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!

July, for cyclists, traditionally means the Tour de France.  And this year it also brings our own Revolutionary Ramble.  The Ramble organizers have been hard at work, and still need a few volunteers to help out, whether in the days leading up to the event, or on Ramble Day (July 24^th).  If you can share in the work, check out the Ramble website and select a volunteer spot:  https://rambleride.org/volunteer-signup/

Our MAF Team store is now open until July 23rd.  You have just a few more days to order MAF jerseys, shorts, jackets, and other items.  You can find the link to the MAF Store from the club homepage.  Look sharp in your MAF attire!

Two of our club members, Steve Davis and Joe Reo, took the initiative to contact the town of Bernardsville and get some large potholes patched on Hardscrabble Road.  Please follow their lead and contact the responsible community about road hazards.  This is especially effective if you live in the community in question; they try to keep the taxpayers happy!

As always, thanks to our ride leaders for keeping our ride schedule busy and varied.  Ride safely and wear your sunscreen!

Liz Jennison

MAF President

Greetings to all MAF members.  The light at the end of the tunnel was not a train after all!  On Monday the MAF Board met and decided that, in alignment with CDC and NJ guidelines, the club will eliminate the mandatory cap on riders on club rides.  Ride leaders will have the discretion of capping their ride (as at present) or allowing unlimited riders.  This will be easily visible on the website.  If a ride is capped, you must sign up in advance; no walk ins, no guests.  If a ride is not capped, you can walk in and guests will be allowed.

Thanks to all of the new ride leaders who stepped forward in the recent months.  We hope that you will continue to be a ride leader.  And thanks to all who chose new start locations and destinations.  We also hope that this will continue.  Please remember that our Ride Leaders are all VOLUNTEERS who have agreed to accept a level of responsibility for the MAF members on their ride.  Attend rides that are appropriate for your pace and ability.  And even if there is no rider limit, if you have signed up and do not plan to attend the ride, please remove yourself from the ride list.  And please do not come on a MAF ride if you are not feeling well.  COVID is still out there.  

While we are on the topic of volunteering, please consider volunteering for the Revolutionary Ramble, sponsored by our Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation.  The Ramble will be on Saturday, July 24th, and over 300 riders have registered already.  Volunteer positions range from route marking, sign making, rest stops, and others.   Here is the link to volunteer:  https://rambleride.org/volunteer-signup/

And last but not least, please be good stewards on the roads.  As summer traffic increases, we need to remember to ride single file (or single up immediately if you hear “car back”).  Jim Hunt, our Bicycle Advocacy leader, tells us that NJ is close to having a 4 Foot Safe Passing Rule, something that has been in the works for almost 12 years.  We need to do our share of “sharing the road”.

Ramble On…..

Liz Jennison

MAF President

At the April MAF Board of Director’s meeting, the Board voted to expand the number of riders allowed on MAF rides to 15, and to reduce the required gap between rides from the same start point to 15 minutes.  These decisions did not come easily for us, and Board member opinion was divided on all issues.  I expect that the diversity of Board opinion on the matter reflects that of the MAF membership at large.  Ride leaders and individual riders need to make good decisions about what they feel comfortable with for their personal situation AND make sure they are protecting other members as well.   

RIDE LEADERS:  While ride leaders may have up to 15 total participants on a ride, they still have the ability to cap the number of riders at a lower number.  This is the ride leader’s choice, please respect it. Ride leaders should continue to remind riders to practice social distancing (6 feet apart from others) and wear masks in the parking lots before and after rides and at rest stops.  We continue to require everyone to sign up for rides in advance, and no guests.

RIDERS:  If you feel uncomfortable with larger ride groups, do not sign up for a ride with a larger participant cap.  You can determine the ride cap by looking at the number of people already signed up and the number of spots remaining.  Make sure you maintain social distancing (6 feet away from others) and wear a mask at all times while not riding (or actively eating/drinking); this is especially important at rest stops and in the parking lots before and after rides.  And please sign up for rides of YOUR PACE.  Remember that no one rides alone, and that includes the ride leader.  When you sign up for a ride, it is assumed that YOU would be willing to ride with the ride leader, at their pace, if it appears the ride leader will be left alone. 

While we all would like to think that COVID is in the rearview mirror, that is not the case.  New Jersey has the second highest COVID cases rate in the country.  The level of cases is below the post-holiday peak experience in January, but is not declining, and may be on the rise again.  While vaccinations continue in the state, we are not anywhere near the point where the rate of vaccinations can impact the case rate. 

Allowing more riders and a shorter gap between rides from the same start point places more responsibility on ALL of us to maintain the proper precautions, even if we have been vaccinated.  And first, and foremost, do NOT come to a ride if you have been exposed to anyone who may have COVID in the past 2 weeks, or if you feel ill in any way.  We all need to look out for ourselves and each other. 

I hope that before too long we really can say that COVID is in our rearview mirror, and enjoy all of the club events and gatherings we miss so much.  In the meantime, ride safely!