Once upon a time, deep in the forest, there lived a wicked bog monster. Hiding amongst the foul-smelling gloop of the Devil’s Elbow swamp, the Blackamonster would lure unsuspecting bikers into his realm and trip them up with cunningly concealed roots and rocks. Sometimes, he’d swallow bikes whole and let out an enormous belch, especially if they were made of carbon or had 29″ wheels. Continue reading
Category Archives: News Update
Bragging Rights?
“Ride Sheffield? Is that who built the trail in Lady Canning’s?”
Well, that’s one way of putting it…. Continue reading
Trail Builders Wanted for Research Project
Mountain biking differs in lots of way to many sports, one of which is our ability to sculpt our playground to create places to ride that compliment the rights of way that give us access to swathes of the countryside.
For some, building trails gives us a deeper connection with the dirt, a better understanding of how things flow, even a closer relationship with nature!
We had a message from a researcher/lecturer at Sheffield Hallam James Cherrington who is looking to talk to mountain bikers who also dig! If this is you and you are interested in helping please get in touch with James.
Full details below……
I am currently recruiting participants to take part in a study around the experiences/motivations of people who build mountain bike trails in England. Specifically, I am really interested in their relationship with nature and dirt, and the tensions that exist between digging and public access.Participants would be required to take part in an informal 30-60 minute interview regarding the issues listed above, which would take place either in person (depending on location) or over the phone, and the identity of anyone involved will remain strictly confidential.As well as being published in academic publications, the contributions made by participants will also contribute to debates about mountain bike access in England, and I am fortunate to have had a great deal of interest from mountain bike advocacy groups who are keen to use this information to improve, preserve and promote access interests for mountain bikers across the country.
January Trail Day: Lady Cannings
To get the year off to a good start, we thought it was time to get back into our monthly trail days.
We will be heading upto Lady Cannings from 1230 onwards to give the trails a little tlc.
While the trails in Lady C’s are holding up pretty well at the moment, there are a couple of spots that are getting a bit of hammer and off trail excursions that we would like to get sorted to make sure things run sweetly into spring.
We will meet at the car park at 1230 and then after that on the trails (Blue Steel and then CoG). We will provide tools, but feel free to bring extras (barrows are particularly useful).
Snacks are provided courtesy of Shorelines but you might want to bring water with you. Also please dress appropriately for the Work.
All help is greatly appreciated. See you Saturday!
Please bear in mind that the trails will be closed while we do the work.
Details
Location: Lady Cannings
Time: Saturday 6th January 1230 until 1600
Meet: Lady Cannings car park on Sheephill Rd at 1230 or after that on the trail
Tools all provided (but extra wheelbarrows welcome)
Snacks provided, though you may want to bring your own drinks
Please wear clothing/footwear suitable for trailwork
Winter Social VII
Happy mountain bikers!
I can’t believe it! Seven Winter Socials? Have we really been going that long?
Once again Ride Sheffield was lucky enough to have a crowd of enthusiastic mountain bikers turn out to hear the latest news, drink fine Sheffield beers, grab some great raffle prizes and prove that they’re sad bike nerds in the quiz.
As usual, we were fortunate enough to have a lot of our greatest supporters in the room including John Dallow from SCC, Danny Udall from the Eastern Moors Partnership, Roy Mosley from Sheffield Wildlife Trust and Mike Sanderson from GoOutdoors. Without these guys, the Sheffield mountain biking community wouldn’t have made the enormous progress it has over the last seven years. Continue reading
Sign up as a supporter!
You’ve all been more than generous when we’ve been fundraising for new build trail projects – Lady Canning’s and Redmires wouldn’t happen without payments from riders and local businesses alike.
We’re now looking at the bigger picture, the longer term and potential for the future. Simply put, we need to look after the trails we have, whether purpose built or the network of bridleways that we’re lucky to have access to in Sheffield. That takes money.
With that in mind, we’re asking for you all to sign up as Ride Sheffield supporters. We have 4 different levels, each of which can be paid in a lump for the year or split into smaller monthly payments. Direct debit from your bank account, or card payments – no bother!
Each year, you’ll get a little thank you – something which can’t be bought elsewhere. Have a look at the details below; Continue reading
We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You….
It’s been an amazing couple of years for Ride Sheffield, busy and yet incredibly satisfying. Continue reading
Ride Sheffield Winter Social 2017
With just a couple of weeks to go until our winter social we thought it was about time to share a few more details about this years social. We are going to be meeting on the 4th of December from 7pm onwards and we will be back in our spiritual home The Lescar. Continue reading
Cut Gate – fix the Bog of Doom!
Ride Sheffield has been working closely with Keeper of the Peak and Peak District MTB this year on a Cut Gate project, looking at the possibility of sensitive repair work to the Bog of Doom.
We’re now pleased to announce that the BMC have included this Cut Gate project in “Mend our Mountains”, a nationwide campaign to raise 1 million pounds for various maintenance tasks across the UK’s National Parks.
Newsletter signup
In an attempt to better share news, we’ve setup an email mailing list that you can all sign up to. Our aim is to email roughly once a month – that’ll include our projects, fundraising, dig days and maintenance work and much more. We’re well aware that posting onto our own website, Facebook and Twitter isn’t enough – email is a much better way for us to share our news.
To encourage people to sign up, we’re offering this pair of Smith Squad MTB goggles as a random prize picked from everyone who signs up by our Winter Social on Monday December the 4th. They’ve been signed by Sheffield’s very own Steve Peat – so they’re far from your standard pair!
We’ll be aiming to send an update once a month – you will of course have the option to unsubscribe at any time. We’ll never share your data.
Please sign up below and we’ll draw a winner of the goggles in December and let the lucky person know. Sign up by 4th December to be in with a chance of winning!