Dear Wakefield MAG Member,
Welcome to the Wakefield MAG e-newsletter. If you can't attend our Wednesday meetings regularly, it's the next best thing to keep you up to date with what we are up to.
CONTENTS
1) Killer Armadillos on Salford Roundabout - An Urgent Appeal from Leon
2) Wakefield MAG Treasure Hunt (The Thinking Riders Rideout)
3) Wakefield MAG Clothes Bank Donation Fundraiser
4) Wakefield MAG Bingo Night
5) 11th Annual Bikers Quiz Nite
6) MAG National Demo - Saturday 23rd August 2014
7) Snooty Fox Bike Night
8) Survey on Motorcycle Tourism
9) Scots Biker in Insurance Hell with Legal Loophole
10) ePetition - Scrap the requirement to retake a CBT every 2 years
11) Forthcoming Events (for September and beyond)
1) Killer Armadillos on Salford Roundabout - An Urgent Appeal from Leon
In issue 53 (July/August) issue of the Road, Leon Mannings wrote about the trials in Salford of armadillo shaped lumps of plastic that have been bolted to the road in the attempt to make things safer for cyclists. Yet again something is being trialled without considering it's impact on motorcyclists. This is what happens to these armadillos when something like a truck runs over them:
Not only are the broken pieces a hazard for all two wheelers but the bolts sticking up once the armadillo is smashed are equally lethal to PTW's.
ACTION: Please email Salford Council (politely!), raise your objections to the scheme and ask them to extend the consultation period so motorcyclists concerns can be addressed. http://www.salford.gov.uk/schemeconsultations.htm
Currently, the consultation period is set to end 8th September, and be followed by internal 'consideration' and rubber stamping two weeks later. This must be extended so that the key issues raised by MAG can be properly discussed. See details below from Leon. When you email Salford Council, please bcc Wayne Rooney, the Yorkshire Region Rep yorkshire-rep@mag-uk.org, so we can collate and pass these details onto Leon.
Also get every biker you know to also respond in the negative. So far, the Council have received relatively few objections, so will be (wrongly) assuming that they can plough ahead.
Thanks in advance
--------------------------
A Summary of MAG's concerns and position:
2) Wakefield MAG Treasure Hunt (The Thinking Riders Rideout)
After a gap of a year, we are hosting a Treasure Hunt again, on Sunday 28th September 2014.
Multiple Clues, Multiple Answers, Multiple Destinations, Multiple Opportunities to get totally lost.
Prizes for 1st , 2nd & 3rd place, plus a booby prize for coming last.
Rankings determined by a combination of correct answers, correct destinations, route taken and time elapsed, so the first back to base isn't necessarily the winner ... it's why it's the Ultimate Thinking Riders Rideout !!!
Meet 8:30am (to get clues/instructions) at the Redbeck Cafe, 339 Doncaster Road, Crofton, Wakefield, WF4 1RT. Leave when you have worked out where you are going !!! £1 p.p. Entry Fee (to cover the cost of the prizes). All profits to the MAG Fighting Fund
3) Wakefield MAG Clothes Bank Donation Fundraiser
We are having a Clothes Bank Donation Fundraising evening at our meeting on Wednesday 1st October. The idea is to bring along your un-wanted Clean & Wearable clothes, shoes, belts etc, we bag them up and take them to a clothes bank, where we will be paid for the donations (£5 per Kilogram), and what we raise will be donated to the MAG Fighting Fund. A simple way to raise funds for MAG, and a great way to get rid of your old rally T Shirts !!!!
N.B. This date clashes with the Huddersfield MAG Pie Night, so if you are planning to go to the excellent said event, simply bring your clothes donation along to the previous week's Wakefield MAG meeting, and we'll store them for you until the 1st.
Eyes Down for a Fun Filled Night of Bingo !!!
Wakefield MAG are hosting our inaugral Bingo Night, from 8:00pm on Wednesday 22nd October 2014 at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield, WF1 4EJ.
20p per ticket, cash and prize bingo, and lot's of hilarity guaranteed. All welcome and if everyone turns up who has said they are coming, we are going to run out of seats, so be there early !!!
All profits to the MAG Fighting Fund
5) 11th Annual Bikers Quiz Nite
Now we are heading into Autumn, it's not actually that long to the most competitive event of the Yorkshire MAG year ... the hugely popular Wakefield MAG Bikers Quiz Nite !!!
The quiz will be held at 8:00pm on Wednesday 19th November 2014 at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield, WF1 4EJ.
We wont mess with a winning formula so it's the same tried and tested 60 questions, 30 of which will be motorcycle related and 30 will be general knowledge (but there will be a bike related link / theme somewhere, however tenuous). The quiz is hotly contested throughout Yorkshire and the prestigious roll of honour is:
Who will win in 2014 ? .... Leeds Again Probably !
Open to All. £1 entry fee p.p. Team (Max. 5) or individual entry. Great prizes for the winners (1st, 2nd & 3rd), plus booby prize for the least number of correct answers.
