Next week we turn the calendar page to November.  Our MAFW Biennial meeting is November 2.  In addition to our election, we will be voting on Bylaws changes to streamline the governance of the club.

Please register for the meeting using EventBrite:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mafw-biennial-meeting-and-election-tickets-432107223337

What Changes are Proposed for the MAFW ByLaws and Why?

1. Allow voting to take place using any mechanism approved by the State of New Jersey for Organizations. Currently our bylaws REQUIRE in person voting at the biennial meeting.  The Board would like the flexibility to use electronic or other secure means of voting for MAFW elections, changes to bylaws, and any other issue that requires a vote of the general membership.
2. Eliminate the requirement for a Ride Planning Committee and a Social Committee. The Ride Planning Committee is no longer needed.  Historically, it selected the rides for the month, and then there was a search (yes, this used to be via pen and paper in parking lots after rides, and then later by an Excel spreadsheet emailed to all ride leaders) for ride leaders.  Now, ride leaders can select and schedule rides via the website, so the Ride Planning Committee is no longer needed.  The club continues to have social events, and there is a Social Coordinator, but we do not feel there is a requirement for a standing social committee.
3. Reduce the size of the nominating committee from 5 to 3 persons. The nominating committee works to identify candidates for elected positions of the club.  A 5 person committee has been a challenge, both in terms of finding 5 persons able to serve, and in terms of coordinating meetings between them.  We feel that 3 persons (at least one from the Board and at least one from the general membership) is sufficient and can work more efficiently.
4. Change the structure of the Board to reduce the number of elected positions. There are many functions that we all agree the club needs to have, but that don’t necessarily need to be elected positions.  Being in an elected position requires that the individual attend all Board meetings.  The current Board size (15) is large for the size and complexity of the organization.

Each member of the Current Board was asked whether they felt their position should be ELECTED or APPOINTED, and their opinion on the overall structure of the Board.  After much discussion, the Board agreed that the following positions would move from being ELECTED (and involved in club governance) to APPOINTED (carrying out essential functions for the club, but no longer involved in club governance):

Social Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, Bicycle Adventures Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, Web Content Manager.

This change allows flexibility, in that one person can do more than one role, something that the current bylaws do not allow. In order to keep an odd number of voting positions on the Board, the role of At Large Member has been created.

All members who are candidates for these positions are aware that, if this bylaws change is accepted, their role will be an APPOINTED ROLE, and not a governance role.  If the bylaws change is not accepted, they will serve in an elected position.

As a reminder, here is the Candidate list:

Governance Positions:

President	Joe Reo
Vice President	Paul Malinowski
Secretary	Jessica Simpson
Treasurer	Merritt Peterson
Ride Coordinator	Manny Coelho
Membership	Betsy Eastwood
Safety	Drew Thraen
IT	Jon Eiseman
Past President	Liz Jennison
At Large	Mark Jay
Positions that will be Appointed
Social	John Storey
Marketing	Tracy Brown
Newsletter	Pat Kipp
Adventures	Roy Fischman
Web Content	Pete Nevins

It is Sunday evening, and your weekend is winding down.  Perhaps you got in a nice bike ride yesterday or today…  And perhaps you are thinking about a nice bike ride next Sunday…. And how hungry you will be after that ride…  And wouldn’t it be great if there just happened to be a picnic after that bike ride???  Well you are in luck.  With a few clicks of your mouse you can register for a MAFW ride next Sunday via the club website, and then hop on over to EventBrite to sign up for the picnic (Sunday October 23 at Pickell Park) :  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mafw-fall-picnic-rescheduled-tickets-431080803287

It would be really good idea to bring your bike, helmet, and other bike gear to the bike ride.  And a fantastic idea to bring a dish to share to the picnic. We also need a few volunteers to help with the set up for the picnic; especially someone who is not planning to ride and can keep hungry beasts away from our food while Drew, our Safety Coordinator, goes to pick up the Fried Chicken.  If you can help out, please drop Drew a line (Safety@mafw.org).

November means the end of evening rides, as our late day light fades (and then vanishes with the time change).  We can all commiserate about this over coffee and cookies at the MAFW Biennial meeting, November 2 at 7 pm (meeting room in the Hills, directions on the registration link).  To ensure we have enough cookies for all, please register for the event:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mafw-biennial-meeting-and-election-tickets-432107223337

Not only will the Biennial meeting feature cookies, but we will hold our MAFW Election.  And, we will have a special presentation by Basking Ridge resident Paul Harradine on “how I spent my summer vacation”.  Well Paul spent his summer vacation riding every mile of every stage of the Tour de France one day before the Tour pros!  And yes, Paul is a regular guy, with a normal family and a real job!

We round out the month of October with the annual Milestone party and lunch (October 26th) .  We have a new location Annabella Italian Ristorante, 144 Main Street, Whitehouse Station.  For this event, please register with Pat Kipp (newletter@mafw.org) by the 23rd.  If you are celebrating a milestone birthday (increments of 5 years, starting at age 50) your lunch is free.  Everyone else pays $20 cash at the event.

