Author: kofthep

September’s freebie winner

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11924921_596864097118303_748443009404017133_nFor September we had a slightly different giveaway.

Billy and the lovely folks at Cafe Adventure in Hope, as well as being fantastic chefs (ex-Chatsworth House no less!), they’re also keen cyclists. So it’s great to get their support. Our winner will get a voucher for Cafe Adventure – enough to pay for cake and coffee for you and your friends after a ride. But who needs a voucher as an excuse? Get yourself along to Billy’s anyway. So who’s won?

Congratulations……

@debbie_pm

Enjoy your Cafe Adventure visit! And thanks for being a keeper of the peak.

Coming up; October’s freebie.

 

 

Rushup. DCC see sense?

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It’s come a bit out of the blue.

After over two years of campaigning, letters, meetings, arguments, emails and lots and lots of late nights, it finally looks like we may be getting to the end of the Rushup Edge saga.

On September 13th, DCC published their latest, revised plans for Chapel-en-Frith Byway Open to All Traffic – commonly known to us all as Rushup Edge. They’ve also opened up another period of consultation until November 28th.

So what do the plans show? Well you can see for yourself here . But if you don’t have time to do that, here’s my summary

  • Roych Clough to be used as a benchmark for the rocky sections. Natural bedrock to remain where possible
  • Long Causeway (Stanage)-esque drainage proposed
  • Long Causeway style gritstone to be used on the bottom end (from what I can tell)

It’s seemingly ok. The big push from the collective opponents to the work – KoftheP, PDMTB et al was to look at the very least at Roych Clough as an example of work carried out that was welcomed by all. It looks like that’s got through.

But a word of caution. The plans are not that detailed. They leave room for DCC to still take whatever approach they want to the track with just a light nod towards the desired stone pitching.

I’m going to be working closely with Peak District MTB and other partners to push DCC for more details so we can see what they really plan to do.

Is it a success then? Well, yes. Without the campaign, without your support emails, posts and overwhelmingly backing for what we’ve been pushing we may have given up and seen Rushup as a sacrificial lamb to the gods of advocacy awareness. But we’d have been looking at another dump of aggregate to be washed away in the next heavy rain.

But that’s not what’s planned. It looks, by all accounts, like we’ve been listened to.

We can’t count our chickens of course. We need to see that further detail – and there’s still two months of consultation; the fors and againsts, amendments and revisions –  but it’s certainly a better looking outcome than we were expecting.

Let’s hold them to their promise. And let them know what you think via their consultation link.

 

KoftheP

 

Like cake? You’ll love September’s freebie!

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We’ve had coaching, we’ve had services, we’ve had guidebooks, we’ve had lights. So perhaps now it’s time for something a little different!

Cafe Adventure in Hope has rapidly made a name for itself as a welcome stop off for walkers, riders, and anyone wanting a good coffee and some fantastic food. Billy and Rachel were former chefs at Chatsworth of all places so what’s good enough for the Duke and Duchess is definitely good enough for you lot. And it’s good enough for me. Last time I was in it was a chocolate tart and black coffee for me. Cracking.

So in September, our free giveaway is a £20 voucher at the Cafe. That’s more than enough cake! All you need to do is tweet an update to @KoftheP sometime in September and we’ll pick one of you for the freebie.

Happy riding!

August giveaway winners

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viper_colours_1200_803autoYou can’t really fault the folks at Alpkit. They produce some cracking kit for the outdoorsy types amongst us, and they do it right; with an ethos to treat people right and do things the right way.

And so it was great to have them offer up 10 Viper headtorches (right) for you wonderful Keepers of the Peak. Thanks for your support as always. And thanks Alpkit for your great offer! Why not go over to http://www.alpkit.com to take a look at some of the other great kit they have on offer?

So. Winners. 10 headtorches = 10 winners. And here they are….

@trekkingskills | @tanglefist | @stevemarkperry | @gravityslaves
@montanero_1986 | @mosaracing | @lilo_lilley | 
@alexstrickland2 | @petemtb | @rideholme

Thanks all for your updates and being KoftheP! Coming up….our September giveaway….Do you have an appetite for adventure?

 

 

Heads up – it’s the August giveaway

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The guys (and girls) at Alpkit have got their heads screwed on. The company was borne out of a love of the outdoors. When the founders’ outdoor kit started falling to bits, they decided to make their own. And Alpkit is the result. They’ve got a great range of kit – I know, I’ve got a couple of gammas), but more importantly – an ethos to treat people right and do things the right way.

Anyway, the lovely people at Alpkit have decided to say thanks to you doing your bit for the Peak District by providing our August freebie. And this month, there won’t be just one lucky winner but 10!!

Alpkit have offered up 10 Viper headtorches. Great for camping trips, loading the car, hunting in the shed – great little lights.

