  Over the month of May, with the help of female members, clubs, and even female cyclists from outside of OC we pulled together a diverse range of events and activities including webinars, skills events, club rides, try the track and more! 

To kick off OC Women’s Month we partnered with three other organizations to include their amazing activities and offer something for every type of rider. Stoked MTB held their third annual Women’s Skills Fest in Christie Lake on May 4th, where 54 participants, 12 coaches and 8 vendors joined them for a day of smiles and lots of skills progression. On May 7th, Minii Adventures hosted a Ride & Refine Event in the evening. Charlotte Batty and 6 amazing Ride and Refine event participants hit the trails together for a group ride, skill development session and après at the Handlebar Grill & Café to unwind and connect.  

On Friday May 9th, 24 women gathered at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre for a Women’s Only Try the Track event, hosted for free by NCIM. Nicole Lentini from NCIM shared “It was an exceptional group of women who enjoyed a chance to try track cycling on our world class velodrome.  The women ranged from their early twenties to their late 50s. These athletes were so supportive and encouraging to one another and everyone left the event feeling a sense of accomplishment at conquering the bankings and experiencing the thrill of track cycling.”  NCIM also hosted a Women’s Only Track Certification later in the month on May 24th where 10 of those women moved through and completed their Track Certification. NCIM will be welcoming them into their Women’s Training Program this coming season, and we can’t wait to see these ladies racing at the first OC Track OCup in December! 

In addition to these great events, OC hosted three free educational webinars that discussed important topics for female cyclists including saddle health, nutrition and leading group rides. Aly Hodgins’ Saddle Health Webinar saw 82 registrants who learned about the vital importance of taking proper care of their saddle health as female cyclists. We had another amazing webinar led by Nicole Springle, where 36 registrants learned how to fuel yourself in order to best support your performance (whether recreational or competitive!) and debunked common myths. Later in the month, ride leader, coach, and volunteer Amy White hosted a Rider Leader Training Info Session with 33 registrants. Amy discussed important items related to leading a club/team group ride and how to deal with certain situations that may arise within women focused rides. 

If you are interested in seeing any of the above, you can visit our YouTube Channel here Ontario Cycling Association – YouTube or you can reach out to info@ontariocycling.org for more information. Women’s Month closed off with flurry of Club Try-Out opportunities, with 10 clubs hosting 19 rides throughout the week. Thank you to Barrie Cycling Club, Golden Horseshoe Cycling Hub, GearHeads Cycling Club, LapDogs Cycling Club, Owen Sound Cycling Club, Georgian Bay Women’s Cycling Club, Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club, Newmarket Eagles Cycling Club and St. Catharines Cycling Club for helping us celebrate!  

If you are interested in learning more about these clubs and their programming, please contact them using the information below: 

Barrie Cycling Club – carolkbcc@gmail.com 

Golden Horseshoe Cycling Hub – goldenhorseshoecyclinghub@gmail.com  

GearHeads Cycling Club – mck5@sympatico.ca 

LapDogs Cycling Club – maureen@lapdogs.ca  

Owen Sound Cycling Club – rides@owensoundcycling.ca  

Georgian Bay Women’s Cycling Club – georgianbaywcc@gmail.com 

Dark Horse Flyers Cycling Club – hello@darkhorseflyers.ca 

Newmarket Eagles Cycling Club – innergoddess@gmail.com   

St. Catharines Cycling Club – president.stcatharinescc@gmail.com 

Leading up to the month and all throughout we shared profiles on some of our amazing female members and their cycling stories. A shoutout to Eve Buczkowski, Tascha Piciga, Nicole Lentini, Leslie Horn, Daniela Liska, Anne Bastin, Venus Cheung, Jillian Myburgh, Vicky Rao, Erin Shacklette, Alison Somers and Ann Budge for sharing your cycling journey with us! If you are interested in sharing your own cycling story or know someone who would be a great fit, please fill out the Google Form here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvaNvaX9zTpPz2QqF1qfzsrdA990xGBUxYCEbzhBDtZNbYsA/viewform?usp=sf_link 

Thank you to Shane Hotchkiss for your generosity all May by extending the Tour of Kincardine Early Bird Discount for all female riders to receive a discount off their registration! 

Thank you to Hardwood Ski & Bike and Glenn Meeuwisse for your generosity by providing a $5 off discount for all women registering for the Women’s MTB 4 Hour Relay at Hardwood Ski & Bike on June 7th ! Registration for the Women’s 4 Hour MTB Relay doesn’t close until Wednesday June 4th at 11:59pm so make sure to register before then. For more information about the event and registration click here: https://ontariocycling.org/event/mtb-womens-4-hour-mtb-relay-hardwood/  

Let’s make every month Women’s Month! If you are interested in getting involved or know someone interested, please reach out to info@ontariocycling.org