News

Saddlebag Sale

We’re pleased to announce that table bookings for sellers at the Saddlebag Sale cycle jumble are now open!

If the event must for whatever reason be cancelled, full refunds will be made for all bookings.

There are a few changes this year. As a COVID precaution we’ll have a new layout with better ventilation and a reduced number of tables, and for space reasons no full bikes are permitted, sorry.

We are very grateful to Charles Jepson, a long-time friend of the Rally who recently joined the all-volunteer organising committee, for running this year’s Saddlebag Sale. Many will know Charles via the National Clarion Cycling Club 1895, historic supporters of the Rally for many years, and may have spotted him mentioned in this recent Guardian article.

Cwrw Ial beer is back at the York Rally bar!

We’re delighted to confirm that the Rally bar in the main marquee will see the return of the Cwrw Iâl Community Brewing Company whose beers were well received at the 2016 event, as shown below in the photo below by Sue McKee:

New A5 flyers are here!

We’ve printed our 2022 A5 promotional leaflets – and on the reverse we’re running the “one week, two events” informal joint publicity message which we’re doing with Velo Retro – which takes place in Ulverston the week before the York Rally.

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If you’d like some flyers to distribute in your area, please just drop an email with your address to publicity@yorkrally.org and we’ll send some in the post. Alternatively, click the button below to access the Rally downloads page, where you’ll find JPG versions idea for emailing or sharing via social media:

For those not familar with Velo Retro, here’s how they describe themselves:

More soon!

Our organising team is meeting in York on Saturday – as ever all are welcome and there will be a Zoom option. If you’d like to attend please just send us an email for the details.

We remain aware that the COVID pandemic is by no means over, so we are working on the basis that there may still be some necessary precautions to be considered during the event. And we’re taking care that if the event must unfortunately be cancelled due to renewed anti-COVID measures, we will always be in a position to make full refunds.

Campsite bookings remain open and there are reduced earlybird prices until the end of April – why not book a campsite pitch for some summer cycling now?

We look forward to seeing many of you to York in June!

The all-volunteer York Rally organising team

From all of the volunteer organising team, we wish everyone a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

There’s just a few days left to benefit from the lowest campsite booking prices, which run until the end of December only. Book your pitch here.

We’re very happy to reassure all campsite bookers that if the event must be cancelled for whatever reason we will provide full refunds, just as we did after the 2020 event was called off due to COVID. Obviously the team is monitoring events closely but at the moment we are still planning for the York Rally 2022 to go ahead in full.

We’re also delighted to be doing some joint publicity with Velo Retro – the vintage cycling festival which takes place just one week before the York Rally at Ulverston on the southern edge of the Lake District. Both events have campsites, so we’re encouraging people to enjoy a week’s holiday to take in both. Visitors from mainland Europe are especially welcome, with convenient access via the Hull ferry…

Please do share the images below with anyone you think might like to join us!

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In the meantime, once again Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing everyone in York!

The all-volunteer York Rally team

Book by 31st December for the lowest super-earlybird prices….

Campsite bookings are now open for the York Rally 2022, with super-earlybird prices until the 31st December 2021:

Your early bookings really do help the Rally – as well as saving you money. The more early bookings we have the more confident we can be in arranging a suitable level of facilities at the event. Advance bookings also allow our campsite team to match you up if you would like to camp with your friends or club-mates. For this, please just add a group name to your booking, whether you book online or by post.

The lowest “super-earlybird” prices last only until the 31st December 2021 – so please do book early if you can. 

Finally, a big thanks to our new campsite team who have taken over processing the bookings after our recent call for organising team volunteers. You can contact them any time on campsite@yorkrally.org with any queries about bookings – or see the campsite page for full details.

Camping at the York Rally makes for a very special experience for anyone who can make a weekend of it – we look forward to welcoming many of you onto the campsite in June!

The all-volunteer York Rally Team

We’re delighted to announce that the York Rally will return to the Knavesmire on the 17 to 19th June 2022!

A superb response to our call for volunteers to join the organising committee has resulted in no fewer than six new members joining our all-volunteer team – of course more are always welcome!

This means we can be confident that key roles will be covered, and we can proceed with the 2022 event. Please save the dates: 17-19 June 2022.

Campsite bookings will open shortly. Please watch our website and social media for details – and we’ll also be keeping in touch via our mailing list. Please just go here to read previous messages, or to join the list.

We can’t wait to see everyone back on the Knavesmire, for a grand cycling weekend at this historic event! 

The all-volunteer York Rally team

A quick note that the next York Rally AGM and planning meeting will be held on Saturday 30^th October 2021 at 10.00am at St Chad’s on the Knavesmire Church Hall in York.

As ever, all are welcome.

If anyone would like to join the meeting via Zoom please e-mail a few days before to: info@yorkrally.org – we will do our best to make remote participation practical but please do bear with us if there are any issues.

Please also let us know if you would like a lift from the railway station.

We hope this finds you all well, and that many of you enjoyed some summer cycling despite of the lack of a York Rally this June. After the enforced break, we’re eager to bring the much-loved York Rally back once again.

But we do now need your help.

We need new volunteers on the organising team if we’re to run the next York Rally in June 2022! Please step forward if you can.

The York Rally Committee recently met for first discussions about running the event in 2022. Unfortunately, since the last York Rally in 2019 a number of our key volunteers on the organising committee are no longer available, through health, life events or other commitments.

Without enough people to take on organising/leadership roles to cover all of the essential aspects of the Rally, we cannot run the event safely and sustainably.

The two absolutely key jobs we need new volunteers to cover to secure the Rally are:

(1) Managing campsite bookings

This is the critical admin task which the current team cannot cover for 2022, although we will give any new volunteer full support.

