Dear Wakefield MAG Member,
Welcome to the Wakefield MAG Newsletter, a bumper one as it's covering both March & April. If you can't attend our Tuesday meetings regularly, it's the next best thing to keep you up to date with what we are up to.
CONTENTS
1) Wakefield MAG May Day Bike Show
2) For Sale
3) Wakefield Hospice 10K Race Marshalling
4) Rally Tickets
5) Post Christmas Auction Report (updated)
6) 2022 Events
7) Easter Egg Collection (in aid of Wakefield based Charity Kidzaware)
8) Tax threat to Bike Rallies
9) Yorkshire Regional Rep
10) MAG withdraws from the National Motorcycle Council
11) UK Motorcycling welcomes NABD
12) Journey to a Brighter Destination
13) Bike tax to increase from 1st April
14) Win Bike Insurance
15) Marshals Registration Open ITV 2022
16) Forthcoming Events (for March, April and beyond)
1) Wakefield MAG May Day Bike Show
After a gap of two years (due to that pesky Covid), our much loved and popular bike show, hosted at the Wakefield Gala at Clarence Park Arena, is back on for 2022 !!!! Our bike show will be held, as usual, on May Day Bank Holiday Monday (2nd May).
Fettle up your pride and joy and enter it into the show .... for FREE. All types of Bike, Scooter, Moped, Combination and Trike are welcomed and there are six winning categories plus an overall Best in Show up for grabs. We will also be hosting the Wakefield MAG stand and running a tombola (with some great prizes to win). Lots of other attractions at the gala to entertain you whilst you wait to see if your bike has won, and it's a great family day out.
Location: Clarence Park, Wakefield. Show to be judged at 14:30, Entry into show from 09:30 onwards (Gala officially opens at 10:00).
Hope to see you there. Did we mention it was FREE !!!
We have a number of unsold motorcycle related items left over from our auction in January - See Below for the Event Report. These unsold items are listed on our For Sale page.
If you want any of these items, email your offer, clearly indicating the item number, and we'll get back to you. Items cannot be posted so will need to be collected from Wakefield.
Branch email address for your offers: wakefield-rep@mag-uk.org
N.B. Sensible offers only please as we are trying to raise money for MAG.
3) Wakefield Hospice 10K Race Marshalling
The Wakefield 10k Road Race is organised for and by Wakefield Hospice, with the aim to raise as much as possible for patients and their families living with an end of life diagnosis. Wakefield Hospice annually needs to raise £4 million. They would not be able to achieve this without the help of local people going out of their way to raise funds through taking part in events like the Wakefield 10k.
This years event will be the 25th annual Wakefield 10k and during that time runners have raised more than £0.5 million for those who need specialist care at a very difficult time in their lives.
The 25th Wakefield Hospice 10k race is being held on Sunday 20th March 2022, and takes a similar route to previous years: starting from Clarence Park, it's a linear route straight out and back along Horbury Road.
Wakefield MAG have helped to marshal this popular event for more years than we care to remember, and our role is as mobile race marshals, looking after those competitors at the tail end of the race. The roads will only be closed for an hour maximum, and although the bulk of runners will be finished whilst the road is still closed, a good number of runners (walkers !!!) will still be on the course, hence the requirement for mobile marshals (that's us !!) to ensure their safety, once the road is re-opened to traffic. We are generally the last 'officials' remaining on the course, and hence play a vital role.
We have 6 volunteers already which is the optimal number we need, but if you would like to put your name down as a reserve, please let me know.
On the day, meet at 08:30 on Lawfield Lane to be issued with your marshalls Hi-Viz vest and receive any last minute instructions. P.S. you'll be home for lunchtime !!!
N.B. Please ensure your own bike insurance does not have an exclusion relating to marshalling non-motorsport events i.e. runners on a partially closed road route - MAG's preferred insurer, Bikesure, does not in it's standard insurance cover exclusions.
The tickets (barcoded wristbands this year) are due from the printers any time now, so we will very soon receive our Branch allocation of tickets for the Yorkshire MAG 2022 Rallies for sale at our weekly meetings.
Ticket prices and dates are:
Remember, if you buy your tickets directly from us, you save on the on-line booking fee and postage .... more money in your pocket = more beer money .... what more of an incentive could you possibly want !!!
See the Yorkshire MAG Events site for more details of these 3 fantastic rallies: www.mapevents.co.uk
5) Post Christmas Auction Report (updated)
Check out the event report Here
After a subdued last two years, we are positively delighted to be able to announce a full programme of events for 2022 !!! These are detailed on the events page. To whet your appetite, here are some of the highlights to look forward to:
In addition, we will also hold monthly social events (held on the last Tuesday of every month), and the monthly rideouts (held one Sunday per month from April to October). For the summer months (June - August), we'll host evening rideouts to take advantage of the light nights - these will set off from Redbeck at 18:30 and will be a maximum of 3 hours duration (to ensure you are home at a reasonable time for your Horlicks ;-)
And to supplement all our own activities, we'll also be attending as many of the activities of our very good friends in the other Yorkshire MAG groups, as time dictates. One thing is for sure, you wont get bored being a member of Wakefield MAG !!!!
