Author: Peter Eland

In just three weeks from today the first volunteers will be on site on the Knavesmire in York, starting to lay out the campsite and set everything up ahead of the York Rally 2023 weekend, which starts in earnest when the campsite opens at 4pm on Friday the 23rd June.

We must close advance bookings for the campsite in just two weeks, on the 16th June – so for slightly lower prices and to be sited with friends or club-mates, please do get that campsite pitch booked. Otherwise, of course you are always welcome to just turn up and book a campsite pitch on the day – we’ll never run out of space.

Meanwhile our all-volunteer team has been hard at work…

• All tables for the Saddlebag Sale cycle jumble (on the Sunday morning of the Rally) have now sold out.
• Bands have been booked! We’ll have the Sonics back with rock and roll on Saturday morning, and last year’s favourite Linda J will be back in the evening playing at the end of the bar area. She’s bringing bassist John again and also fellow guitar/vocalist Helen, together making up The Beatroots. Although not billed as an Open Mic this year, Linda says there’ll be plenty of songs to sing along with!
• Behind the scenes our volunteers have been negotiating the tricky waters of council event requirements – things like risk assessments, first aid and security. As part of that, we’ve been undertaking anti-terrorism training (!) and we have been asked by Police to note that visitors to the Rally should be aware that random bag searches may be carried out at any time during the event.
• As ever, we’ve left organising the talks programme rather late and still have some gaps to fill. If anyone would like to present a tour report, promote a book or explore cycling’s rich heritage to fellow Rally-goers, please just drop a note to publicity@yorkrally.org – many thanks!
• Huge thanks to our new Trade Show co-ordinator who has put together a strong showing of exhibitors for 2023! Please support these traders, who support the Rally…
• And catering is all firming up too – as usual there’ll be a variety of food and drink on offer on site, from when the campsite first opens all through the weekend. Please do give these traders your custom – we need them back and part of everything you spend supports the Rally!

We can’t wait to welcome everyone to the Knavesmire once again! Meanwhile, until we see you there, we wish you safe and enjoyable cycling!

The all-volunteer York Rally Committee

As welcome signs of spring weather herald happy cycling ahead, it’s less than two months go go until the next York Cycle Rally! We’re very much looking forward to seeing many of you once again on the Knavesmire in June.

Book your pitch: earlybird campsite booking discounts close at end of April

There’s just a week or so to go if you’d like to benefit from earlybird pricing on the York Rally campsite! So if you haven’t already, please do book your campsite pitch now – the reduced pitch prices are available only until the 30th April!
Book your campsite pitch now!

Rides – what’s new for 2023

Our all-volunteer Rides team has been working hard to build out the rides schedule, so that groups stay manageable – but this does require more volunteer ride leaders and back markers. All volunteers for this will be fully covered by the Rally insurance. Please do contact Yvonne on rides@yorkrally.org if you could help as either a leader or back marker!

There are also two other updates:

(1) Pre-registration for faster departures

New for 2023: To help us streamline rider registration and to get the led rides away on time, if you can, please register in advance for led rides at Rally HQ.

Rides are all free of charge to join, and you are still very welcome to just turn up for them, but we do need to record a few basic details for safety and insurance purposes – so if you possibly can, please provide your details at Rally HQ least 30 minutes before the ride is due to depart.

This will significantly speed up ride departures. Thank you from the all-volunteer York Rally Rides team.

(2) Aldwark Bridge is closed

Anyone cycling to the Rally from the North or West should be aware that Aldwark Bridge is closed for maintenance from April to October, so this crossing of the River Ure will be out of action for the York Rally period. Sustrans has provided some suggestions for diversion routes. For anyone not familiar, the bridge in question is off to the north west of York:

Please donate unwanted cycling items to support the Rally

A reminder that we very much welcome the donation of your spare cycling items to help raise funds for the Rally, a never-ending task! Anything realistically sellable will be sold by the Rally team at the Saddlebag Sale or Cycle Auction. For other items too good to throw away we will again have a space near the enclosure fence where items can be left for re-homing to fellow Rally-goers, with just a request for a donation towards Rally funds if you take something.

