Leeds MAG Newsletter – April/May 2019

Welcome to the latest Leeds MAG newsletter A week last Sunday we had the Yorkshire MAG meeting at The Royal Hotel in Pudsey. It was well attended, with all Yorkshire branches in attendance. West Yorkshire is very busy with all the five West Yorkshire Councils moving on getting secure motorcycle parking in place not only in the city centres but in the outlying towns as well. Unfortunately the 2+ lane down Stanningley Road in Leeds looks set to become a full time bus lane after a consultation. This will mean that motorcycles will no longer be able to use this lane as currently, bikes aren’t allowed to use bus lanes. We are working very hard on this situation and the Leeds Political Rep has done some fantastic research to show the council and some of its councillors up for the lying, cheating charlatans that they are. Hopefully after next months local elections, we’ll be dealing with different councillors. If you want to read Marcus’s blog which has now been published independently follow this link https://westleedsdispatch.com/guest-post-why-stanningley-road-bus-priority-measures-may-not-work/ Leeds MAG are carrying out a survey to find out more about what matters to riders, whether or not they’re MAG members. Fill it in at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZPCK5DB and share it with your friends. There’s a chance to win a Leeds MAG t shirt and a year’s MAG membership if you do. Following the complaint I made against my local councillor and the subsequent grovelling apology I received back, we’ve put in a freedom of information request to see the evidence that they say they used to reach a decision on bikes in bus lanes. We still await a response and we strongly suspect that personal prejudices were used rather that hard facts. Both of our political reps StevieB and Ian have been pulling out all the stops for MAG members throughout Yorkshire and they deserve our thanks. Here is the link to the current “Network” which will keep you informed with MAG happenings around the country. This month it’s in two parts. https://wiki.mag-uk.org/images/7/74/Network_2019-03.pdf https://wiki.mag-uk.org/images/b/b7/Network_2019-03_part_2.pdf Membership remains steady throughout the region as is generally the case at this time of year. When you come to renew, please think of doing it by direct debit as this way, it’s all done automatically and you continue being a MAG member. Traditionally, this time of year is always a quiet one but behind the scenes at MAP HQ, everything is coming together nicely to give you the three best rallies on the biking calendar. Tickets are now on general sale and all the info you need is here https://www.mapevents.co.uk/tickets_where.html We’re always on the look out for new marshals, because without our marshals we can’t put the rallies on. We’re almost like a family within a family and I can say from personal experience that marshalling at our rallies gives a whole new appreciation of them and is fantastic fun. Email mag.marshals@live.com for more details. Last Saturday Leeds MAG hosted Ed March at Squires Cafe, where he gave us a brilliant talk on his ride from Alaska to Argentina on his C90. Everyone went home with big smiles on their faces and we raised just over £900 for MAG so massive thanks go to all who came along and supported us. We’ve got a few events coming up in the next few months that you may want to add to your diaries. Tuesday 9th April – Leeds MAG Easter Egg Run to Lineham Farm Children’s Centre. Meeting from 6pm at Cardigan Fields car park (behind McDonalds on Kirkstall Road) to leave at 6.30pm to ride in convoy to the centre. Please bring as many Easter Eggs as you want. Everyone welcome Sunday 21st April – MAG visiting The Craven Collection. Meet at Squires @ 11am to leave at noon to ride to the Craven Collection Motorcycle Museum at Stockton on the Forest. £5 entry. All members welcome Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th May – Into The Valley Rally @ Sledmere House. Weekend ticket £25 prebook. https://www.mapevents.co.uk Sunday 19th May – Yorkshire Regional Meeting @ The Royal Hotel, Pudsey, LS28 8PR at 10am.  All MAG members welcome. 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. You don’t need to be a member to come along. Leeds MAG meet every 1st and 3rd Tuesday from 8pm at The Royal Hotel LS28 8PR Ride safe Manny (Leeds MAG rep)