Club Updates

Greetings, friends.

Over the past few months, the Board of Directors has been reviewing the club’s financial trends.  It was noted that while the club’s current financial picture is good, the club has been operating on a deficit for the last few years.  As a result, the Board of Directors voted to increase dues to $40 per year for a 1 year individual membership, $75 for a 2 year membership, and  $110 for a 3 year membership.  The Dual Adult membership has been discontinued.  This change will take effect 30 days from today in keeping with the club bylaws. In addition, the Board voted to change the Ride Leader award such that Ride Leaders who lead a minimum of 15 rides will receive a $50 gift card,  There will no longer be an option of getting a Ride Leader jersey.

None of us are excited about these changes.  However, dues have not increased for many years while the cost of everything has increased.  The cost of ride leader jerseys now exceeds $100. In addition, the club’s portion of the proceeds from the Revolutionary Ramble has been reduced.  And it is worth mentioning that the Ramble has been struggling to attract an adequate number of volunteers so the future of the Ramble is uncertain.  The increase in dues and change in ride leader awards is intended to help ensure the club remains fiscally strong and that the club can continue to provide the types of social events that membership values.  Please be assured that the Board of Directors will continue to look for ways to ensure a fiscally strong status while offering good value for our members.

I am always available to discuss any concerns and suggestions.

Have fun; stay safe.

Best regards,

Michael

Winter Party Help Needed

Greetings, friends.

We’ll need 5 people to help set up for the winter party and people to help clean up.  Set-up begins at 4:30 at the Woodland Fire House.  Please let me know if you will help.

We’ll also be recruiting volunteers for the 2026 Revolutionary Ramble/250th birthday of the USA.

Stay safe; have fun.

Best regards,

Michael

Urging Immediate Action

Greetings, friends.

The legislature has passed S4834/A6235 which will regulate e-bikes in New Jersey.  Among other things, this legislation will require riders of ANY e-bike to have registration, a driver’s license, and insurance including low speed e-bikes that go under 20mph.  This bill becomes law if signed by Governor Murphy

Please immediately call Governor Murphy at 609 292 6000 or text 732 605 5455 and tell him to not sign this bill.

Best regards,

Michael

Pending E-Bike Legislation

Greetings, friends.

I received the below email from the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition.

Please take a few minutes to call your assemblymen and tell them to vote no on this piece of legislation.

Best regards,

Michael

Donate

URGENT:

Contact Your

Assembly Representatives NOW!

ACT NOW: STOP S4834/A6235

to SAVE Low-Speed E-Bikes before it’s too late!

NJBWC along with many safe streets advocates has spoken out in opposition to the e-bike bill legislation (S4834/A6235) requiring insurance, registration and a license to ride ANY e-bike in NJ, including low speed e-bikes that go under 20mph.

After hearing from many NJBWC and coalition partners, alongside more than 3600 co-signers who opposed this bill, a new version was put forward at the end of December that continues to raise major concerns.

This bill was rushed through during the lame duck session, passed through Senate committees, and will be heard tomorrow, January 8th, in the last Assembly committee needed before it can be voted through on full votes from both houses.

We need you to CALL or WRITE your

Assembly Representatives

and Committee Members IMMEDIATELY

to STOP this bill from advancing to a full vote.

Call or Write Assembly Committee Members
Contact Your Legislators – Sign the Action Letter

The new version of the bill continues to undermine New Jersey’s transportation goals:

  • Eliminates the current classifications used in 46 states and instead creates new and confusing categories using the terms low speed e-bike, motorized bicycle, and electric bicycle.
  • Still requires registration and license for low speed e-bikes (class 1), placing an undue burden on vulnerable populations including seniors, families using cargo bikes, people with disabilities, delivery workers and commuters, and others who benefit from mobility aids or may not have access to other modes of transportation.
  • Installs new age requirements for young riders, which are needed for high speed motorized bicycles or e-motos, but also includes requirements for license and registration on low-speed e-bikes that do not have a throttle and can only go up to 20 mph.
  • Doesn’t provide a clear plan to implement the law. Existing legislation passed in 2019 for class 3 e-bikes that requires registration, insurance and a license has not been implemented or enforced and this bill calls for a massive increase in those requirements.

Requiring registration and a license will not meaningfully address roadway fatalities. This critical issue needs a fuller discussion with impacted constituents to develop a bill that addresses the real safety issues: unregulated high speed e-motos and motor vehicles. As we saw in 2025, the number-one source of over 500 fatalities and 3,000 serious injuries on New Jersey’s roadways were motor vehicles.

New Jersey residents deserve a bill that meets their needs and does not eliminate the important economic, equitable mobility and environmental benefits of low speed e-bikes.

We urge you to CALL or WRITE your legislators and tell them to hit the brakes on this bill.