It involves processing website and paper campsite bookings from November onwards. Familiarity with spreadsheets or similar will be needed, and email/phone for handling correspondence.

There should be no need to handle money (except perhaps forwarding occasional cheques to our Treasurer). There is also no need to be based in or near York – we can work remotely but of course you should be intending to come to the Rally!

We need to know that this role is filled by the end of October 2021 for the 2022 Rally to go ahead. To find out more or if you could do this job, please contact Paul Reid ASAP on organiser@yorkrally.org.

(2) Trade co-ordinator

To shadow our current volunteer for 2022, and take over for 2023.

Our current Trade Co-ordinator will retire from the role after the 2022 Rally, if that goes ahead. So a new volunteer is needed ASAP, so that they can learn the ropes for a year before taking over.

This role involves booking in and dealing with exhibitors for the trade show, as well as dealing with contractors for marquees, generators etc. It would suit someone with business experience. Again, there is no need to be in York.

This role really needs to be filled by the end of this year (2021) so that the handover can start ahead of the 2022 event (if it runs).

Unless this role is filled, we will not be able to run a 2023 event. To find out more or if you could do this job, please contact Charlie Hodge ASAP on trade@yorkrally.org.

There are other jobs too which we would like to fill, ranging from selling programmes at the gate to auction cashier to volunteer co-ordinator. Please do contact Paul Reid as above for more details or if you feel you can commit to any of these, or just to indicate willingness to step up in an organising role and to help keep the York Rally running.

If the 2022 York Rally can go ahead, it is likely to be on the weekend of 17-19th June 2022. These dates are still provisional, but please do put them in your diary for now.

We’ll keep everyone informed of any updates, and many thanks in advance to anyone who can make a commitment to help run the next Rally. Together with you, the Rally-goers, we have kept this historic and enjoyable event alive. And now, after the pandemic cancellations, we’d love to see it return again! So please do get in touch if you can help.

Yours in cycling as ever,

The all-volunteer York Rally organising team
info@yorkrally.org

At our recent virtual AGM and planning meeting, the all-volunteer York Rally organising committee unanimously decided that it is, regrettably, not possible to run the Rally in 2021.

Although restrictions may have eased by June, we cannot at this point be sufficiently confident to run the event. We had left the decision about a 2021 event as late as possible, hoping for more certainty by now, but it could not be postponed again simply because so many aspects of the Rally need booking and organising well in advance.

However, the committee is optimistic that we will be able to run a full York Rally in 2022. Of course this will have to be confirmed in due course (probably towards the end of this year) if circumstances permit.

If it can go ahead, it is likely to be on the weekend of 17-19th June 2022. These dates are still provisional, but please do put them in your diary for now – something to look forward to at last!

We’ll keep everyone informed of any updates.

Meanwhile, thank you to all of the York Rally’s volunteer officers and committee members who agreed to continue in their roles at the Rally’s AGM.

The committee will meet again (virtually) on the 24th April to discuss what if anything we can do mark the traditional Rally weekend in June. As ever, our meetings are open to all, so please do contact us if you would like to join.

But for now, let’s cross fingers for the next York Rally to take place on the weekend of 17-19th June 2022 – COVID permitting of course!

In this difficult and extraordinary year the York Rally team wishes you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year, and we really hope we can see many of you soon at another York Rally.

As you will know, sadly the 2020 Rally was cancelled in March due to COVID-19. Thank you again for all of the messages of support in the wake of this announcement.

Since then the organising committee has kept active and in regular contact, and we are in good shape to organise another Rally just as soon as conditions allow.

We will make a final decision on a Rally in 2021 at our upcoming meeting and AGM in January (see below).

At the moment we are cautious about raising any expectations for 2021. Even after the cancellation early this year, the Rally finances are sound but we cannot risk running anything but a ‘full throttle’ Rally – one which we can be confident will go ahead and one for which Rally-goers can be confident to book campsite pitches in advance. We will have to weigh up the welcome news of vaccines with the risk of ongoing restrictions.

We do want to run the Rally again just as soon as possible, which is why we are leaving the final call as late as we can. The final decision about a 2021 York Rally will be made at January’s meeting, and we will then let everyone know ASAP.

Meeting and AGM
The next York Rally meeting, and AGM, will take place virtually on the 23rd January 2021. As ever, all are welcome to attend. If you would like to join, please contact us.

We will let everyone know about the meeting’s decision on a 2021 Rally as soon as possible!

Meanwhile we wish all Rally-goers the best of health and cycling happiness, and a very Merry Christmas.

The all-volunteer York Rally Team

Just a quick note to thank all of the well-wishers and contributors who have left comments on this website, on the York Rally and Friends of York Rally Facebook pages, or contacted us direct, as we come up to the dates the York Rally would have taken place, had it not been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Head over to the Friends of York Rally Facebook page in particular to join in the celebration of the Rally that could have been – you can join fellow York Rally supporters in posting old photos and recalling treasured memories for everyone to enjoy!

As we spend this year’s Rally weekend at home we can certainly look forward to future events. The organising committee is active by correspondence and eager to resume planning for the next Rally.

We do very much hope and expect to be back in 2021 – but until we’ve confirmation of dates for the Knavesmire, and the committee has formally decided that the COVID-19 risk has sufficiently reduced, we’d rather not make any announcements just yet.

Just as soon as we have news of future events we’ll let everyone know!

Meanwhile, we wish all Rally-goers the best of health and safe cycling, until we can meet again in York!

The York Rally organising committee

York Rally 2020 CANCELLED

We regret to announce that the 2020 York Rally has been cancelled. We are in the process of refunding all bookings in full. A further announcement with full details will be made shortly.

The York Rally Committee