After the success of the last big trail day we held last year, we thought it would be good to head back up to carry on with the work we started in 2021, tidy up a bit of the winter damage and get the trail ready for spring.
Supported by Santa Cruz Bicycles Pay Dirt programme, on Saturday the 12th of March we will be having another super-sized trail day up at Lady Cannings.
Working on a number of sections on Blue Steel, the plan is to rebuild and reshape features to get them up to scratch and up to date, as well as a bit of patching and drain clearing thrown in for good measure.
This starts off by getting 40 tonnes of material on site in the next couple of weeks and then getting it to when it needs to be. Hopefully that will reduce the need for such epic barrowing sessions some volunteers enjoyed/endured last time!
So, what does the trail day look like? With a lot to do, we need a lot of helpers to get it done, so here’s our plan…
You will be then put into a mini trail crew with an experienced team leader
Your team will have a section of trail to work on/rebuild
We will provide you with the tools and machinery to get the job done under the guidance of the team leader (all we ask is you come dressed for the work!)
You get to learn some new skills, get a bit of a workout and the pleasure of turning a rough berm into a dream to ride.
For your efforts we will be providing you with a Pizza lunch (provided by Sunshine Pizza Oven) and the chance to win some Santa Cruz goodies too.
Santa Cruz Bicycles will be there on the day and will hopefully have some nice bikes on display too, with staff on hand to be able to talk you through what is on offer and perhaps offer a bit of guidance on your current ride set up too.
Not only that; they will have some Santa Cruz athletes and staff along to help us with the trail work too.
We will also have the Ride Sheffield stand up there, with our Ambassadors on hand to chat about what we are up to and sell you some nice Ride Sheffield merch!
So even if you don’t manage to book a spot, it’s still going to be a fun day up in the woods. So swing by and get a couple of laps of Cooking on Gas in, say hi, grab some food, check out some nice bikes and buy some Ride Sheffield merch. What’s not to love?
If you’re keen to help out, but don’t fancy the trail work – please ask on the stand. It may be that you can help out with litter picking, logistics or a few odd jobs!
We cant wait to get up to the woods and get digging and revitalising a Sheffield classic not to mention seeing you all up there too.
If you have any questions, please get in touch, but if not, just follow the Eventbrite link and we look forward to seeing you on the day.
After a great couple of sessions on Blacka and at Lady Cannings, our women’s trail day in collaboration with Cotic Women of Steel returns. This time we will be working on the Eastern Moors Loop bridleway, improving the drainage and repairing the surface on the main track.
All are welcome – whether you have experience or not, it’ll be great to have you involved.
As it’s an SSSI, the work and techniques will be a bit different to previous dig days, so we will be talking about what we’re doing and why, and why it’s different to the work we’ve done on Blacka Moor or at Lady Canning’s.
This is the project we’ve been working on for a while and we are stoked to finally be able to share it with you all. This is the biggest Ride Sheffield news for a long time.
Back in early 2021 we launched a crowd funder to find the remaining funds we needed to top up the £20k from the Radmires project corporate donors to give Greno the major work it needed. Covid delayed the fundraising, the planning and everything else but the money kept slowly rolling in from riders and the pot slowly grew. Late last year we finally had the full £30k that we needed together.
We’ve been talking to contractors, liaising with the Wildlife Trust, discussing plans on site and getting everything sorted and 100% sorted so we could share the news.
Starting on Monday 11th April, Greno will be finally by getting the work it desperately needs. All 3 trails will be getting major work over the course of 6 weeks by a 4 man team using plant to repair, refurbish and refresh the trails. Some of the classic features will be retained, some will be updated and there will be a bunch of new stuff as well!
In addition to the great news on the work happening is the folks who are going to do it. We’ve put together a crack team of diggers to make Greno better than it’s ever been. Led by Farmer John and James Petit working with Ollie Hindley and Alex Bourekas, the crew will bring a new feel to the trails and show us what they can do. They’ve worked together before in Europe building bike parks in Austria and beyond, this will be their first work together in the UK.
Those who’ve been to Farmer Johns will know the flow and jumps of the top section and some of the techy sections lower down in the woods. JP sculpt is best known in these parts for his trails in Wharncliffe just over the road. Who’s excited to see what they can do?
