Category Archives: News

Ped(al) Lovin’ So Nice, Had to Do it Twice

Posted on by

Ped(al) Lovin’ So Nice, Had to Do it Twice

Big Momma Nature, she can be such a temperamental jokester when she wants to be, but she’s really a nice lady (hey, I may need a favor some day, better stay on her good side). Saturday came and so did the rain, along with the threat of thunder, lightening and tornadoes. As ominous clouds dimmed the day, I looked to the sky and screamed, “Really Mother Nature, really? You knoooooow we’ve been waiting all week for this and you go and pull a stunt like this! I mean REALLY?”. She laughed, parted the darken skies, and smiled sunshine. It was all was good. Let the fun begin!!!!

The Shred Love crew, traveling from points north and south of New Jersey, met up with the wonderful riders from Jersey Off Road Biker Association (JORBA) at Allaire Park in Farmingdale, NJ. Rick, Mike, Frank, “the Other Joe” along with Lucy and Juliann took the Shred Love crew on another spectacular mountain biking adventure.

Preparation is always key for any challenge in life and mountain biking is no exception. Prior to hitting the trails, JOBRA fitted each Shred Love participant with a helmet, water bottle and most importantly a bike. These were no Wal-Mart specials, oh no, these were certified trail tamers: Trek, Giant, Fox, and Cannondale. Frank from JOBRA, ran the team through a series of cone drills to help us get use to taking sharp turns, as well as a lesson in gear management. Once he felt we were ready (and after he got a few more wheelies in), we hit the trail!

The returning Shred Love “vets”, Armani Rae, Jackie, Liz, Savion and of course yours truly, were joined (but not to be out done) by Shred Love Snowboard Alum, Tyson, Wyheem, Jennifer, Jaden, Kayla, and Trey. Also joining the team were new Shred Love teamsters Assemblyman Charles Mainor and his son CJ.

This time around, the terrain was different from the previous trip, but no less challenging. Whereas both parks had their fair share of uphill and downhill climbs, tree limbs, and muddy puddles, Allaire added a new element: sand. The sand, in addition to puddles of water and mud, added an unsuspecting degree difficulty on various turns.

Kayla and Trey, the youngest of the crew, held their own handling the up and down hill climbs, muddy puddles and deep sand. Jaden, being the natural born leader that he is, assisted “the Other Joe” in guiding the team through the rough twisting terrain. Armani Rae and Jackie kept the crew informed of upcoming obstacles along the trail with shouts of: “Lots of Water”, “Muddy Puddles” “Big Limb” “Right Turn”. And even with all of those announcements, we still ended up covered with mud. Charles showed his super human strength by single handedly (with the help of Rick, Wyheem, Mel and Joe) moving a large tree that had fallen across the trail. Way to go Charles!!!!

Reminiscent of going off trail in snowboarding, Rick led Wyheem (an experienced rider) for quick off-trail hits. Not be shown up, Charles followed right on their heels or is that tires. First time rider CJ gave it his all, if he fell, he jumped right back up and got going. By the second time out, he was hard to keep up with.

 

Tyson, the charming teddy bear of Shred Love, ended up getting a personalized trail tour by Frank and Juliann. They rode with him on trails that challenged his skill set. Like always, he conquered the mission.

Now in the woods, if you’re real quiet, I mean like a whisper, you may hear the strangest thing like, “CHEESEBURGER” and then it echoes throughout the woods. Mike explained that it’s the term used when a team of riders stop to take a break or wait for someone who may have fallen behind. When the team is ready to ride, someone shouts out “Cheeseburger” again to let the leader know to “get moving’.

 

After a much needed lunch (great sandwiches, but no cheeseburgers) to replenish our energy supply, we hit the trail again. This time around, the JORBA crew set out to really test our mantle. This time some of the trails went from sharp sandy turns straight into rocky tree limb climbs, only to be followed by twisting downhill turns. WHAT A RUSH!!!! However, all too soon, Mother Nature woke from her nap and gave us all just enough time to get home safely before she exploded the sky.

 

Shred Love would like to thank JORBA, the Trips for Kids program and Clint of Ski Duck for such an incredible opportunity. We had a BLAST. Can’t wait to do it again…. Can you say, Cheeseburger!!!!! ~ Old Man Winter

The Day Shred Love Transformed into Ped(al) Love

Posted on by

Sunday, August 12, 2012 – The day Shred Love transformed into Ped Love, pedal love that is.

Put me on a snow covered mountain with my Never Summer snowboard and I’ll meet you at the bottom. I may even do a few butters and ollies along the way, however, put me on a mountain on a summer day, atop of a mountain bike, and let’s just say the outcome is not so assured.


Last Sunday a group of participants from Shred Love set out to conquer a new and different type of mountain experience, one that didn’t require snow. Shred Love met up with the Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association (JORBA) in Tourne County Park in Booton, NJ, for an exciting lesson in mountain biking. JORBA designed and regularly maintains the trails that we rode that day.

Armed with bikes, helmets, and mountain biking safety rules from JORBA, away we went to conquer our first trail. The White Trail was challenging with all of its bumps, tree roots, stumps, rocks, trekking through mud, over bridges, uphill climbs and downhill cruises. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!

After a hearty lunch, we broke into groups: those who wanted to master the White Trail and those that want a bigger challenge, the Purple Trail. To put this in perspective, if this were snowboarding; the purple trail would be equivalent to a hard blue trail.



I was part of the latter group which consisted of Isaiah, Liz, Edward and I with JOBRA experts Slow Joe and Rick guiding and coaching us along. We began the ride climbing a steep hill before venturing into the woods for an additional uphill climb. This is where the fun began! Downhill runs over bumps and rocks, 90 degree turns, tough climbs, and navigating nature’s natural obstacle course.

