Looks like a great turnout, we had 57 riders when I looked earlier this evening.  Trek said we can park in the following locations:

1. Trek Stirling Parking Lot
2. Day Care Center Lot next door
3. Bank Lot across the street
4. Main street Stirling
5. Stirling Train station (further up street)

Regards

Joseph Reo

See you tomorrow

Joseph Reo

Looks like a great turn out tomorrow (57 folks as of this afternoon).  Trek said we can park in the following areas: Bike shop lot, day care center next door,  bank lot across the street, Main street in Stirling as well as the Stirling train station further down the street.

Weather looks perfect and spots are filling up quickly.   I will be leading the D ride, but I look forward to seeing you all.  Trek Stirling address is as follows: 395 Main Street in Stirling.  Although some of us are better at maintaining their bikes than others – the club does feel that a periodic bike inspection is a valuable tool to ensure safety for yourself and your riding family.   As a gesture of goodwill, for all those members that sign up for the ride and their bike inspection, Trek will issue a $20.00 gift card that can be used for anything in the store, sales or service. It is important to reiterate that members are not obligated to have their bikes serviced at Trek.

Please arrive at the Trek Store at 8 am so there will be adequate time to complete the inspections prior to the start of the rides.

See you Sunday.

Joseph Reo

It is early in the spring riding season, and we are pleased to announce a special event for all our MAFW members! For the first time in our club history on June 4th, 2023, in conjunction with our friends at Trek Stirling and Trek Summit, we will have 5 Freewheeler rides initiating from the Trek Stirling location, 395 Main Street in Stirling.  On the MAFW roster, there are three Far Hills rides, # 214, 511, and 516 that literally go right by the Trek Stirling location. We will finalize the ride selection shortly.  Instead of starting the rides in Far Hills, we will start the ride from Trek Stirling and cover the route, ending it back at Trek Stirling.   We will need to tweak the rides as the upper portion of Somerville Road is still closed.  We will have B, C+, C, D+ and D rides starting at 9 am.  Based on turnout we can consolidate a ride or two, if need be.

We also want to provide an important safety inspection on your bike through the auspices of Trek. Before the rides commence, all those members that sign up for the ride will receive a free, no obligation, multi-point inspection of their bike. Trek mechanics will be on duty and will give each member a detailed scorecard assessment of their bike.  The areas that will be inspected include tires, frame, fork, suspension, drivetrain, rider contact points, wheel systems, and braking systems. As a gesture of goodwill, for all those members that sign up for the ride and their bike inspection, Trek will issue a $20.00 gift card that can be used for anything in the store, sales or service. It is important to reiterate that members are not obligated to have their bikes serviced at Trek. You are free to take your bike to any bike service if you deem it appropriate.

Trek will have refreshments, bananas, coffee, donuts, water, bagels (from O’Bagel) and cream cheese before the ride as well as after the ride.  Bathroom facilities will be available inside the store before the ride starts. Please arrive at the Trek Store at 8 am so there will be adequate time to complete the inspections prior to the start of the rides. There will be adequate parking in the Trek parking area.

I want to take the time to thank Jeff Sperling and others that have been working diligently behind the scenes to get this set up.

Hope to see you all there on June 4th. Safety is most important for all of us.

Regards

Joseph Reo

Lesson 1 – never right an email after dinner on a Sunday evening – LOL

Somehow, I renamed Glora as Mary in the third sentence.  I have no answer as to how that happened – I blame the wine.

Casual Rides I wanted to give a shout out to Gloria Friedman.  Gloria reached out and wanted to reinstitute a casual ride for new riders and others that may not be ready to entertain a higher-level ride at this point in time.    Gloria had 10 riders participate last week.  If you are around on a Wednesday morning – please take some time to join Gloria and her team for a short ride out of Loantaka.  Remember new riders are the life blood of a healthy bike club.

