Rides and RSVP's

A few quick calendar additions for you! 

• Sunday, August 23 - another NYC ride! Meet us at 8:00 a.m. at KC's Bagels on Rt. 23 South in Pompton Plains. We'll group up, head to Fort Lee to park, and ride into NYC and ride the Greenway. Great views! 
• Sunday, August 30th - our famous (or infamous?) New Paltz ride! We will meet at Town Cycle at 7:30 a.m. , and will be wheels down at 8 a.m. You can choose to go one way or round trip. We will have a SAG/support wagon for the trip. For those of you who are doing the round trip, you can pack yourself a sandwich and some extra drinks and the SAG wagon will happily take it for you. For those who are going just one way, we'll plan to have lunch at the Gilded Otter. If you are only going one way, you should make arrangements either for a ride home, or to get your vehicle to New Paltz on Saturday. Please RSVP to Heather at heatherk@acdsecurity.com by Thursday, 8/27 so we can make arrangements for lunch reservations, etc. This is always a fantastic ride on a beautiful route! 
• Wednesday, September 2 - our usual  Ladies Ride will relocate to Town Cycle at 6 p.m. for some snacks and cheer! 

Remember, you can always keep up with all of our rides with our Google Calendar. 

Stay cool, everyone! 

Juniors in the Jungle - Done!

What a day! Perfect weather, great turnout, fantastic racers - another Juniors in the Jungle Mountain Bike race is in the books. We had over 100 racers come out to try their hand at some of Jungle Habitat's friendly trails, and they had a blast! From the great race in the Middle School Men's A class that was undecided until the very end of the last lap to the 21 racers that battled it out in the Grade 2-3 Boys race, our young racers had a great time, and showed great sportsmanship.

Photo by Steve Boshart

Photo by Steve Boshart

Special thanks go to our prize sponsors - John Florey of Highland Sports Group and Shimano, Mountain Creek and Hugh Reynolds, Jeff Lenosky and Clif, Dana DeLaRosa of Giant Bicycles, Sneaky Pete's Beverage and Town Cycle. And of course, we couldn't do it without all of our volunteers - special thanks to Tom Hennigan and Tim Warchol for once again being our favorite bike patrollers!

Don't forget to check out www.teambulldog.com for details about their race on May 11, 2013 at Kittatinny State Park in Andover, NJ - great race at a great venue!






Winter Solstice and Reindeer Ride reminders!

• Don't forget our annual NYC Reindeer Ride - Sunday, Dec. 23rd! Meet at KC's Bagels at 10 a.m., and we'll head to Fort Lee from there. Drop us a line and let us know if you'll be joining us! 
• As you finish up your holiday shopping, don't forget to shop local - all our local small businesses need our support. Our own local bike shop is open everyday from now through Christmas Eve - tonight until 8 p.m, Saturday from 9-6, Sunday from noon to 5, Monday from 10-2. Don't forget those stocking stuffers - socks, CO2 cartridges, energy bars and gels, etc. - everyone always needs those! 

And the really good news - today is the Winter Solstice - the days start getting longer starting tomorrow! Woohoo! We'll be riding on Clinton Road Friday nights before we know it! 

Town Cycle is open!

Got a little cabin fever? Need to get out of the house? Town Cycle is open and has power! Come on down, see Mike and the gang, and make plans for nicer days!

Giving Mike a hand!

Hello friends - 

As many of you know, our friend and local bike shop owner Michael Hoek had a recent serious crash on his bike, one which has involved both surgery and now rehab. And, as we all know, neither of those things comes cheap! Many of you have known Mike for years, and know how supportive he has been of cycling - for the racer, the casual rider, and everyone in between. So, in support of Mike, and Town Cycle, and all small businesses and their owners, we'd like to show him some love - and we'd truly appreciate it if you could help us out. 

