Monthly Archives: September 2017

Local businesses – can you help Ride Sheffield?

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They​ ​say​ ​you​ ​judge​ ​someone​ ​by​ ​the​ ​company they​ ​keep​ ​but,​ ​in​ ​the​ ​case​ ​of​ ​Ride​ ​Sheffield,​ ​it’s the​ ​companies.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​past​ ​seven​ ​years​ ​we​ ​have​ ​enjoyed​ ​the​ ​support​ ​of GoOutdoors,​ ​Cotic​ ​Bikes,​ ​18​ ​Bikes,​ ​Alpkit,​ ​BikeTrack,​ ​Rab,​ ​5.10,​ ​Vulcan Engineering,​ ​J​ ​E​ ​James,​ ​Norton​ ​Mayfield​ ​Architects,​ ​Avanti​ ​Conveyors​ ​and​ ​a dozen​ ​other​ ​local​ ​and​ ​international​ ​companies.

As​ ​a​ ​result,​ ​we’ve​ ​not​ ​only​ ​managed​ ​to​ ​construct​ ​hard-wearing,​ ​fun​ ​trails​ ​in Greno​ ​Woods​ ​and​ ​Lady​ ​Canning’s​ ​Plantation​ ​but​ ​also​ ​maintain​ ​them​ ​in​ ​spite of​ ​an​ ​astronomical​ ​level​ ​of​ ​use.​ ​We’ve​ ​also​ ​wielded​ ​shovels​ ​on​ ​Blackamoor, the​ ​Eastern​ ​Moors​ ​and​ ​Rivelin​ ​Valley​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​help​ ​land​ ​managers​ ​such​ ​as the​ ​Sheffield​ ​Wildlife​ ​Trust​ ​keep​ ​their​ ​bridleways​ ​in​ ​top​ ​condition.​ ​Much​ ​of this​ ​has​ ​been​ ​done​ ​with​ ​volunteer​ ​labour​ ​but,​ ​on​ ​occasion,​ ​we​ ​have​ ​had​ ​to rely​ ​on​ ​the​ ​professional​ ​skills​ ​of​ ​BikeTrack​ ​to​ ​cope​ ​with​ ​bigger​ ​projects.​ ​This has​ ​necessitated​ ​some​ ​expenditure​ ​and​ ​recently,​ ​Alpkit​ ​covered​ ​the​ ​cost​ ​of plant​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​complete​ ​a​ ​project​ ​on​ ​Blackamoor​ ​while​ ​BikeTrack​ ​provided a​ ​digger​ ​driver.​ ​This​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​support​ ​is​ ​invaluable​ ​to​ ​Ride​ ​Sheffield​ ​and​ ​a public​ ​relations​ ​bonanza​ ​for​ ​the​ ​company​ ​involved.

The Cooking on Gas trail at Lady Canning’s plantation – funded by Go Outdoors

We​ ​are​ ​also​ ​on​ ​the​ ​verge​ ​of​ ​beginning​ ​our​ ​next​ ​project​ ​in​ ​Redmires Plantation.​ ​Costing​ ​in​ ​excess​ ​of​ ​£45,000​ ​pounds,​ ​it​ ​will​ ​push​ ​Ride​ ​Sheffield’s ability​ ​to​ ​manage​ ​the​ ​trails​ ​to​ ​the​ ​limit.​ ​We​ ​are​ ​widely​ ​considered​ ​to​ ​be​ ​one​ ​of the​ ​most​ ​successful​ ​mountain​ ​bike​ ​advocacy​ ​groups​ ​in​ ​the​ ​country.

The Blue Steel Trail, also at Lady Canning’s

Therefore,​ ​we​ ​feel​ ​the​ ​time​ ​is​ ​right​ ​to​ ​reach​ ​out​ ​in​ ​a​ ​more​ ​structured​ ​way​ ​to the​ ​business​ ​community​ ​of​ ​Sheffield.​ ​Ride​ ​Sheffield​ ​is​ ​entirely​ ​volunteer​ ​run and​ ​while​ ​there​ ​is​ ​a​ ​range​ ​of​ ​skills​ ​represented​ ​in​ ​the​ ​core​ ​group,​ ​it​ ​would​ ​be foolish​ ​not​ ​to​ ​draw​ ​upon​ ​the​ ​wealth​ ​of​ ​talent​ ​present​ ​in​ ​Sheffield’s​ ​outdoor industry.