Since the Milestone party is near Pickell Park, the morning rides before will also be from Pickell Park.  RIDE LEADERS:  We need a few of you to schedule rides from Pickell Park for that morning.  Choose your distance and pace so that the rides will finish around 12 noon.  The lunch is at 12:30 pm.

See you at an upcoming MAFW Event!

Liz Jennison, MAFW President

Thanks to quick thinking on the part of our Social Coordinator, we have secured a new date for our MAFW Fall picnic.  The picnic will be on Sunday October 23rd, at Pickell Park.

Since we have created a new listing in EventBrite, you will need to sign up again, even if you had signed up for the rained out picnic scheduled for yesterday.  The picnic is free (and you can bring a guest), but please sign up so we know how many people to expect. You can register here.

As we had already planned, the club will provide fried chicken, but everyone is expected to bring a dish based on their last name.

People whose last name starts with:

A-F	Please bring a salad
G-O	Please bring an appetizer
P-Z	Please bring a main dish

Manny and his fellow ride leaders will put together a full ride schedule for the day of the picnic, with rides at all paces between Casual and B+ .  There should be a ride for anyone who is interested….

And for those celebrating milestone birthdays this year, the Milestone Party is scheduled for Wednesday, October 26th at Annabella Ristorante in Whitehouse Station.  The party is free for “milestoners” and $20 for all others.  Please RSVP to Pat Kipp by Friday, October 21st.  (freewheelpat@gmail.com)

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for good weather on October 23.  And remember to sign up for the ride you plan to do in addition to signing up for the picnic.

Liz Jennison, MAFW President

Hello MAFW Members:

We have decided to cancel the Fall Picnic due to the forecast of rain on Sunday. We are looking into other social activities for the fall and winter months.

Hello MAFW Members:

If you are planning to attend the Fall picnic at Pickell Park on Sunday, October 2nd, please register for the event using EventBrite. The picnic is free, but we would like an accurate count of attendees, so please register. And remember to bring food to share…..

Manny and his fellow ride leaders have put together a full ride schedule for the day of the picnic. If interested please sign up for one of the rides.

Hello MAFW Members:

If you are planning to attend the Fall picnic at Pickell Park on Sunday, October 2nd, please register for the event using EventBrite.  The picnic is free, but we would like an accurate count of attendees, so please register by Wednesday, Sept 28.  And remember to bring food to share…..

People whose last name starts with:

A-F	Please bring a salad
G-O	Please bring an appetizer
P-Z	Please bring a main dish

Fried chicken will be provided by the club for day of picnic. Looking for 5 people to bring HOMEMADE (NOT STORE BOUGHT) dessert of your choice that will feed 20 people. If you bring the dessert you will not bring the item based on your last name. Please respond to me via text 908-227-7692  or email Nacius4mom@yahoo.com. Also looking for volunteers to help set up, cover tables with tablecloths and man the picnic site while folks ride. Need someone to pick up fried chicken at 11:00am. Greatly appreciate help on the above. Feel free to contact me, Mary Nacius, at 908-227-7692 or Nacius4mom@yahoo.com for any questions. Thank you in advance for your help.

Manny and his fellow ride leaders have put together a full ride schedule for the day of the picnic, with rides at all paces between Casual and B+ .  There should be a ride for anyone who is interested….

And for those celebrating milestone birthdays this year, the Milestone Party is scheduled for Wednesday, October 26th at Annabella Ristorante in Whitehouse Station.  The party is free for “milestoners” and $20 for all others.  Please RSVP to Pat Kipp by Friday, October 21st.  (freewheelpat@gmail.com)

Dear Fellow MAFW Members,

I’m very pleased to advise that the Nominating Committee has completed their task by submitting a list of candidates.  The candidate list is as follows:

President	Jay Reo
Vice President	Paul Malinowski
Secretary	Jessica Simpson
Treasurer	Merritt Peterson
Ride Coordinator	Manny Coelho
Membership Coordinator	Betsy Eastwood
Safety Coordinator	Drew Thraen
IT Coordinator	Jon Eiseman
Web Content Manager	Pete Nevins
Social Coordinator	John Storey
Marketing	Tracy Brown
Newsletter Editor	Pat Kipp
Bike Adventures	Roy Fischman
Member at Large	Mark Jay

Additional candidates may be nominated by petition, with a minimum of twenty five (25) signatures of valid Club members. Nominating petitions must be submitted to the Secretary no later than October 1st in order for them to be validated and published on the Club web site no later than October 15. No nominations will be accepted from the floor at the time of the election at the biennial meeting in November.

Are you one of the many MAFW members who believes there is some sort of MAFW magic?  Do you think that new ride routes are created by “ride wizards” and just appear on the club website?  Or that fried chicken, cold drinks and paper plates are delivered to the club picnics by a “picnic drone”?  Or that the newsletter, social media posts, and membership services just “happen”?  Well, you are WRONG!  All these functions that support the club are carried out by VOLUNTEER members, working “behind the scenes” to keep the club running smoothly.

