Are you one of the many MAFW members who believes there is some sort of MAFW magic?  Do you think that new ride routes are created by “ride wizards” and just appear on the club website?  Or that fried chicken, cold drinks and paper plates are delivered to the club picnics by a “picnic drone”?  Or that the newsletter, social media posts, and membership services just “happen”?  Well, you are WRONG!  All these functions that support the club are carried out by VOLUNTEER members, working “behind the scenes” to keep the club running smoothly.

We have had people ask questions like “why don’t we return to having free potluck holiday parties?”  Well guess what, they weren’t really “free”.  We had to rent a place to have the party (not a big expense), and then 8-10 MAFW volunteers did NOT get to enjoy the party as they were busy working (setting up the venue, setting out and replenishing food, cleaning up) while everyone else enjoyed the “free” party.  When we tried to move to a paid event so that everyone could enjoy it, MAFW members weren’t willing to pay for a party, and the club could not afford any event of the quality that we desired.  And there you have it, the reason we no longer have a holiday party…

Right now, we are at a critical time for the club, as many of these positions will be VACANT at the end of the year as the incumbents move on for various reasons.  Without NEW people willing to step up and fill some of these critical functions, the ability of MAFW to operate smoothly is in jeopardy.

At the end of 2022 the following MAFW positions will be VACANT:  President, Vice President, Membership Coordinator, and Social Coordinator.  Please consider whether YOU or someone you know would be interested and willing to serve in one of these positions.  If so, please contact one of the members of our Nominating Committee (headed by Mark Jay:  adventures@mafw.org and Drew Thraen:  safety@mafw.org).

Thanks to all our Ride Leaders and to everyone else who works hard (and often behind the scenes) to make MAFW run.  As our IT coordinator, Jon says, “no one notices when things work fine, but they complain when things don’t.”  We need people to fill these key positions to keep everything running well in the MAFW World.

Muriel Mota, a longtime member of MAFW, and avid cyclist, died on August 9th at the age of 94.  If you have memories and/or photos of Muriel that you would like to share with the club, please email to our Newsletter Editor, Pat Kipp (newsletter@mafw.org) prior to August 25th for inclusion in the next MAFW Newsletter.  

A link to Muriel’s obituary is here. You can also share memories of Muriel with her family via a link within the obituary. 

Services are as follows:

Crane’s Mill at Hinman Hall
459 Passaic Avenue
West Caldwell , NJ 07006
(973) 276-3021 | Map
Sunday 8/14, 4:00 pm

Memorial donations to The Raptor Trust, 1390 White Bridge Road, Millington, NJ 07946 (https://theraptortrust.org/) or the ASCPA, P. O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090-6929 (www.aspca.org) would be greatly appreciated.

I remember Muriel as a MAFW Ride Leader while well into her 70’s.

Liz Jennison, MAFW President

Maybe you’ve been a member of MAFW for years and years, or perhaps you are a relatively new member.  Whichever designation applies to you, just HOW ENGAGED are you with YOUR bike club?

Do you join in on club rides as your schedule permits?  Attend our picnics or other social events (now that we’ve resumed these after the COVID hiatus)?  Or perhaps you are one of our dedicated ride leaders?  When you encounter cyclists who aren’t club members, do you tell them about our club and encourage them to join?

There are plenty of opportunities for becoming even more active within the club. We are always looking for more RIDE LEADERS, especially at some of the faster paces.  Lead the rides you want to ride!  And, new this year, as a ride leader, you can celebrate your birthday (or other special event), with your fellow club members, and be reimbursed for snacks/treats that you bring to share.  Join the ranks of the ride leaders by contacting our Ride Coordinator, Manny (ridecoordinator@mafw.org).

Want to stay “up to date” on scheduled rides and club events?  You can use your on the club website to indicate what email communications you want to receive from the club.  In the upper right hand corner of the home page, where you see your name, you can select and edit your .  On the page, you can indicate what pace rides you want to hear about (meaning you will receive an automatic email whenever a ride is scheduled at this pace).  And, if you happen to think you get TOO MUCH email from the club, you can tell us you don’t want ANY email from us at all.  Note that is you select the option of “Do not send me ANY email”, that truly means ANY email, including that on scheduled rides.  And while you are looking at the , make sure your emergency contact information, mobile number, and license plate information are correct.

The MAFW election season is upon us, and our biennial (that’s every 2 years) membership meeting and election will be in November (date to be determined).  We have several club leadership positions that will be vacant at the end of this term.  Are you interested in helping plan and carry out club events?  Then become the next Social Coordinator.  How about ensuring there is a robust ride schedule?  Then take over for Manny who is stepping aside after many years as Ride Coordinator.  My term as President is ending, and there are other vacancies as well, including Membership (thanks to Marv for many years of service).  Mark Jay (adventures@mafw.org) and Drew Thraen (safety@mafw.org) are leading the Nominating Committee, and want to hear from YOU if you are interested in a role in club management.  Act NOW!  We need to have our candidate slate finalized by the end of August.

Keep cool for the remaining days of summer.  And remember that sunset is coming earlier each day.  Think about front and rear lights for your bike (a good idea ANY time) and shorten those evening rides as needed!