WDCF Newsletter Summer 2024

The long summer holidays can present parents with difficulties keeping children entertained, so some years ago WDCF started ‘Holiday Wednesdays’ at Nostell. We set up a circular skills course with various twists, turns and obstacles that children take it in turns to complete using their own bikes and helmets or borrowing ours. 

After a practice run, circuits are normally timed so that children can either take home a certificate confirming they have completed the course and how long it took them or challenge themselves to improve their time.

Riders range from toddlers on balance bikes to teenagers, with the occasional parent or grandparent reliving their youth on our chopper.

One of our ride leaders will often take a group of cyclists on a short tour of the grounds taking in one of the two cycle trails created at Nostell. We’ve often got some more unusual bikes to try, including a penny farthing and an ‘impossible’ bike, where everything works counterintuitively and takes some working out.

Our information stand will be there, with details of our rides, local cycle routes etc, and our bike doctors were there on the 24^th July and will be back on 28^th August, offering help, advice and minor repairs. 

Holiday Wednesdays are free, although Nostell does charge non-members for car parking.

For parents in Havercroft or Ryhill whose children are aged between 5 and 10 and have their own bike and helmet, Rycroft Bike Hub is putting on Bike Activities for Kids at Rycroft Community Leisure Centre for an hour on Tuesdays 6^th 13^th and 20^th August between 2 and 3pm.

For Tuesday and Wednesday events, children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

It’s not long to go now to our BIG WoW event on the 4^th August 2024. Malcolm has enrolled ride leaders: Lisa, Neville, Malcolm himself, David Leigh, Timothy and Sandi, with Lisa taking on 2 of the shorter rides.  We have 6 back markers: Cathryn, Geoff, Karen S and Cherry from the Forum and Karen and Ed from the council.  Cherry will be assisting Lisa on both her rides.

Departures will start at 10 am with Lisa’s short ride to the Hepworth and back, followed by a longer ride to Anglers at 10.30 led by Neville and finally at 11am Malcolm and Cathryn set off on the full WoW circuit.  David Leigh leaves for Newmillerdam at 11.30 with Tim following at midday to Nostell. Hopefully rested from their morning exertions, Lisa and Cherry set off again to Heath at 12.30, with Sandi and Ed taking off on our final ride to Sandal Castle at 13.00.

All of the places on the full WoW have now been booked and the other rides are filling up nicely, although take up is slower on the shorter rides, where I suspect less experienced riders are waiting to find out what the weather is like before committing themselves.

Mark and Meg will be based at Pugneys for the day, dealing with necessary paperwork and promoting the Forum.  There will be representatives there from Open Country, who are also doing the WoW that day on their tandems, Experience Community displaying a variety of adapted Cycles and free bike registration on the National Bike Register.  So even if you’re not riding the WoW it’s certainly worth coming along on the day.

By and large people have been enthusiastic about the BIG WoW, with council staff erecting new direction signs and assisting to keep the route clear of vegetation for the ride itself- a difficult task with the combination of sun and rain we’ve had this year. However, some local miscreants have taken pleasure in obliterating the WoW direction signs on the Nostell Estate with black spray paint and stickers.  The signs have been cleaned more than once and the source of the stickers contacted to see if they can identify the perpetrators and persuade them to desist.  Recent vandalism has been limited to black paint but often at important junctions. 

Although we enjoy taking people on guided rides, the plan has always been to mark the paths so that people can enjoy them whenever and with whoever they wish.  Until these vandals desist, a map or gpx file might be a good idea.

Who, you may be thinking, am I talking about?  After a gap of a few years, WDCF can now proudly offer the services of not one but two qualified cycle mechanics.  In alphabetical order these are Malcolm Morris and Neville Andrews who, after a fortnight’s training in Darlington paid for by WMDC, can now call themselves Cytech Level 2 mechanics.

They have been supplied with a sparkling set of equipment, including the iconic Park Tools black aprons, and have already put these to good use, quietly fettling Forum bikes and manning bike doctor sessions at Queen’s Mill and Featherstone Rovers’ Holiday Club, coupled with a bike marking event at Calder Park.

You will see Neville and Malcolm fully tooled up at two of our Holiday Wednesday sessions at Nostell NT on the 24^th July and 28^th August. Further opportunities will appear on our Facebook pages so keep your eyes peeled.

Loan bikes for our Easy rides from Queen’s Mill, Castleford no longer languish in a brick building with a leaky roof and ill-fitting door.  Thanks to a grant application by Castleford Heritage Trust and a contribution from the Forum, they are now stored in a smart, secure, green metal bike store.

The shed arrived and was erected shortly before the Time’s Running Out Climate Crisis relay was due to reach Castleford. Again, we co-operated with the Heritage Trust.  The Time’s Running O

ut pre-publicity suggested a team of lithe, oiled, Lycra clad cyclists hurtling into town.  Their arrival in a blaze of publicity was to be combined with a grand bike shed opening, complete with green ribbon, a bike doctor session, sale of stone ground flour and a craft session.

