Tonight GoodGym headed to an underpass in need of a thorough spring clean. We met our old friend Simon, and new friend John, to collect equipment from Sustrans' secret lock-up. We gathered shovels, bags, pickers, signs, hoops, and a trolley, then set off to the Netherthorpe tram underpass to start the clean-up. Rachel did marvelous work clearing the gutters of leaves, and the rubbish hidden within them, with her large shovel. James held open bin bags to receive the litter which Rachel swept in. Simon and John, meanwhile, were working with pickers at opposing ends of the tunnel. Notable finds of the night were a complete birthday cake and a large saucepan. The underpass is a busy thoroughfare and we had may people passing through thank us for our efforts which is always very welcome.

By the end of the pick we had gathered 5 full bags of detritus. We took all of the equipment back to the lock-up, said our goodbyes, and headed back to the Showroom to stretch off.

It was back to The Durham Ox for the last Sustrans task with Simon at the helm for this year.

Simon had been volunteering for Sustrans for over 25 years and now he has retired from work he is looking to travel more and enjoy his time without so many commitments.

This week we took up our snow shovels and removed a huge amount of wet leaves and dirt from this dogleg part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) around the back of the Durham Ox pub.

Once cleared we headed to The Showroom to buy Simon a drink or two to say thanks for all his help and hear a bit more about the man behind the legend! Simon will be back, just not for each Sustrans task.

Michelle very kindly got Simon a card (see photos) to thank him for all the hard work he has put into the tasks we've worked on with him.

A HUGE #GGSHEFF welcome to new runner:

Ben

Give him a whoop, hola, cheer and follow!

Great to meet with you and have a chat Ben, hope you're back again with Steph in the near future!

This weeks task took us back to Lynwood Gardens, a lovely section of a re-routed part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network (NCN) that keeps people off the busier Glossop Road.

We'd not been back for a while, so we got stuck straight in with the following tasks:

• Graffiti removal
• Sign cleaning
• Leaf sweeping
• Looping and chopping back

In a short space of time the path was looking a whole lot clearer and the line of sight much improved, making it much more accessible and less intimidating for any users.

We also hear that the next task with Sustrans would be Simon's last as he passes the reigns to John Kirkword who will be leading on all things Sustrans and goodgym in 2025. He has kindly offered to buy us a drink at the end of the next Sustrans task at The Durham Ox on Dec 2nd. I think it should be us buying him a drink for the efforts he's put in though!

Until next time, happy running :)

In the city we live in, the city of Steel, we ran to meet SUSTRANS SIMON who was on site with his chariot of tools ready to welcome us to an area of the cities cycle network that was in need of some love.

The area just off the ring road, under a railway bridge is a key link from the city centre up to the hospital. Unfortunately it can collect a fair amount of litter and dirt, making it less appealing for people to use it.

We got brushes and shovels and got straight to work collecting litter and bagging up soil and rubbish to clear what is actually a really good bit of tarmac when it's clear. There was also a bit of weeding to do where the plants were fighting back through the cracks.

After a decent spell at the site, it was looking soooooo much better than before. Simon gave us some interesting facts about the link and the railway line above our heads before we said our goodbyes and headed home to The Showroom for some drinks and chat.

Until next time, happy running :)

Five GoodGymers left the Showroom on another glorious Monday night with half an idea of where we were going! After finding Sustrans Simon and the other Sustrans volunteers, we found Curly Cat too. Armed with litter pickers, shovels, snippers and brooms we spent 45 minutes clearing up an overgrown section of the cycle network. We snipped picked, brushed and scraped at the vegetation that was narrowing the path and cleared up around the benches and stairs to make the area more appealing for both foot and bike passengers.

As ever, there were some excellent finds including a duvet! We dragged out a load of Himalayan Balsam and stinging nettles. We also saw a beautiful flock of geese land themselves in the river.

By the time we left, this area of the cycle network which it very widely used was much more inviting for the public and as we were working, lots of the users thanked us which is always lovely to hear!

Another great job for the GoodGymers.

Looks like the evenings are drawing in us again and so from next week, it is probably time to dig out those head torches!

On a very muggy Sheffield eve we headed out to meet Sustrans Simon and the 'owner' of the patch of the NCN we were working on; Jerry.

Simon had arrived on his legendary trailer full of all the tools of the trade from pickers and hoops to spades and brushes, all delivered and returned using sustainable transport.

We got stuck in with some of us litter picking and others weeding and shoveling all sorts of detritis into bin bags for the council to collect at a later date.

By the time we were done this stretch of the National Cycle Network was looking much more inviting to all who would use it.

Whilst on site we had a number of joggers and cyclists thank us for our efforts which is always nice.

Until next time, happy running! :)