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!