NYC - 2011 Ford Explorer Reveal Event

As you all know, on Monday, July 26, 2010, our club had the chance to be part of a publicity event in NYC - the world wide reveal of the new 2011 Ford Explorer. It was an early start to the day (don't you hate it when the alarm goes off at 4 a.m.?), but it was a fun chance to see how one of these events work from a "behind the scenes" point of view. As you would expect, there were a lot of "hurry up and wait" ...

as well as a constantly "changing vision" of the event -




but it was fun to watch unfold and be a part of!

It's taken a few days to gather and edit our photos and video, but here they are - here are a ton of photos from the day, courtesy of Mary Beth Van Wart, and here is some video, courtesy of Mike Moskowitz. Special thanks to Heather Kahl for taking the email offer (which was mailed out to a few local clubs) and running with it - gathering photos and bios, selling our club as the best group for the event, and even finding parking for all our oversize vehicles in NYC!

New Paltz 2010 - with pictures!

Last weekend was our annual New Paltz ride, and boy, was it hot!! Despite it being about the hottest day of the year, we had a good, brave group of people join us. The majority of the group did the round trip, which is good ride on any day, never mind on a 100 degree day, so kudos and thanks to all who came out and joined us - and survived!

Thanks also to our photographers Vicki VanZetta, Rich Vandenbos and BJ Kisch - here are a few photos of our day - enjoy!

NYC video!

Some more video from our NYC adventure on Monday - pictures later today! Thanks to Mike Moskowitz and his videographer, Dillon Van Wart!

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/e6888c966d1fbb80117b054ffb5cfd11/video/16711110

NYC pictures on the way ...

We still processing and editing our photos and video from yesterday, but in the meantime, this came from Ford's Facebook page and Flicker account - we're in a few of the pictures and the video!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/FordExplorer

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fordmotorcompany/sets/72157624461673469/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEakH6tzWFE

Reminder - I Dig Tuesdays and Ladies Road Ride

We're all still pumped from our ride at the press event unveiling the new 2011 Ford Explorer in Manhattan's Herald Square today - pictures soon, we promise!! - but in the meantime, just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is another I Dig Tuesday's trail work date at Jungle Habitat. The weather is supposed to be fabulous, so come on out! Campmor H2H racers - don't wait until October to do your Paydirt hours - join us now! Meet us at the gate at Jungle Habitat at 5:45 p.m., and bring water and work gloves - we'll bring the tools!

Wednesday is also our weekly Ladies Night Ride on Clinton Road - meeting 6 p.m. at the old Village Square Inn on Rt. 23 in Newfoundland. Ladies, it's a great way to get in on the group ride without all of the pressure - so come on out and join us! Rain will cancel, so keep an eye on the sky!

We'll be back soon with pictures and stories from NYC soon - stay tuned!

More Ford event info!

This is the event we will be part of on Monday, July 26 - come on out and join us!

Come watch Team Town Cycle ride in Herald Square on July 26!

As many of you know, we were offered a chance to ride at a promotional event for the launch of the new Ford Explorer - and we're doing it! On Monday, July 26, we'll be riding our mountain bikes in Herald Square! There will be a forest scene constructed here with a large ramp - in the middle of NYC! Also, Mike Rowe (famous for his role on the Discovery Channel shows "Dirty Jobs" and narrator of "The Deadliest Catch") will be there as well, so celebrity sightings for all! If you can get away, come watch us do our thing! The event starts approximately 10:00 a.m, and lasts for approximately 1 hour. We recommend arriving by 9:30 a.m. at Broadway between 34^th and 35^th street, across from Herald Square.

If you've got one, wear your Team Town Cycle jersey, and bring your camera or vidcam - we'd love to see the photos! Any questions, let us know - info@teamtowncycle.com .

Beginners ride = Success!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to our beginners ride on Sunday, July 18. We had at least 25 riders (not including ride leaders!) - kids to adults. We broke into three groups, and off we went! It was a hot day, but you all were real troopers! From tackling log piles until you got it right to climbing "the big hill" without stopping, everyone did fantastic!

We are definitely going to do one more of these before the end of the year, as well as the IMBA Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day in October. Stay tuned for a date and time, and keep the helmet handy - we'll do it again soon!

