Update on Class 3 Ebike Laws

Greetings, friends.

Our wonderful New Jersey elected officials recently passed a law requiring that class 3 ebikes be registered and that owners must carry liability insurance for them.  After spending a lot of time doing a lot of research, it appears that these bikes cannot be registered because the required documentation cannot be obtained by owners.  If you want details, shoot me an email or call me.

Some members contacted their insurance carriers and were told that neither auto insurance, homeowner’s insurance, or umbrella policies provide liability coverage for their ebikes.  If you own a class 3 ebike, it is recommended that you contact your insurance carrier to determine if any existing policy provides liability coverage for your ebike,  At this point, it appears that there are several insurers who will write these policies and one option is to conduct a google search for that.

Best regards,

Michael

 

MAFW October 2025 Newsletter Available

Hi Freewheelers,

Watch the website to see information on upcoming events, communication from our club president and ride coordinator, and ride guidelines.

Our Social Coordinator, John Storey, is always in need of your help for a number of our activities. Please email if you are interested: social_coordinator@mafw.org

MAFW has 2 main guidelines or mottos that riders and ride leaders should follow:

  1. Nobody rides alone including the ride leader
  2. Ride leader sweeps for all rides except B and faster

Just a reminder that the October 2025 edition of our NL is online. To read: click https://mafw.org/newsletter/

What’s in this issue:

  1. Fall Picnic at White Oak Park on Sunday, September 14th
  2. Connect with the MAF Bike Club on Social Media! – Tracy Brown
  3. 2025 Calendar
  4. RIDE LEADER AWARDS – Manny Coelho
  5. Bottle Hill Day – Jeff Sperling
  6. Happy Halloween
  7. THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MILESTONE PARTY – Tuesday October 7
  8. Bike Fit Changes as You Age – Tony Marchand, M.D.
  9. Photo Gallery
  10. Inspiration
  11. Comics
  12. Bicycle Adventures 2025
  13. Cycling Guides – Mark Jay
  14. People Cycling
  15. Safety – Paul Malinowski
  16. Club Sponsors
  17. Club Officers

Enjoying your E-bike, trike, gravel bike? Let’s hear about your experience.

Folks, many of you have taken some interesting trips this year or in the past. So why not share your stories & photos with fellow club members?

We welcome any articles that you feel would be of interest. WHEN YOU HAVE A SPARE MOMENT, PLEASE SEND ME A STORY AND PICTURES OF YOUR BICYCLING ADVENTURES. Submit any information by the 24th of the preceding month at the following email address: newsletter@mafw.org

If you have any issues with your login credentials, please contact Membership Coordinator Lisa Gentile at the following email address: membership@mafw.org

Good Reading.

Thanks,

Patricia Kipp, Editor

Last Call to Support Morris Area Freewheeler Foundation

Greetings, friends.

Last call to sign up for good food, fun, and friendship at the Gourmet Cafe on Monday, September 29.  Sign up by clicking the link on the club’s calendar page.

Enjoy the weekend.

Best,

Michael

Bottle Hill Day

All:

We wanted to tell you about a special event that we are going to participating in and would welcome your help if you can make it. Saturday, October 4th, is the 50th annual Bottle Hill Day in Madison. This is not your typical town street fair. This festival features live bands, sidewalk sales, an antique car show, local food offerings, a beer garden and over 200 vendors. In the past, this event has drawn over 10,000 visitors to partake in all they have to offer. The board recognizes that this would be a great opportunity for us to get our name out there and advertise the Freewheelers to a large cross section of local residents. 

We will have a booth set up with posters and maps describing our routes, where we ride, where we are from, as well as handouts with more club detail. We are encouraging club participants to wear their club jerseys to advertise our brand. The event is from 10:00 am to 5;00 pm and we could use a few more volunteers for a 2 hour shift to cover the booth and tout all our club has to offer. Of course, before and after your shift, you can partake in the event itself.  If  you are interested, please email me at jlspurch@yahoo.com or call me at 908-451-6122 to provide more detail. Thanks for your help. It should be a fun day.

Jeff 

RIDE COORDINATOR UPDATES

Updates:

BREW & PIZZA RIDE-Next Saturday Sept 27 is the Brew & Pizza ride from Denville.  This is a joint ride with BTCNJ and check out the rides for more information.  Be sure to sign up early so we know how many pizzas to order.  Also please park across from the ball fields in the Park and Ride.  Rides will start from there.

COLONIAL PARK-It is this time of year when I am asked where the Colonial Park rides start from.  To keep it simple rides will continue to start from the Howe Athletic Parking Lot until the porta johns disappear.  When they disappear, the rides will start from Lot C.

CHIP SEAL-There is a lot of chip seal going on.  Just take extra caution.

Benefit Lucheon on September 29

Greeetings, friends.

There will be a delicious benefit BYOB luncheon for the Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation at The Gourmet Cafe in Parsippany on Monday, September 29, 2025 from 12:30 until 2:30.  This is the second year that Chef Matt and The Gourmet Cafe will be donating a percentage of proceeds from lunch and sales of gift cards to the Morris Area Freewheeler Foundation, As you may know, the Freewheeler Foundation is the organization that provides needed assistance and support for our Revolutionary Ramble.  The price for lunch is quite reasonable and you can view the menu here:

Lunch Menu

We hope to exceed last year’s attendance of 14 people and can assure you a time of great food, fun, and friendship, 

Have fun; stay safe.

Michael

 

 

CHIP SEALING WARNING

Apparently, there is a lot of chip sealing going on.   I was just alerted that there is a lot of chip sealing in the Whitehouse area, especially on Meadow, New Bromley and Cedar roads.  We have several rides going on those roads today so be very careful and take it easy on those roads.  You could encounter heavy gravel in some areas.  I was told that one cyclist went down and sustained some road rash. Hopefully the gravel will settle in the next week. Manny

RIDE LEADER AWARDS CORRECTION

In my last email I meant  “You need at least one ride to qualify for the end of year pizza party and to maintain your ride leader status.”  I did not mean one year.

Manny

RIDE LEADER AWARDS

As we approach Sept 30, end of ride year, you can check how many rides you have led during this past year and just a reminder that cancelled rides no longer count.  Under the heading RIDE LEADER select Rides I Led and put in the time frame 10/1/2024 to present.  You need 12 rides led to qualify for $50 gift certificate or ride leader jersey.  You need 8 rides to qualify for $25 gift certificate.  You need at least one year to qualify for the end of year pizza party and to maintain your ride leader status.  

As a ride leader I recommend you review the Ride Leader Handbook.  A new version has been placed.

Manny

END OF SUMMER BIKE, BREW & PIZZA RIDE SEPT 27

MAFW + BTCNJ will be hosting the Bike, Brew & Pizza ride, from Denville, on Saturday SEP 27.
There are (5) rides posted on the MAFW website – – please sign up ASAP so that we have a headcount for the pizza (provided by the clubs).
We need Ride Leaders for the B and C+ pace routes.  Each route will have two Ride Leaders: one from MAFW and one from BTCNJ.
Let me know if you have any questions. Manny

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