Happy new year everyone.
It’s generally a relatively quiet time of the year for bikers but your MAG reps continue to work hard on behalf of all bikers locally.
After the recent general election, we now have to get on and work with the elected politicians from all parties for the foreseeable future. To this end all your reps have sent an email to every MP in West/East/South Yorkshire to congratulate them and introduce them to the Motorcycle Action Group and inform them of who we are and what we stand for.
This has been received very positively and we have several face to face meetings with MP’s arranged to put our points of view across and hopefully get the voice of bikers is heard in the very highest corridors for power in the UK.
As there is no North Yorkshire Group at the moment, we couldn’t contact those MP’s so if any North Yorkshire members would like to contact their MP’s on behalf of MAG, I can provide the template email we used. Contact me a manny@mag-uk.org
Bradford City Council have been dragging their heels to get a meeting arranged to discuss secure parking and bus lane access. I’m hopeful that this should happen soon.
If you’re a Bradford member and have any thoughts on where you’d like to see secure parking rails to be sited, please email me at manny@mag-uk.org . It would be far better for residents to give me suggestions rather than me guessing where they should go. It doesn’t have to be in the city centre, it can be anywhere with a BD postcode. Get your thinking caps on!
Leeds MAG have produced a document to try to help Leeds City Council implement the agreed bus lane trial. This includes a timeline (7 years) of emails, discussion and meetings, lots of links to information regarding motorcycle access to bus lanes and concluding with our thoughts on where and how long the trial should last.
The document has been received by the officer in charge of implementing the trial and he’s thanked us for our proactive help.
Over in East Yorkshire, Rep, Garry Williams has been chasing up the police to ensure that operation Yellowfin (the Humberside Police operation to combat bike theft) is still ongoing. Despite reassurances that the operation is still ongoing, over the Christmas and New Year period, motorcycle theft in Hull and the surrounding area and subsequent crime associated with the thefts has reached worrying proportions. It would appear the dedicated team has been either been slimmed down or disbanded and Garry will be asking questions of Humberside police in the coming weeks.
Another long running issue locally, is some missing bike bay security barriers funded by MAG back in the 90’s in Hull city centre. The barriers were removed as part of the City of Culture improvement works, and despite the bike bays remaining, security rails have never been reinstated. Garry has written to the council several times, and keep getting positive noises and assurances that they are looking at options but we have yet to see any action. East Yorkshire MAG will keep chasing the council up on this matter.
In a similar vein, West Yorkshire Police have currently got an operation ongoing to detect and prosecute bike thieves. This follows the disastrous results of the MAG national freedom of information requests that put West Yorkshire second worst in the country, behind London, for motorcycle theft.
Despite assurances that things are happening behind the scenes, motorcycle theft is still a massive concern.
Only last weekend a local off-road centre held an enduro event which was targeted by thieves overnight. A total of seven, high end bikes with an estimated value of £45,000 were taken from vans in a nearby hotel car park and were seen being raced around about six miles away, the following day. Appallingly, local police didn’t even attend, just giving the victims some crime numbers!
We’ve contacted the police for a response and have been informed that the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief constable are meeting at the beginning of February to discuss this issue along with motorcycle theft in general.
We will continue to push hard for action on bike theft as we feel it’s one of the biggest threats we face as riders in the cities of Yorkshire.
Myself and Colin Brown had a meeting before Christmas at Leeds Elland Road Police HQ with the West Yorkshire crime prevention officer and one of the area managers of “Park Mark” car park accreditation scheme to discuss adding secure motorcycle parking into the list of requirements to gain the Park Mark certificate. The suggestions were taken onboard and we’ve received very positive feedback after the meeting, to the point that a second meeting on 22nd January has been arranged to discuss the proposals in finer detail. I’ll fill you all in on the next newsletter.
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/e/e4/Network_2020-01.pdf
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 like-minded 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.
As I’ve had little interest in starting a North Yorkshire group up, we’ve decided to start a North Yorkshire MAG Facebook group. I’ll be admin along with Marcus, our webmaster, so if you live in North Yorkshire and want to chat with like minded folk, get on it ?
We’ve had two regional AGM’s already this year.
First up was South Yorkshire MAG’s AGM at The Ball in Rotherham on 5th January. Oliver had announced that he was standing down at the Yorkshire MAG AGM in September so changes would be afoot.
Step forward Stuart Hatfield, former Barnsley and Doncaster MAG Rep who was duly elected as South Yorkshire Rep alongside a full committee.
