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Get involved: Volunteering and more

Do you love biking in Waterloo Region? Or have you biked in other parts of the world and wish you could do it here too? Want to help us make it easier to cycle safely?

CycleWR is an entirely volunteer-based organization. We have new volunteer roles in summer 2019 and are excited to bring more people, passion and energy into our organization.

How CycleWR Works

CycleWR is run by a volunteer steering committee that sets goals and campaigns based on member and community feedback. Steering committee members lead specific volunteer teams that help meet our organizational goals and execute campaigns.  

Ways to volunteer

Below are five ways you can volunteer with CycleWR. If you’re interested, email hello@cyclewr.ca.

1. Ride with an elected official

We had a great time on our Rides with Candidates last year. Help us keep up the momentum by showing more city councillors, MPPs, and MPs the good and bad of cycling infrastructure in your neighbourhood or along your commute.

CycleWR will help you connect with an appropriate representative, and provide any other resources you might need! At the local level, we could especially use tour guides who live/work in Kitchener’s wards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; Waterloo wards 1, 2, and 6; and throughout Cambridge and the townships.

See if your councillor’s already done a bike ride: view all the ride reports on our blog.

Email hello@cyclewr.ca to coordinate a ride.

Learn more about guiding a ride with an elected official


2. Keep track of municipal agendas

In our two-tier municipal system, it’s hard to keep track of the budgets and projects for all eight municipalities. We’re looking for people to help track what’s going on at the Region, the three cities, and the four townships.

We need someone to subscribe to email updates or set monthly-ish reminders to check meeting agendas. Then, if there are any bike- or pedestrian-related items, summarize them for our steering committee so we can share the news or see if a greater response is needed.

You could also keep an eye on EngageWR for surveys that people who bike should be responding to.

Learn more about being a municipal agenda tracker.


3. Represent CycleWR at events

We attend a lot of events to make sure we’re connecting with and hearing from all kinds of people who cycling in the region. We’re looking for people to help us provide a welcoming presence at the CycleWR table/booth at indoor and outdoor community events.

Events volunteers engage the public in conversation around CycleWR’s goals and campaigns, and help to take photos and collect stories for #HumansWhoCycleWR. This summer we’ll be at bike infrastructure launch parties, neighbourhood events, arts events, cycling socials and more!

Learn more about being an events volunteer.


4. Create bike-themed graphics

We’re looking for graphic designers and artists to help us create graphics for use in various media. We are looking for a diverse group of creatives, and each graphic design volunteer will work on projects or tasks that suit their interests and skill set.

Some projects we’re working on include: t-shirt designs, social media graphics, website graphics, flyers, and posters.

Learn more about being a graphic designer for CycleWR.


5. Post cool stuff on social media

We’re looking for some social-media-savvy people to help us amplify local cycling initiatives and maintain a consistent, useful presence on our social media channels.

We’re assembling a content curation team who will scour the internet for news, resources, and local events related to cycling and cycling advocacy, and then draft tweets, Facebook posts, and Instagram posts for us.

Learn more about being a content curator.

We’re also looking for a moderator or two to help us make our Facebook group an engaging and civil place to talk about biking in our community.

Learn more about being a Facebook group moderator.


If you’d like to help out in any other way, get in touch with us and share your ideas! Email us at hello@cyclewr.ca.


Don’t have time to volunteer but still want to help?

Two more ways to help:

donate now

1. Send us a donation to help pay for things like website hosting and event supplies.

2. Subscribe to our mailing list so we can let you know when we have an event coming up, or when it’s time to submit comments on municipal plans or show your support for cycling at a council meeting. We won’t share your contact information, and there’s a link to unsubscribe in every email.

sign up for the CycleWR mailing list here

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CycleWR
Join us online on Thursday, January 21, from 7:30 Join us online on Thursday, January 21, from 7:30 – 9:00pm for a look at what we accomplished in 2020 and what’s coming up for cycling in the region in 2021 and beyond.

Active transportation leads from the three cities and the region who will be joining us:
 
• Lisa Chominiec
Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, City of Cambridge
 
• Liz Christensen
Design & Construction Project Manager, City of Kitchener
 
• Darren Kropf
Active Transportation Planning Project Manager, City of Kitchener
 
• Louise Finlay
Project Manager, Bikeways, Trails and Greenspaces, City of Waterloo
 
• Kornel Mucsi
Manager, Transportation Planning, Region of Waterloo

Check the link in our bio for meeting instructions.
Are you curious about winter biking or determined Are you curious about winter biking or determined to give it a try this season? Our next Virtual Folks & Spokes welcomes Elysha and Sarah-Beth to share their winter-biking experience! 

Join us online on Thursday, November 19, from 7:30 – 8:30 pm. to learn about biking in cold weather, bike maintenance tips, and more. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and for other participants to chat about their winter-biking experience, too.

---

Meet Elysha

I'm Elysha! (she/they)

I'm a winter cyclist. I couldn't decide on adjectives for that because sometimes it's fun and sometimes it is horrible, but I always do it anyway. I've been riding my bike through the winters for around 10 years. You also may know me from my mending and upcycling project, @beyondrepair519, where I share my textile artwork.

On Thursday, my partner Scott will be joining me as a model for some of our winter cycling tips. He works more closely with bike stuff in the region—mostly cycling education right now, but he was also a mechanic for a long time. We have been loving the recent heat wave but don't want to be caught off guard when winter hits!

Join us and share what you know/learn more about how to get your bike ready for winter.

---

Meet Sarah-Beth and Ryan

Sarah-Beth (she/her) and Ryan (he/him) have been biking with their kids - ages 8 and 5 - for the past 4 years. You may know Ryan from being featured on Instagram as part of our #WinterRiders storytelling last year. He was a first-time winter bike rider last year. This year, Sarah-Beth is hopping on the bandwagon and they're bringing their kids along with them. They'll share their experiences figuring out how to prepare for the cold months ahead, and how to keep their kids interested and safe along with them. 

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We use Zoom video conferencing to host Virtual Folks & Spokes. It works on most computers and modern mobile devices.

If this is your first time using Zoom, we recommend joining a few minutes early.

Visit the link in our bio to launch the Zoom meeting.
The next Folks & Spokes will be hosted online on T The next Folks & Spokes will be hosted online on Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 – 8:30 pm.

We will kick things off with special guest Kornel Mucsi, the new Transportation Planning Manager at the Region of Waterloo. Kornel will share some of his experience from leading the Active Transportation program in Ottawa for the last decade as well as his early impressions and directions for Waterloo Region.

After question and answer with Kornel, we will continue with a casual discussion of anything and everything biking.

To participate, find the Zoom video call link in our bio!
Cycling into the Future, in cooperation with Cycle Cycling into the Future, in cooperation with CycleWR, STSWR and ClimateActionWR is offering one or more cycling training sessions for students ages 5 and up. 

Please indicate your interest and availability with this form:

https://bit.ly/2ZWGDxw

These practical sessions will cover various components including:

* Tips for teaching how to ride for beginners
* Proper helmet fit
* Bike handling skills
* Hand signals and road signs
* Bike lane etiquette
* Parent session: how to coach kids while riding with them
* Simple bicycle maintenance
* Tips for riding in fall and winter

The sessions will be held in a parking lot with an optional on-road session for grades 4 and up. Parents must accompany their children, and all participants must practice social distancing with non-family participants.
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