Special thanks to Mike Moskowitz for prompting us and organizing the ride. A big hand also to all of the other Team Town Cycle members who came out to help lead or sweep - and watch out, those kids are going to be passing you before you know it!

Congratulations are in order!

A big congratulations to one of our own! Frank Endreson, our resident downhill racer, traveled to Granby, CO last week to the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals and took 5th place in the Cat. 2 40-49 downhill class - no small feat! Reading the results, there were but a handful of riders from east of the Rockies, and Frank showed them how it was done - as he said - "Jersey style!"

Here's a picture of Frank on the podium, looking fantastic in his Team Town Cycle jersey! Way to go Frank - who says you have to be from out west to know how to ride downhill!

Kids Race in Essex County - August 21, 2010!

Our friends at JORBA and Hilltop Conservancy are holding Essex County's first ever kids only mountain bike race! Jeff and Geordie have jumped a lot of hurdles to make this happen, so please let's show them some support and check their race out on Saturday, August 21 in North Caldwell. You can find more details at www.jorba.org, or read all about it in their flyer here .

Our sport needs more events to help nurture the next generation of cyclists, and here is another great opportunity to get your kids out there and have some fun!

Rides for July 21-25

Another hot week is upon us - we complained about the rain last summer, right? Might as well accept it and get on with life, right? Here's a few rides to help keep your mind off the heat!

• Wednesday, July 21 - it's our Ladies Road Ride on Clinton Road. Hopefully this week we won't have to dodge any showers! We'll meet at the usual place - the old Village Square Inn parking lot on Rt. 23 in Newfoundland - at 6 p.m. A great way to try out group road rides, ladies!

• Friday, July 23 - the one, the only - Friday night Clinton Road ride! Bring a friend and join this great group. We'll meet at the old Village Square Inn parking lot at 6 p.m. We'll ride in light rain, but heavy rain or thunderstorms will cancel. If you are concerned about the distance, get yourself a NWCDC parking permit, (about $10 at their office on Echo Lake Road in West Milford), and join up with us at the end of Van Orden Road where it meets up with Clinton Road. Always a fun time no matter what your pace is!

• Saturday, July 24 - the much anticipated ride to New Paltz! Today is the last day to RSVP, so check out all of the details here - http://tinyurl.com/2fw8jss , RSVP, fill those water bottles and join us! It's a great ride to a beautiful town - a fabulous way to spend the day!

• Sunday - July 25 - a follow up to last week's beginner ride at Jungle Habitat! Meet us at the gate at 9 a.m. - bring plenty of water, as it will still be hot! This will be an easy, beginner paced ride - perfect for those who are not total newbies, but maybe not ready yet to storm up and down all the hills!

As always, let us know if you have any questions - info@teamtowncycle.com .

Reminder - New Paltz ride July 24th

Our merry band from 2009!

Our New Paltz ride is just around the corner, so we need to start counting heads! If you need more info on the ride, here is the link to the original post - http://tinyurl.com/2fw8jss . When you RSVP, we need to know a few things.

1. Are you planning to do the round trip or just one way?
2. If you are planning a one way trip, we will need to know if you have arranged transportation back to NJ.
3. If you have someone picking you up in New Paltz, do you have room to bring anyone else back?

In order to coordinate all of this, we would appreciate your RSVP by Wednesday, July 21. And as always, if you have any questions at all, email us at info@teamtowncycle.com . This ride is a great route to a great spot - hope you can join us!

Weekend ride addition and KOM route reveal

In addition to all of the other rides we have going this weekend, here is one additional road ride for any of you who don't feel like doing the King of the Mountain ride. We will also meet at Town Cycle at 9 a.m., and here is our route, courtesy of the lovely Karen - http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_route?r=275127913204695643 . It's about a 45 mile route, moderately paced. Please make sure you are bringing plenty of water and food, as it will be a hot day!

For those of you riding the King of the Mountain ride, check in later for the route BJ has planned out for you - it should be great!

Rides for July 15-18, 2010

OK, so it's going to be hot. We should be getting used to it by now, right? So let's not worry about it and ride anyway. Here's what we've got lined up for the next few days.

• Thursday, July 15 - Because our regularly scheduled Ladies Night road ride got canceled yesterday, we'll head out tonight. Usual time and place - meet us at 6 p.m. at the old Village Square Inn parking lot on Rt. 23 in Newfoundland, and we'll ride out Clinton Road. Ladies, this is a great place to start out with a group ride - come join us!