Rather than creating barriers to this equitable, low cost mobility option, the state should instead focus its resources on: 

  • Enforcing the law which already requires licensing, registration and insurance for faster, higher-powered electric devices; 
  • Requiring vendors to register and clearly label and inform customers on safety and the laws governing low speed vs high speed devices
  • Educating vendors, law enforcement, and parents on the difference between these devices; 
  •  Implementing proven strategies for reducing fatal and serious injury crashes on our streets, such as infrastructure improvements for people walking, biking and taking public transit. 

Reach out to your legislators to STOP this bill before it’s too late!

Call or Write Assembly Committee Members
Contact Your Legislators – Sign the Action Letter

Winter Party Save the Date

Greetings, friends.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a good start to the new year.

The club’s winter party is scheduled for Saturday, January 31, 2026 at the Woodland Fire House, Dwyer Lane, Morristown from 6-9 PM.  Be sure to mark your calendars now.  Further details to follow.

Stay safe, have fun.

Best regards,

Michael

NJBWC Email

Greetings, Friends.

Below is yet another email from the NJ Bike and Walk Coalition.  It makes sending letters to Governor Murphy and your state senator and assemblymen quick and easy.

 

Reach Out to Your Legislators!

Write or Call Your Legislator!

TAKE ACTION to SAVE Low-Speed E-Bikes & STOP S4834/A6235

Right now there is a proposed bill requiring insurance, registration and a license to ride ANY e-bike in NJ, including low speed e-bikes that go under 20mph. This bill lumps all low speed e-bikes with higher speed devices under the term “motorized bicycles” and eliminates the current classifications for different types of e-bikes.

 

The bill (S4834/A6235) has been rapidly moving through the legislature, being rushed through committees, and could have a final vote any day, despite unanimous opposition from transportation advocacy organizations.

NJBWC and coalition partners have testified at multiple hearings in opposition to the current legislation and continue to track its progress through the statehouse.

Write or Call Your Legislator!

This bill works against many of New Jersey’s own transportation goals:

 

  • Since 2019, the law has required high-speed (>20mph) devices to be licensed, registered and insured, but this has gone totally unenforced. 
  • Requiring insurance for lighter-weight, lower-speed devices (under 20mph) would create a huge, unnecessary barrier to compliance and use, and reduce the incentive to choose the safer mobility option. 
  • This bill likely contradicts federal law 15 USC 2085 which defines electric bicycles as consumer products, not motor vehicles.
  • It preempts more restrictive laws at the state level which would seek to “upgrade” low-speed ebikes into “motor vehicles” (motorized bicycles requiring a license to operate).
  • Someone riding a low-speed e-bike into NJ from NYC or Philadelphia would not have the same requirements for insurance, registration and a license.

 

  • Requiring registration and insurance will not meaningfully address roadway fatalities. By focusing on low-speed e-bikes, this bill distracts from the number-one source of over 500 fatalities and 3,000 serious-injury crashes annually in our state: motor vehicles.
  • Increased costs and complicated procedures to operate low-speed devices will disproportionately impact overburdened communities. 
  • This will limit mobility access for vulnerable populations, such as seniors, families transporting children without a car, undocumented residents (for whom registration may be virtually impossible), and people with disabilities that prevent them from driving.
  • This will slow New Jersey’s progress towards net zero. Nearly half of New Jersey’s total carbon emissions come from transportation. We should be incentivizing all types of electric vehicles, not making them harder to get.
  • This bill would reduce accessibility on shared-use trails and discourage tourism.

We urge you to write or call your legislators and tell them to hit the brakes on this bill.

Rather than creating barriers to this equitable, low cost mobility option, the state should instead focus its resources on: 

  • Enforcing the law which already requires licensing, registration and insurance for faster, higher-powered electric devices; 
  • Requiring vendors to register and clearly label and inform customers on safety and the laws governing low speed vs high speed devices
  • Educating vendors, law enforcement, and parents on the difference between these devices; 
  •  Implementing proven strategies for reducing fatal and serious injury crashes on our streets, such as infrastructure improvements for people walking, biking and taking public transit. 

We need your help to reach out and inform the legislature about the unintended consequences of this bill before it’s too late!!

Write or Call Your Legislator!

Join us to Build Consensus on

Smart E-Bike Policy Solutions

SAFE Network Webinar Series:

Consensus on Model Policy for E-Bikes

Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm

SAFE Network Webinar – Register Here

Join us at our upcoming webinar as we move this conversation forward with opportunities for discussion and shared learning about this pressing topic.

Hear from our panel of experts and share your thoughts to help us form consensus on what model policy for “E-bikes” should look like on

Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm.

