June 4th Special Event – Save the date

It is early in the spring riding season, and we are pleased to announce a special event for all our MAFW members! For the first time in our club history on June 4th, 2023, in conjunction with our friends at Trek Stirling and Trek Summit, we will have 5 Freewheeler rides initiating from the Trek Stirling location, 395 Main Street in Stirling.  On the MAFW roster, there are three Far Hills rides, # 214, 511, and 516 that literally go right by the Trek Stirling location. We will finalize the ride selection shortly.  Instead of starting the rides in Far Hills, we will start the ride from Trek Stirling and cover the route, ending it back at Trek Stirling.   We will need to tweak the rides as the upper portion of Somerville Road is still closed.  We will have B, C+, C, D+ and D rides starting at 9 am.  Based on turnout we can consolidate a ride or two, if need be.

We also want to provide an important safety inspection on your bike through the auspices of Trek. Before the rides commence, all those members that sign up for the ride will receive a free, no obligation, multi-point inspection of their bike. Trek mechanics will be on duty and will give each member a detailed scorecard assessment of their bike.  The areas that will be inspected include tires, frame, fork, suspension, drivetrain, rider contact points, wheel systems, and braking systems. As a gesture of goodwill, for all those members that sign up for the ride and their bike inspection, Trek will issue a $20.00 gift card that can be used for anything in the store, sales or service. It is important to reiterate that members are not obligated to have their bikes serviced at Trek. You are free to take your bike to any bike service if you deem it appropriate.

Trek will have refreshments, bananas, coffee, donuts, water, bagels (from O’Bagel) and cream cheese before the ride as well as after the ride.  Bathroom facilities will be available inside the store before the ride starts. Please arrive at the Trek Store at 8 am so there will be adequate time to complete the inspections prior to the start of the rides. There will be adequate parking in the Trek parking area.

I want to take the time to thank Jeff Sperling and others that have been working diligently behind the scenes to get this set up.

Hope to see you all there on June 4th. Safety is most important for all of us.

Regards

Joseph Reo

ROY’S PENN DUTCH RIDE

I just reserved my room for Roy’s Penn Dutch Ride for June 23 to 25 at the Bird-In-Hand Inn.  Great place with much to do even if you don’t ride.  More information on the MAFW website as well as some scheduled rides.  More rides will be listed.  Lancaster Bike Club will be supplying ride leaders. After registering with the hotel and booking on the website please also sign up on the MAFW schedule.

Roy has reserved a block of rooms for us but you need to sign up tomorrow since he loses the remaining rooms after tomorrow.  There are only 4 rooms left in his reserved block and all other rooms in the hotel are booked.  That weekend is very popular so don’t wait.  The hotel has an indoor and a big outdoor pool as well as a hot tub so bring that bathing suit.  You do have the ability to cancel without cost 24 hours before the weekend.

Thanks, Manny

Picnic – Lost blue tote bag with plastic containers

We have no way to filter an email blast by picnic attendees so the missing tote bag request went to everyone in the club.

No need to reply if you weren’t at the picnic or didn’t recover Peggy’s bag.

Thank you!

John

MAFW PICNIC

Picnic is set for this Saturday May 13.  If you sign up for the picnic, be sure to go to the ride schedule and sign up for one of our rides.  Picnic is at Lot C and all rides will start from Lot C.  Cue sheets are set to start from Howe that is ~1/2 mile from Lot C on Colonial Drive.  Ride leaders should be able to make the easy adjustment.

For the C+ riders I had to switch your ride to #890 since the bridge is still out on Dutchtown Zion and the alternative of turning onto Dutchtown to Pin Oak has a section of gravel.  You will be following the B riders,

For casual riders I set up a ride where you can follow the D riders and turn around at Griggstown for a 15 mile ride.  Alternative if you have the proper bike is to switch to the D&R towpath at Griggstown and return to Colonial Park via the tow path.

While at Colonial Park be sure to visit the Van der Goot Rose Garden in the western part of the park off Mettlers.