During the works there will be trail closures while the magic happens. Trails will have signs up, barriers across the trail etc and if you see any of this please do not ride the trails, if you see anyone else doing please ask them not to. Riding while work is happening and before the trails are settled will lead to lots of rework, delay the proper opening longer and reduce the good work the guys can do. The Ride Sheffield social pages will be kept up to date with the latest via a pinned post on Fb and a #grenotrails posts on Instagram. We’ll do our best to keep something open to ride at all times but weather and other factors will determine when we can open the trails. Whatever anyone thinks or says if there are signs up and blockers across the tracks they are not ready to ride regardless of how good they may look so please please be patient. Anyone caught riding tracks while they are closed will receive a lifetime Steel City DH ban.
This work wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Vulcan Engineering, Avanti Conveyors, Cotic and the riding community of Sheffield and beyond. Huge thanks to everyone that donated. To make sure as much awesome as possible gets created Ride Sheffield and Steel City Series will put in another £5k between them to invest a total of £35k in to the work.
As always massive thanks go the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust who own and manage the woodland and are very supportive of mountain biking in general around the city. We wouldn’t have trails in Greno without their help!
If you’re a regular user of any of our trails and don’t already please consider signing up Radtax for a few quid a month to help support the work we do and the trails you enjoy riding. It all goes to good use to help Ride Sheffield do more and make more great things happen for bikes around the city.
FAQ’s 1. Is it open yet? Not unless we say so and we’ll make a load of noise when trails are ready for folks to ride!
2. Will there be any new/more trails? Unfortunately no, Greno is a victim of it’s own success and is already so popular with with bikes, walkers, horses and wildlife etc that there is no more capacity for further trails.
3. Can I help with the build? The trail works will be carried out by professionals with plant and machinery to ensure they can stand up to the huge levels of traffic Greno sees. We will be doing some dig days prior to the race to get all the other bits ready for race day. Help at these would be much appreciated.
4. How can I help? Sign up to rad tax and come along to dig days if you can. If you’re keen to be more involved with all Ride Sheffield does and have time to commit to helping mountain biking then drop us an email to info@ridesheffield.org.uk and lets talk.
5. Why’s it taken so long? Fund raising is never quick and during uncertain Covid times it didn’t feel right to be pushing folks to donate. After that contractor availability, fitting in best with the seasons in the woods and other things have all meant that now is the time. We’ve been working hard in the background to get it over the line as soon as possible.
6. I need to practice for the race? It’s not practice until race day, anything until then is just riding your bike. Steel City track will be done first and will be open as soon as we possibly can but please be patient and don’t ride until we say it’s ready!
The followers of Ride Sheffield are generally a supportive bunch, happy with what we do, thankful for the trails, maintenance and other things we deliver. However, we do still get a few comments along the lines of “Why don’t Ride sheffield do…..” or “You should do more of X”.
This post will try to explain the real Ride Sheffield position and what
folks could do to help.
Ride Sheffield has been around for over 10 years now and for a volunteer
group to exist that long is a huge achievement. When we were shiny and new we
had a sizeable team of enthusiasts achieving success in various areas but, over
time, people’s lives and priorities change and the team has shrunk. For the
last few years most of what Ride Sheffield has delivered has been done by four
people. That’s four people who have jobs, families, want to ride their
bikes and are giving their time voluntarily.
Dig days are well supported – last September’s Canning’s maintenance day saw some forty five willing volunteers grafting but even they currently are planned and led by one of the same four people. We have ambassadors who have helped at events and a couple of folks have recently stepped up to help set up the trail crews. They will help with maintenance work planning and implementation once these crews are up and running.
The trail crews will pick up maintenance work around all the areas we work and also in time take over setting up and leading digs, liaising with land managers, setting up projects and that will lighten some of the load. But organisation, training and experience building all takes time.
There’s still a lot we’d like to do and some things we could do better, we admit that. There are a number of projects and ideas are waiting in line but what we require to take Ride Sheffield to the next level is more help. We’ve reached capacity and as we continue to grow and be recognised for the work we do there are more opportunities and things we’d like to do.
