We are halfway through month of June and the amount of rides the leaders have been offering have something for everyone. The rides have been diverse in milage, speeds and hills. One trend that I keep seeing is that a B/C ride combo. The B riders leave 15 mins earlier and execute a drop ride. Strong C riders can participate and drop off and get picked up by the C group leaving shortly thereafter if they decide to drop. It provides a great opportunity to test your skills without getting dropped and riding alone. Let’s keep up the great work and continue to keep rolling.
Due to the success of our first venture with Trek Stirling I am excited to announce another event. As you all may be aware, Gravel is one of the fastest growing segments in the biking industry and our club is centered right in the middle of some of the best gravel roads in the state. However, before I bore you with the details a couple of items:
Father’s Day: Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Hopefully your first wish was let me go for a ride:) There are several rides on the calendar if you are available. Your family will understand.
Revolutionary Ramble: I wanted to take the time to thank all the volunteers that helped or participated in the Revolutionary Ramble last week. The weather was awesome, and we had a great turn out. Approximately 800 riders participated in the event with about 50% of them riding the 70/100 miler. Doug McMahon the Super Project Manager, George Ebel the creator of the routes, and Bendon Poh (Cycle Craft owner) added tons of insight and social media savvy and many others were critical to the success of the event, and we all thank you for your efforts. Let’s not forget to thank our Sponsors such as Cycle Craft, Trek Stirling, REI and others that provided support throughout the day.
New Members: Over the last several weeks we have picked up several new members, I rode with an individual that was participating on his third ride and continues to get better week to week. If you have a new member on your ride introduce, them to the ride members, encourage them, provide guidance and help them grow to love the wonderful sport of biking. Remember they are the future of the club.
Upcoming Events:
- Roy’s Annual Penn Dutch Ride June 23rd through June 26th. Roy may still have a couple of open spots if you are available for this great trip.
- Lake George Getaway: Friday September 8th through Monday September 11th
- BTCNJ Ramapo Rally on August 20th. Lots of BTCNJ members participated in the Ramble and did a great job advertising for our event in thier monthly letter. If you are available where your Jersey proudly and provide support for one of the other great bike clubs.
Last but not least the SPECIAL Event
SPECIAL EVENT – Trek Stirling MAFW Gravel Ride 6/24/23
If you were ever curious about what gravel riding is all about, have we got an opportunity for you!! In conjunction with our friends at Trek Stirling, we are listing two gravel rides on June 24, 2023, starting from Bedminster One.
- Ride 1342 will be a 16-mile introductory ride for new gravel riders (limit 20 riders)
- Ride 1343 will be a 24-mile gravel ride for intermediate riders (limit 20 riders)
Gravel riding requires a different skill set than road riding, the pace is slower, rides are shorter, but you get an excellent workout, and you get to travel on beautiful unpaved country roads.
What makes this Saturday’s gravel rides special is that Trek Stirling will be bringing up to eleven gravel bikes for members to ride. Checkpoint gravel bikes will be slotted for new gravel riders and Domane bikes will be assigned to intermediate level riders. This will give you the chance to try out a legitimate gravel bike and enjoy roads that you have gone by many times but never had the chance to ride them, until now.
Trek Stirling will provide guidance on the two rides, serve as leads and sweeps on each ride, as well as offer SAG support as necessary. Trek Stirling will also be providing refreshments pre and post ride. Reservations for the loaner gravel bikes must be made prior to the ride. Please call Trek Stirling 908-647-2010 for availability and sizes. They will also ascertain your preference regarding pedals for the ride.
Mountain bikes, Fat Bikes and comfort bike owners are welcome to ride with their bikes as long as your tire size is 32mm or larger.
Because this is a joint Trek Stirling/MAFW, the following signups are required and mandatory for participants to ride on June 24, 2023
- Sign up on the MAFW ride sheet for ride 1342 or 1343. (Rides should be posted shortly). FYI Links to Ride with GPS files are also available on the Event Brite site below as well.
- Sign up on the attached Event Brite reservation on form for Trek Stirling gravel ride. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/garden-state-gravel-series-tickets-529693967917
- Sign the Trek Stirling waiver.
If there are any questions, please call or text Jeff Sperling 908-451-6122 and we will endeavor to answer your inquiries.
Miscellaneous great deal that I found yesterday:
- Winter is coming and if you want to participate in the weekly club Zwift rides or are looking to benefit from some winter training. REI (a Ramble Sponsor) has launched an incredible deal – the Wahoo KICKR CORE for a mere $449. That’s basically half the price of the normal $899 for the KICKR CORE, so I figured I’d look at how it compares to the $499 Zwift Hub. But make no mistake about it – the KICKR CORE at $449 is a better deal/buy than the Zwift Hub at $499, no matter how you slice it. And – just to be clear before we get distracted, the KICKR CORE at $449 is simply an incredible deal all around – arguably one of the best smart trainer deals we’ve seen in years. If you want to jump on that deal, hit the REI link here, and then add it to your cart (you have to add it to your cart to see the deal). Read more about the deal here: Wahoo KICKR CORE Smart Trainer Price In Half: Incredible Deal at $449 | DC Rainmaker
As always – Ride safely and make the club proud.
Regards
Joseph Reo
President