Manny

MAFW May2023 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@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 May 2023 edition of our NL is online. To read: click https://mafw.org/newsletter/

What’s in this issue:

  1. 14th Annual Revolutionary Ramble – June 10, 2023 – Register and Volunteer Sign-Up
  2. Connect with the MAFW Bike Club on social media by Tracy Brown
  3. MORRIS AREA FREEWHEELERS FOUNDATION CPR AND FIRST AID COURSE UPDATE by Rob Greenberg
  4. RIDING SAFELY FROM PAUL MALINOWSKI
  5. Distracted Driving Awareness from Paul Malinowski
  6. May Monthly Safety Topic from Manny Coelho
  7. Casual Rides from Gloria Friedman
  8. BTCNJ Ramapo Rally Sunday August 20, 2023
  9. Stance Width by Thomas McDaniel and Tony Marchand
  10. Poet’s Corner by John J. Burns
  11. Inspiration
  12. The Legends Behind Jenny Jump, Ghost Lake and Shades of Death Road
  13. The 8th Roy’s Penn Dutch Weekend – June 23 – 25, 2023
  14. Lake George Getaway – September 8 – 11, 2023 by Glen Hukins
  15. Photo Gallery
  16. Calendar – see website for details
  17. MAFW Bicycle Adventures by Roy Fischman
  18. A Car Hits You While You Are On A Club Ride – What You Need to Know About Medical Bills by Mark Jay
  19. Insurance Coverage for Damage to Your Bicycle by Mark Jay
  20. Club Sponsors
  21. 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 Betsy Eastwood at the following email address: membership@mafw.org

Periodically Rob Greenberg will be instructing a no-cost CPR course sponsored by the Morris Area Freewheelers Foundation. For those interested, you can contact Rob by phone at 973.334.0125 or by email at robdg01@aol.com for the next available session and more information.

Good Reading. Thanks,

Patricia Kipp
Editor

Email correction and a couple more items

Lesson 1 – never right an email after dinner on a Sunday evening – LOL

Somehow, I renamed Glora as Mary in the third sentence.  I have no answer as to how that happened – I blame the wine.

Casual Rides I wanted to give a shout out to Gloria Friedman.  Gloria reached out and wanted to reinstitute a casual ride for new riders and others that may not be ready to entertain a higher-level ride at this point in time.    Gloria had 10 riders participate last week.  If you are around on a Wednesday morning – please take some time to join Gloria and her team for a short ride out of Loantaka.  Remember new riders are the life blood of a healthy bike club.

Ramble – We still need some help (especially SAG riders).  If you can help out it will be appreciated.  Not sure how I forgot the Ramble.

2023

WhatAvailable Spots
Safety Team Leader#1: Joseph Reo <jreo@optonline.net>
Lost Rider Assistance/Co-Captain#1: ____________________
Start Control#1: ____________________
#2: ____________________
MAFW Club Ambassador#1: Noreen Drucker <mretth@aol.com>
#2: Tom Beringer <tomberinger195@gmail.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 100 Mile#1: alex sidd <theaxelman@hotmail.com>
#2: Joseph Mundi <mavicrider@gmail.com>
#3: ____________________
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 70 Mile#1: Mike Rowley <Shelb234@optonline.net>
#2: George Decker <touringeng@gmail.com>
#3: Jay Raju <jsimharaju@hotmail.com>
#4: Gaye Swanson <coolmother53@gmail.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 45 Mile#1: John Delaney <jdelaneyjr@aol.com>
#2: Tara Ding <cliftondog1999@yahoo.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 35 Mile#1: Joseph De Cagna <jdecagna1@gmail.com>
#2: Drew Thraen <drew.thraen@gmail.com>
Ride Marshal/Sweep – 25 Mile#1: Arnie Cohen <arnie@teledge-usa.com>
#2: Tony Fanelli <tjfanelli@yahoo.com>
#3: Roy Fischman <royfischman@gmail.com>
Course Marshal – Lees Hill Rd.#1: Betty Ann Kaltneckar <beaufortfalcon@msn.com>
Course Marshal – TBD#1: ____________________
Course Marshal – Glenwild Rd & Loantaka Way#1: Fred Bennett <starben62@yahoo.com>
Drew SAG Driver#1: Michael Swearingen <rmswearingen@optonline.net>
Jockey Hollow SAG Driver#1: CONRAD STEENECK <csteeneck@verizon.net>
Southard SAG Driver#1: LOUIS BLANCO <loublanco@gmail.com>
Harry Dunham SAG Driver#1: ____________________
Transport SAG Driver#1: ____________________
Transport SAG Assistant#1: ____________________
25 Mile SAG Driver#1: ____________________
70 Mile SAG Driver#1: Michael Cloidt <michaelcloidt@gmail.com>