• Please bring your donations to Rally HQ before 10AM on Sunday morning.
• If you’d like to donate a complete bike, please bring it to HQ before 10AM on Saturday, so that we can enter it into the auction.

Any items left over will be donated to a local cycling charity.

And finally

• If anyone would like some 2023 York Rally A5 flyers to distribute to potential Rally-goers or at events, please just drop an email including your postal address to publicity@yorkrally.org and we’ll get some in the post to you ASAP!
• Apologies, in the last newsletter the wrong brewery was named! The 2023 York Rally bar will in fact again be run by the fine people at Caps Off – they did a fine job last year and will, we hope, be a regular Rally supplier!
• Please do also check out the history page on the York Rally website where we’re recently uploaded scans of York Rally pennants from the very early days of the event – way back in the 1950s!
• Join us on social media! This item about pennants, and other updates, was also shared on the Friends of York Rally Facebook group – anyone on Facebook is most welcome to join this community, and also to follow the York Rally Facebook page which we use mainly for updates and announcements. Of course, we’re also on Twitter … and any sharing/re-tweeting to help spread the word about the Rally is always most welcome!

Meanwhile, until we see you in June, we wish you safe and enjoyable cycling!

The all-volunteer York Rally Committee

The York Rally 2023 is starting to take shape! We’ve a round-up of recent progress and a call for help distributing our A5 flyers….

2023 flyers are here – please help us distribute them!

We’ve printed our 2023 A5 promotional leaflets, and we’d be very grateful for any help distributing them! They’re double-sided:

If you could pass these to fellow cyclists, make them available at events or local cycle cafes, shops or other venues, or otherwise usefully distribute, please do get in touch! Please just drop an email with your postal address to publicity@yorkrally.org and we’ll send 50 or so copies in the post – please just let us know if you would like more or fewer.

Alternatively, you can access the Rally downloads page, where you’ll find all of these graphics, plus previous show programmes to download.

2023 planning progress round-up

Our organising team met in York at the end of January, and good progress was noted on several fronts:

• We’ve confirmed Cwrw Ial Community Brewing Company will be back running the bar…
• And several of our loyal caterers have already confirmed too, plus some newcomers to be confirmed…
• Sadly at this point it looks as if grasstrack racing will not be back in 2023, but we’re looking into setting up a smaller arena for a variety of activities…
• After the great reaction to her last year we’ve again booked Linda J for the evening entertainments & open mic, and The Sonics will be back with rock and roll on Saturday morning.
• We’ve just started with the talks schedule, but one confirmed highlight will be Rally regular – and now world record-holder – Laura Massey-Pugh describing her recent record-breaking circumnavigation with husband Stevie. Many thanks Laura – and more offers of talks are most welcome!
• We’re working on ideas for new childrens’ activities…
• Calling potential ride leaders: We’ve done a thorough review of the Rally’s arrangements for the organised rides, and will be making several improvements for 2023. Among these is ensuring that we have better insurance in place to protect our volunteer ride leaders and back markers from liability risks – there’s never been an issue to date, but better safe than sorry. And to keep groups to a manageable size we need to run more rides – which means more leaders and back markers – so our Rides Co-ordinator Yvonne would love to hear from any potential ride leader or back marker volunteers – please just email her on rides@yorkrally.org
• Our next planning meeting is on the 25th March at 10am at St Chad’s on the Knavesmire Church Hall. As ever all are welcome, especially newcomers, and there will also be a virtual option.

Meanwhile, campsite bookings remain open and there are reduced earlybird prices until the end of April – if you haven’t already, why not book a campsite pitch now?

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

The all-volunteer York Rally Team

Merry Christmas and our best wishes for safe and happy cycling in 2023, from all at the York Rally!

We’re very much looking forward to seeing many of you once again, on the Knavesmire in June.

You can book your camspite pitch now – the very lowest pitch prices are available until the 31st December!

Meanwhile, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

From the all-volunteer York Rally organising team

We’re pleased to confirm that at the recent York Rally AGM, it was decided that the 2023 Rally can go ahead, on the 23-25 June.

