Dear Wakefield MAG Member,
Welcome to the Wakefield MAG e-newsletter. 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) New Pothole Campaign
2) Rally Tickets
3) Branch Products
4) ITV Report
5) Fight Motorcycle Theft 2023
6) Wakefield MAG May Day Bike Show Report
7) Easter Egg Collection (in aid of Wakefield based Charity Kidzaware)
8) Wakefield MAG 21st Birthday Bash
9) Marshals Registration Open FYP 2023
10) Forthcoming Events (for May and beyond)
New Pothole Campaign: Resurface Our Roads, We Deserve Better
The Motorcycle Action Group renews its campaigning to end the blight of crumbling road surfaces. The Resurface Our Roads campaign is supporting a Government petition calling for increased funding. MAG will also highlight the dangers faced by motorcyclists and shortcomings of local authority responses.
MAG is throwing its weight behind promoting a new Government petition to motorcyclists. The petition, raised by Dean Murphy, calls for increased funding for road repair and resurfacing.
The petition states: The Government takes billions a year from road users. We deserve better investment in road maintenance, not simply waiting for potholes to appear then filling them. Many roads need resurfacing to provide better, safer conditions for all road users. The Government should increase funding for this. Road surfaces in many areas are a disgrace and not becoming of a supposedly developed leading world economy. Potholes are an obvious danger to all road users but our roads need much more than the sticking plaster of pothole repair, much of which takes an age to be undertaken.
Nor is it simply about safety; there is a total lack of civic pride. Improving roads could help improve wellbeing by reducing stress. Invest more of the billions of pounds of revenue taken from road users into road infrastructure. For motorcyclists, the risks go far beyond the cost and inconvenience of damaged wheels and suspension. MAG research conducted in 2020 showed that every year, over 70 motorcyclists are killed or seriously injured in incidents where road surface defects are a contributory factor. Safe road infrastructure is one of the key pillars of the Safe System approach to road safety.
MAG's Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, said: "Potholes are an emotive subject for riders. A simple request for stories of pothole related crashes on MAG's social media attracted a response rate higher by an order of magnitude than other posts. Potholes have always been in the top five issues that get raised by our membership. The recent announcement by Jeremy Hunt of an extra £200 million to tackle the issue is risible when taken in the context of the £14 billion backlog of repairs reported by the Asphalt Industry Alliance in their 2023 ALARM report."
MAG is calling on all members to raise the issue both locally in the recent local elections and nationally with their MPs. Ask your local candidates and MP to sign the petition and make sure that they do all they can to allocate funds in this area. Bikers are voters and now is the time to make our voice heard.
The petition can be found at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/634995
We have now returned our unsold tickets for ITV given the event has now passed, but we still have for sale at our weekly meetings, tickets (which are actually barcoded wristbands) for FYP & YPR.
Ticket prices and dates are:
YPR sells out every year so you are advised to get your tickets sooner rather than later for this mighty fine rally to avoid dissappointment !!!
Remember, if you buy your tickets directly from us, you save on the on-line booking fee (which are per ticket not per transaction !!!) 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
Check out the current Wakefield MAG Branch Products for sale here
Coming soon will be a new batch of Wakefield MAG patches and T Shirts (T Shirts will be to order only so if you want one, let us know your size and payment in advance will be required as we won't be holding a stock of these).
See event report here
5) Fight Motorcycle Theft 2023
Motorcycle theft is a major issue in our region. Several Yorkshire MAG members have had their bikes stolen recently. This is often perpetrated by armed gangs with links to organised crime. The stolen bikes are either used to commit other crimes or moved out of the area and likely stripped for parts. The thieves are quite blatant and have been seen using angle grinders in broad daylight to cut through chains and locks. They often carry knives and/or other weapons to deter anyone who challenges them. There are also reported instances of bike jackings at junctions and traffic lights, again when the rider is threatened with weapons. Riders have been followed by other bikes and or scooters with a view to stealing the bike.
Enough is enough !!!