Lynda Deluca

Lynda DeLuca does not have to bring a main dish as her desserts are delightful.  My bad.  LOL

Spring Picnic signup

Please sign up to attend the Spring picnic. The link is here: https://mafw.org/events/spring-picnic

Once on that page click on the “SIGNUP NOW” button. Then select the number of people attending (under Spaces) and then click, on the “SEND YOUR BOOKING” button.

Spring Picnic on May 13th at Colonial Park and a Couple of Additional Items

What a beautiful weekend and I was glad to see that we had multiple rides on the docket for members of all abilities.

Picnic

The picnic will be on Saturday May 13th, at Colonial Park.  For those that have not ridden out of the park it’s a beautiful location and the rides are fantastic as well.  The picnic is free (and you can bring a guest), but please sign up so we know how many people to expect. The tradition continues, the club will provide fried chicken, but everyone is expected to bring a dish based on their last name to supplement the chicken. People whose last name starts with:

A-FPlease bring a Main Dish
G-OPlease bring an Salad
P-ZPlease bring a Appetizer

Manny and his fellow ride leaders put together a full ride schedule for the day of the picnic, with rides at all paces between Casual and B+.  FYI the B+ ride still needs a leader.  There should be a ride for anyone who is interested and remember to sign up for the ride you plan to do in addition to signing up for the picnic.

Girls in Gear

Gabrielle Rossi has invited us to observe one or both of their Girls on Gear clinics on May 14th (10AM) for their 8-week program or June 4th (12PM) for the learn to ride clinic.  This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the social impact of our club and if we can potentially get a couple of the biker chicks in their gear to attend one of the two sessions as well would be awesome.  Both sessions are at Lewis Morris Park in the Sunrise Lake Parking Lot.  If you do not make one or both sessions, they will most likely have a table at the Ramble starting point so please stop by and introduce yourselves.

Casual Rides

I wanted to give a shout out to Gloria Friedman.  Gloria reached out and wanted to reinstitute a casual ride for new riders and others that may not be ready to entertain a higher-level ride at this point in time.    Mary had 10 riders participate last week.  If you are around on a Wednesday morning – please take some time to join Mary and her team for a short ride out of Loantaka.  Remember new riders are the life blood of a healthy bike club.

Wed10:00amCA/C/28/704Loantaka-South St., Morris Twp.Gloria Friedman778 – Great Swamp Classic(18)CUE MAP GPX TCX
  • Average Climb (ft/mile) 25
  • Leader Comments
    • This is a regular weekly ride.  This week we will be riding 15 miles.  Last week we had 10 riders which is very exciting.  Hope some new people come too.  Please call me if you have any signing problems.  You can come to 1 ride without joining the club.
  • Tour DescriptionA minimum hills ride in the Great Swamp area with two loops off of White Bridge Road. *No food stop since Meyersville Cafe closed*.

Ride Leader and Volunteer Pizza Party – May 18th

Calling all Ride Leaders and Volunteers – I noticed that sign up page on our website looked a little light.  Please take the time to sign up and we look forward to celebrating your efforts.

Last but not least to all the mothers out there.  Please have a great Mother’s Day and may it be everything you hoped for and more.

See you soon on a Ride.

Joseph Reo

MAFW President

ROY’S PENN DUTCH RIDE JUNE 23 TO 25

Just a reminder that there is still time to sign up for Roy’s Penn Dutch Ride.  We will be riding in the Lancaster area with support from the Lancaster Bike Club.  Can’t beat the accommodations at the Bird in Hand Inn with indoor and outdoor pools and a hot tub for your sore muscles.  Roy has secured rooms in the hotel until May 23. For more details check out the MAFW calendar of events.

Manny

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