“We live in a crowded world. It’s for people to work with everybody else”
Veteran campaigner Henry Folkard summed up the reason we do what we do at the 2023 AGM. As guest speaker alongside tenacious access campaigner and PDMTB member Nick Doran, he reminded us of the importance of the continued drive for better.
“I have a personal (not a BMC) view that people who perceive themselves to have some degree of authority like to exercise it by saying ‘no’,” he said. “It makes for an easy life and you don’t have to trouble to find anything out about what you deny.
“I think it right for Peak District MTB to take a lead and represent their view on things that might be controversial. If you don’t champion what you want it makes it that much easier for others to tell you what you are going to have.”
And so we do. At the AGM, held in the Adventure Hub in Bamford, after the important election bits of officers to the Committee (Chris Maloney – Chair; Jim Cherrington – Secretary; James Irwin – Treasurer), Henry and Nick shared their thoughts on the push for access, the role we play at Peak District MTB and how we have more in common with other groups that we might think.
Opinions were taken on the issues facing mountain bikers in the Peak from the group too, and we’d love your take as Jim will pick up on your feedback to begin shaping our 2024. Please take part in our survey on our effectiveness to get involved (this was the QR code promoted on the night).
Re-elected Chair Chris Maloney summarised our 2023.
“It feels like we’ve been doing a lot…but not a lot,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like you have to swim hard to simply stay in one place, and to be honest, there’s been a lot of that this year.
“But there has also been some wonderful, brilliant, progression for us as a group and I’m really proud of how we’re growing and what we’re becoming.”
And the group has marked two major milestones.
“This year marks 10 years of Peak District MTB. From those early days of simply being Paul sitting in a council meeting, to picnic protests up on the moors, to raising the best part of 100 grand to resurface Cut Gate’ we’ve had a pretty damn good time of it. It’s not all been plain sailing – for every Elmin Pits there’s been a Pin Dale or Paddock Farm, but those successes give us such a boost that we plough on for another year waiting for the next. It’s an dopamine kick when we get them,” he said.
“And this year we’ve hit 10,000 followers on Facebook. Add in Twitter/X, Instagram, and a little bit of threads and obviously our website and we’re knocking on the door of 15,000 people regularly wanting to know what we’re doing…and what we think.”
“We’ll keep pushing, as always and thank you for your support.”
So what are we looking at in 2024? Well, more of the same but hopefully with a few more successes. Henry summed it up nicely:
“Years ago when I started doing this access work there was a willingness to talk to mountain bikers, but nobody to talk to. Now there is and it’s great. It makes a hell of a difference,
“Your members might not realise how much of a difference you make, but it’s really made a terrific difference.”
Nick shared some insight as a MTBer and horse-rider on equestrian views and areas of shared aims. He later commented: “It’s great to catch up on the work Peak District MTB do. I hope that by sharing what equestrians want from the rights of way network it will help us work more effectively together towards common goals”
THANKS
We’d like to say a huge thank you to Henry and Nick for talking at our AGM, and to all those who supported our (chaotic) raffle:
£20 voucher for Leek Cycle Solutions
Bradfield Farmers Ales gift pack – Bradfield Brewery
Bontrager light from Trek Bicycle (Bakewell)
£40 voucher for Derbyshire Suspension
£50 voucher for Big on Bikes
Bikers breakfast for two – Cafe Adventure
Muc-Off Scrubber gloves, 2x Fenwick’s bike cleaning kit – Je James (Sheffield)
2x Juice Lubes bike cleaning kit from 18 Bikes
Xmas muffins, Jelly babies – Co-op (Fulwood)
Wooden bowls donated by a member
