Mountain Biking at Mahlon!

First things first - Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend - October 31st to be exact! So, after you've gone to all of your Halloween parties, or are coming down from your Halloween candy sugar high, make sure you set your clock back one hour before you go to bed! If you don't, you'll miss ...

.... Mountain biking at Mahlon Dickerson Reservation on Sunday, November 1 at 8:30 a.m. We'll meet at the Saffin Pond parking area, and we'll ride for 3 hours or so, moderate pace. Moderate or heavy rain will cancel.

Don't forget, we're also doing a beginners cyclocross ride at Hidden Valley on Sat., October 31 at noon. More details here - http://teamtowncycle.blogspot.com/2009/10/halloween-cyclocross-ride.html

See you out there!

Wednesday Night Ride

::::::::::::: UPDATE :::::::::::::

Due to weather, we are canceling tonight's ride. We'll try again next week!

Another Wednesday night ride this week! This time we'll try a different locale. Meet us (in your cars!) at the Lukoil gas station at the corner of Oak Ridge/Berkshire Valley Road and Ridge Road in Jefferson at 6:15 p.m. - carpool if you can! We'll caravan to the trailhead (secret destination - shhh!) and ride for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Please check out your lights before Wednesday night - make sure they charge fully and will last the whole ride! Rain cancels the ride. As always, any questions, let us know - info@teamtowncycle.com .

Halloween Cyclocross Ride

Up for some scary fun on Halloween? Come check out our cyclocross ride on Sat., October 31 from noon to 2 p.m. at Hidden Valley Club in Vernon, NJ. Not exactly sure what cyclocross is? Come find out! You don't need a special bike - your mountain bike is fine! We'll have some veteran cyclocross racers in our group to show us the finer points of carrying our bike over obstacles or the fastest way to mount and dismount. We'll practice riding over typical cyclocross terrain - short climbs, varied terrain (dirt, grass, gravel, pavement - even sand!), and maybe even try our hand at stairs!

For those of you who are racing at our race on Nov. 8th, please note - this is NOT a race pre-ride! Some of the course will be marked or obviously laid out, but certainly not all of it. We're really just there to check out the varied terrain, improve our bike handling, and find out a little more about cyclocross. Meet us by the tennis courts off of Curtis Drive by noon - with or without costume - and see what it's all about!

As always, any questions, please let us know - info@teamtowncycle.com !

Night Ride!

OK, the infernal rain has stopped, so let's try another night ride - Wednesday, October 21. Same deal as last week - meet at Town Cycle, be ready to roll by 6:30. We wait for no one! Please, please - if you haven't gone night riding in a while, charge and test your lights before then! Don't be the person we either mock or swear at - you know, the one whose lights die 1/2 hour into the ride! A red flasher is important too, as we have a short ride on the road.

Any questions, let us know. Weather looks ok, but we'll update to our Twitter page if canceling.

Team Town Cycle Year End Dinner

Come join us on November 13, 2009 for a year end celebration of Team Town Cycle! We will be having food, drinks, awards and recognition, plus a slide show. We will also have a one time club member discounted purchase of Trek, Gary Fisher and Bontrager gear, with product reps available. More details to follow!

The evening is free to all current Team Town Cycle members - yes, FREE! For anyone who joins the team that evening - free! All are welcome - for non-members, the cost is $25 per person or $50 per family, payable at the door. We'll be at the High Crest Lake Lodge, High Crest Drive, West Milford from 7:00 to 10:30 p.m. If you didn't get an email invitation via Evite, let us know - we'll put you on the list!

We are also having another food drive - this time with incentives! Donate food, and we'll give you a raffle ticket for a prize drawing. Maybe you'll get rewarded for doing good. Our local food pantries are really struggling - they are in desperate need of canned vegetables, meat, beans, pasta, rice, personal care items (shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste), and grocery store gift cards. Come on, we're buying you dinner - let's help out someone who is isn't as lucky.

Please RSVP by 11/9/09 via Evite. We hope you all can make it - and as usual, if you have any questions, please contact us - info@teamtowncycle.com.

Night Ride!

OK, there are lots of things to like about October - pretty leaves, cooling temperatures, Halloween candy, Octoberfest beers .... but not the shortening daylight hours. So we're getting creative - it's time for night riding! Meet us at Town Cycle with your mountain bike, and be ready to ride at 6:30. We wait for no one, so please be on time! We'll ride at a moderate pace for about 2 hours. Rain will cancel our ride. We'll update here and on our Twitter page if canceled.

IMPORTANT - Make sure you've charged and tested out your lights - have something as a backup if you're unsure. Also make sure you have a rear flasher, as we will have one short stretch of road to ride to get to our destination. Please, please, PLEASE - don't be that person! Nothing ruins a night ride faster than riding in the woods in the dark with no lights. Forget the boogie man or the bears - those rocks and trees are going to reach out and grab you faster than you can say "Boo!" Mike does have lights available for sale at the shop, but don't expect to go in there on Wednesday at 6 to buy them, and then use them that night - they will need to be charged!

Any questions - email us here! info@teamtowncycle.com Hope to see you Wednesday!

Weekend agenda

Our big weekend agenda? Well, we don't have one! With the last two weekends being chock full of racing, riding, trail work and team activities, we're taking the weekend off. We suggest you check out the Autumn Lights Festival taking place in West Milford on Sat. More info here - http://www.westmilford175.com/alf.php . It's a great old fashioned street fair, and always a lot of fun for all!

We'll be back in a few days with a few announcements - including one that will require your night riding lights! So plug those lights in to charge, and have a great weekend!

Rain, rain, go away!

UPDATE: We're on! The ground might be a little soggy, but the wet stuff has stopped falling from the sky, so we're going to give it a try. Remember - details here - http://tinyurl.com/yemffwt

OK, which one of you crossed the rain gods? Didn't we pay enough dues last weekend? Well, we're going to try and maintain a positive attitude. We're going to wait until tomorrow to see how the weather shakes out in the morning before we cancel our Beginners Ride/IMBA Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. Check back tomorrow morning - we'll try to update by 11 a.m. here, or on our Twitter page - http://twitter.com/teamtowncycle .

In the meanwhile, we welcome any extra karma points, voodoo dolls, lucky rabbits' foot or anything else you can spare in the good will department!