Sheffield FridayNightRide

we have nothing to lose but our chains

2014/12/12 Christmas Jumper Ride

Ride report:We had an incident on this Friday night – the main peloton went down on ice on a minor residential rd at Bradway. Some had already cycled ahead and it may be that the ice had just formed – certainly the whole area became an ice rink. One person in shock, several took tumbles but thankfully no fractures. Bruising and a few painful knocks seems to be the worse of it.

A really kind resident came out and stored a bike overnight and ran the shocked person home accompanied by one of us. The rest of us all still standing had to carefully walk to Greenhill Parkway and we all cycled quietly and slowly back along gritted bus routes into town down Chesterfield Rd and made our respective ways home.

And it had been going brilliantly up ’til then. Giant had put on a fantastic reception; Claire and Darren had done their house, on Meersbrook Rd, up lovely- including a 70s road bike with an LED rope wrapped round it on their roof (see fb page) – and let us turn on the lights and they put on a great spread with all the neighbours out meeting us too (photo of their house on fb) and we all managed to cycle up to Norton and Greenhill, newbies and old hands, to drop food off at St Peters for Lowedges Foodbank (blurred photo on fb). We also raised £90 (£45 to Save the Children and £45 to HARC)

So I think, in future, we will keep off the ridges in the sub-zero temperatures and keep to the valleys instead.

Next Sheffield FridayNightRide
Christmas Jumper Ride
Friday 12 December 2014
Meet 6.00 pm for free mince pies and mulled wine courtesy of the Andy and all who work at the Giant bike store, Queens Rd/Asline Rd, secure bike parking available

Heads up! You will need:
* a lock, lights, spare tube;
* a Xmas decorated bike: light up your bike with some LED Xmas lights – in the shops (eg B&Q, Wilkos) now, got mine the other day;
* Xmas clothing, eg jumper, decorated bike jacket, Santa hat or why not put some tinsel in your bike helmet? make yourself a spectacle and you won’t need the high-viz;
* cash so bring some £1 coins – you’re going to have to give a little;
* a box/tin/packet of home-made or bought scoff eg flapjack, cake, gingerbread, stollen etc;
* a food donation for Grace Foodbank, eg item of dried/tinned food or some toiletries

Theme: enjoying and giving!,

We start by ligging it at a reception at the Giant store with the mince pies and mulled wine (there will be collecting tins/bags for both Save the Children Fund and for Homeless and Rootless at Christmas, and we are selling Our Fave Places Guides at £5 of which £1 will go to HARC. Then when replete ….
we carry on our Yule tradition of visiting our friends, Claire and Darren on Meersbrook Rd, to see the festive lights display on their house, and we bring some scoff to share and they will supply the punch and tea (all the neighbours are coming now, so it’s street party! – SFNR is an annual fixture).
We then cycle up to donate food to the Grace Foodbank in Greenhill (residents at Meersbrook Rd are giving food and cash too) so bring yr panniers. (We didn’t get there on the Foodbanks Ride; the ride was abandoned in Philadelphia because of bad weather)
We then cycle to Bradway for refreshment at the Castle Inn before descending Twentywell Lane to gawp for ‘free’ at the lights on Abbeydale Park Rise, in Dore.
Suitably enchanted we can head back to town at a pace straight along Abbeydale Rd, stop for a bag of chips (nice!) if you want at the Abbey Friar at Millhouses and then round Archer Rd to Fraser Rd to finish at the Ale House for proper beer (and they may still be singing Sheffield Carols

Map

That wonderful The Killing spoof video from last year is still up.

SCF donations are important for children all over the world including West African children orphaned by Ebola: entire generations being traumatised as we enjoy ourselves, so I have entered SFNR for this (http://jumpers.savethechildren.org.uk/) and will send in our donations

HARC provides food, warmth, company and entertainment for the homeless and rootless in Sheffield over the mid-winter break. So I will send half your donations to them as well
If you have time (Dec 25 to Jan to give they welcome volunteers to do a shift or two helping in the kitchen or just generally by serving food, chatting, playing games and so on. (and some nightriders are volunteering).

Our Fave Places have been supporters of SFNR for ages, so much so that we even feature in their guidebook and on their website as one of the cool things to do in Sheffield (Guides can be bought on the night, ideal stocking filler

Map: to be drawn soon
Route: about 12 miles, steep hill up to Greenhill – all on roads or good paths, steep hill down to Dore, Bring lights and locks!
Badges: Wear past Xmas Lights badge or buy another one!!

Go on it will make you happy-er!