We need people from around the city who are willing to step up and do something to aid the progress of mountain biking around Sheffield. It doesn’t necessarily require huge amounts of time, you don’t need to be a riding god or to know how to wield a shovel to make the perfect berm. We just need a broader cohort of dedicated, willing people to spread the load.
For example it would be a huge help having a team who could run our social
media pages for us, keeping posts up to date. That alone would free up some
core team time and also help spread the word about what we do, grow our
supporter base and generate more funds through Rad-Tax It’s a virtuous
circle.
Help could also come in the form of specific skills, solicitors, surveyors, environmental experience, grant applications, working at a plant hire company or quarry – many different forms of expertise would assist us. It could also be a willingness to get involved in all sorts of stuff, join the committee and be part of the team.
If you’re interested in getting involved with Ride Sheffield, helping us do
more and take things to the next level, drop an email to info@ridesheffield.org.uk Let
us know what you’d be interested in doing, whether general help or a specific
skill.
The Sheffield response to COP26 was a sizeable demo and some inspiring speeches. However, we have characterised ourselves as the Outdoor City and, if we’re to be taken seriously, our response to the current environmental catastrophe has to be robust both within the city and without.
Apocryphally, Sheffield has the greatest level of graduate retention in the country. Many arrive, enjoy the student life, discover the delights of the great outdoors and put down roots. Our history of rambling is second to none, socialist walking groups were heavily involved in the campaign to increase access to the countryside. We have the largest climbing population in the country and the mountain biking community is immense.
Inevitably, most of the people involved in those pastimes love the landscape and are keen to look after it. However, are we impact neutral or do we have to examine how we conduct ourselves and reduce our effect on the natural world? Do we have examples of adventure sports getting it dead right?
Ride Sheffield have looked after Devil’s Elbow for ten years….
Over the years, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) has become more and more obsessed with the minutiae of access and the effect it can have on the environment. Local access volunteers, particularly Henry Folkard, have conducted themselves in an exemplary fashion, largely in the Peak District.
Nearly twenty years ago, Stanage and North Lees Ranger Bill Gordon began to study the ring ouzel, a red-listed bird that had reduced in numbers across the British Isles. He recorded populations and nests and concluded that numbers at Stanage and Burbage were holding up well but needed to be protected.
A site meeting was held and an RSPB official suggested there should be a four month access ban on Stanage to prevent disturbance of the birds. Unsurprisingly, the response from the BMC was to firmly oppose that idea. Stanage has always been one of the most popular crags in the country and a magnet for walkers too. A ban would alienate many of those people.
Instead, local bird study groups, Henry Folkard and the Peak District National Park got together and came to an agreement that climbers would avoid nesting sites and neighbouring climbing routes to give the ouzel every chance to breed successfully.
Over the next few years, climbers took ownership of the ring ouzel and went out of their way to protect it. Signs were posted near nests and the BMC put out regular updates. One day, Flo, Bill Gordon’s wife, was taking down one of the signs after a nest had successfully fledged and a climber on a nearby climb shouted, “Oy, leave the ring ouzels alone!!”
Engaging outdoor folk in the process of protecting the ring ouzel was a stroke of genius. Over the years, ouzel numbers have fluctuated and the scheme has grown. Climbers, ramblers and mountain bikers have been recruited to monitor nests.
This nest was discovered and recorded by a mountain biker and fledged successfully.
Involving the outdoor community is so much more productive that treating them as pariahs. The knowledge gained will always be passed on to friends and fellow enthusiasts, ensuring that the message gets out there – look after the wild world.
Are there other examples of people getting it right? Mountain bike group Ride Sheffield have an outstanding relationship with the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust. For the last ten years, they have maintained all the bridleways on Blackamoor Nature Reserve, allowing the Trust to concentrate on essential conservation work. It has also given an underfunded Sheffield City Council (SCC) a helping hand too saving money for the Rights of Way Team.
Most land managers have volunteer schemes that bolster their ability to enhance the natural world. We need to expand the volunteer ethic and encourage more people to get involved, particularly those who frequently visit the area. It’s good for the natural world and good for everyone’s mental health too.
