Jab Uk

Leith Hill Oil Drilling

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:12:49 +0000

Do you cycle in the Surrey Hills?

Did you know that your ability to enjoy this area is under threat? Europa Oil & Gas wants to put a 35m high drilling rig in woodland in the Leith Hill area, in the heart of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This is a much loved spot for cyclists, walkers and nature lovers, attracting 600,000 visitors every year.

To assemble, operate and disassemble the drilling rig, Europa will make more than 1,000 super-sized HGV movements up and down one of the Surrey Hills’ famous “sunken lanes”, Coldharbour Lane. These movements will permanently damage the delicate banks of the lane and cause significant damage to the road surface.Potential landslips and potholes will be incredibly dangerous for the many cyclists who enjoy this route.

The oil rig and associated activity will cause light and noise pollution and scare wildlife away, possibly permanently. As the main access route to the Leith Hill area, access will be delayed for up to six monthsand diversions will be in place for a number of days.

Development in AONBs (which have the same legal protection status as National Parks) is supposed to be strictly prohibited unless it can be demonstrated to be of “overwhelming national importance”. Any oil obtained is likely to be less than 1/200^th of 1% of the UK’s needs. You can form your own conclusions about whether this can be said to be of “overwhelming national importance”! If Europa’s development is allowed, what will the implication be for the rest of our AONBs and National Parks?

A fuller explanation of the reasons to object to this development can be found here.

Surrey County Council have already rejected this planning application. Europa, however, have made an appeal, which is now going to Public Inquiry.

The Leith Hill Action Group (LHAG) was set up in 2009 to fight the development. It was through their efforts that the Council rejected the application in 2011. LHAG have gained official status in the Public Inquiry and is now in the process of raising £50,000 to pay for a barrister and Expert Witnesses needed to fight the appeal. You can read all about LHAG’s fight so far and their continuing battle here.

This is not an anti-oil drilling campaign. LHAG appreciates the need to secure domestic energy supplies. Any potential oil reserves can be explored from sites outside the AONB. Europa could select a considerably less sensitive site, but it would simply cost them more to do so.

You can visit www.lhag.info to find out about how the campaign is going. LHAG have a regular newsletter – have a look at past issues and subscribe to new ones here. LHAG’s calendar of fundraising events is here, but you may particularly be interested in the 10km run on 1^st July and the Moonriders London-Brighton cycle event on 29^th June. You can save £71 on the usual price of the London-Brighton cycle event by booking through LHAG. There is also a show at Dorking Halls starring Virginia McKenna and other stars on 15^th June.

Finally, if you are convinced of the importance of this cause, you may like to contribute to the £50,000 fighting fund. You can do so via cheque, card or Paypal – see LHAG’s donations page for details.

London Bike Park Under 16′s BMX/MTB race

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:36:46 +0000

The Trax Mountain Bike and BMX club are inviting parents and children to their second ever race at the new Lordship Loop bike track in Tottenham.

Date: The community event will be held on the 19^th of May 2012 in Lordship Recreation Ground. The race will be a time trial around the bike track and a mountain bike race for all those under 16yrs old.

This will be a British Cycling Go Ride Race it’s open to riders of all abilities, especially those who want to give it a go for the first time.

How Do I enter?

All you need to take part is a bike with two working brakes, helmet and an adult to sign you in. The entry fee for Trax members is £2 and for non-members is £3. The fees go towards the cost of running the event and any profit goes back to The Trax’s community initiatives.

What Time does it start?

Registration and practice starts at 9:30am at the track. There will be an hour practice time to enable riders to try out the Lordship Loop and have a practice lap or two of the mountain bike course. The club coaches will be on hand to offer tips to first time riders of the track.

At 10:30am racing will start. The racing will be divided up into age groups to ensure fair competition for all participants. By 12 noon racing will be over and the awards ceremony will commence.

What type of track is it?

