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February 2021 President’s Message
Happy Groundhog Day to all MAF members. If you are like me, most of 2020 felt like a constant rerun, and the start of 2021 has been more of the same. We continue to operate under our club COVID protocols and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Thanks to all club members and ride leaders for adhering to these protocols.
While on the subject of ride leaders, thanks to the 38 ride leaders who led enough rides in our abbreviated 2020 ride season to earn a ride leader award. In addition to being generous with their time, 14 ride leaders chose to either donate their ride leader gift card back to the club or to support a club donation to our local chapter of NICA (a program that brings mountain biking to youth). Without our ride leaders, this club would not be able to offer you a robust ride schedule each week. We always need additional ride leaders; it’s not as hard or as timing consuming as you might think. If you are interested in becoming a ride leader, please contact Manny Coelho, our ride coordinator.
This winter has also brought some unpleasant encounters between drivers and MAF members. On two occasions, riders were verbally harassed by a driver, had the driver make aggressive actions towards the cyclists while in the vehicle, and found themselves being threatened by a driver who got out of the vehicle. Please remember, do not engage with drivers either verbally or with hand gestures. Your safest action is to stop immediately. Try to get a clear photo of the vehicle showing the license plates, and even video of the driver’s actions. And call 911. Both events this winter resulted in the police coming to the scene. You can also file a complaint afterwards; just make sure you know the appropriate town or community where the event occurred.
While aggressive drivers are a problem, we must also remember that, as cyclists, we need to do our part in terms of “sharing the road”. That means riding single file except on all but the quietest roads. And, even on those quiet roads, if you hear “car back”, you need to single up immediately. There are going to be times when it just isn’t safe to pass a slower cyclist in front of you, so don’t. Yes, some drivers don’t like cyclists, but they may well be reacting to cyclist behavior, either past or present.
Finally, a plea to all to sign up for rides that are the pace you attend to ride. For several years we have noted a tendency for faster riders to come to rides and “ride off the front”. It has always been annoying, but this year, with the size of our rides limited due to COVID, it has become even more of a problem. Riders from the “posted pace” have been shut out of the ride sign-up, and the ride leader has ridden alone. Please attend rides of your own pace! And if there aren’t any, become a ride leader and lead some.
Your MAF Board is looking forward to the rest of 2021, to resuming a more “normal” year, with social events, and less ride restrictions. Until then, the Board continues to meet virtually, and we will likely use virtual platforms for our ride leaders’ kickoff and club spring kickoff.
Liz Jennison
January 5, 2021 Ride Leader Update
To all MAF RIDE LEADERS, 1/5/2021
Happy New Year to all MAF Ride Leaders and a big thank you on behalf of MAF for stepping up to take on this important responsibility. You are the main reason why this club is so successful. Jay Marowitz put together these statistics for the past year that is not bad for 2020 and looking forward to a better 2021:
Total rider miles = 236,041 (sum of # riders x ride length)
Total rider climb = 10,470,927ft or 1983 miles
FYI – miles to the moon = 238,855
For your safety talks at start of your winter rides please include care crossing railroad tracks, black ice, and how to handle aggressive drivers.
So far we have D+ and C rides covered but I am reaching out to our C+ and B ride leaders to please consider putting in more C+ and B rides.
Main reason for this message is that last night at the Board meeting it was decided over the next few months to let ride leaders experiment with how they lead rides as long as they stay within MAF guidelines spelled out in the Pace and Terrain Information on the MAF website. You can specify a range of pace for your ride, you can decide to lead the ride from the front as long as you have a coleader sweeping, you can designate occasional regrouping, or you can maintain the status quo. As an example, I refer you to Valerie Cole’s ride on Friday. It is important you specify how you plan on leading your ride in the comments section of your ride and email your riders before the ride to make sure they reviewed your comments. The reason why we decided to do this is that we are always looking for ways to improve our club and to address your concerns. Looking forward to feedback from you and other ideas you may have.
Stay safe, ride safe and Happy New year,
Ride Coordinator
Manny
1/1/2021: FOR ALL MAF RIDERS
To all MAF RIDERS, 1/1/2021
Happy New Year to all MAF riders and their families and hope you all are well and staying safe. Looking forward to a great 2021 riding season and so far we are off to a great start with 3 rides today and 9 rides tomorrow.
As we start 2021 just a reminder that rider limit is 10 or less and rides at same starting point need to be spaced by at least 30 minutes. Ride leaders can set their limit from 4 to 10 and space their rides by more than 30 mins. These guidelines were put in place for the safety of our riders and their families. We are all ambassadors for MAF so please set the proper example by wearing your mask not only at rest stops but at the starting point and please social distance.