• Friday, July 16 - everyone's invited to this ride! We've been having a great turn out for our Friday night Clinton Road ride - it's a fabulous place to practice your pace line riding! As always, meet us at 6 p.m. at the old Village Square Inn, Rt. 23, Newfoundland. If you know someone who would like to join us but is concerned about the distance, here's a tip. You can join the group when we go past Van Orden Road. If you plan on parking there, please make sure you have a parking permit from the NWCDC (around $10, available from their office on Echo Lake Road in West Milford). It's a good way to get your feet wet on a group ride!

• Saturday, July 17 - we'll have a road ride, leaving from Town Cycle in West Milford at 9 a.m. It'll be a 3 hour, medium paced ride -please bring plenty of water and a snack, as it will be hot!

• Sunday, July 18 - we have 2 options for you! The first is our beginner mountain bike ride at Jungle Habitat. If you know someone who would like to get some more experience on their mountain bike, this is the event for them! Info is here - http://tinyurl.com/2f8ryl2 . We'll ride at 10:00 a.m., and bring plenty of water - there are no facilities at the park!

• Sunday, July 18 - our popular King of the Mountain Series is on! This third ride in the series will meet at Town Cycle in West Milford. Be ready to ride at 9 a.m. - we wait for no one! Prems will be available for each of the climbs, as well as at least one climb worth double points! Come join in the fun!

As always, please let us know if you have any questions about any of our rides. Drop us a line at info@teamtowncycle.com, and we'll do our best to help you out!

King of the Mountain - Reminder and Standings!

This weekend brings the third installment of our King of the Mountain series, but before we talk about that - let's catch up on the previous rides!

Our first King of the Mountain ride on May 13 was a well attended event, and a great time was had by all! Here are the results:

Climb #1

Racers - 1st - Jason Grossi, 2nd - Larry Towner, 3rd - BJ Kisch

Club Riders - 1st - Chris Donohue, 2nd - Michael Hoek, 3rd - Mike Wright

Juniors - Dillon Van Wart

Climb #2

Racers - 1st - Larry Towner, 2nd -

Jason Grossi

, 3rd - BJ Kisch

Club Riders - 1st - Chris Donohue, 2nd - Michael Hoek, 3rd - Mike Wright

Juniors - Dillon Van Wart

Climb #3

Racers - 1st - Larry Towner, 2nd -

Jason Grossi

, 3rd - David Van Wart

Club Riders - 1st - Chris Donohue, 2nd - Michael Hoek, 3rd - Mike Wright

Juniors - Dillon Van Wart

The May 20 event was neutralized due to lack of riders, so this week's ride is even more important! Meet us at Town Cycle on Sunday morning, July 18 and be ready to ride at 9 a.m. - we wait for no one!

As always, let us know if you have any questions - info@teamtowncycle.com

Ladies Road Ride - Thursday Edition!

It's a make-up ride! Since we got rained out, let's try it again for tomorrow night! Ladies, we'll meet at the usual time and place - 6 p.m., at the old Village Square Inn parking lot on Route 23 in Newfoundland. This is a great opportunity to try out group rides with a smaller group, so come on out and join us!

Always feel free to send any questions to info@teamtowncycle.com - and we'll see you out there!

Ladies Road Ride Reminder!

:::::::::::::::::::::::UPDATE!! CANCELED FOR TONIGHT!! ::::::::::::::::::::::

The rain is still a bit persistent here, so we'll reschedule for next week. For any of the ladies who are interested, we'll have a repair night at the Kahl's instead - 7 p.m., at 77 Otterhole Road in West Milford!

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Quick reminder that tonight is our usual Clinton Road Ladies ride! Usual time and place - 6 p.m., the old Village Square Inn parking lot. The worst of the rain seems to have passed, so we'll get before it heats up again! Any questions - info@teamtowncycle.com

Don't forget - Beginner ride on July 18 at Jungle Habitat!

Don't forget that this Sunday is our Beginner Ride at Jungle Habitat! All ages and stages of beginner welcome! Meeting time is 10 a.m., and bring lots of water - there are no facilities at the park. More info is here - http://tinyurl.com/2f8ryl2 .