Panelists

Moderator

Paul Mickiewicz, Program Manager, New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition  

For more information about the SAFE Network and the Bicycle Education programs contact program manager, Paul Mickiewicz at paul.mick@njbwc.org.

SAFE Network Webinar – Register Here

Pending E-Bike Legislation-Be Aware and Get Involved!

Greetings, friends.

Below is the email I received this morning from the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition.  Please read it carefully and reach out to your State Senator and to Senator Scutari, if he’s not your senator, and encourage them to vote “no” on this poorly written legislation.

Stay safe, stay warm, have fun.

Best regards,

Michael

Donate

Join the E-Bike Policy Conversation

at our next SAFE Network Webinar!

SAFE Network Webinar Series:

Consensus on Model Policy for E-Bikes

One Week Away! – Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm

SAFE Network Webinar – Register Here

E-Bike Legislation Update Alert!

Over the last several months, there has been a lot of discussion and media coverage surrounding e-bike crashes. In response, local areas have passed ordinances to regulate e-bikes and state level legislation has also been proposed. Lost in this discussion is the very important difference between low speed e-bikes and higher speed motorized bicycles, or e-motos which can reach much faster speeds, comparable to motorcycles. The current proposed statewide bill eliminates the current definitions that distinguish between low speed e-bikes and high speed e-motos and combines them into a single category that designates them all as “motorized bicycles” and requires licensing, insurance and registration for all types.

This approach limits critical transportation options for e-bike users creating unnecessary barriers for seniors, people with disabilities, our immigrant communities, and many who do not have access to other modes of transportation. This bill creates many unintentional obstacles while it does not resolve the real safety concerns with high speed and illegal out of class motorized bicycles.

We need enforcement of existing laws and illegally modified devices, registration and information provided by vendors, and education for parents and young riders, especially on use of high speed e-motos. To determine where the real dangers lie we also need to collect and study data on the use and crashes involving low speed e-bikes and higher speed motorized bicycles.

We have recently testified at the Senate Transportation Committee hearing and at the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in opposition to the current legislation, S4834. There is also now a similar version going through the Assembly, A6235.

At NJBWC, we recognize the importance of this issue and want to work together with families, communities, and lawmakers to develop smart solutions to keeping all road users safe including those on e-mobility devices. Micromobility is rapidly growing as a critical and equitable transportation alternative to driving a car. We need solutions that identify and address legitimate safety concerns while expanding safe places for e-mobility to grow. While we work on updating micromobility policy we must continue to focus on the major causes of traffic violence, where over 99% of traffic fatalities and serious injuries result from car crashes on our roads.

Call and let your legislator know you oppose S4834/A6235 today!

Look for our Action Network Letter, later this week, to add your voice and oppose this bill.

Join us at our upcoming webinar as we move this conversation forward with opportunities for discussion and shared learning about this pressing topic.

Hear from our panel of experts and share your thoughts to help us form consensus on what model policy for “E-bikes” should look like on

Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm.

Panelists

Moderator

Paul Mickiewicz, Program Manager, New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition 

 

SAFE Network Webinar – Register Here

PLUS: Info Session Tomorrow

for Parents of Teens

Today! – Wednesday, December 10, 1pm & 8pm

In addition to the upcoming policy webinar, NJBWC has also been hosting info sessions for parents of teens who may have already or are considering purchasing an e-bike.

Please join us for our next free, virtual information sessions TODAY Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 1:00-1:45pm and 8:00-8:45pm, to learn more about e-bikes, training options for your teens, parents’ liability and how to monitor both the bike and the rider moving forward.

Facilitated by Paul Mickiewicz, NJBWC Program Manager and Certified Cycling Instructor.

 

Revolutionary Ramble Update and Thanksgiving Wishes

Greetings, friends.

Planning for Revolutionary Ramlbe 2026 has begun.  This year, the Princeton Freewheelers Bike Club is partnering with us to make this event a great success as 2026 marks the 250th birthday of the USA,  The Morris Area Freewheeler Foundation is recruiting 1 Ride Director from the Morris Area Freewheelers and 1 Ride Director from the Princeton Freewheelers.  Due to the partnership arrangement, the responsibilites of the Ride Director will be different than in the past.  We are also looking for members to volunteer as Team Leaders as well as other positions.  If you are interested in learning more about these positions, contact me or Jay Marowitz.

Wishing all of you a safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving.

Warm regards,

Michael 

Ride Leader and Volunteer Party

Greetings, friends.

Last call to sign up for the appy and pizza party on Thursday night 6-8:30 PM.  Sign up on the website.

See y0u then.

Warm regards,

Michael

Addendum to Bylaws Email Blast

Greetings, friends,

In hindsight, I failed to mention that part of the motivation for the revision to the bylaws was to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.  I apologize for that oversight.

Best regards,

Michael