We have had people ask questions like “why don’t we return to having free potluck holiday parties?”  Well guess what, they weren’t really “free”.  We had to rent a place to have the party (not a big expense), and then 8-10 MAFW volunteers did NOT get to enjoy the party as they were busy working (setting up the venue, setting out and replenishing food, cleaning up) while everyone else enjoyed the “free” party.  When we tried to move to a paid event so that everyone could enjoy it, MAFW members weren’t willing to pay for a party, and the club could not afford any event of the quality that we desired.  And there you have it, the reason we no longer have a holiday party…

Right now, we are at a critical time for the club, as many of these positions will be VACANT at the end of the year as the incumbents move on for various reasons.  Without NEW people willing to step up and fill some of these critical functions, the ability of MAFW to operate smoothly is in jeopardy.

At the end of 2022 the following MAFW positions will be VACANT:  President, Vice President, Membership Coordinator, and Social Coordinator.  Please consider whether YOU or someone you know would be interested and willing to serve in one of these positions.  If so, please contact one of the members of our Nominating Committee (headed by Mark Jay:  adventures@mafw.org and Drew Thraen:  safety@mafw.org).

Thanks to all our Ride Leaders and to everyone else who works hard (and often behind the scenes) to make MAFW run.  As our IT coordinator, Jon says, “no one notices when things work fine, but they complain when things don’t.”  We need people to fill these key positions to keep everything running well in the MAFW World.

Muriel Mota, a longtime member of MAFW, and avid cyclist, died on August 9th at the age of 94.  If you have memories and/or photos of Muriel that you would like to share with the club, please email to our Newsletter Editor, Pat Kipp (newsletter@mafw.org) prior to August 25th for inclusion in the next MAFW Newsletter.  

A link to Muriel’s obituary is here. You can also share memories of Muriel with her family via a link within the obituary. 

Services are as follows:

Crane’s Mill at Hinman Hall
459 Passaic Avenue
West Caldwell , NJ 07006
(973) 276-3021 | Map
Sunday 8/14, 4:00 pm

Memorial donations to The Raptor Trust, 1390 White Bridge Road, Millington, NJ 07946 (https://theraptortrust.org/) or the ASCPA, P. O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090-6929 (www.aspca.org) would be greatly appreciated.

I remember Muriel as a MAFW Ride Leader while well into her 70’s.

Liz Jennison, MAFW President

Maybe you’ve been a member of MAFW for years and years, or perhaps you are a relatively new member.  Whichever designation applies to you, just HOW ENGAGED are you with YOUR bike club?

Do you join in on club rides as your schedule permits?  Attend our picnics or other social events (now that we’ve resumed these after the COVID hiatus)?  Or perhaps you are one of our dedicated ride leaders?  When you encounter cyclists who aren’t club members, do you tell them about our club and encourage them to join?

There are plenty of opportunities for becoming even more active within the club. We are always looking for more RIDE LEADERS, especially at some of the faster paces.  Lead the rides you want to ride!  And, new this year, as a ride leader, you can celebrate your birthday (or other special event), with your fellow club members, and be reimbursed for snacks/treats that you bring to share.  Join the ranks of the ride leaders by contacting our Ride Coordinator, Manny (ridecoordinator@mafw.org).

Want to stay “up to date” on scheduled rides and club events?  You can use your on the club website to indicate what email communications you want to receive from the club.  In the upper right hand corner of the home page, where you see your name, you can select and edit your .  On the page, you can indicate what pace rides you want to hear about (meaning you will receive an automatic email whenever a ride is scheduled at this pace).  And, if you happen to think you get TOO MUCH email from the club, you can tell us you don’t want ANY email from us at all.  Note that is you select the option of “Do not send me ANY email”, that truly means ANY email, including that on scheduled rides.  And while you are looking at the , make sure your emergency contact information, mobile number, and license plate information are correct.

The MAFW election season is upon us, and our biennial (that’s every 2 years) membership meeting and election will be in November (date to be determined).  We have several club leadership positions that will be vacant at the end of this term.  Are you interested in helping plan and carry out club events?  Then become the next Social Coordinator.  How about ensuring there is a robust ride schedule?  Then take over for Manny who is stepping aside after many years as Ride Coordinator.  My term as President is ending, and there are other vacancies as well, including Membership (thanks to Marv for many years of service).  Mark Jay (adventures@mafw.org) and Drew Thraen (safety@mafw.org) are leading the Nominating Committee, and want to hear from YOU if you are interested in a role in club management.  Act NOW!  We need to have our candidate slate finalized by the end of August.

Keep cool for the remaining days of summer.  And remember that sunset is coming earlier each day.  Think about front and rear lights for your bike (a good idea ANY time) and shorten those evening rides as needed!