The Lordship Loop is a pump track which is 391 metres long. Designed as a singletrack experience it is made up of rollers, berms, and step-up jumps which are rideable by all abilities, but can be jumped by more experienced riders. Commissioned by Haringey council the Lordship Loop construction was led by Rowan Sorrell a Welsh Downhill Mountain Biking Champion and his Back on Track team who have a wealth of experience in designing and building bike tracks. The design has had significant input from Rowan himself as well as the different local community groups including The Trax and the Friends of Lordship Rec.

Information on The Trax:

The Trax is a community mountain bike club based in Tottenham. It is entirely run by volunteers and encompasses a free youth club on Saturday mornings and an adult club. The Trax is British Cycling and CTC accredited. They are based in Lordship Recreation Ground where they conduct their weekly youth club coaching sessions which are delivered by British Cycling trained coaches. For more information on The Trax go to www.thetrax.co.uk

Get involved:

The Trax also have many volunteering opportunities so please do get in touch if you want to be a part of a growing community project. There are opportunities for training in coaching and many other roles within the club.

Contact:

For any enquiries please email jack@thetrax.co.uk or see the club website www.thetrax.co.uk

Report: NPS 4X; PORC

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:21:26 +0000

Well what a tough weekend round 2 of the Schwalbe British 4X Series proved to be. On Saturday, the track ran really well. There was some light rain at times, but the track was dry and running really fast. The weather forecast assured us that worse was definitely on the way, but no one could have predicted just how much rain would arrive through the night and on Sunday morning…

The phrase washout may seem to strong, but Sunday morning was just that. Probably the wettest conditions that any 4X national has ever had. A real mudfest was certainly on the cards. As ever though, the 4X guys and girls, picked up their hard tails and got out there on track to start practice. Even though in places the were streams of water running down the hill the riders were loving the track. Super fast and technical is Porc’s best description and even in these conditions, riders were flying down the track.

The rain however, did cause a slight problem. The compressor for the start gate unfortunately could not cope with the deluge of rain and it gave up. Race organiser was quick to race of in search of a new compressor in the nearby towns, but to no avail. The gate was designed to work with the air ram or the manual start so after a short delay whilst Chris was on the road, the team went into action to set up the gate up for a manual start. The starter would say: riders ready, random gate and anytime in 1 to 5 seconds, he would release the gate. No lights or beeps. Just a completely random gate drop with no indication at all of when it was going to drop. Some riders were a little nervous of how this would turn out, but we can honestly say that after a couple of tests for the riders, they were all actually loving it.

The completely silent and random gate drop added a new dimension to the race and levelled out the best starters in the business. Now it was instant reactions that would get you out of the gate 1st.

The motos started and sure enough, the sun came out! Immediately the track began to dry and there were some great racing lines. The motos were action packed. Plenty of passing, lots of mistakes no the occasional crash gave some very interesting results. In the elite men’s, defending series champion Scott Beaumont and Lewis Lacey were flying. They did not race each other in the motos but both went unbeaten and were looking like the men to watch all day. If anyone was going to challenge them it looked like Scott Roberts or Nathan Parssons.

In the women’s it was great to see Joey Gough racing. She was looking fast but Emily Horridge and Jess Greaves were pushing her in every moto. Just like the first round at Leamington a few weeks ago, it was great to see such a big entry in the women’s race.

Onto the quarter finals and the first shock of the day. Nathan ‘Natedogg’ Parssons was knocked out in a tough race. Clearly gutted with the result, he will be back fighting for a good result at round 2 of the 4X Protour in Poland next weekend. Beaumont, Lacey and Roberts were all through with no problem.

In the semi finals it was Beaumont and Rookie Issac muddy who went through from semi final number 1. They were to be joined in the final by Lacey and Roberts.

So onto the finals. Fun category was won by:Rhys Jenner Big fun: Andrew Cooper Youth: Juvenile: Christian Corthorn Seniors was a great race as the two Dave’s – Richardson and Roberts battled from start to finish with Dave Richardson taking it at the finish line. Masters was won by Gareth Parr and vets dominated by Anthony Fisher

In the women’s Joey Gough got the snap and led the race into turn one. She went wide and Emily Horridge dived inside to take the lead. On the second straight Joey got a great drive and moved back past Emily. The two riders battled for the lead all the way to the line, but Joey held on to take the win. An awesome final. Suzanne Lacey was third and Cara Murray fourth.