Ramble – We still need some help (especially SAG riders).  If you can help out it will be appreciated.  Not sure how I forgot the Ramble.

2023

What	Available Spots
Safety Team Leader	#1: Joseph Reo <jreo@optonline.net>
Lost Rider Assistance/Co-Captain	#1: ____________________
Start Control	#1: ____________________ #2: ____________________
MAFW Club Ambassador	#1: Noreen Drucker <mretth@aol.com> #2: Tom Beringer <tomberinger195@gmail.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 100 Mile	#1: alex sidd <theaxelman@hotmail.com> #2: Joseph Mundi <mavicrider@gmail.com> #3: ____________________
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 70 Mile	#1: Mike Rowley <Shelb234@optonline.net> #2: George Decker <touringeng@gmail.com> #3: Jay Raju <jsimharaju@hotmail.com> #4: Gaye Swanson <coolmother53@gmail.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 45 Mile	#1: John Delaney <jdelaneyjr@aol.com> #2: Tara Ding <cliftondog1999@yahoo.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 35 Mile	#1: Joseph De Cagna <jdecagna1@gmail.com> #2: Drew Thraen <drew.thraen@gmail.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 25 Mile	#1: Arnie Cohen <arnie@teledge-usa.com> #2: Tony Fanelli <tjfanelli@yahoo.com> #3: Roy Fischman <royfischman@gmail.com>
Course Marshal – Lees Hill Rd.	#1: Betty Ann Kaltneckar <beaufortfalcon@msn.com>
Course Marshal – TBD	#1: ____________________
Course Marshal – Glenwild Rd & Loantaka Way	#1: Fred Bennett <starben62@yahoo.com>
Drew SAG Driver	#1: Michael Swearingen <rmswearingen@optonline.net>
Jockey Hollow SAG Driver	#1: CONRAD STEENECK <csteeneck@verizon.net>
Southard SAG Driver	#1: LOUIS BLANCO <loublanco@gmail.com>
Harry Dunham SAG Driver	#1: ____________________
Transport SAG Driver	#1: ____________________
Transport SAG Assistant	#1: ____________________
25 Mile SAG Driver	#1: ____________________
70 Mile SAG Driver	#1: Michael Cloidt <michaelcloidt@gmail.com>

Lynda Deluca

Lynda DeLuca does not have to bring a main dish as her desserts are delightful.  My bad.  LOL

What a beautiful weekend and I was glad to see that we had multiple rides on the docket for members of all abilities.

Picnic

The picnic will be on Saturday May 13th, at Colonial Park.  For those that have not ridden out of the park it’s a beautiful location and the rides are fantastic as well.  The picnic is free (and you can bring a guest), but please sign up so we know how many people to expect. The tradition continues, the club will provide fried chicken, but everyone is expected to bring a dish based on their last name to supplement the chicken. People whose last name starts with:

A-F	Please bring a Main Dish
G-O	Please bring an Salad
P-Z	Please bring a Appetizer

Manny and his fellow ride leaders put together a full ride schedule for the day of the picnic, with rides at all paces between Casual and B+.  FYI the B+ ride still needs a leader.  There should be a ride for anyone who is interested and remember to sign up for the ride you plan to do in addition to signing up for the picnic.

Girls in Gear

Gabrielle Rossi has invited us to observe one or both of their Girls on Gear clinics on May 14th (10AM) for their 8-week program or June 4th (12PM) for the learn to ride clinic.  This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the social impact of our club and if we can potentially get a couple of the biker chicks in their gear to attend one of the two sessions as well would be awesome.  Both sessions are at Lewis Morris Park in the Sunrise Lake Parking Lot.  If you do not make one or both sessions, they will most likely have a table at the Ramble starting point so please stop by and introduce yourselves.

Casual Rides

I wanted to give a shout out to Gloria Friedman.  Gloria reached out and wanted to reinstitute a casual ride for new riders and others that may not be ready to entertain a higher-level ride at this point in time.    Mary had 10 riders participate last week.  If you are around on a Wednesday morning – please take some time to join Mary and her team for a short ride out of Loantaka.  Remember new riders are the life blood of a healthy bike club.

