This will be a quick update. It’s been a bit over a week and we wanted make sure we kept you up to date on our progress. But first!…we needed to share that Larry (a cohabitant of one of our racers) is supporting our efforts, and presumably the efforts of everyone training for race weekend, by modelling one of our toques which are still for sale for $12 each (just email us if you’re interested). We’ve sold a few, but we still have a few left.

Planning continues to go well. Most but not all of our volunteer positions are now covered. If you know of anyone who would like to help, or if you’re reading this yourself and wondering how you can be involved with the event this year, feel free to email us at actifepica@gmail.com and together we can figure out where you best fit.

We’ve also finally confirmed that every CheckPoint facility is on board for 2021. All had tentatively agreed but with the ongoing pandemic there were some extra details to sort through and although there are still contracts to sign, etc, we now have the okay to move forward with The Forks CN Stage greenroom start / finish and HQ, the Fraser Road shed, the St Adolphe Curling Club, the Niverville Recreation Centre and the U of M Active Living Centre. The leg of the course specific to the 200km cyclists this year, along the La Salle River, will also pass through St Norbert and Sanford CheckPoints, but those 2 spots will be manned by volunteers in cars instead of inside formal facilities as had been planned for sometime.

Lastly, our plan is to get our first Training Blog post up later this week, where we go through our own 8 week training program and let you follow along as directors Scott and Deanna finish their physical prep to do a full recon ride of the short bike course a week or so before event weekend. Our other director, Dan, is of course building up to be competitive in the long bike course come February.

We’ve accumulated approx 25 Actif Epica toques from the last couple of years. These are the toques that competitors and volunteers received for taking part in the event. 

This year we’re giving everyone masks because it’s so the hip thing right now, so we thought it would be the perfect time to offer our new old stock toques for a small fee to anyone who wants one or two (or 3 or whatever). 

Just email us at actifepica@gmail.com to request one if you wish, and send us an EFT to the same address for $12 per toque and we’ll mail it out to you right away. I’m sure we can accommodate other arrangements if necessary. 

At the time of this posting we have 12 blue, 4 grey, and 10 black. All are a synthetic ‘sport’ blend and one size fits most. 

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First off we need to say thank you!…Thank you for expressing your commitment to Actif Epica by signing up.

We admit we didn’t know what to expect when we started planning the event this year in light of the pandemic we’re all going through. We’ve come up with protocols and contingencies that should ensure the show goes on no matter what, and we hoped our potential racers would share our confidence. Within the 1st few days of opening registration we have around 25 people already signed up, which is our fasted registration pace ever, so it looks like we do all share the same confidence!

Secondly, we’re happy to report that our first batch of 50 custom masks has arrived. In fact we’ve already mailed the 1st 25 or so out to those who have already registered, and will continue to do so as new registrations arrive.

Keep watching this pace as we update everyone on planning progress and the latest news.

Registration is live and we’re officially a go! Check out our Race Bible to learn what is expected of you on race weekend, look at our Racer and Spectator Course Guide to learn more about what Race Weekend will look like, and check out our COVID-19 and Contingency Plans pages to understand how we’re proceeding in these odd times.

Then…head over to our Registration page and sign up!

Remember that the 1st 50 people to sign up will be mailed a custom Actif Epica mask (the masks have already been shipped to us and should be received in just a few days). Every participant will receive a mask, but we are receiving 50 in our 1st shipment so we can guarantee that the 1st 50 to sign up will get their masks quickly.

If you have any questions feel free to email us anytime at actifepica@gmail.com

Please note that we try to update our Facebook page and our Twitter account (#actifepica) with these weekly posts but our primary means of communicating is through this site and through email. If at all possible we’ll get back to your emails within a day or two, we’ll quickly update this site if info changes, and any major changes will be highlighted in this weekly blog.

We’re excited as we look ahead to Race Weekend in February and hope to see you then. Until then, happy training!

This will be a quick weekly update, letting everyone know that the Racer and Spectator Course Guide is now updated for 2021 and posted.

Although there are still a few hopefully minor course related details to resolve we’ve mostly hammered everything out and have agreements with most CheckPoint facilities in place. There are more things to consider with some of the venues this year owing to ‘the thing that shall not be mentioned’ (rhymes with blamdemic), but we’ve worked things out to the satisfaction of most venues and we’re at the point where we can really move forward.

As already mentioned elsewhere on this site our biggest changes to the course this year are:

• leaving Winnipeg you’ll use some of the Seine River
• no one goes further south than Niverville
• the longest distance cyclists do an out-and-back along the La Salle River

Take a look at the Course Guide to get a sense of what you’re in for this year, and then get out and ride!