So finally the elite men’s. Gate one was Beaumont, on two was Lacey, three Mundy and on the outside Roberts. Beaumont got the snap and led into turn one. As the riders battled bar to bar, Lacey went to the back and Roberts made a great move to come from the outside gate and into second on the exit of turn one. On the second straight the two Scott’s really got the horsepower out and moved away. Scott Roberts kept Boom Boom on his toes all the way, but Beaumont held on and took the win ahead of Roberts, Issac Mundy and Lewis Lacey.

All in all an awesome days racing and despite the tough, wet conditions, racing was as always fantastic and Porc’s for 2012 is in the record books.

See you all at Redhill for round 3 in June

www.british4x.com

www.facebook.com/british4x

www.twitter.com/british4x

Full Results

http://www.british4x.com/news/rd2-results-2012-porc/

Tri Adventure Free Race Entry Giveaway!

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:59:09 +0000

Tri-Adventure, who host exciting adventure races in the south of England are offering 5 free entries – worth £25 each into their new MBTO events this June and July.

Tri-Adventure launch MTBO events for summer 2012! Exciting adventure racing company Tri-Adventure who host popular adventure races in the south east have expanded their portfolio to include MTBO events for the first time.

Jonathan Mayne, co-owner of Tri-Adventure along with his wife Samantha said; “Mountain Bike Orienteering is an incredibly exciting sport combining navigation, mountain biking skills, fitness, endurance and strategy. The courses are set to ensure that all abilities can have both an enjoyable and challenging time.”
MTBO – £30.00
17th June & 8th July 2012
Test your strategy, navigation, and mountain biking with Tri-Adventure’s Mountain Bike Orienteering event. Navigate the trails and bridleways collecting as many check points as you can in 3 hours.
Location: 17th June in Swinley Forest and 8th July in the New Forest

For more information check us out at www.triadventure.co.uk

For your chance to win free entry into our MBTO, simply answer the following question:

Question:
Visit the Tri-Adventure Facebook page, (www.facebook.com/triadventure), ’Like’ us and and email us the exact location and start time of our MBTO event in June.

Answers to kim@triadventure.co.uk and please include your full name and which MBTO event you’d like to attend should you win. Competition closes 30th May and winners will be drawn at random and notified via email.

Free Jab Stickers!

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:22:22 +0000

Update: Thanks for all the interest! This offer is now closed.

If you are in any way like us, the prospect of getting stickers turns into hyperactive children (well ,almost). So as a way of saying thanks to our followers, we are giving away free stickers from now until end April.

How do you get hold of them? Follow the steps:

- If you haven’t already ‘Like’ our Facebook page facebook.com/southeastmtb

- Underneath the top pic, there is a little down arrow . Click this and then click ‘share’. Share this on your wall with the text ‘Mountain Biking in Kent, Sussex & Surrey’.

- Finally, email ben@jab-ride.co.uk with the subject ‘Stickers please’ and provide your name & address so the stickers can find you. Hey Presto!

Follow the steps above otherwise the stickers won’t turn up…. Thanks!

‘Tri’ Something New this Summer

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:43:39 +0000

Tri-Adventure launch MTBO events for summer 2012!

Exciting adventure racing company Tri-Adventure who host popular adventure races in the south east have expanded their portfolio to include MTBO events for the first time.

MTBO – £30.00

17th June & 8th July 2012

Test your strategy, navigation, and mountain biking with Tri-Adventure’s Mountain Bike Orienteering event. Navigate the trails and bridleways collecting as many check points as you can in 3 hours.

Location: Swinley Forest and New Forest

All Tri-Adventure events are held within 90mins of London, catering for beginners through to elites and perfect for adventure racers, trail runners, orienteerers and mountain bikers.

Join our Tri-Adventure! For more information and to book visit www.triadventure.co.uk and find as at Facebook/Triadventure and Twitter – @Tri-adventure