Reminder - our Party for Marty is November 20!!

Hey everyone - 

Just a quick reminder that we are still gathering donations for our auction to help out our little buddy Marty. Missed Marty's story? Read all about it here . 

A couple of items:

1. All of the donations need to be received by November 12 (and yes, you can bring them to our TTC dinner!). If you need help with that, drop us a line here, and we can definitely work with you. We need the items in advance so we can prepare the items, the bidding sheets, etc.
2. After some consideration, we are only accepting new items for donation. However, we did get a suggestion of having a flea market fundraiser in the spring, and it's something we're definitely thinking about. So hold onto those great gently used items and we'll see what we can pull off in the spring! 
3. We've had a bunch of great offers for food for the evening - whoohoo! We need an bit more of an accurate count of exactly what is being brought - even if it is not 100% specific, if you can narrow it down to "dessert item" or "veggies" or "dip" - that would be great. This way we won't wind up with 15 offers of brownies and one cheese plate .... although actually, that might not be so bad ... 
4. In addition to items for donation, we need people to come and buy our auction items on the 20th! Please spread the word to your friends, neighbors, etc. It cost nothing to come, we'll have drinks and snacks all evening, and it's for a great cause. Do a little holiday shopping while you are there, build up some good kharma points, and have a fun night all - what more could you ask?? 
5. For anyone who would like to donate directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, here is the link to Kelly's page on the CFF site. This year the CFF Great Strides Walk is on May 1, and Marty's Mega Fans team fundraising goal is $5000 for the 2011 walk. To donate, or join them on their walk, click on the link above and find out more! 

Everyone has been so kind and generous as we work to help Pete, Kelly and especially Marty - we are all so humbled and grateful for your support. Keep an eye out as we get closer to our date - we'll give you a sneak peek of some of the great donations we have already received!!

With gratitude -

Team Town Cycle

November dates to remember!

Before you run off to enjoy your weekend, a quick reminder on a few dates for everyone to remember - 

• November 7 - our very own Team Town Cycle cyclocross race at the Hidden Valley Club! We need volunteers and racers - so come on out! 
• November 12 - our annual Team Town Cycle dinner! Attendance is free for current (as in dues paying!) club members or anyone who joins that night. Once again we'll be at the High Crest Lodge in West Milford from 7-10 p.m. - hope you can join us!
• November 20 - our Party for Marty! Help us establish a trust fund for one of our own! Admission is free - we'll have drinks and snacks - and bring your wallet! More info can be found here!

So save these dates today - and as always, let us know if you have any questions! 

Have a great weekend! 

Friday night ride at Jungle Habitat

Provided we're not washed away on Friday, we'll plan on a nighttime mountain bike ride for this Friday night, October 15 at Jungle Habitat. We'll meet at the gate - be ready to ride at 6:30 p.m. It'll be an intermediate paced ride, no one dropped! Plug those lights in and please check them before the ride!!

Rain will cancel - check in with us on Friday afternoon if you are unsure! 

Save the date - November 20 - and help us to help Marty!

If you think about it, we're a lucky bunch. We have a little community here that we enjoy, we've made good friends and shared adventures. We worry about things like when our next ride will be, when we can afford that upgrade to a carbon fiber bike, or if we can manage to squeeze in an extra workout this week. We worry about other things too, bigger things - our jobs, our homes, and our kids ... but for one of our "family", one of those worries, the one about our kids ... well, it takes on a whole new meaning.


Everyone, meet Marty.

Beautiful, isn't he? Marty is the son of Pete and Kelly Tranes. Many of you know Pete from his time at Town Cycle. Pete has saved many of us from certain ruin or embarrassment! Maybe he managed to finagle a repair on your bike the day before a long planned trip. Maybe he hunted down a rare part for your "vintage" (Classic? Old?) bike. Maybe he took pity on you during a ride at Jungle Habitat, and slowed down just enough so you could catch your breath, or busted your chops enough to make you finally finish that climb without walking! All of these things are just regular, small deeds that we all appreciate. Life changing? Well, probably not. However, we have a chance to do something life changing for Pete, Kelly, and Marty ... 

Marty, the great kid in the picture above, has Cystic Fibrosis. For those of you unfamiliar with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). It clogs the lungs and pancreas with thick mucus, leading to life-threatening lung infections and preventing the body from properly breaking down and absorbing food. To give you some idea of what Marty and his family go through, please watch this video that his mom Kelly put together. To learn more about CF, please read this page at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's website.

As you can imagine, that's quite a burden on a small, beautiful boy and his family. All of Marty's expenses are not covered by insurance, and he will have special needs for the rest of his life. Here's where all of you come in! Individually, we might not be able to do much, but together, there is no doubt we can move mountains ...

