News From The MBRC

A spirited group of cyclists, riding in & around Southern Ontario escarpment for sport and fitness

2021 Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary

2021 Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary

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2021 Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary

In 1971 Mississauga was a smaller town with a population of 174,982 compared to 757,787 in 2020,  much of the region was still farmland.

2020 brought us a challenging year to be able to ride in the depth of a pandemic and this year 2021 marks our 50th year as the Mississauga Bicycle Racing Club.

The club has had many members over the years, some have stayed, some have gone and some have returned after years away. What drives many of our members is the camaraderie and the challenge of riding in a group setting on some of the demanding terrain we are lucky to have just outside our back doors. For others, it's a way to train and get motivated to race in the OCA racing scene or Tri-racing scene.

Our race program in past years had much success and a large following of racers were involved with the Ontario bicycle racing scene. The MBRC members have always strived for a high level of fitness and to have a sportsperson's perspective to keep it challenging amongst each other, and respect each member and their diversities.

In retrospect words from Ryan Roth a former member of the MBRC who went on to win consistently in provincial races and explored other clubs and eventually onto a pro career in cycling sum up our perspective and philanthropy in cycling.

I joined the Mississauga Cycling Club for the 2001 season after being recruited by Michael Moore. There were a ton of benefits as a junior racer including cycling kit and an incentive-based entry fee reimbursement program that were great perks to help me get to as many races as possible.  

It was a pivotal year for me as I had just dipped my toe into the road racing world the previous year having primarily focused on mountain bike racing prior. I really found my groove in road racing and subsequently won a few of the local junior events before electing to upgrade and race as an elite the rest of the year to further enhance my development.

This strategy ended up paying off as I won the junior national road race, placed second in the time trial and represented Canada at the World Championships that fall in Lison, Portugal.  In hindsight being on the club that year was a perfect progression from racing under the Woodstock Cycling Club previously as I got to race with some of the elite team members and learn from them while challenging my fitness as well. It was also a relaxed, fun environment which can't be understated how important this is to have any longevity in the sport.  

While I don't ride nearly as much as I previously did having left cycling as a professional in 2019, I still get a ton of enjoyment and many other benefits from getting out on the bike when time and weather allow. Certainly, the motivation to kit up every day and work hard has translated over well to my new work in the residential mortgage space.

Thanks
Ryan


You can find out more about Ryan Roth and his new career path at link below: https://www.ryanrothmortgages.ca

One of the original places the club would use for training and racing was at Sheridan Park, Flavelle Blvd in the 1970s - 1990s. It used to be in the form of an 800-meter oval track, many laps were ridden here, and crit races were run weekly in the race season until the late 1990s when it was closed off from being a circuit due to motorcyclists using it as a raceway. Below is an aerial comparison of the Sheridan Park circuit illustrating the changes that have taken place over the years.

Sheridan Park 1980s
sheridan-park 1980
Sheridan Park 2020s
sheridan-park 2020

More stories from MBRC to come

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