Ride Sheffield

Author: John Horscroft

  • Stanage Saga Continues….

    Stanage….but on this occasion, the meeting was pretty much an unqualified success.   (more…)

  • Peak District Rider Survey Update

    Stanage Causeway - it doesn't have to be like this!
    Stanage Causeway – it doesn’t have to be like this!

    Thanks to Ride Sheffield volunteer Will Blomfield, we have recently carried out a very successful survey intended to establish just how important the Peak District is to riders from Sheffield and beyond.  The initial impetus for the survey came from the realisation that one of the hottest topics for local riders was Derbyshire County Council’s ongoing trail sanitisation programme.   (more…)

  • What Have Ride Sheffield Ever Done For Us?

    What Have Ride Sheffield Ever Done For Us?

    I went for a restorative ride recently.  I’d had one of those days, trying to get a straight answer from some overworked public official, getting abuse on Farcebook, generally having a bit of a mare.  So I went for a ride, to clear my head, get away from the virtual coalface of the computer screen and reboot my brain.  (more…)

  • Stanage Open Meeting

    Nick Copestake on the old packhorse route Stanage
    Nick Copestake on the old packhorse route Stanage

    From a mountain biking point of view, Stanage is fundamentally just one trail, admittedly a corker, the wonderfully varied packhorse route.  But in common with climbers, hang-gliders and fell runners, we see Stanage as so much more than a place to enjoy a sport.  It is one of the most important landscapes in the Peak District, a place we feel very protective about and guaranteed to generate a deal of passion whenever change is mooted. (more…)

  • The Fight for Stanage Causeway goes on….

    Stanage Causeway - it doesn't have to be like this!
    Stanage Causeway – it doesn’t have to be like this!

    A large proportion of Stanage Causeway fell victim to Derbyshire County Council’s over-zealous engineers last year and the inevitable sanitised trail was the result.  Ride Sheffield and its members made their feelings known and DCC were left in little doubt that mountain bikers were not amused.  A year on, and no further work has been done.   (more…)

  • A New Start For Stanage?

    The packhorse route over Stange
    The packhorse route over Stange

    Stanage is a special place to a whole host of Sheffield residents.  Climbers, walkers, hang-gliders, horse riders, dog owners and, of course, mountain bikers all love the place.  They love it because it’s a great place to enjoy their particular interest but also because such magnificent landscape is so close to one of Britain’s great cities It’s effectively every Sheffield resident’s back garden and, inevitably, we’re very protective of it. (more…)

  • Curbar/Froggatt Bridleway Nears Completion….

    Exif_JPEG_PICTUREAfter a couple of years hard work by the Eastern Moors Partnership (EMP), the plan to create a new bridleway running the full length of Froggatt and Curbar edges is nearing fruition.  All the necessary permissions are in place and it’s hoped that signage and gates can be installed ready for the trail to open in April. (more…)

  • Look Out DCC, We’re A Comin’ For you!

    That's the way to do it! A Ride Sheffield work party show how it should be done on Devil's Elbow.
    That’s the way to do it! A Ride Sheffield work party show how it should be done on Devil’s Elbow.

    They’re the local council we all love to hate and Ride Sheffield have been bursting blood vessels aplenty trying to get them to listen.  So far though, in spite of our best efforts, they’re copping a deaf ‘un.

    So, time for a new initiative.   (more…)

  • Dig For Victory!

    Hard at it on Devil's Elbow
    Hard at it on Devil’s Elbow

    Ride Sheffield was involved in two dig days on saturday 11 January. On Blackamoor, an enthusiastic team tackled the last few wet patches at the bottom of the Devil’s Elbow bridleway.  This section is now unrecognisable from the Somme-like mud bath of five years ago when bikes, riders, pedestrians and horses were known to sink into the mire and never return. (more…)

  • Whoa there Horsey!

    Horse and bike getting on fine
    Horse and bike getting on fine

    We were lucky enough to enjoy a very positive meeting with Peak District equine pressure group, PeakHorsepower recently.  Sue Duke and John Horscroft met up with Wendy and Charlotte, two of the leading lights in the organisation which, just like Ride Sheffield, has only been operating for about three years and has already achieved a fair degree of influence.  We also invited along Paul Richardson of the newly formed Peak District MTB pressure group. (more…)