Wed	10:00am	CA/C/28/704	Loantaka-South St., Morris Twp.	Gloria Friedman	778 – Great Swamp Classic(18)	CUE MAP GPX TCX
Average Climb (ft/mile) 25 Leader Comments This is a regular weekly ride.  This week we will be riding 15 miles.  Last week we had 10 riders which is very exciting.  Hope some new people come too.  Please call me if you have any signing problems.  You can come to 1 ride without joining the club. Tour DescriptionA minimum hills ride in the Great Swamp area with two loops off of White Bridge Road. *No food stop since Meyersville Cafe closed*.

Ride Leader and Volunteer Pizza Party – May 18th

Calling all Ride Leaders and Volunteers – I noticed that sign up page on our website looked a little light.  Please take the time to sign up and we look forward to celebrating your efforts.

Last but not least to all the mothers out there.  Please have a great Mother’s Day and may it be everything you hoped for and more.

See you soon on a Ride.

Joseph Reo

MAFW President

The Spring Kickoff meeting and after meeting rides are now up and running on our webpage.  Please click the link at the top of the page and let us know you will be joining us.  In addition, we use this as a gauge to determine how much food and drink is required for the meeting.

I am planning on leading the C+ ride.   Hope to see you all there.

Regards

Joseph Reo

Our first social event of the year is upon us.  Please join us all and enjoy some time with our members as well as some food on us. Please note that members and guests will have to purchase their own flights or other beverages.   Details and the link to sign up for the event are detailed below: Friday February 24, 6PM Glenbrook Brewery – 95 Morris Street Morristown Flights and Flats with Marty’s doing a bike cleaning clinic.   Signup page for this event on the website: https://mafw.org/events/flights-and-flats-with-martys-doing-a-bike-cleaning-clinic/   Regards Joseph Reo MAFW President  

Just a reminder that our Club Store (through Pactimo) closes on December 29th.  You can link to the club store from the club website, and this link should work as well:

https://teamstore.pactimo.com/stores/morris_area_freewheelers/show

In addition to the traditional jerseys, there are shorts and bibs, arm warmers, gloves, and even a ball cap!

Items will be shipped directly to your home, estimated arrival in mid-February.

New Year, New MAFW Bike Gear!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride a Stage of the Tour de France?  How about wondering what it would be like to ride every mile, every stage, one day ahead of the pros?  Well here is your chance to find out!  Basking Ridge resident Paul Harradine will share his experiences from the 2022 event with us at the MAFW Biennial meeting on November 2.

If you haven’t already done so, this would be a great time to register for the meeting (and our club election).  Here is the EventBrite link:

See you Wednesday!

Yesterday one of our MAFW members was chased and knocked down by two loose dogs.  The incident happened on Spring Valley Road, between Van Beuren and Blue Mill Rd.  Fortunately our club member was not seriously injured, but her bicycle and helmet were destroyed.  And the nearby cars (one behind her and one oncoming) reacted quickly and didn’t hit her as she fell in the middle of the road.

The dogs were described as brindle coat, either pit bull or boxer breeds. They came out from a property with a split rail fence and pine trees.  Unfortunately the dogs did a “hit and run”, so it isn’t clear who they belong to.

Please be alert while cycling on Spring Valley Road.  If you see loose dogs, take every action you can to avoid them.  And, as we advise with cars that are acting irresponsibly, get pictures or video if you can do so safely.

Since you have read this far, here is another reminder to register for the Biennial meeting:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mafw-biennial-meeting-and-election-tickets-432107223337

And, if you want to look at the bylaws with the proposed amendments, here’s a link:  https://mafw.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MAFW-bylaws-2022-Changes-Accepted-revision.pdf

Happy Halloween!