See the events page for further details and more !!!
7) Easter Egg Collection (in aid of Wakefield based Charity Kidzaware)
From April 1st, 2022, the use of tax-rebated (red) diesel will be limited to a small number of users. Motorcycle events are not included. This will increase Stormin' the Castle's costs by around £1500.00 and will have a similar effect on other MAG events. Traveling fairs and circuses, thanks to a successful campaign by the Showmen's Guild, will be allowed to continue to use rebated fuel, so why not biker rallies, events and festivals?
A petition aimed at allowing the events industry to continue using rebated fuel has been launched. Please sign the petition which can be found at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/599254
If bike rallies have to pay VAT on generator fuel, it will increase the overall costs of staging the events, which unfortunately means the costs have to be transferred to the ticket price, which will hit you, as a rally goer, in the pocket :-(
Following the unanimous acclaim of all Yorkshire MAG Local Reps, we are pleased to declare Richard 'Manny' Manton elected as the Yorkshire MAG Regional Rep for the term ending at the next Yorkshire MAG AGM, expected to be held in November/December 2023.
Welcome back into the role Manny !!!
10) MAG withdraws from the National Motorcycle Council
MAG have announced they are leaving the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) in favour of setting up a new forum which will be known as UK Motorcycling (UKM). The objective for this new discussion forum is to create a collaborative meeting environment where all stakeholders can share views and opinions on what will be a challenging few years ahead for Motorcycling in the UK.
Explaining the move, MAG National Chairman, Neil Liversidge, said: "We are more than capable of communicating with Government without a third-party interlocutor, and we need to spend our resources efficiently. MAG has good working relationships with all current NMC partners and the industry representative body, The Motorcycle Industry Association. Our aim is to direct all efforts and resources towards lobbying the Government, and any lobbying effort, to be realistic, must include the industry. We are therefore looking to build on our existing relationship with the current NMC partners and the industry. MAG over recent times have been developing an excellent working relationship with MCIA and are keen to grow this further still. It is by working more collaboratively and with all major stakeholders we will ensure all are heard by Government, sensibly co-ordinating our lobbying efforts with each other for the benefit of UK motorcyclists, and for motorcycling in all its forms."
11) UK Motorcycling welcomes NABD
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), the UK's leading voice for riders, has welcomed the National Association of Bikers with a Disability (NABD) to UK Motorcycling (UKM).
NABD, the world's leading support group for motorcyclists with disabilities, is to join UKM, which was recently formed by The Motorcycle Action Group. The Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) is also part of this new organisation.
Welcoming NABD to UKM, MAG's Chairman, Neil F Liversidge, said: "It's great to have NABD joining us. UKM will give a voice to all motorcyclists, working for their benefit and for the benefit of motorcycling in all its forms. It is especially important for us to have NABD on board because no organisation in the entire world has more experience in it's specialism."
NABD National Chairman, Rick Hulse, commented: "The NABD welcomes this opportunity to take part in this collaborative forum, an opportunity never afforded to us by the National Motorcycle Council (NMC). We have been successful in influencing legislation, both domestic and European, on numerous occasions over the past 30+ years. Now, with this opportunity to act in unity with other motorcycling organisations via the new UKM group, we look forward to being even more effective in protecting the rights and freedoms enjoyed by both motorcyclists with disabilities and the wider motorcycling community."
12) Journey to a Brighter Destination
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) is uniting with the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) to make the case for motorcycling. MAG has collaborated with the MCIA and endorses the long awaited 'Journey to a Brighter Destination' document in support of leisure motorcycling.
Motorcycles offer significant environmental, economic, and societal benefits to the UK's transport population. 'The Journey' puts forward a compelling case for why motorcycling as a leisure activity, primarily using higher-powered motorcycles, must be protected as the Government heads towards a net zero future. This future can, and will, be bright for motorcycling but only if the Government ensures that the right level of support is in place, starting from now, both in terms of financial consumer incentives and also the time and investment needed for us to adapt to new powertrains, electrical or otherwise.
MAG Chair, Neil Liversidge, said: "MAG welcomes the highly significant statement of intent which the Motorcycle Industry Association's (MCIA) 'Journey' report represents. The document lays out a clear position on the importance of motorcycling as it stands today in the context of leisure, pastimes, and sports. It also confirms the industry's commitment to develop a strategy to create a foundation for the continuation of motorcycling as we know it. Further, it considers all the things that are important to today's riders. The objective is to ensure not only that motorcycling continues, but that it also attracts a new, younger, and growing audience in the years to come."