And all you need to do is update @KoftheP with trail conditions in the Peak at some point in August.If each of you sends just one update a month, you’ll get about four updates a day. Not a bad return on your investment eh?

So keep updating for a chance to win.

Ride. Tweet. Update.viper_colours_1200_803auto

July’s freebie winner

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and-the-winner-isIn July, the soldering iron wielding, battery toting,  light-bringing extraordinaire Smudge @mtbbatteries offered up a triple rear light for our lucky winner to help get you home safely when you’re caught out on a long evening ride (much as I was the other night – oops).

Smudge is a bit of a legend in the MTB world  – providing a bespoke service to many riders who are after that little bit extra when it comes to lighting up the trails. He’s built up a few batteries for me in the past and they’ve been great – sound quality.

So who’s our winner….drum roll please….

@BenLOrme

benorme

Cheers Ben! Welcome to KoftheP and thanks for doing your bit. I’ll put you in touch with Smudge to arrange your prize delivery! Let us know what you think of the light.

August’s prize coming up :o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image conscious…

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Social Media Toolkit-02Anybody who knows me will tell you I’m not really that focused on how I look. As long as it’s comfortable/practical/not offensive it’s a winner as far as I’m concerned. And as far as my bike goes – well the words ‘coordinated’ and ‘colourway’ are not often used when people try to describe my battered old Zesty.So when the very kind folk at www.ambushandacquire.com offered to give @kofthep and kofthep.com a bit of a makeover, I couldn’t really argue! They’re visual experts in their field – and perhaps more importantly, they’re lovers of the Peak – so they get what KoftheP is all about.So a few conversations later, some creative wielding of digital crayons and a healthy dose of artistic flair, Greg came up with the things you see on this page. And I rather like them. The new look Twittersphere is there now – nice shiny new suit – and I’ll be updating the website when I get time. Hope you like it.I’ve been heavily involved in a number of campaigns now – reassuringly with the backing of you 1500 fantastic followers – so now, when you see something with the logo below stamped on it, you know that KoftheP is involved; protecting the Peak, looking after the riders and fighting our corner when it comes to access and rights.And all you need to do, as always, is….Ride. Tweet. Update.CheersKofthePSocial Media Toolkit-01

Open access for England and Wales? The wheels are in motion….

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British Cycling’s statement on access to footpaths is incredibly welcome at a time when we’re seeing record numbers of people getting out on their bikes and looking for somewhere to ride. 
That they are putting pressure on the government to open up access is great and as the ‘official’ voice of cyclists in the UK (whatever your niche), their support and drive for the campaign championed by thousands of mountain bikers, CXers, XCers, enduroists, all mountain riders…… cyclists(!) is great to see. It’s even better to see that there is support from other groups, not least the Ramblers. 

Open MTB have been instrumental in giving this push momentum. But Open MTB would be the first to say that they couldn’t do it without the various aligned advocacy groups behind them. Those same advocacy groups too would say that they can’t push for change without YOU, the individual rider supporting them to make a difference. 

So what can you do now? Well, get involved. Write to your local MP, and/or the Environment Secretary Liz Truss in England, Lesley Griffiths in Wales to add your voice. And get involved locally through your local advocacy group. 

It feels like there’s some momentum now, let’s keep the energy behind it and make a real difference for England and Wales.

KOFTHEP 

July’s freebie – light fantastic 

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It might seem a weird time of year to be giving away lights, but here’s my thinking: many of you are heading out in the evenings and enjoying yourselves so much you’re getting caught out by sunset on the ride home. 

So, how about a free triple rear light to make you a bit more visible heading home or to the pub?

MTB Batteries specialise in producing top quality batteries + lights for the mountain biking world (and beyond)!

And I know. They’ve built up some batteries for me to replace some cheapos I bought that went pop. And they’re still going strong! Indeed, the picture above is me coming down Stanage Plantation with MTB Batteries’ illumination!

So this month’s freebie is a free triple rear light from MTB Batteries. Great quality stuff.

And all you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is tweet an update to @kofthep

Cheers all

KoftheP

😀

June’s free giveaway winner

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In  June we’ve had a cracking giveaway.Screen Shot 2016-06-03 at 09.37.29

Bike Rehab is a Sheffield city centre based bicycle service and repair centre focused on quality, convenience and exceptional customer service. They’ve also been known to fix my shambles of a bike on numerous occasions. And it’s always service with a smile.

In June, Alex and Jake at Bike Rehab offered a free general service (excluding parts) to the winner of our free giveaway. It’s their way of saying thanks to you for being Keeper of the Peak – doing your bit to look after the Peak District.

And now we can announce who that is…..

@intrepid_al

Capture

Thanks for doing your bit for the Peak Alan! I’ll put you in touch with Alex and Jake for you to claim your reward.