First thing: Sunday 28th October it’s the Yorkshire MAG AGM @ The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 10am. See below for more information – hope to see you there.
MAG is a member led organisation and without your input and help, we can’t function. Hopefully we’ll see you there.
Politically in West Yorkshire, in an effort to push the “bus lane access” issue county wide I took a trip to my local Councillors surgery (who also happens to be the lead on transport in Leeds). It was an enlightening meeting.
It turns out that, even though the West Yorkshire Combined Authority paid tens of thousands of pounds to conduct a consultation into the pros and cons of bus lane access for motorcycles, which came out wholly in favour of allowing bikes in bus lanes throughout West Yorkshire, to the point where it is included in the WYCA strategy and is in the process of being implemented in four of the five councils, Leeds haven’t discussed “bikes in bus lanes” and feels that as lead authority, it has both the right and ability to veto anything that it doesn’t agree with from the WYCA. This is even though they signed up to be a part of this county wide body and no doubt received plenty of government funds for doing so.
I feel that this is unacceptable, as I’m sure the constituents of Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale do as well.
This is where we may need help from some strategic MAG members.
We’re going to send letters (hopefully recorded delivery) to councillors in as many wards as possible where bus lane access is either being discussed or denied. We’ll be emailing people with a set letter that can adjusted for each council/councillor.
Your help in this is greatly appreciated
Here is the link to the current “Network” which will keep you informed with MAG happenings around the country. https://wiki.mag-uk.org/images/7/7d/Network_2018-10.pdf
On September 29th we had the MAG National AGC at Borth in Wales.
I think we can all rest assured that MAG is as vibrant as ever and the team that is doing the campaigning side of things are working their socks off to get a better deal for bikers, nationally.
It was pointed out that one of the biggest threats to biking as we know it is the introduction of Clean Air Zones (CAZ’s). It started off with four cities, but after intervention from a group of solicitors in London, suing the government, it went up to 30+ cities and after another court case it is now going to affect 70+ towns and cities around the British Isles.
It sounds lovely, having clean air zones but the reality is that it is very easy to go from a CAZ to an Ultra Low Emission Zone which will ban or charge for older vehicles (pre 2008 as it stands now)
MAG is now influencing Highways England in adjusting infrastructure, road surfaces and road design throughout the country.
MAG has consistently increased its membership for the last three years. The more members we have, the bigger voice we have, so it’s important to keep on growing.
I presented two cheques from The Daft Way Up that we did in April (riding inappropriate motorcycles from Lands End to John O Groats). The total raised was £12,000 so we split the money £6000 to MAG and £6000 to Macmillan. I’d like to thank everyone who helped and sponsored us along the way. Your support was amazing.
DWU part 2 is in the planning stage now and should happen at the end of October next year. If you want to join in, you just need an motorcycle that is inappropriate for riding over 1000 miles through 5 countries (think old/slow/crap ), a free week to do it, the ability to self fund the trip and get sponsored for doing it and most of all, a sense of humour. Drop me a line if you fancy joining in.
Finally the awards for Yorkshire that were awarded at the AGC were –
Dave Gregory – merit award for services to the Yorkshire rallies
Dave and Carol Malt – merit award for services to the Yorkshire rallies
Glennys Scrivener, Huddersfield MAG – merit award for drive and enthusiasm
Chas Milner, Wakefield MAG – merit award for fund raising
Ali Preston (and Karen and Lily) – life membership for his tenure as managing director of MAP (Yorkshire rallies)
Daft Way Up crew – Steve Tannock teamwork award
Yorkshire Region – Bald Eagle Award for largest increase in membership in the country.
Well done to all concerned.
South Yorkshire MAG had their AGM on Sunday 7th October at The Ball in Rotherham. There was a good turnout and Oliver Rose was returned as South Yorkshire Rep. Adrian Lumby (Boris) is vice rep, Bob Graham is the young rider rep and John Asher is the political rep. Thanks go to all four for pushing South Yorkshire MAG forward and I ask local members to give their support to the South Yorkshire MAG Group in the coming year.