• Huge thanks to the two new organising team volunteers who came forward as a result of recent appeals for organisers. Without you, we would not have been able to proceed.

• But the decision to go ahead was still not easy. Some roles are being covered by already-stretched team members, and we need at least two more capable organising team volunteers to put the Rally on a sound footing. Please do contact us if you could join the team and do your bit to keep this great event running. With Zoom, there’s no critical need for you to be in or near York.

Campsite bookings are now open!

With the decision made, we’ve opened the campsite for bookings!

Click below to book your pitch! Super-earlybird prices close on 31st December, so please book ASAP to benefit from the most affordable rates…

We’ve confirmed dates for the 2023 York Rally!

We’re happy to confirm that the Racecourse is booked for the 23-25th June 2023, and all being well (see below) the 2023 York Rally should be back! 

But key organising roles need filling for us to run it…

We can only run the 2023 York Rally if we have enough people on the organising team to fill key roles. We must, by the AGM, fill the roles below, which have opened up as longstanding committee members have retired:

• Someone to organise the catering and deal with the caterers on the Rally weekend.
• Someone to liaise with the various contractors on site, ahead of and at the event
• Someone to organise and manage the trade show
• And many smaller jobs, such as e.g. running the talks programme.

Of course some of these roles may be filled from within our current team but that will leave further gaps in other areas – so please do volunteer even if these specific roles aren’t for you.

All of the outgoing volunteers are happy to give plenty of support, and help with the handover. You’ll be part of an active and friendly all-volunteer team keeping the Rally alive. 

To keep the Rally sustainable, we need new organising committee volunteers to come forward NOW, ahead of the AGM on the 3rd December, when we must decide whether the next Rally can go ahead.   

The main committment needed is to be at the Rally and to attend at least some of our planning meetings, which take place on Saturday mornings in York as above, around six times a year. We make a Zoom option available so if you can’t easily get to York that may not be a problem – much of the organising work is done by email anyway..

Please contact us and ideally come to the York Rally AGM (3rd December in York) if you can help! 

Our AGM and organising meeting for the 2023 Rally will take place at the Church Hall of St Chad’s on the Knavesmire in York, at 1 to 3 pm on Saturday 3rd December 2022. A zoom option will be available – please contact us for the joining link if you would like to participate, and we can usually also arrange lifts from the station.

If you think you could volunteer to be on the organising committee and to help keep the York Rally alive and flourishing, please either

• email us on info@yorkrally.org
• or phone our Event Organiser, Paul Reid, on 01697 343089
• or just come to the AGM – thank you. 

If all goes well, campsite bookings will open in early December! 

We’ll update everyone as soon as possible after the AGM – and if we’re confident we have people in place for the key roles at that point, we’ll open 2023 campsite bookings straight away after the meeting!

With best wishes,

The all-volunteer York Rally Committee

We very much hope everyone enjoyed the 2022 York Rally!

Many thanks to all who attended, volunteered and otherwise contributed to a vintage York Rally back in June! Our all-volunteer team have been taking a well-earned break since, so please excuse this belated update…

• Some impressions of the 2022 event (in under 2 minutes) are in this video (or click the player at the bottom of this page).
• Do you have any photos or videos from the 2022 event which you could send us, for our archives and to help publicise future events? Photos of happy Rally-goers are especially welcome! Please just send them (at full size please) to publicity@yorkrally.org – or if the files are too large to email, we suggest you use the free WeTransfer service (skip any screen which may appear promoting the paid version!).

2023 Rally – first planning meeting and provisional dates

Thoughts are now turning to the 2023 York Rally…

• We have now confirmed with the Racecourse that the likely dates for the 2023 York Rally are 23-25 June 2023. But we are still awaiting final confirmation from City of York Council, so this remains provisional for now.
• Our first organising committee planning meeting for the 2023 Rally will take place at the Church Hall of St Chad’s on the Knavesmire in York, at 10AM on Saturday 10th September 2022. A zoom option will be available – please contact us for the joining link if you would like to participate.

New organising committee volunteers urgently needed

You may recall that around this time last year we issued an urgent call for organising committee volunteers, to ensure the Rally’s survival. Many thanks to the several new volunteers who joined the Committee following that call, and for their invaluable work for the 2022 event.