Reality was more muted. The team consisted of a publicity van preceding just one walker, who had been joined for the last few hundred yards by a member of the local council (who happens to be a trustee of the Mill) carrying a bundle of reeds, representing a more ecologically friendly ‘torch’ and various local government officials.  Councillor Tony Wallis and one of the support team wearing a Time’s Running Out T-shirt symbolically ‘cut’ the ribbon and the new shed, now stocked with 6 cycles, was officially opened.

Meanwhile, our team fettled the bike of the solo cyclist who was going to undertake the next leg of the relay to Manchester and checked over the Forum bikes.  These had been put into storage while the old shed was demolished, the site cleared and a new floor laid.  They were welcomed back into use two days later with our Castleford Easy ride.

Although the ‘blaze of publicity’ was something of a damp squib, the event was an opportunity to let local visitors know what we aim to do and about the rides we run from the Mill.

After years of campaigning by us and other community groups, the illicit barriers on the bridleway at Portobello, mentioned most recently in our winter newsletter, have at last been tackled by WMDC.

Some local residents, having petitioned for the barriers in the first place citing the nuisances of fly tipping, quad bikes and miscreants disposing of stolen vehicles by setting fire to them, resisted any changes.  As fly tipping can attract an unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment following conviction in a Crown Court, we suggested contacting the police would be the appropriate remedy, rather than blocking the bridleway. 

The gate remains but the A-frame has gone and the gap where it stood widened. Neville and I were invited to attend with our tandem on the day the frame was to be removed and we arranged to be accompanied by Peter Bannister and his tricycle. 

The initial removal of the metalwork allowed all three of us to walk through the gap and some work with a shovel meant it could be ridden through in one direction. When the digger was unloaded, however, in a short while the path was accessible both ways. 

Thanks are due to David Holdsworth, the Rights of Way Officer at the council, to Steve and Andrew for doing the work and to Peter for test driving the new section with us.

It has taken a very long time to get this sorted and we hope for quicker progress on other unlawful and discriminatory restrictions.  Highways are not closed simply because people speed on them, throw rubbish out of car windows or have accidents. Instead, miscreants are liable for civil or criminal penalties. Roads are (or should be) designed to be safe and accessible. So should cycle paths.

It’s not just The Doctor who’s returning.  As from 18^th August and every third Sunday after that the Thornes Steady ride is coming back, with the Steady Plus experiment there consigned to history.  Easy Riders who want to progress to the next stage are welcome to turn up at Thornes Park stadium at 10 am on a ride day to meet Andy and his team.

If you’re ready for a Steady Plus Ride with more road miles than usual, our last Wakefield Wheel Ride of the year sets off from Nostell NT at 9 am on Saturday 31^st August. If you can’t make the date, a map of the Wheel appears in our Maps section together with suggestions for shorter and more manageable sections of the route, so you can build up your proficiency for a full circuit in 2025.

It has been agreed that we will use our Wonders of Wakefield ride on the 6^thOctober to commemorate our colleague Bob Newton, who died last October after a short illness. Bob spent his final days in the Prince of Wales Hospice Pontefract and his family are grateful for the love and support the whole family received there.

Some of our members have recently participated in a Cyclothon to raise funds for the hospice. Our PoW WoW will be a much more modest affair and more a chance to remember and give thanks for our own Shadowman.  Those riding the WoW on that day will be asked to make a donation to the hospice in Bob’s name, so please bring some spare cash or a credit or debit card.  We hope the ride will be a credit to him.

Our second Rycroft ride this year was much better attended – and it didn’t rain!! We acquired four new riders, Sarah and Jack Purcell and Lyndsay and Seb Ayre.  For Paul Marshall, it was his first ride with us from Ryhill. Jack (10) and his mother aim to come with us on a WoW ride, having carefully studied the map at Anglers.  We hoped that by the next time Jack and Seb (7) joined us, the tracks would have dried out a bit so we could do more of the ride off road. 

Sharon’s progress with the Forum stepped up another notch when she put on a ride leader’s vest and took up position as back marker.  She’s even exploring the possibility of buying a bike of her own.  I wonder what colour it will be?

Lyndsay and Seb turned up for our Castleford Easy ride on the 15^th June, together with Naomi and Ivaar plus cousin Etla representing the younger element of our riders. A bevy of stalwarts brought the numbers up to 11.

Rain  was forecast for later in the day but we hoped to be back by then.  Dark clouds loomed overhead as we crossed the river and as we turned under the bridge at Methley with the promise of refreshment at the Green House Café ahead, the heavens opened.  Waterproofs were quickly donned but we were hit by a sudden and persistent deluge.   As the road ahead turned into a river, plans were changed and after a swift U-turn we headed back to Queen’s Mill. Sharon and Seb stormed ahead to keep warm, while Neville zoomed back and forth checking and blocking the sideroads so riders could continue on without pausing. We all got very wet but nobody dissolved. Some set off home for a warm bath, while the rest enjoyed a hot drink at Queen’s Mill tearooms. Hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream in a cheerful bear mug soon put a smile back on Seb’s face.