The reps position in East Yorkshire MAG has been filled by Garry Williams. Thanks go to Garry for stepping up and I’d like to ask all East Yorkshire MAG members to help Garry in his new position.
Last weekend was the MAP AGM (Yorkshire Rallies). All is well with the rallies. All three were successful (helped by a great summer) and planning is underway for next year’s rallies. The board was re-elected and MAP made a donation of £75,000 to MAG from this year’s rallies. Your support at these events is both appreciated and needed as Yorkshire MAG (and MAP) continues to be one of the driving forces of MAG.
On Sunday 28th October it’s the Yorkshire MAG AGM @ The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 10am. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Good food and beer available from the bar. All MAG members are encouraged to attend our most important meeting of the year. Please bring your membership card.
MAG is a member led organisation and without your input and help, we can’t function. Hopefully we’ll see you there.
We’re still wanting to restart Scarborough MAG and York MAG or get a completely new group going in North Yorkshire. If anyone is willing to become a rep (it’s great fun and very rewarding) or even host a meeting, just to get a likeminded group of folk keeping in touch and pushing the MAG message, please give me a call (07867918722) or message me via email, text, Facebook etc. North Yorkshire is a big area and it’s a real shame we don’t have a North Yorkshire group or two, especially considering it’s a biking Nirvana.
We’ve got a few events coming up in the next few months that you may want to add to your diaries.
27th October – East Yorkshire MAG’s Halloween party at The Foresters Arms, BecksIde, Beverley, HU17 0PR from 8pm. Fancy dress is encouraged.
Sunday 28th October – Yorkshire MAG AGM @ The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 10am. This is where we, the members, decide what we’ll be doing over the coming year and how we’re going to go about it. All MAG members are asked to attend as it’s our most important meeting of the year. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided for members and great food and beer available from the bar. Don’t forget your membership cards if you want to vote. Hope to see lots of you there.
31st October – Wakefield MAG bingo night at The Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield from 8pm
14th November – Huddersfield MAG pie night at The Field Head, Quarmby, HD3 4FB – SOLD OUT! Be quicker next time as this is always a popular do!
21st November – Wakefield MAG Biker quiz night. 30 general knowledge and 30 bike related questions. Always hotly contested and always good fun. The quiz starts at 8pm at The Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield, WF1 1JG.
There will be plenty of local “do’s” around Christmas and New Year so keep an eye on your local Facebook groups for details.
22nd January – Leeds MAG’s “Owl with laughter” 7th Comedy night @ The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 8. Limited tickets available soon. First come first served.
23rd March – Leeds MAG presents An Evening With Ed March! Following the success of our previous motorcycle travel talks, we’ve managed to secure madcap C90 adventurer Ed March to come and talk to us. Check out his exploits on YouTube then come and meet the man himself
Finally if you want to get more involved at a local level (and to really get the most out of your MAG membership, I strongly recommend that you do) here are the meeting details of the five Yorkshire MAG groups – though we are looking to expand with more groups so if you haven’t got one close by and fancy getting together with like minded bikers, get in touch with me at manny@mag-uk.org
We’re very lucky in having some very strong groups in Yorkshire, but we need the members to join in, so pop along to your local meeting and help to make a difference
East Yorkshire MAG meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 8pm at The Forresters Arms HU17 0PR
Huddersfield MAG meet every Wednesday from 8.30pm at The Fieldhead HD3 4FB
Leeds MAG meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday from 8pm at The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR
NEW VENUE
South Yorkshire MAG meet every 1st and 3rd Sunday from 7pm at The Ball,1 Hesley Bar, Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham, S61 2PW
Wakefield MAG meet every Wednesday from 8.30 at The Grey Horse WF1 1JG
Ride safe
Manny (Yorkshire MAG rep)
