Category → Cycle clubs

Saltaire Cycling

03 November, 11:14, by Chris Kenworthy Tags: , , , , , ,
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A view over Saltaire from the top of Five Rise Locks, there are two locks in the foreground and trees and a mill in the background

Five Rise Locks

We took our tandem group out for a pleasant afternoon’s cycle along the Leeds-Liverpool canal starting at Saltaire in Bingley then East towards Keighley. It was a pleasant sunny autumn afternoon for our group of seven keen cyclists, all up for a day out in the countryside.

Our tandem bike ride took in the industrial heart land of the Aire valley, passing between old mill buildings, newer transport links and the river of the same name. After an hour or so of gentle exercise, we stopped for a lunch break at Five Rise Locks just after a mammoth of a steep hill at the top of the locks.

Then it was back on the tandems and upstream, passing cottages, allotments and back gardens, only for a short while though until we reached East Riddleston Hall a historic 17th century National Trust manor house with an excellent tea shop.

We discovered this through extensive scientific research into their delicious scones with clotted cream and chocolate and coffee cake, washed down with a healthy amount of tea.

Three people eating lunch wearing cycling clothing, there are tandems in the foreground.

Tandem riders

You can find out more about our tandem clubs on our web site. These clubs also run on weekday evenings in Harrogate and Wetherby and help people with disabilities to access the countryside.

Twenty tandems

13 July, 17:25, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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Monday saw a flotilla of 20 tandems take to the road to mark Open Country’s 20th anniversary: a ‘wheel spectacle’ for any pedestrian or motorist in the North Yorkshire area.

Barrie on a tandem bicycle pulling a funny face

Caption competition: entries on our Facebook fan page please...

We started out at Wetherby for a 20 mile cycle trip with a tactical pub stop at Tockwith. The outing was unique as it included all of our volunteers and service users from our Wetherby, Harrogate and Ripon tandem clubs. Even more unique, it saw Sam, Paul and David, the three pillars of Open Country all out of the office at once, rather than taking it in turns to drink tea at their desks.

The evening was a real team effort and brought our diverse community together to celebrate twenty years of our unique charity and its ongoing mission to help people with disabilities to access the countryside.

Special thanks to Betty’s Cafe & Tea Rooms for donating this delicious commemorative cake.

You can see a full set of photographs from the event in our Facebook photo album including a particularly flattering photo of Open Country volunteer Barrie.

Accessible cycling: wheely easy with Open Country

18 June, 09:00, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Open Country never let a beautiful sunny day go to waste, especially when there’s great accessible outdoor sites like Angler’s Country Park in Wakefield to cycle round on our tandems and duet wheelchair bicycles. Saturday was no exception and our team made up of Paul (Open Country), Chris (volunteer) and our members Jamie, Wayne, Adeline, Sally and Ian took the minibus over to South Yorkshire for a fun day out.

The minibus wheelchair access lift came in really handy for getting equipment in and out of the van, that’s four bikes in total borrowed from our tandem club with runs in Harrogate and Ripon, taking our members with disabilities into the countryside during the week. Adeline brought her own bike too, which we popped into the back after picking up each of our members from their homes.

Two tyres in swamp land, a birds nest is in one of the tyres

A bird's nest in some discarded tyres

Riding the Trans-Pennine trail through the dappled shade of a forest was an absolute joy for our members who just loved the fresh air, sunshine and countryside all around them. Like most of our day drips for disabled people, it lasted around six hours with a lunch break and stops for sight-seeing.

People just loved our duet wheelchair bike too, stopping us to ask about it or admire Wayne sitting comfortably up front while volunteer Chris acted as his personal chauffeur all day, huffing and puffing all the way round.

We did get a tiny bit lost after taking a wrong turning on a cycle track which turned the day into a bit of an adventure. We soon found our way back though, after Sally and Ian had chance to show off their riding skills, leaving us all for dust.

One highlight of the day came when we were cycling along next to an old disused colliery railway, Paul spotted a young bird perched in an impromptu nest, sited right in the middle of an old discarded tyre in some wetland. Nature always finds a way, a bit like Open Country when we get lost.

Do you want to ride in the sunshine with us?

We’re always after new volunteers who can join in us in our mission to help people with disabilities access to the countryside. It could be something as simple as riding a tandem bicycle with one of our members or even helping maintain our modest fleet of bicycles.

If you can’t give us your time, any donation will help keep our bicycles on the road when they break down, otherwise we have to turn members away from these countryside outings that they look forward to so much.

Ripon Tandem Club

20 May, 06:52, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , ,
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Our new Ripon Tandem Cycling Club is now up and running on Thursday evenings, helping people with disabilities to access the countryside on two-seater bicycles. It started two weeks ago and we’re grateful for the support we received from North Yorkshire Sport which helped us get our tandem bikes.

Cyclists cycling along a country path in flourescent vests

Ripon tandem club sporting their theme colour: neon

The Ripon Tandem Cycling Club is great exercise for our members with disabilities as they pedal through the countryside under their own steam as well as being a great social event. It means they get a break away from their day and evening centres and enjoy all the fun and independence a bike ride can offer. As far as we’re aware there are no other comparable activity groups in the Yorkshire area and we’re proud to be able to offer it.

Tandem cycle routes vary between fifteen and twenty miles and take around three hours to complete. The routes coincidentally pass by the finest Sam Smith’s public houses and explore the outlying villages and quiet back roads around North Yorkshire. We generally set off at about 6pm-6.30pm and return by 9.30pm.

Last year our tandems cost £1100 alone in repairs and parts to keep them spinning. We get practical help from volunteers Barrie MacJannette and Mike Bartholomew who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty with oil, but we still need donations to buy replacement parts when things inevitably break or wear out.

Sponsor a tandem bicycle

With fifteen bikes it costs us roughly £80 per bike per year to keep it in a serviceable condition. If you think helping people with disabilities access the countryside is a worthy cause, contact us and sponsor a tandem. Your £80 (or however much you can afford) will help give a year’s worth of happiness and enjoyment to our members with disabilities.

Cyclists on a path in front of a church in the background

It's not all hard work: Ripon tandem club admire the view