The Cash Mob has been a great tool that the Sustainable West Milford has used to highlight local businesses. They pick a date, ask everyone to bring some cash, and "mob" the chosen store. We know the bike shop doesn't really fit into the type of business that normally the West Milford Cash Mob would frequent - that's why we're appealing to the wider cycling community. If you're headed out to ride before the storm this weekend, or are taking a ride next week or weekend, come hit up Town Cycle for some Clif bars, extra tubes, CO 2 cartridges, etc. New socks, some gloves - items you need to stock up on anyway! Any purchase, large or small, would be a big help to Mike, his shop and his family, and would be a great way to show Mike how much we care for him, and all he has done for the last 25+ years for the local cycling community. 

Please pass the word on to your friends and family in the cycling community. Start your Christmas shopping early - or hand someone your Christmas wish list! And thank you all for your support. We know that the cycling community is well known for "taking care of their own" - and we appreciate it! 

Update on our favorite bike shop owner!

Just to keep you up to date on the latest - Mike is out of the hospital, and will be spending the next few days at rehab, getting used to walking with the new hardware he is sporting! He wants to thank everyone for the all the good wishes, and asks you give him a little more time before visiting, so he can concentrate on his physical therapy and getting home! Once he's home, he'll be more than happy to see people.

In the meantime, the shop is open for business, with the same usual hours, staffed by all of Mike's most trusted people. A lot of people have asked what they can do to help, which is so much appreciated. The best thing you can do for Mike right now? Go shopping at Town Cycle! Start your holiday shopping early, or start loading up on your cold weather riding gear. Or even get a head start on outfitting your ride for next season! Maybe you've been over to the new West Milford Family Pump Track, and thought - "hey, I need a new bike for this place!" Whatever it is you've been waiting for, now's the time. Let's support Mike the way we know best - by riding our bikes!

Get well Mike!

Our favorite local bike shop owner, Mike Hoek, took a tough tumble off his bike, and learned that gravity is a harsh mistress! The bad news is that it took surgery to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. The good news is that the doctors say the surgery was a total success, and he should be home in a few days. Mike asked for no visitors until he is home, but we're sure he'd appreciate hearing from you -info@towncycle.com . We'll keep you updated - happy healing, Mike! 

We have 2 winners!

Thank you to everyone who bought one of our JORBA pump track fund raising raffle tickets. We are truly grateful for your support! Thanks to your efforts, we raised over $1,600 for our soon-to-be-built pump track in West Milford. And now, for the important part - our raffle winners ... 


The Trek Marlin 29'er singlespeed was won by Sammy Sujack of Tenafly, and the Trek Revel 0 was won by Kathleen Sinnott of Fair Lawn. Congratulations, Sammy and Kathleen! 


Much thanks again to Giant, Trek, and Michael Hoek of Town Cycle for their support of our pump track fundraising efforts - we couldn't have done it without you! 


And for those of you following our progress of the pump track, keep an eye on the upper left hand corner of this blog - we'll link you to updates there. Once again - thank you for your generosity and support! 

Weekend Party Plans!

Hey everyone - 

Well, the weather promises to clear up for the weekend - we hope you'll be able to join us for some fun and games this weekend!

• Saturday, October 15 - come party with us! We're celebrating Town Cycle's 25th year in business! We'll have a series of rides from the shop (mountain bike at 1 p.m., cyclocross, 1:30 p.m., road ride 1:30 p.m.), and afterwards, the kids (big and small!) can ride Pump the Magic Dragon, we'll have a little food, a little toast to Mike, and draw the raffle winners for our pump track bike raffle. Come stop by, buy a raffle ticket, go for a ride, and congratulate Mike on 25 years - no small feat!
• Women's Demo Day - Saturday, October 15 - 9-3 p.m. at Waywayanda - if you haven't RSVP'd, it's not too late! Join us to try out the latest in Trek's Women Specific Designs bicycles, and get some tips and tricks on improving your mountain biking skills.
• Sunday, October 16 - join us for a truly epic mountain bike ride! We'll leave the shop at 9 a.m., make our way south to Kanouse Mtn Rd, go along Echo Lake, cross Rt. 23, then up Copperas Ridge, down across Green Pond and up Craigmere cliffs, then down to Cozy Lake, Paradise, Clinton Reservoir, to Buckabear Pond across Clinton, up on Bearfort Ridge then back to shop......epic! Expect it to be 5-6 hours, 40-50 miles. This is not a beginner ride! You will need full camel backs, multiple tubes, chain tools, air, pump, plenty of food, money, etc. - be prepared! The weather is going to be perfect, the leaves are starting to turn color - it's going to be an awesome ride! 