Stuart has lots of ideas to push the group forward and with the support of his committee, Sharon (Mrs Hatfield) and the South Yorkshire members, I’m sure the group is in very safe hands.
Next was the Wakefield MAG AGM on 15th January at the Grey Horse. Steve Travis was unsurprisingly re elected for the 18th consecutive year as Wakefield MAG Rep, alongside a full committee.
Steve was also presented with a trophy from the Wakefield MAG members for annual presentation in memory of his wife, Justine, who passed away last year. This was a wonderful, thoughtful gesture from a great group of people who I’m very proud to call friends.
Lastly, for now, Leeds MAG have their AGM on Tuesday 28th January at The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 8pm. I’m up for re-election along with the rest of the Leeds MAG committee. All Leeds and Bradford members (Leeds have covered Bradford since the demise of the Bradford MAG Group several years ago) are invited and encouraged to attend to shape what we do and how we do it.
We’ve got a few events coming up in the next few months that you may want to add to your diaries.
Friday 24th January – Post Christmas Blues. Come and join East Yorkshire MAG at the Foresters Arms, Beckside, Beverley, for another night to remember. Free entry, live band The Fat Spaniels playing, raffle and food available on the night. Bag up and bring any unwanted items for our tombola. Feel free to invite all family and friends.
Tuesday 28th January – Leeds MAG Annual General Meeting @ The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 8pm in the upstairs room. All MAG members are encouraged to attend.
Wednesday 29th January – Wakefield MAG 16th Post Christmas Auction at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, WF1 4EJ. Got lots of unwanted Christmas presents this year? Got items that are of use/value but you don’t have the space for them any more? Prepared to donate them for a good cause? Bring them along to the Wakefield MAG Post Christmas Auction where they will be raffled off to the highest bidder, with all the proceeds being donated to MAG and other worthy causes.
Sunday 2nd February – Yorkshire MAG meeting at The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR from 2pm. All members welcome.
Sunday 2nd February – Where History Meets History. Join East Yorkshire MAG on a ghost walk around the streets of Beverley, no doubt with the opportunity for some refreshment along the way…. This exclusive tour for MAG and friends will start outside the Mountain Warehouse shop in Toll Gavel at 7:30pm, and last for two hours concluding in Wednesday Market. Cost per person will be dependent on numbers – please can you register your interest on the event page on the EY MAG Facebook page, direct to EY Social Secretary Tony Allen, or alternately message rep Garry to be added to the list.
Sunday 9th February – West Yorkshire MAG Fred Hill run. Meeting at Squires cafe LS25 5LX from 10am , leaving at 11am prompt to ride to the Sun Inn at Newthorpe to remember the sacrifice for riders rights that Fred made.
Sunday 9th February – East Yorkshire MAG Fred Hill Memorial Ride, usual 10:30am meet at Bonus Electrical, Connaught Road, Kingswood, Hull, HU7 3AP, for 11:00am ride through Hull city centre and back to the Foresters for a warm up and refreshments. Everyone welcome to join the ride, please tell your mates and circulate the date around your clubs/organisations.
Wednesday 11th March – Huddersfield MAG’s Pie Night returns to The Field Head, Quarmby, Huddersfield, HD3 4FB. Same deal as usual – 40 limit, pre-book and pre-pay. Oh, and there will be a raffle. It’s £7.50 per person for pie, chips, peas n gravy. Veggie pie available. Please contact a Committee member or post on our FaceBook event at if you want a Pie Place (along with how many places and whether you want meat of veggie pie). You can pay cash to a Committee member on a Wednesday at one of our socials / business meetings, or at the regional meeting on 2 February (or anytime if you are lucky enough to see us more often), or contact us for details of electronic transfer. Emails to linz@mag-uk.org.
Saturday 14th March – Leeds MAG presents an evening with Steph Jeavons @ Squires Cafe from 8pm. The first woman to ride a motorcycle on all seven continents and earlier this year led an all female group riding Enfields to Everest base camp. Tickets available for £10 at Leeds MAG meetings, online at the Leeds MAG shop or directly from Squires.
Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd May – Into The Valley – full details from https://www.mapevents.co.uk
Friday 19th to Sunday 21st June – The Farmyard Party – full details from https://www.mapevents.co.uk
Friday 31st July to Sunday 2nd August – The Yorkshire Pudding Rally – full details from https://www.mapevents.co.uk
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 Tuesday and 3rd Thursday from 8pm at The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR
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
Hope to see you at an event or meeting very soon.
Ride safe
Manny (Yorkshire MAG rep)
