Starting Apr 23rd I am happy to report that Gloria F. will be posting casual rides on the MAFW schedule. To make sure you are alerted when Gloria posts a CA ride, recommend you edit your profile, so you get Ride Announcements and Ride Cancellation/Changes for CA rides or any other paces you are interested in.
You can find instructions for updating your profile here.
Manny
TREK INSPECTION RIDES – These rides will take place 5/3 and we need ride leaders. Great opportunity to get your bike inspected before start of this cycling season.
GREEN POND ROAD – Several rides from Denville end up on Green Pond Rd. I have received feedback that this road is dangerous to cyclists. I just made one of these tours inactive so if you come across another tour using this road, please let me know. At one time this road was OK to cycle on.
Manny
TOUR DE FRANKLIN-Tour de Franklin will be held Sunday April 27 starting from Franklin High School. This is a well-run event and benefits Franklin Food Bank. To register go to the link shown below. This link is also posted on our MAFW Calendar. Dennis Budnik listed this event on the MAFW schedule, and he plans on starting 8am and doing 62 miles. Please see the schedule for specific instructions on Dennis’ ride. I also posted this ride on the schedule as a 62-mile D+ ride but there are other slower paces and shorter distances.
Tour de Franklin Home Page – Franklin Food Bank
MAFW CALENDAR-Be sure to check our MAFW calendar for special event rides.
BON TON ROULET-I will be attending the Bon Ton Roulet in July. Link to register is on our calendar and it is listed on our schedule. This will be my 3rd time doing Bon Ton so if you have any questions please contact me.
NEW E-BIKE POLICY-Recently the MAFW Board updated the MAFW E-Bike policy. We now allow Class 3 as well as Class 1 E-Bikes that is in line with other cycle clubs and special events. Class 1 and 3 are pedal assist. MAFW and other cycling clubs in the area do not allow Class 2 E-Bikes that have a throttle.
TREK INSPECTION RIDES-Due to weather the inspection rides are now scheduled for 5/3. Be sure to sign up on the MAFW website and then on the MAFW schedule.
NEW RIDE LEADERS-To ensure the continued success of our club we always need new ride leaders, and I can assure that the process to become a new ride leader is painless. If interested, please contact me anytime.
Manny Coelho
On Thursday 4/24 at 7:30pm we will have an important ride leader meeting. Hopefully you can attend. Use the following zoom link:
https://zoom.us/j/98292310258?pwd=dEZhRHdmWFZKMVpwYTQyakFTVGFIdz09
I was just informed that this Saturday Apr 5 is the Hell of Hunterdon. This is not a MAFW ride so you need to register via the link below.
The Hell of Hunterdon is the Mid-Atlantic’s Premier Spring Classic & Mixed Surface Ride; it is the ideal way to open your cycling season. The courses wind their way through scenic farmland and country towns in New Jersey’s Sourland Region.
We are offering 3 Official Course Lengths- the courses have been modified due to the affects of Hurricane Ida (2 bridges on our former route are still out)
The ride is followed by a Post Ride Celebration that includes hot food, cold drinks, and door prizes in a festive indoor/outdoor environment.
APRIL 6 KICKOFF MEETING-We have a good list of rides for our Kickoff Meeting but still need a ride leader for our B ride. Even if you are not leading a ride you should sign up for the event. It will be a good meeting to kick off the cycling season and to socialize with your fellow riders. One important topic we will be covering is “proposed rides”.
APRIL 12 TREK INSPECTION RIDES-We have all rides covered except we still need a C+ ride leader. This is a good opportunity to get your bike checked for the new season.
PROMOTION-During your safety talks don’t forget to promote the Kickoff Meeting and Trek Inspection Rides.
BACKUP RIDES-One thing I believe in, promote and follow is if I see a C ride that interests me I back it up with a D+ ride. Any C rider that can’t keep up can fall back to my D+ ride. This gives the C ride leader more freedom knowing that there is a sweep. Also a rider that signs up for the D+ ride may feel like experimenting with a C pace. For example, I put in a D+ ride this Sat to back up Pete’s C ride from Denville. I believe that putting in these rides with multiple paces will increase participation and socialization.
Starting tomorrow Seth Cohen will start Tuesday night training rides. Seth is hoping to run five Tuesdays in a row to cover group riding, paceline basics, climbing, etc.
The first ride is just to learn group ride basics and get the rust off from the winter. Over the next few rides, we’ll work on riding in a paceline, climbing, and maybe even a little sprinting.
For the first ride, he will ride at “TB-” pace. This is a no-drop ride, and we’ll work to keep everyone together.
APR 6 SPRING KICKOFF – Spring Kickoff will be held at Brookside and you can sign up at the main page for the meeting and at the ride schedule for the ride. Rides will take place after the meeting, and we still need a ride leader for the B ride. To sign up as a ride leader for a proposed ride go to the Ride Schedule, select the ride and under Tour/Signup select Become a Ride Leader. The proposed ride will then become a scheduled ride so all members can see the ride. Right now, only ride leaders can see proposed rides. Note that only kickoff rides will be allowed on Apr 6.
APR 12 TREK INSPECTION RIDES – Trek Inspection Rides will take Apr 12 and you can sign up at the main page for the event and at the ride schedule for the ride. Note that only Trek inspection rides will be allowed on Apr 12. Right now, we need ride leaders for the rides. Food will be supplied, and you don’t have to have your bike inspected.
HOWE ATHLETIC FIELD VS LOT C – Right now for all Colonial Park rides we are allowed to use Lot C where there are bathrooms. As soon as porta johns are placed at Howe Athletic Field we will switch to Howe. My guess is porta johns will be placed soon. If you see them there, please contact me. Park Rangers requested that we not take up parking spaces at any of the Colonial Park parking lots during their active season.
OTHER BATHROOMS – Please let me know when bathrooms at Summer Rd, Pluckemin and Pickell Park are reopened.
E-BIKES – There has been some recent discussions on which E-Bikes are allowed on MAFW rides. MAFW policy is “Class 1, no throttle”. I checked with BTCNJ and PFW and they also do not allow E-bikes with throttles. Since the introduction of E-bikes to our rides no one has reported any negative issues. Some riders have reported to me that switching to an E-bike has allowed them to continue riding. That is a good thing!!!
PACES – With a new cycling season upon us, you may encounter riders that can’t keep up at your stated pace. Please be patient with them, stay with them and give them advice on trying a slower pace. Thanks for your help.
THANKS!!!! – Thanks for being ride leaders and continuing to make MAFW an active and successful club.
Manny
On April 6 MAFW will have its Spring Kickoff at Brookside in Mendham. For more info and to signup go to the main page of the website. In case you don’t know how to get to the main page of the website, just select the wheel at top left of the page.
After the meeting we will have rides for all paces. For new members who are unsure what pace they should select, the C, D+ and D rides all are doing the same tour. If you select the D+ ride and feel you can’t keep up, you can fall back to the D ride. In addition, I will be leading the D ride and will classify it as a “New Member Ride” and will be giving additional instruction. On March 29 weather permitting I will post a D+ ride with emphasis on new members.
Manny
I have posted rides for the Kickoff Meeting on Sunday April 6th. You can sign up to lead these rides by clicking on the Tour/Signup column for any of these rides and then click on the Become the Ride Leader button.
You can also find the instructions here: https://mafw.org/kickoff-meeting-rides/
This method can also be used for leading Proposed rides added by the Ride Planning Committee. They will start adding proposed rides for rides starting in the first week in April.