And just for a change ....... All proceeds to the MAG Fighting Fund ;-)
6) MAG National Demo - Saturday 23rd August 2014
Circa. 300 bikes took part in the Yorkshire (Sheffield) leg of the MAG National Demo held on Saturday 23rd August 2014. Sheffield was one of many UK cities hosting simultaneous demos, including London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.
The purpose of the demo was to raise awareness on the theme that too many riders are being knocked from their bikes; that drivers are being mildly punished or getting off free, and that we - every day - see that the errors of other road users are putting our lives at risk, while we are being popularly held up to blame. This year there have been even more deaths than usual, and it's our perception that the majority are due to driver errors and poor planning/maintenance. Every day, a motorcyclist is killed or seriously injured on the road due to the actions of a driver who didn't pay attention, or even look out into the road. Nine times out of ten, the driver receives a pitiful sentence for careless driving after pleading guilty, or worse still, nothing more than a driving ban; meanwhile, a family loses someone who cannot be replaced. Sorry mate, I didn't see you! ... is the most common excuse for a driver when a rider has been knocked off. It doesn't matter if the rider is wearing hi-viz, with headlights on or not.
The demo started from Meadowhall and received a police escort into the city centre where bike parking had been organised near the Winter Gardens and Crucible Theatre. Leaflets were handed out to the 'public' and speeches given by MAG Director Neil Liversedge.
The Sheffield Demo had coverage in the Sheffield Star newspaper and website and on BBC radio: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/campaigns/bikers-gather-in-sheffield-for-justice-protest-1-6802374
Photos from the demo can be viewed here: www.captainsmurf.co.uk/justicedemo/sheffield.htm
And if you were wondering how the demo's went down in other cities, this is a video from the one in 'That there London': https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=19FGiKNXMz8
Meanwhile, the political lobbying continues, so watch this space for future updates.
The Snooty Fox public house (just round the corner from our Grey Horse HQ) are hosting a bike night on Thursday 4th September. The organiser and Landlady of the Snooty Fox is keen to point out that this is not a new bike club / group, but purely run for bikers and enthusiasts, by the Snooty Fox pub.
If you are free, and in the area, there are probably worse things to be doing on a Thursday night (and do plug MAG to any non-MAG members you may get talking to ;-)
8) Survey on Motorcycle Tourism
If you have a spare 5 minutes, you may like to complete this short questionnaire on Motorcycle Tourism. The questionnaire is from Rhiannon Rees, a Masters student from Aberystwyth University, who is carrying out research into motorcycle leisure for her dissertation thesis, and who has approached MAG for help.
The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete and could be used to inform tourism businesses of the needs of Motorcycle Tourists, so could well have future benefits in terms of secure parking provision, drying facilities, helmet parks etc etc.
http://abergeography.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4MbZgX4oHsyfaBL
9) Scots Biker in Insurance Hell with Legal Loophole
A cautionary tale that everyone would do well to observe if you sell your bike:
10) ePetition - Scrap the requirement to retake a CBT every 2 years
Sign this ePetition if you agree with it's aims:
I would like to see the requirement to retake the Compulsory Bike (sic) Training every two years removed. It is pointless to have to retake training, when the learning process is continued by the Rider once he or she is given the initial pass certificate by the test centre. Further training is unnecessary, as the learning process is part of riding the bike. Once the initial skills are learned, nothing more can be gained from further retesting. This is just a licence for the testing centres to print money. At approximately £100 every 2 years, this is a cost that is hard to bear for some young Motorcyclists, and is putting people off riding a cheap environmentally friendly form of transport.
Details at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/68402
11) Forthcoming Events (for September and beyond)
Thursday 4th September - Snooty Fox Bike Night
See Above
Friday 19th September - Sunday 21st September - EY MAG's Spat out of Hull
An end of season camping and drinkathon, for the rally faithful of Yorkshire and beyond. With Bands, DJ's and comedy. Dene Park, Sports and social club, Dunswell, Hull. More details at: http://east-yorks.mag-uk.org/
Tuesday 23rd September - Leeds MAG Comedy Night
7:30pm at The Cross Keys in Morley, West Yorkshire
Sunday 28th September - Wakefield MAG Treasure Hunt (Branch Rideout with a difference !!)
See Above
Meet 8:30am (to get clues/instructions) at Redbeck Cafe, 339 Doncaster Road, Crofton, Wakefield, WF4 1RT (Treasure Hunt will leave at 09:00am prompt) £1 per entrant (to cover cost of prizes). Arrive with a full tank of petrol
Wednesday 1st October - Wakefield MAG Clothes Bank Donation Fundraiser
See Above
Wednesday 22nd October - Wakefield MAG Bingo Night
See Above
Wednesday 19th November - Wakefield 11th Annual Bikers Quiz Nite
See Above
See the events page for further details and more !!!
That's all for this month, and I hope to see you all soon.
Ride Safe .. Ride Free
Steve Travis
Chairman
Wakefield MAG
0772 078 4734
Wakefield MAG meet at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield at 8:30pm every Wednesday. New (and Old) faces are always welcome.