We are planning a special fundraiser to establish a trust fund for Marty, and we need your help! On Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 7 p.m., we are holding a silent auction at the High Crest Lodge in West Milford. Drinks and snacks will be available, and there is no cover charge. We will need help in several different areas, and we hope we can count on your support!

1. First and foremost, we will need donations for our auction. We are open to almost anything! Maybe you are an artist, and you'd be willing to donate a piece of artwork, whether it be a painting, a piece of woodwork, jewelry, home decor, etc. Maybe you make great homemade pies, and would be willing to donate pies made and delivered just for the holidays! Maybe you are a photographer, and would be willing to donate a family portrait session. Maybe you are a landscaper, and would be willing to donate a fall leaf clean-up. Maybe your company would be willing to donate whatever goods, services, etc. that they sell. We really are looking for all kinds of donations, big or small, handmade or store bought, goods or services. Talk to us about anything - let's work something out! Donations will be due by November 12. 
2. We need help spreading the word about our night! Please tell your riding friends, your family, your neighbors - post about it on your blog, your Facebook page, Tweet about it, forward this email, or post this  flyer on a bulletin board at work or school! We need both attendees and donations, so shout it out to everyone! 
3. Team Town Cycle will spring for the drinks for the evening, but we would like to have appetizers and snacks donated by our friends. We're looking for appetizer type finger foods, nothing extravagant. Please let us know if you can bring some food for the evening!

As always, let us know if you have any questions by dropping us a line - info@teamtowncycle.com . We know times are tough for everyone right now, but we truly hope that with your generosity, we can all manage to pull together and help out a great little boy and his family. 

Night Ride at Jungle Habitat on Friday, October 8

Our last few attempts at a night ride have been rained out, but we're not giving up! Join us Friday, October 8 at the Jungle Habitat gates - let's be ready to ride at 6:30 p.m. This will be an intermediate paced, no drop ride. Plug your lights in tonight (and check over them well - JH is no place to be riding in the dark!) and join us! 

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

Have a great weekend!

Race Across the Sky 2010 - November 4th.

We tweeted about the original showing in NYC a few weeks ago, but here's an update! 

Race Across the Sky 2010, the fabulous documentary about the Leadville 100, is being re-broadcast on November 4th in theatres across the area. Last year's film was a great success, and they've filmed a new edition for 2010. In addition to the movie, there be a LIVE broadcast panel discussion featuring key participating athletes including Levi Leipheimer, JHK, Rebecca Rusch  – all beginning at 8:30PM. Tickets have sold out for this in the past, so if you are interested in going, ticket  information is here. If you are interested in getting a group together to carpool, etc. - drop us a line, we'll hook you up! 

Reminder - IMBA Trail Care Crew in Ringwood this weekend!

From our friend Jeff Mergler of JORBA - 

Folks, just a final reminder that JORBA will be hosting the IMBA Trail Care Crew this weekend at Ringwood and Sterling Forest NY.  (The parksare adjacent only separated by the state border). If you've never been to a TCC visit, this is something you should carve out time for.  Please attend if you can and RSVP here: https://www.imba.com/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=58 .


If you are one of our newly minted park reps, please do everything you can to attend the Saturday session. This is where you will get your training for sustainable trailbuilding.  If you can't make the full weekend, the Sat am classroom and the field work is your highest priority.  Sunday is an optional social ride. If you have any questions contact me (jeffreymergler@gmail.com)or Art White (ellenandart@verizon.net). We hope that you can attend this once a year event!

Tuesday night ride CANCELED!

Due to the ridiculous amounts of rain we have gotten/are getting/are predicted to get, we're going to cancel our night ride for this Tuesday, October 5. I know - two weeks in a row!! Hopefully we'll finally dry out next week! 

In the mean time, go check out a drier day at Jungle Habitat - we had our second annual Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day at JH on Saturday, and boy - those kids are cute! If you want to remember how much fun it is to ride in the woods, join us on one of these rides - their enthusiasm is contagious! 

Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day 2010!

Thanks to everyone who came out and joined us for our Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day on Saturday, October 2. The weather was perfect, we had a great group of kids, parents and volunteers - and lots of snacks! Best of all, no one bled, and we definitely got some more kids interested in mountain biking - which was really what we wanted! Check our sidebar for our Flickr page of a few photos we snagged, or look at them here

Thanks to everyone who brought some canned goods for us to donate to our local food pantry - they are greatly appreciated! Special thanks to IMBA for hooking us up with stickers and bells, Clif for the yummy Spooky Smores Kids Clif bars, and to Town Cycle for our waterbottles!

Stay tuned to our website for announcements of more kids and beginner rides - and mark your calenders for the first weekend of October in 2011 - we'll do it all again!