As riders when you sign up for a ride but change your mind please if possible do not wait until the morning of the ride to cancel. This is not fair to riders on the waiting list or the ride leader. Please be considerate. If you are on the waiting list please do not show up at a ride hoping there will be openings. This may put the ride leader in a difficult position. If there is a lot of riders on the waiting list of a ride I hope a ride leader will step up and put in a backup ride.
It has been brought to my attention that recently there has been several incidents where drivers have harassed riders. When this happens do not engage the driver and I recommend taking a picture of the car’s license and if necessary, call 911. Recommend you forward me any info on the incident.
With respect to safety be careful of black ice on these cold days. On today’s ride we witnessed a few areas of ice. My recommendation is avoid the ice by walking around those icy areas. If you find yourself on black ice don’t panic and just unhook your shoes and coast thru the area without braking or pedaling. Same precautions if you are skiing and you hit ice. With these cold temperatures and wind chill be careful of frostbite on exposed areas of skin. If you see any of your fellow riders with white spots on their face that is frostbite. First aid is to hold your hand on the white spots but do not rub and get the affected person into a warm area.
Many of our rides from Bed 1 go on Station Rd and for months Station Rd has been closed due to work on 2 bridges. On a recent ride we saw that both bridges are nearly complete and you can actually ride over both bridges as long as there is no construction activity. Finally, 2021 is looking up since the Burger King at Bed 1 is under contract. Could BK be coming back???
Stay safe, ride safe and Happy New year,
Ride Coordinator
Manny
December 7, 2020 Ride Leader Update
To all RIDE LEADERS, 12/7/2020
Hope you all are well and staying safe. As we all know we have been experiencing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases in the United States as well as New Jersey. At tonight’s MAF Board meeting it was decided to reduce the rider limit from 15 to 10 and rides at same starting point need to be spaced by at least 30 minutes. Ride leaders can still set their limit from 4 to 10 and space their rides by more than 30 mins. These guidelines are in line with those set by BTCNJ and PFW and are put in place for the safety of our riders and their families. Since there will be less riders on a ride we need you to continue to put in rides as you have been doing. The last thing the Board wants to do is prevent riders from riding.
As ride leaders please set the proper example by wearing your mask not only at rest stops but at the starting point and please social distance. MAF has many start points so I am asking you to try different start points to minimize number of riders at a start point. Try and keep the number of rides from same location to 2.
Although there is an upsurge in Covid-19 cases there is light at the end of the tunnel with the new vaccines. We have had a great and safe cycling Summer and Fall so lets continue this into the Winter.
Stay safe and ride safe,
Ride Coordinato
11/8/2020: FOR ALL MAF RIDERS AND RIDE LEADERS
To all MAF RIDERS AND RIDE LEADERS, 11/8/2020
The Board decided at my recommendation to lock the signup for a ride to 2 hours before a ride. It had been 30 minutes. As a ride leader it sometimes takes me at least an hour to get to the start point and then I have to be there 30 mins early. I can’t wait to print out the signup sheet 30 mins before a ride. If you are on the waiting list you do not want to get a notice 30 mins before a ride that you are on the ride. Also the Board decided to maintain the current Covid restrictions of no more than 15 riders on a ride and 15 mins separation between rides from the same location. The Board will be reviewing these temporary ride guidelines at the next Board meeting. Thank you for your understanding during these difficult times.
Stay safe and ride safe,
Ride Coordinator
Manny
October 23, 2020 Ride Leader Update
This weekend looks like a great weekend to ride. Weather looks great so you can put away your ski clothes from last Sunday. Fall foliage is peaking in our area, especially in the northwest corner of NJ and that is one reason I picked the Belvidere ride. Kittatinny rides should be hitting peak fall foliage.
I noticed many riders on waiting lists for several of our rides tomorrow. Here is an opportunity for ride leaders to step up and back up the primary ride so everyone has a chance to ride. If a C+ or B RL from my ride wants to take over my ride and turn it into a C+ ride, I am willing to lead a C ride at 9:15am.
Finally with Covid making a resurgence please continue to follow the MAFW Covid guidelines. Make sure everyone has a mask and hand sanitizer. Social distance and I encourage everyone to wear their mask at start and end and at rest stops.