Hope to see you out there - have a great weekend, everyone!

Three quick reminders for this week!

Three reminders:

• Thanks to everyone who stopped by last night at Town Cycle and bought raffle tickets to benefit the pump track - there were a bunch of you! We'll be there again Thursday night from 5-8 p.m., and Saturday from 12-5 p.m. Please stop by, say hi, and help us build a most awesome pump track in West Milford!
• Our Ladies Mountain Bike Demo and Clinic, sponsored by Trek, is still on for Saturday, October 15th at Waywayanda! We'd love to have you come out - and bring a friend! Anyone can come - you don't need to be a Team Town Cycle member. Just RSVP to let us know you are coming so we can have a good head count for lunch, etc.
• Town Cycle is celebrating 25 years in business this month, and Team Town Cycle is throwing a little party to say congratulations and thank you! Join us at Saturday, Oct. 15th, from 1-5 p.m., at Town Cycle. We've scheduled a little bit of fun for everyone, so stop by and say congratulations to Mike! 

Thanks everyone - hope to see you all around this weekend!

Tuesday reminders!

Two quick reminders for today - 

• It's Tuesday, and it's not raining, so finally - Spooky Tuesday ride at Jungle Habitat is on! We'll be wheels down at 6 p.m. - bring your lights and your courage as we chase after the ghosts in Jungle Habitat!
• If you're coming to West Milford to ride, make sure you stop by Town Cycle and pick up your raffle tickets! Don't forget -we're raffling two bikes to benefit the construction of the new pump track in town - and we need your help! We'll be at Town Cycle tonight from 5-8 p.m., Thursday night from 5-8 p.m., and Saturday from 12-5 p.m selling tickets - please stop by and buy one (or two - or three!) - every penny goes toward the pump track!

Thanks everyone - have a great day!!

A new member of the "family"!

Team Town Cycle is excited to announce a new member of the "family" - a cousin-by-marriage, if you will! Our own Town Cycle will be sponsoring the Clockwork Construction bike team for 2011. Ben and Paula Williams, owners of Clockwork Construction, are excited for this new opportunity. This will be the Clockwork Construction bike team's third year in competition, and they have already had fantastic results, with several podiums and overall wins in multiple racing series. Stop by and say hello to them, and welcome them to the Town Cycle family!

Late notice for a night hike tonight!

Sorry for the late notice, but we're putting together a group to go on a night hike tonight! Bring snow shoes or crampons, and meet us at the Town Cycle at 6 p.m. - we'll probably hit Jungle Habitat. Dress warm, of course, and bring a good headlight or flashlight. 

If you need to borrow equipment, or just want to let us know if you are coming, text Sherri at 973.727.2660 . 

Thanks - and have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday to Mike!

OK, we don't normally send out birthday greetings on our site, but this time, it's special! Michael Hoek, our favorite bike shop owner and sponsor, is turning 50 today!

Mike, you wear it well - happy birthday, old friend! 

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!

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!

Weekend rides - June 11-13

OK, it's only Wednesday, but as always, we're looking ahead to the weekend. Couple of road rides for your consideration:

• Friday, June 11 - it's the ever popular Friday night Clinton Road Ride! Weather is supposed to be great, so start your weekend out right. Meet us at 6 p.m. at the old Village Square Inn on Route 23 in Newfoundland. We'll break up into pace groups as necessary.
• Saturday, June 12 - the leaders of our Wednesday night ladies road ride, Heather and Karen, will lead a road ride at 9 a.m., leaving from Town Cycle. This is not just a ladies ride - anyone is welcome! It'll be approximately 35 miles long, route to be determined. Any questions about it, let us know - we'll get you in touch with the leaders.
• Sunday, June 13 - the much heralded return of the King of the Mountain series! It's the second year of the series, and we're excited to see what this new year brings. Need more info? Check out the original announcement here - http://tinyurl.com/25bk5uf . We will meet at Town Cycle to get the party started - be ready to ride at 9 a.m. - we wait for no one!