The White Trail team, led by teen volunteer Armani Rae, consisted of Jackie, Savion and Shred Love new comer Genesis, with the JOBRA crew of Frank, Michael and Jim, keeping the team motivated. The field report from the White Trail Squad is that all the things that had seemed challenging during the first run, turned out to be a piece of cake during the second time around. The second time, the team was able to take in the beautiful scenery of lily pads, frogs, birds, along the lake.

In the end, we came, we saw, we conquered!

Special thanks to Rick, Frank, Michael, Jim, and Slow Joe of JORBA, Trips for Kids, Clint of SkiDuck, Omenel, and parents! Can’t wait to do it again on September 8th at Allaire State Park!!! If you would like to attend, contact us at info@shredlove.org/wordpress.

Please note participants must be at least 12 years old and can ride a bike to participate.

signed,
Old Man Winter

P.S. Check out our Facebook page for more pictures.

The Kids’ Concerns Show

Posted on by

Shred Love visits Disney Radio!

Shred Love will be featured on The Kids’ Concerns Show with Matt Wilder on the Radio Disney show on Sunday, July 22 at 6am! Tune into Radio Disney AM1560 or if you have XM satellite, Radio Disney 79 to hear our first radio interview.

Special thanks to Matt Wilder for inviting us, we greatly appreciate the opportunity! Big thanks to Jennifer of Disney!

Macy’s Shop for a Cause 2012

Posted on by

Shred Love is once again participating in Macy’s Shop for a Cause! By donating $5 to Shred Love, you will receive a coupon to save 25% off* on Saturday, August 25 to use at any Macy’s. Your coupon also comes with a chance to win a $500 Macy’s gift card! To enter, just complete the form and deposit it in the collection box at your local Macy’s.

This year our coupons are also available via email. To receive your coupon via email, just make a donation here and include your email address. Once we have confirmed your donation, your personalized coupon will be emailed to you same day.

Our goal is to raise $1000 with this fundraiser, to offset the transportation cost of our 4 day learn to ride program, so please spread the word and donate!

Hope you are enjoying the warm weather! 😉

Liz

Saturday Sunday Snowboard

Posted on by

Kayla & Jackie (photo courtesy of Saturday Sunday Snowboard)

Michelle of Saturday Sunday Snowboard joined us and made a huge impression of our group. Her son Deondre and his friend Giovanni made Jaden’s day. Read more about the day at Michelle’s and don’t forget to sign up for updates!

Urban Girl Squad

Posted on by

Urban Girl Squad's Group Leader - Caitlin

On Sunday, February 5th, Urban Girl Squad volunteered for a day of snowboarding with us! Urban Girl Squad is a social networking group in New York City for women in their 20s  and 30s. Membership to Urban Girl Squad gives you access to amazing parties, new fitness fun, tips on hosting your own party, styling your hair, and so much more! Membership is free, so ladies don’t waste any time signing up! Jersey Girls don’t fret, I’m an Urban Girl Squad-er myself. 🙂

Its no secret that Shred Love starts early in the morning (our bus departs from Bayonne at 7am, sometimes 6am), but the women from Urban Girl Squad had an even earlier start, as some came as far as Brooklyn. We greatly appreciate their dedication in helping us serve more youth through snowboarding. That day we served our largest group to date. Thanks again Urban Girl Squad! We’re looking forward to riding with you ladies again on Sunday, February 26!

Liz

Urban Girl Squad & parent/volunteer Ebony

January – Learn to Ride

Posted on by

Our new season ushered in some new faces…

Beginner Jarrett

 

Mia, Dahlia, and Aten Ra

 

as well as the smiling faces of our returning students and

Nice toe side turn Tyson!

Izzy

 

Sir Julius

a new love – snowshoes.

Cornelius snowshoeing at Windham Mountain

 

Its our largest group to date, with a mix of both girls and boys, ages 7 -18. The group’s snowboarding skills  range from beginner to park. And we were able to finally catch up with our advanced riders – Brandon, Khaliq, Edward, and new to Shred Love, Jaden. As soon as we hit the mountain, these guys usually take off with their volunteer for the day and don’t return unless their starving or its time go.

(l-r) Jaden, Khaliq, and Edward

 

Brandon stepped up on our last trip and took a group of riders to Windham’s Whiteway Triple ( length – 2,000′ and vertical 354′) for the first time. I’m proud of them for conquering new ground and Brandon for leading the way. Not only do we have riders in our group, we have leaders, tomorrow’s leaders. Join us in building tomorrow’s leaders.

January Rewind – Tubbs’ Romp to Stomp

Posted on by

Missed us? I bet you did. Blame it on the old faulty laptop and not the warm temps Mother Nature has blessed us with, because it hasn’t stopped us. On January 21st, Shred Love participated in its first snowshoe event. It was also the first snowfall this winter, dumping about 5 inches in New Jersey. We made our way to Mountain Creek, to take part in Tubbs’ Romp to Stomp to help fight breast cancer.

The Snowshoe Trail - 3

Factor in the snow falling and Creek’s powerful snow guns, the walk felt more like an action pack trek through Alaska. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

Savion & Tyson

Volunteers Jerrie & Armani Rae

See the looks on their faces? LOL, it just hit them how much further we had to go to the finish line and that we should have brought our boards along with us to ride some of the fresh powder.

The Finish Line

At the finish line, winners were announced and everyone took a moment to remember those who lost the battle against breast cancer, as well survivors.

Even though Shred Love is a youth-based organization, we felt it was important to support this cause as it affects so many. Going in, we knew we wouldn’t be able to wipe out breast cancer completely, instead we raised money and awareness for the cause, with the hopes of contributing in the progress in finding a cure.  Please consider joining us next year, January 2013.

Shred Love - For the Cure