Ride safe,
Manny
October 8, 2020 Ride Leader Update
To all ride leaders,
DENVILLE RIDES-The repaving work is complete for the section of Kinnelon Rd. between the Kinnelon Borough border with
Booton Township and Fayson Lakes Rd. The repaving of the section of Kinnelon Rd. between Fayson Lakes Rd. and Rt. 23 is on-going, and
expected to be complete by the end of this week. No work has been performed on Fayson Lakes Rd., and not sure if any road work is scheduled this year. Thanks to Robert Goodheart for this update.
EMAIL TO YOUR RIDERS-In case you don’t know if you go to “My Rides”, select one of your scheduled rides and then select “Update Rides” you can then email your riders with any special last minute messages.
RIDE LEADER AWARDS-Over next few days please update any of your rides from last month so I can determine who is eligible for ride leader awards. You need to have led 10 rides from Oct 1, 2019 to Sept 30, 2020.
ASSAULT ON BEAR MOUNTAIN-I wanted to do the Bear Mountain ride but the road to top of Bear Mountain is closed due to Covid. There are other roads in Harriman closed.
FALL FOLIAGE-Now is the time for those fall foliage rides.
Ride safely,
Manny
Thanks,
Manny
9/30/2020: FOR ALL MAF RIDERS AND RIDE LEADERS
To all MAF RIDERS AND RIDE LEADERS, 9/30/2020
-NEW COVID GUIDELINE- Starting Oct 1 we are increasing the rider limit to 15 but rides at same starting point need to be spaced by 15 minutes. Ride leaders can still set their limit from 4 to 15. These guidelines were put in for the safety of our riders and their families. A few reminders and requests:
-Bring a mask and hand sanitizer.
-Don’t show up for a ride unless you have signed up.
-If ride is full you will be put on a waiting list and will be notified if someone cancels.
-If you sign up for a ride, if possible, please cancel the night before to allow someone a chance to sign up. When changes are made at the last minute this results in inaccurate signup sheets causing extra work for ride leaders. Ride leaders need time to print out their signup sheets.
-COVID-19-Although we are increasing the rider limit to 15 as per the recent survey please continue to follow recommended Covid-19 guidelines covered in the “Temporary Ride Guidelines” on the MAF website. Please social distance and wear masks at the starting points and rest stops. With the upsurge in Covid cases in NJ now is not the time to relax. We have had a great and safe cycling Summer so lets continue this into the Fall and Winter.
-ROUND ROCKLAND-Paul Kadin, a member of both MAF and Rockland Bicycling Club, helped us set up the recent Rockland ride and has invited us to participate in the “Round Rockland”. See info below:
The Rockland Bicycling Club invites you to join the 2020 Ride ‘Round Rockland – in a safely distanced, COVID conscious way — on Sat Oct 3, 2020.
The 40 mile, 65 mile & 100 mile routes will start/ /end at Rockland Lake State Park. The $25 non-member cost includes a one year membership in the RBC. THERE WILL BE NO ONSITE REGISTRATION, so please sign up before Friday 10/2. The 2020 RRR is limited to the first 75 registrants.
Click to join ( https://www.rocklandbicyclingclub.org/JoinRBC) the Rockland Bicycling Club for $25 to Ride ‘Round Rockland. Current members can log in and go directly to the Ride Schedule page and sign up for either the 40 mile, 65 mile and 100 mile routes on Oct 3.
Some route specifics:
100 miles (8137 ft. of climbing): Recommended start time is 7:00a.
65 miles (3553 ft. of climbing): Recommended start time is 7:30a.
40 miles (2000 ft. of climbing): Recommended start time is 8:00a.
For more information, visit
https://www.rocklandbicyclingclub.org/News/Latest . Still have questions? Please email RocklandBike@GMail.com
-RECENT ROAD CLOSURES-
DENVILLE RIDES- For those riding out of Denville note work is being done on Fayson Lakes Road and Kinnelon Rd. Not sure of timetable.
STATION RD- For those riding out of Bed 1 note that Station Rd is still closed but there are easy detours unless you want to walk the flexing plank over the stream.
CLOSURES- For more info on road closures check “Road Closures/Hazards” maintained by Tony Marchand under “Rides”.
-NEW START POINTS-In addition to new start points and rides at Lake George and now at Piermont in Rockland County I want to thank Roy Fischman and our MAFW Ride Library Team of Jan Gorban, Dave Hall and Bob Wszolek(hopefully I did not miss anyone) for 6 new rides out of Village Park, Cranbury. Feel free to experience new territory.
Stay safe and ride safe,
Ride Coordinator
Manny