So there you go - a ride each day for you! As always, let us know if you have any questions at info@teamtowncycle.com . And check back in tomorrow - we'll announce some destination rides!

Easter Bunny rides!

If it's Easter, can real spring be far away? We hope not! The weather is supposed to be amazing this weekend, so we've got a few rides for those of you who want to work off some of the chocolate bunny and jelly beans ahead of time!

• Friday, April 2. This was already announced, but here's a quick recap for those who missed the first one. It's a Friday night road ride on our fave Friday night route - Clinton Road! We'll start our regular Friday night rides in a few weeks, but in the meantime, here's a preview. We know lots of people have a day off or a half day, so let's meet at the usual place, the Village Square Inn on Route 23 in Newfoundland, at 5 p.m. We'll have an "A" and "B" group, so all levels of riders are welcome!
• Saturday, April 3. Road ride, leaving Town Cycle at 9 a.m. We'll do a moderate paced ride around Greenwood Lake, and then we'll take a poll if you want to go farther!
• Saturday, April 3. Mountain Bike ride, Waywayanda. Our ride leader is recovering from a cold, so it will be a beginner paced ride, probably a lap around the Spring Cleaning race course. Meet us at the boat launch parking lot at 11:15 a.m. If we need to cancel, we'll do it here and on Twitter tomorrow.
• Sunday, April 4. Happy Easter! Before you sit down to your big Easter ham and mashed potatoes, come join us for an Easter Bunny hunting mountain bike ride at Waywayanda. We'll meet at the boat launch parking lot at 9 a.m. It'll be a moderately paced ride, about 2 hours long.

Lots of opportunities for rides for all levels, so come on out and join us!

Updates and reminders

Just a few quick updates and reminders!

1. The Team Town Cycle uniform order is due March 15!! If anyone needs another copy of the order form or sizing chart, let us know. We want to get the order in ASAP, so don't procrastinate or you will miss out!
2. Another Team Town Cycle exclusive - don't forget our special 20% off LAS Helmets deal! All sizes are available for try out at Town Cycle, so come down to the shop, have Michael fit you, and get a great deal on a great helmet.
3. The weather might not be perfect yet for riding, but it's perfect for spin classes! Don't forget - Friday nights, 6:30 p.m. at Kor Fitness on Union Valley Road in West Milford. First come, first served. Please RSVP to either us or Greg Muniz at gregmuniz@netscape.net so we can get a head count - thanks!
4. Sunday is the first day of daylight savings - and the first day of trail work day for 2010 at Jungle Habitat! Given the conditions that we'll likely be encountering, our focus will be on clearing branches and access ways for the new trails we'll be working on this year. Yes, it'll be muddy, and a little wet, but it should be in the 50's Sunday, so come out and join us! Check out our calendar for all the details - and don't forget to turn your clock ahead!

Finally, we saw this in the news this week regarding Google Maps and planning bicycling routes - http://tinyurl.com/ylp36ya . If anyone tries it out, let us know how it works!

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

Winter weekend activities

We're going to both embrace the snow and shun it this weekend! Here's what we have planned ...

Saturday - Road Ride! Get re-acquainted with your bike as we take a moderately paced ride around Greenwood Lake. Meet at Town Cycle @10:00 a.m.

Saturday - Strap on your snow shoes and join us at Waywayanda for some snowshoeing! We'll meet at the ranger station at 10:00 a.m. If you need a pair of snow shoes, let us know - we may have a few to lend out.

Sunday - More fun in the snow - cross country skiing! Meet us at noon (12 p.m.) up at the High Point XC Ski Center. The website for the Ski Center is http://xcskihighpoint.com/ - check them out for more info about rates, rentals, etc.

So get out your warm clothes, stretch out those legs, and join us in some winter fun! As always - any questions, drop us a line - info@teamtowncycle.com.