July’s Castleford Easy was an opportunity to welcome 4 new riders to the Forum.  They had all visited our stand at the Liquorice Festival and been persuaded to try riding with us, whether to find some new cycle routes in an unfamiliar area or to get back on a bike after a gap of some years.  This time, we rode in hot weather that had drifted north from Spain in balmy breezes.  We did actually get to the Green House Café this time and, although there were some dark clouds in the sky at times, we all got back to Queen’s Mill safe and dry.  We welcome the fact that Carol, Tony, Elaine and Philip all plan to ride with us again.

The Festival was a useful opportunity to publicise our rides and the Forum in general.  Despite some sweet talking, however, Lucy Liquorice wasn’t offering any free samples!

At last, a dry spell so we could get some much needed repair and improvement work done to the network. Whilst there has been very little response to Facebook event posts for work days, our small team have managed to address the worst of the damaged areas on Nostell Estates’ trails over the last couple of months.

Our efforts were greatly boosted, however, by the appearance of Open Country for a joint workday in June at Nostell. A team of fifteen turned up, edgings were installed to raise levels in a couple of locations and they then proceeded to use up all our pile of planings to backfill these areas. A big thanks to Ella, Beth and team for their sterling work. It was a great effort and we hope to arrange more joint workdays in the future.

We will continue to hold workdays as and when we can. These will be posted on our Facebook Events page so keep a look out and if you can spare a couple hours, please get in touch by email to volunteer@cycling-wakefield.org.uk.

Andy Beecroft

We planned to have a cycling break in Belgium as we like the beer and the chocolate.  However, there is no longer a convenient ferry service to Zeebrugge and I don’t like driving much.  We’d never been cycling in Ireland and, as there was a ferry from Birkenhead to Belfast, the north of Ireland seemed to beckon.  At that point we didn’t know about the hills or the persistent winds from the North Atlantic!

We booked an overnight cabin and breakfast and, fortunately, the sea crossing was very smooth.  However, breakfast on the ferry was a big disappointment, which the other passengers seemed to have known about as there were only another three people in the dining room.

The drive through Northern Ireland to Donegal was uneventful and we were slightly surprised after a couple of hours when the SatNav announced, halfway through a village, that we were now in the Republic of Ireland.  Travel in Europe before Brexit – bliss.

The travel company – Ireland by Bike, arranged the accommodation (B&B) and baggage transfer between each leg of the journey.  Never having been to this part of the world before, we wanted to take it easy and allow plenty of time for café stops and sightseeing.  The plan was to do no more than 25 miles per day.  Seamus, from the travel company, met us at the first overnight stop in Donegal.  He provided a useful local information and a booklet full of sightseeing suggestions, as well as maps and gpx files.  He also paid for the parking as the onsite machine wouldn’t allow more than 24 hours and the Tourist Information office was less than helpful – we did pay him back!

For anyone familiar with the area our itinerary was as follows: –

Day 1: Arrive Donegal and cycle around Lough Eske (26km)
Day 2: Donegal to Killybegs (40km)
Day 3: am Killybegs to Carrick (21km)
………pm Visit Sliabh Liag. (14km)
Day 4: Carrick – Glencolmcille – Carrick (26km)
Day 6: Carrick to Glenties (41km)
Day 7: Glenties – Portnoo – Glenties (41km)
Day 8: Glenties to Donegal (32km)

The weather was sometimes dry, mostly damp and sometimes torrential.  If anyone could recommend gloves that are actually waterproof, I would be grateful!  The route was mainly on minor roads – no ‘A’ frames or barriers, but traffic was sparse and the few motorists we did meet slowed down and gave us plenty of room.  There were plenty of hills, some of which were shown in red on the elevation map but low gears and electric assist got us to the top and then it was downhill and then it was uphill and then……

Highlights: –

Killagtee Church and Cross: After tramping through knee high wet grass, we finally located the cross in a corner of the church which was built in 1152.  The Maltese cross marks the transition from inscribed slab to sculptured high cross and holds an import place in the development of Celtic art.

Sliabh Liag (Mountain of the flagstones): The highest sea cliffs in Europe.  We decided to tackle this after the relatively short ride but with some very steep bits, from Killybegs.  The road starts at almost sea level and just goes up, and up and up..  Fortunately, a short way after the turnoff from the main road, there was a visitor centre and as luck would have it, the shuttle bus was just about to depart – the best €12 we have ever spent and the hot chocolate from the van at the top car park was incredible.

Glencolmcille: Lots of Dolmens, megaliths and a folk museum which is a replica of a thatched cottage village in Ireland through the centuries. As always when travelling with an expensive bike and panniers full of stuff you would rather not get nicked, leaving the bike to wander around can be a bit worrying.  No need on this journey, everywhere we went we were offered a safe place to leave it.

Carrick to Glenties:  The hilliest section of the journey.  Think Lake District and you’ve got the idea.  Fortunately, the route up to Crockuna was steep but in short sections.  Once at the top, the view and the ride down the valley was spectacular.

This was a very damp but very enjoyable holiday and I can recommend the travel company ‘Ireland by Bike’ as being professional, competent and extremely helpful.