As always, email us with any questions - info@teamtowncycle.com.

July 10 NYC ride addendum

Just a note to say in case of rain, we will cancel tomorrow's NYC Bridges ride.

Yes, we need the rain, but could it just wait until later tomorrow afternoon? Thanks, Universe!

Fireworks canceled at Jungle Habitat for July 9

For those who are local and planning to attend ....

First they had to cancel because of the bear situation, now this ... the Thunder in the Highlands Fireworks event has been postponed indefinitely by the State of NJ DEP and the NJ Forestry Division due high temperature and dry conditions throughout the State. Organizers are attempting to reschedule the event for later this fall.

Dark Horse 40

The classic Darkhorse 40 is on August 1 - and registration closes on July 16th! It's a great race at a great location, and beer and bar-b-que chicken for all participants - what's not to love? Bike Reg info is at http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9800 , and check out their blog at http://www.darkhorse40.blogspot.com/ - it has the course map, sneak peak at their event t-shirt, etc.

If you're not sure you can do the whole 40 miles yourself - no worries! You can make a 2 person team of it as well! A good way to dip your toe into a longer distance event!

The Darkhorse 40 is pre-reg ONLY - so hurry up and sign up! If you have any questions about it, we have several club members who have run it in the past, so let us know - we'll hook you up with them!

Rides for July 8-11, 2010

Has it been hot or what? Hope you are all keeping reasonably cool! The heat is supposed to start easing over the next few days, so here are a bunch of rides for you - take your pick!!

• Thursday, July 8 - mountain bike ride at Kittatinny Valley State Park in Andover. We'll pre-ride the race course for Sunday's Campmor H2H Race, The Bulldog Rump. Meet in the parking lot on Goodale Rd. at 5:45 p.m. - we'll be wheels down by 6 p.m.
• Friday, July 9 - the fabulous and famous Friday night ride on Clinton Road! Meet us at 6 p.m. at the old Village Square Inn parking lot. For those who want an easier start or shorter route, consider parking at the end of Van Orden Rd. and jumping in there! (Please make sure you have a NWCDC parking permit though - about $10 and available from the office on Echo Lake Road.)
• Saturday, July 10 - our NYC road ride! We will meet at KC's Bagels on Route 23 South in Pompton Plains at 7:15 a.m. We'll be parking at the Fort Lee Historic Park ($5), take the GWB over the Hudson, ride down to Times Square, down Broadway, around Greenwich Village, over to Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn. We'll then head over to the West Side back up to the George Washington Bridge. We should return back to our cars hopefully between 1 and 2 p.m.
• Sunday, July 11 - meet us at Town Cycle at 9 a.m. for a road ride. Route can be found here - 9am & the following link is the route we will be doing: http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_route?r=533127852245798356. Please bring plenty of water and food!

So there you go - something for everyone! As always, if you have any questions - info@teamtowncycle.com . Stay cool, and have a good weekend!

Rides for July 1-7

We know lots of you are taking a well deserved break over this Fourth of July week, but for those who will be around, here's a few things we have planned:

Join us for our Friday night road ride down Clinton Road - it's a great way to kick off the weekend! Just look at some of the happy faces from last week's ride -

We'll gather at 6 p.m. at the usual place - the old Village Square Inn parking lot. Bring a friend and join in the fun!

Saturday morning, July 3, we'll do a mountain bike ride at Kittatinny Valley State Park at 9 a.m. Please be ready to ride at 9!! We'll meet in the parking lot off Goodale Road (not the one by the airport!) This will be an intermediate skills, fairly aggressive paced ride for 2.5-3 hours. Bring plenty of water and food. Need directions? http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/kittval.html

Tuesday, July 6, barring any further bear complications, we'll resume our I Dig Tuesdays trail work at Jungle Habitat. Meet us at the gate at 5:45 p.m. Campmor H2H racers - don't wait until October to get your PayDirt hours in!!

Wednesday, July 7, our friend Sherri Albrecht will lead the Ladies Road Ride on Clinton Road. Meet at 6 p.m. at the old Village Square Inn parking lot. It's a great way to learn how to ride with a group, so bring a friend and come on out!

As always, let us know if you need any more details at info@teamtowncycle.com . We wish you all a safe, relaxing Fourth of July !