Ride Sheffield volunteers planting trees for the Eastern Moors Partnership.
Where are we getting it wrong? The way we access the Peak District is crucial in many respects. Parking in the Peak District on popular days is sky-high and we need to encourage the use of public transport. The national park has a large network of roads that mean it’s difficult to get away from the sound of cars. Some years ago, SCC and the BMC funded a climbers’ bus that dropped people at Stanage. It was woefully underused and eventually discontinued. How can we remedy these problems?
Both the Lake District and Peak District National Parks are considering some radical solutions. One of the proposals is to close some roads so that peace returns to the moors. Our obsession with motor vehicles has to be challenged and the tranquility that would result from closing a few roads at weekends would be a game changer. Introducing shuttle buses is also on the cards, ensuring that access to the national park is maintained. Those buses would have to be able to transport bikes too. This is brave and inspirational but will it happen?
The Peak District is the second most popular National Park in the world, surrounded by cities and increasingly busy since people discovered it during lockdown. However, it is massively underfunded. While the vast majority of people want to look after it we have to aim higher. We must volunteer more and help those land owning charities that have taken a serious financial hit during the pandemic. Leave your car at home, ride in, listen carefully to advice from conservation bodies and support those charities. If we don’t, the place we love will suffer.
A Merry Christmas from all of us here at Ride Sheffield – we’re pleased to confirm that both Blue Steel at Lady Cannings and Pub Run at Greno are back open!
Blue Steel
Blue Steel at Cannings had some work a couple of weeks back, with a rebuild to the top few berms. These have now settled well and the track’s back open – but the first RH berm is still a little soft. We’ll give it some TLC again in the New Year, but if you can keep low in the corner in the meantime it’d be very much appreciated!
Pub Run
Up at Greno, the felling works have finished and Pub Run is now back open. The contractors have renewed the damaged sections of trail, but it’s going to be another case of needing some TLC in January.
We hope you all have an enjoyable and relaxing festive break, maybe even the odd bike ride?!
We’re very pleased to announce that we’re the proud winners of a Singletrack Magazine Reader Award! Our “Be Nice Say Hi” campaign has won Best UK Community Initiative
We’re absolutely chuffed to receive this award, but also please to see press recognition of some great people and groups across the board. This year’s Singletrack Awards say thanks to the folks working behind the scenes to bring new people to the world of biking, working to improve trail conditions and access as well as caring for the outdoors and the places we ride.
It’s well worth a few minutes of your time to have a look at this link and see what everyone’s been up to!
Big thanks to everyone who nominated and voted for us, it’s very much appreciated.
Ride Sheffield & Cotic Women of Steel Women’s Dig Day
Following on from the success of our first women-only dig day, we will be running another one from 10 am – approximately 1pm on Saturday 27 November, also on Blacka Moor.
The women’s dig days will focus on repairing bridleways and we’ll talk about the work which has been planned, look at the techniques needed and discuss the best approach to make it suitable for all user groups.
This month, we will be working on Devil’s Elbow, maintaining the drainage to try to keep the trail in good condition over the winter.
Places will be limited, so please let us know if you want to come along – either sign up on the Women of Steel Facebook page, or email info@ridesheffield.org.uk with the subject “Women’s Dig Day”
We’re chuffed to confirm that Singletrack Magazine have included us as one of their finalists in their Reader Awards. We’re up for the “Best UK Community Initiative” for our Be Nice Say Hi campaign, which has spread far and wide to encourage more friendly behaviour between user groups sharing trails.
Anyhow, to get to the point – VOTE FOR US PLEASE!
Click this link and vote for as many categories as you wish, just make sure to click submit for each one. Alongside us, there’s some worthwhile people and organisations, so let’s give them some recognition!
We were asked by Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (Shaff) to arrange a series of online talks to provide an online version of the talks they usually host as part of the festival. We picked some inspiring and exciting guests and had some fascinating discussions, which can be seen below.
Martyn Ashton
Tommy Wilkinson
Aneela McKenna
Cy Turner
Let us know what you think – especially if you have any suggestions for guests we could chat to in the future!