If you run or manage a local business and think that you can help, then we’d love to invite you to a ​meeting​ ​at​ ​The​ ​Norfolk​ ​Arms, Ringinglow​ ​on​ ​Wednesday Sept​ ​27​th ​2017​ ​at​ ​7.30.

Likely​ ​items​ ​for​ ​discussion​ ​would​ ​include​ ​the​ ​possibility​ ​of​ ​drawing​ ​on​ ​your practical​ ​help,​ ​using​ ​your​ ​influence​ ​to​ ​encourage​ ​Sheffield’s​ ​mountain​ ​biking community​ ​to​ ​contribute​ ​and,​ ​maybe,​ ​direct​ ​financial​ ​help.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​very​ ​much the​ ​Outdoor​ ​City​ ​in​ ​action.

Whether your business is directly bike related or not, we welcome all the help you can offer. We​ ​look​ ​forward​ ​to​ ​hearing​ ​your​ ​ideas​ ​and​ ​enjoying​ ​a​ ​convivial​ ​evening​ ​in​ ​the Norfolk​ ​Arms.

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A trip to Manchester…

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Ride Sheffield and Peak District MTB have been lucky enough to be included in a really exciting nationwide project organised by the BMC – Mend our Mountains.  The BMC (British Mountaineering Council) traditionally represented climbers and hill walkers, but are expanding their reach to include other moorland and mountain users, including us mountain bikers!  The BMC have achieved so much as a representative body for the outdoors, fighting for the rights of their huge membership base.  We’re really rather pleased to be involved in their latest project, we as mountain bike advocacy groups have much to learn from them.

Si headed over to Manchester for a meeting with the BMC, along with Chris from Peak District MTB and representatives from across the UK’s National Parks.  Each Park updated the room on their respective projects and we all shared ideas on how best to move forward together.  Together being the key word here, as the BMC pull everyone in the same direction.

Apologies for being a little vague here, we’re holding off on proper announcements until the BMC project goes live in October, but we’re confident that the mountain bike world will be behind us on this one, locally and nationally!

Once the BMC go live, we’ll explain it all in full;

  • What the BMC’s involvement is
  • What our project is and all the other groups we’re including
  • What you can do!

Peak District MTB and Ride Sheffield have fought hard to be included in wider projects like this and it really feels as though we’re turning a corner.  We’re now familiar faces to many other advocacy groups and we’re really driving the point home that mountain bikers can be responsible and hardworking – and that we’re well worth including in the conversation.

Watch this space for the project launch proper, we’ll not keep quiet on this one!

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September Trail Day – Lady Canning’s

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To practice what we preach, we’re making sure that the 2 trails at Lady Canning’s get the TLC they need to last well through the Autumn and Winter.  With that in mind, we’ll have another trail day on Saturday 16th September.

We’ll be trimming back some brambles along with a general tidy and check of both trails.  All help is welcome, with no experience necessary in this case.

We’ll be meeting at the car park off Sheephill Road at 9.30am, with an aim to finish in time for lunch.  Please bring rakes and secateurs/trimmers if you can!

If you’re out for a ride around Canning’s on that Saturday, please watch out for those of us working.  We’ll not be closing the trails, so you may find us on either Cooking on Gas or Blue Steel.

 

 

 

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Cycle September

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You may have seen a few things around town about Cycle September that is being organised by Love to Ride? You may be wondering why you should take part? More info is below…. But basically one of the biggest problems when lobbying for better infrastructure and facilities for cyclists is a lack of data that can be used. By taking part, not only do you get a chance to take part in a fun event, you can also generate useful data that makes things better for cyclists in Sheffield. register your workplace and you will also have the bonus of being able to show your employers the number of cyclists, which is useful in sorting better facilities for those that ride, such as storage and shower.  So what are you waiting for?….. Continue reading →

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