But we still urgently need new organising committee volunteers, to fill vital roles from which, as the years pass, current voluteers must eventually retire, usually after many years of service – be that due to health, age, moving house or other life events. 

Roles we’ll need to fill in the near future (or at least to start the handover process) include overall event organiser, trade show organiser, site facilities/contractor organiser, talks organiser, publicity and comms person, website content editor, graphic designer (for posters, show programme etc) and more.

Of course some of these particular roles may be filled from within our current team but that will leave further gaps in other areas – so please do volunteer even if these specific roles aren’t for you.

To keep the Rally sustainable, we need new organising committee volunteers to come forward NOW, ideally ahead of the planning meeting on 10th September.  

The main committment needed is to attend at least some of our planning meetings, which take place on Saturday mornings in York as above, around six times a year. We make a Zoom option available so if you can’t easily get to York that may not be a problem – much of the organising work is done by email anyway..

The Rally needs people of any talents and experience who can help it happen!

If you think you could volunteer to be on the organising committee and to help keep the York Rally alive and flourishing, please either

• email to info@yorkrally.org
• or phone our Event Organiser, Paul Reid, on 01697 343089

As ever, we’ll keep in touch as the 2023 Rally takes shape, and look forward to keeping up this grand tradition for another year!

With best wishes,

The all-volunteer York Rally organising team

Some memories of 2022:

Advance campsite bookings closing, programme to print, and rides list firming up…

It’s just over a week until the York Rally campsite opens at 4pm on Friday 17th June! Our all-volunteer team has been working hard as ever as we look forward to seeing everyone again – and new faces – after the two year break.

The show programme is off to print!

The 24-page show programme’s just gone to print – see cover above! It’s another good read we hope – and will be a souvenir of the event too. Thanks especially to the trade advertisers whose support helps with the print bill – please do support them at the Rally and after!

Buy your copy on the day for just £1 – or if you’re a member of our supporters’ club, the Friends of York Rally, it’s free. And just show your programme for free entry to the Saddlebag Sale cycle jumble…

Advance campsite pitch bookings – closing TOMORROW!

Advance bookings for York Rally 2022 campsite pitches must close TOMORROW at midnight (or thereabouts…)! This gives our team time to allocate pitches, and to prepare the lists for check-in (we just need your name when you arrive – no need for print-outs or tickets!).

So please book now to be sited alongside friends or club-mates, for fast-track check-in and for lower prices than if you just turn up on the day! And if you have any questions about camping or your booking, please do just drop a note to our friendly campsite team: campsite@yorkrally.org

Rides firming up – with possible diversions

As mentioned in the last newsletter, Sustrans NCN Route 65 from Selby to York, also known as the Solar System Route, or the York Greenway (and part of the Trans-Pennine Trail) may be closed at a stretch including the critical river crossing near York, the “Fisher of Dreams” bridge between Bishopthorpe and Naburn. Sustrans hopes, but cannot guarantee, that works will be complete by the Rally weekend and the path will be open. But we must be aware that it could be shut to all traffic, with heavy machinery on site and no possibility of access even for pedestrians.

With this in mind our Rides team have developed the diversion route below – which you can also access on Mapometer here. We’ll make sure it’s very clear (e.g. at Rally HQ) whether or not we need to use this diversion for the various rides which are possibly affected.

The list of rides at the Rally is also firming up – we’re still making some late additions/changes but the list is mostly finalised – please do take a look on the Rides page of the York Rally website!

And finally

• The trade show exhibitor list is also online…
• As is the talks list…
• And don’t forget to bring an instrument if you can – please bring it along to the Open Mic Night on Saturday evening – see poster below! Or just come with your voice…

We’re all looking forward to seeing everyone on the Knavesmire in June!

With best wishes,

The all-volunteer York Rally Committee

It’s just under a month until the York Rally! Campsite advance bookings close soon – plus the Quiz is back in a more relaxed format, the Talks schedule is taking shape, and a heads-up on works and diversions affecting major York cycle routes…