MAG is well aware of these ongoing issues and is organsing a number of Fight Motorcycle Theft roadshows throughout 2023. Two have already been held (Kent and Birmingham), with Leeds, Hull, Nottingham, Manchester, London, Cardiff and Edinburgh to follow.
The Leeds event is booked for Saturday 24th June (14:00 - 17:00) (not Saturday 13th May as was previously advised) at the John Charles Centre, Middleton Grove, Belle Isle, Leeds, LS11 5DJ.
At these events you will have the chance to question our speakers and put forward your ideas to fight bike theft. Police and Crime Commissioners, Senior Police Officers, MAG's own Colin Brown plus other speakers will be at each event.
We need a big turnout to make these events a success - Hope to see you there !!!
6) Wakefield MAG May Day Bike Show Report
See event report here
7) Easter Egg Collection (in aid of Wakefield based Charity Kidzaware)
Following our Easter Egg collection appeal, Chas delivered FORTY SEVEN Easter Eggs to the Kidzaware charity on Wednesday 5th April, which had been donated by Wakefield MAG members. A tremendously generous donation by Wakefield MAG members, which was hugely appreciated by the Kidzaware charity. A huge thanks and well done to all who donated Easter Eggs to this worthwhile cause.
8) Wakefield MAG 21st Birthday Bash
2023 is quite significant for Wakefield MAG for we are 21 years old !!!; Significant also for MAG nationally as MAG is 50 years old this year !!!
To help celebrate this monumental anniversary, we are hosting a Saturday Bike Day on Saturday 9th September (12:00 - 17:00) at the Thatched House, with a bike display / show in the car park, Steve the Landlord will be laying on a BBQ, we'll have our Wakefield MAG stand and the legendary Huddersfield MAG Top Box Sale (on tour) will be joining us so lots of opportunities to bag some bargain bike gear. We'll also have a tombola and prize raffle. We are also hoping to feature live music but if we fail in that endevour, we'll have recorded music playing.
Hopefully you'll be able to join us in September, to help celebrate MAG's 50th and Wakefield MAG's 21st birthdays.
N.B. We had this event previously advertised for Saturday 24th June, but a good number of our meeting regulars are on holiday, so it wasn't fair to hold this event on a day they couldn't attend, hence the reschedule.
9) Marshals Registration Open FYP 2023
The Registration Application Forms for Farmyard Party 2023 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.
The forms are available from Friday 14th April until Friday 2nd June and the marshal rota will be compiled that weekend. Marshals will then be emailed your shifts in the week beginning Monday 5th June.
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 at marshals@mapevents.co.uk who will help you.
Thank you for volunteering your time to marshal at our events, as without you all the events simply would not happen.
The Thank You Package for MAG marshals at FYP is:
Also, all marshals have the use of showers and a secure marshals camping area.
10) Forthcoming Events (for May and beyond)
Sunday 14th May - Rideout (Destination: TBC)
Meet 10:00 at Abduls, 151 Broadway, Lupset, Wakefield WF2 8AU. Check Wakefield Motorcycles Facebook Group for details: www.facebook.com/groups/317356459505503/events
Tuesday 30th May - Wakefield MAG May Social - Event TBC
Sunday 11th June - Rideout (Destination: TBC)
Meet 10:00 at Abduls, 151 Broadway, Lupset, Wakefield WF2 8AU. Check Wakefield Motorcycles Facebook Group for details: www.facebook.com/groups/317356459505503/events
Friday 16th - Sunday 18th June - Farmyard Party (FYP) Rally
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
Saturday 24th June - Fight Motorcycle Theft 2023 LEEDS
See Above
Tuesday 27th June - Wakefield MAG June Social - Event TBC
Sunday 8th July - Rideout (Destination: TBC)
Meet 10:00 at Abduls, 151 Broadway, Lupset, Wakefield WF2 8AU. Check Wakefield Motorcycles Facebook Group for details: www.facebook.com/groups/317356459505503/events
Friday 4th - Sunday 6th August - Yorkshire Pudding Rally (YPR)
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
Saturday 9th September - Wakefield MAG 21st Birthday Bash
See Above
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.