If you are new to Toronto or to the mountain biking scene you may want to hook up with other enthusiasts and there is no better way to do this than to join up with a local club. There are many clubs in the Toronto area so it is really more a case of finding one that matches your interest. After all, at one end of thespectrum there are hardcore, competition based associations, with expert level members that are serious about the sport. At the other end of the spectrum, there are others that are more akin to social clubs revolving around a casual recreational ride out at the weekend. In between lies a mixture of the two, for in Toronto, Ontario there are many bicycle riding clubs so you should be able to find one that to suits your style of riding, whether that be pleasure cruising or racing.

You will tend to find that most clubs are actually a mixture of MTB and road cyclists, as many people enjoy doing both pursuits. But the important thing is to find a good match with your interests.

The Toronto Bicycle Club takes great pride in its boast of being the friendliest, most enjoyable adult bicycle club in the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto club organizes safe, scenic and social group rides suitable for all levels of cyclist.

Wild Bettys is a woman mountain biking club that has both a race team and also arranges social rides for beginners. They will supply the bike if you don’t have one as their aim is to remove all barriers to women participating in trail riding.

Don Valley MTB is a group of MTB riders focusing on the Don Valley trails in Toronto. Another group of serious riders are the Defiant MTB club and they organize several organized rides but these are for experienced riders.

Toronto Bicycling Network is mainly a road riding club but they do organize a lot of off-road park and rail trails suitable for the beginners to mountain biking.

The Durham Mountain Biking Association is one of the biggest clubs based on the east side of Toronto. DMBA organizes rides in four categories of difficulty – technical difficulty, pace of the group, the distance, and the duration of the ride – so you can gauge which ones are best suited to you. Interestingly, the DMBA lets non-members join in on the rides if there free space as they are keen to promote mountain biking and the trails to the public.

As you can see from just this small sample the goals and aspiration of the clubs are to promote mountain biking and the trails but it’s just that some are more socially focused and therefore more accommodating of beginners than others.Of course this is the same with any sport as there will always be elitist groups focused on serious competition that is not a flaw it might be just what you are looking for. Nonetheless whatever your goals and aspirations you are sure to find a club that will welcome you.