"We are looking forward to working with MCIA and, together, feel much can be gained by working collaboratively, but with a mutual appreciation of each organisation's beliefs and objectives."
Download the full 'Journey' document here
Tony Campbell, CEO of MCIA, said: "Today's publication is all about celebrating what we all know and love. Underlying this is the need to showcase the significant benefits our industry brings to the UK economy and our society more generally. Though we are making significant progress in the lower powered end of the L-Category classification and the role these vehicles can, are and will play in the Government's zero emission and future of transport agendas, higher powered motorcycles will need to be treated differently, as they face far greater challenges when it comes to electrification using technologies that are available today."
"With the consultation on the phase out of new non-zero emission L-Category vehicles expected this year, The Journey puts forward a powerful case for why certain parts of our sector must be given more time to adapt before working towards any arbitrary phase out date. The Government must, at the very least, have an open mind to alternative fuels/powertrains, move away from focusing exclusively on zero emissions at the tailpipe and, ultimately, be proportionate in its prescribing the sector a phase out date based on both our current UK emissions contribution and the whole life cycle environmental impact of these vehicle types."
We are looking forward to continuing our work with Government, helping to shape the phase out consultation, and remain steadfast in ensuring progress towards net zero in a way that is both commercially viable for manufacturers and appealing to our riding community."
13) Bike tax to increase from 1st April
Bike tax is set to increase from 1st April 2022, which along with increasing petrol prices, not to mention gas and electricity prices skyrocketing, it's going to be a financially challenging year :-(
As a quick reference the key changes are as below:
Tax class 17 Motorcycles (with or without sidecar):
Tax class 50 Tricycles:
N.B. the £55 first registration fee is unchanged.
15) Marshals Registration Open ITV 2022
The Registration Application Forms for Into The Valley 2022 are now available to fill in from the MAG Marshals website: www.magmarshals.co.uk. The website has been updated to make it easier to register from any device, whether that is a computer/laptop or mobile device.
If you cannot remember which email address you have used as your username, please email the Marshal Co-Ordinators (Carol or Jayne) at marshals@mapevents.co.uk to get the information you require. If you wish to use a different email to one you have used before, you will have to Register as a Marshal again with your new email address before filling in the form to Marshal at an Event. If you have forgotten your password, Please use the Get Help section to reset it.
The forms are available until Friday 15th April and the marshal rota will be compiled that weekend. Marshals will then be emailed your shifts in the week beginning Monday 18th April.
We have a new venue for ITV this year, which is the Driffield Showground, Kellythorpe, YO25 9DN. We are hoping that it will be much easier to marshal than the site at Sledmere and we will be having overnight professional security (with dog patrols) from 8pm to 8am on Friday and Saturday nights. We are giving priority to marshals who wish to do 3 shifts or more and you will be notified when we are doing the rota if we cannot accommodate you as a marshal on this site.
Anyone expressing an interest in being on the build-up crew will be passed on to Pete Walker, who will have the final say on who will be on the list. The successful people will be notified separately by email.
If anyone needs a car pass could you please email Pete at pwalker@mapevents.co.uk. He will keep all your requests in a folder and will email the passes out the week before the event.
If you fill in more than one form in your household, then it may be beneficial to clear your browsing data and cookies before attempting each form as the form may hold the information from the previous attempt if you do not do this.
If you do have any problems, please email the Marshal Co-Ordinators (Carol or Jayne) at marshals@mapevents.co.uk who will help you.
Thank you for volunteering your time to marshal at our events, as without you all they would not happen. Welcome back and we hope to see you in a field soon.
16) Forthcoming Events (for March, April and beyond)
Sunday 20th March - Wakefield Hospice 10K Race Marshalling
See Above
Tuesday 12th April - Easter Egg Collection (in aid of Wakefield based Charity Kidzaware)
See Above. Collecting Easter Eggs now until Tuesday 12th April
Friday 29th April - Sunday 1st May - Into the Valley (ITV) Rally
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
Monday 2nd May - Bike Show (at the Wakefield Gala)
See Above.
Friday 17th - Sunday 19th June - Farmyard Party (FYP) Rally
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
Friday 5th - Sunday 7th August - Yorkshire Pudding Rally (YPR)
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
See the events page for further details and more !!!
That's all for this month, hope to see you all soon.
Ride Safe .. Ride Free
Steve Travis
Chairman
Wakefield MAG
0772 078 4734
Wakefield MAG meet at the Thatched House, Stanley, Wakefield at 8:00pm every Tuesday. New (and Old) faces are always welcome.