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.

We met a couple of wonderful Sustrans volunteers who work tirelessly to keep the national network accessible and pleasant for walking, wheeling and cycling. They brought us the tools and the plan.

We were working on a particularly grotty underpass which is part of the 627 route. It is a short section that goes under the Parkway and links Broad Street near Park Square to Victoria Quays. It was such a mess.

Quite a few walkers, runners and cyclists were using it despite the litter and vegetation lining the route. And evidently people use the area for parking in the day.

We got to work sweeping, litter picking and cutting back some vegetation to make it clear. Very satisfying! We could really see the difference.

A journalist from ITV met us to cover the story for the telly. See the story on ITV on 26th February at 6pm. or catch it on ITV catchup for 24 hours after that.

Back to the Showroom for drinks and snacks.

Thanks everyone for coming and for Sustrans who made this happen and joined us on a relatively chilly Monday night.

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!