Greetings, friends.

I know you’ve received an inordinate amount of requests to volunteer for the Ramble so I’ll be brief.  

We are 4 weeks away from the Ramble.  We have lots of volunteer slots open which means if  we don’t get volunteers ASAP it will be time to consider cancelling the event which will cost the Freewheeler Foundation a LOT of money.  It also would mean that the club loses out on $3000 of proceeds from the Ramble.

This situation also causes me to wonder if the Ramble has become an unsustainable event.

Please volunteer.  It’s only a few hours of your time one day out of the year.  The club is counting on YOU.

Best regards,

Michael

 

Greetings, Friends.

You can now sign up for great rides for the picnic on Saturday, 5/17.   Click the calendar link on the website so we can get a head count in addition to signing up for a ride.

Ride Leaders for the C+/B and B/B rides are needed. 

The club will provide supplies, beverages, and yummy sloppy Joe’s

If your last name starts with A-H, please bring a dessert

If your last name starts with I-Q please bring an appetizer

If you last name starts with R-Z please bring a salad

If you don’t know what letter your last name starts with,  please bring 12 of each of the above.

We need a few volunteers to help with set up and clean up.  Contact John Storey to volunteer, social@mafw.org.  You’d probably need to arrive at Pickell Park around 10:30 but John will provide details.

No other club rides will be allowed on 5/17 as per a vote of the majority of the Board.  Here is the rationale:

We want to maximize our efforts to deliver the best possible experience to the largest number of members. The more we accomplish in promoting these programs and touting our successes of social media, it will serve as the best possible recruitment tool to attract new members. 

Having said that, at last night’s Board meeting we began to discuss reconsidering not allowing other rides to be posted on days the club runs special events and this discussion will continue at next month’s Board meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you for some great rides, great food, and great friends.

Best regards,

Michael

Greetings, friends.

The Club’s spring picnic will be on May 17, 2025.  You can sign up for rides on the Club’s website.

The Club will provide beverages and assorted sandwiches.  We are asking that members to contribute as follows:

If you last name starts with A through H, please bring a dessert

If you last name starts with I thorough Q please bring an appetizer

If your last name starts with R through Z, please bring a salad.

Looking forward to seeing you at the picnic!

Have fun; stay safe.

Michael

Greetings, friends.

I am sad to tell you that Mario’s brother, Joseph Pompeo, has passed away.  I know that Mario has many friends in the club.  The funeral is this Friday and details can be found at:

https://www.vpfh.com/obituary/Joseph-Pompeo#:~:text=6%20Trees%2C%20Flowers,Brunswick%2C%20NJ%2008901

Sincerely,

Michael Chenkin

Inspection and rides will go as planned tomorrow but post ride party is postponed. Sign up ASAP so we can give Trek a head count. 

Greetings, Friends.

Save the date for the club’s SPRING PICNIC on May 17 at Pickell Park.  Volunteers will be needed!

Further details to follow.

Greetings, Friends.

The bad news: The weather looks frightful for this Saturday’s club rides from Trek Stirling so rides will most likely be cancelled.

The Good news: You can still bring your bike to Trek Stirling for a FREE inspection on Saturday, May 3,  In addition, they will honor the additional $100 price reduction for Level 2 service on May 3 only.  They have new bikes from model years 2022-2024 that they are willing to negotiate price on.  Great time to save on a new bike especially with price increases on new models due to the tariffs.

More good news: There has been a lot of talk about restarting Women Only rides.  Keep your eye on the club’s ride schedule as these should start happening in the near future.

 

 

Dear friends,

Trek Inspection and Rides/Party is rescheduled for Saturday, May 3, 2025 due to unfavorable weather conditions forecast for April 12.  Hopefully, the third time will be a charm!

Stay safe; have fun!

Best regards,

Michael

Greetings, friends.

While the weather forecast for Sunday may be frightening for cycling, the Kickoff meeting still promises to be exciting. We’ll have Kettleman’s bagels, fruit, donut holes, coffee, and juice along with great friends, club updates, and a great presentation by attorney and avid cyclist and advocate Steve Vacarro.

I urge everyone to attend even if we can’t ride since we’ll be having a special focus on bike prep and important information about safety.

BTW, please check your member info on the club website and update any information that has changed.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.  Come hungry!

Warm regards,

Michael

 

 

 

Greetings, friends.

One of the agenda items on last night’s Freewheeler Board meeting was review of the club’s e-bike policy.  The discussion involved consideration of changing the e-bike policy to include class 2 and class 3 e-bikes.  Class 2 e-bikes are e-bikes that have a throttle mechanism which allows the option of not needing to pedal for the bike to move.  In other words, they are not completely pedal-assist.  Class 3 bikes, like class 1 bikes, are completely pedal-assist but can reach a top speed of 28 mph.  The Board overwhelmingly approved class 3 e-bikes for club rides and rejected class 2 e-bikes for club rides.  If a rider comes to a club ride with a class 2 e-bike, please politely inform them that the club does not allow class 2 e-bikes on club rides.

Thank you for your attention.

Respectfully,

Michael