The York Cycle Rally & Festival: 21-23 June 2024
The friendly cycling get-together on York's Knavesmire, now part of the York Cycle Festival 2024!
We have a new leaflet out to sum up the main points of the Rally so far! Please do download the PDF and print it out (it’ll work on both A4 and A5) to spread the word, or share the image on social media!
Thanks also to the many people who stopped by at the recent Cycle Show at the NEC, Birmingham, and picked up a leaflet. If you’d like to volunteer, or to contact the Rally, please do email us on info@yorkrally.org.
Earlybird bookings at much reduced rates are now open for the 2015 York Rally campsite!
The site will be run along traditional lines, with a separate (motor vehicle free) area for lightweight campers and plenty of pitches for caravans/motorhomes. Socialising and mingling on the campsite with fellow cyclists is one of the highlights of the Rally experience for many.
You can book by post or online now – see the campsite booking page!
Also, as you may have noticed we’ve reorganised the website now that the Sportive has happened, and we’ll fill out the sections with more information about the 2015 event as the various aspects are confirmed.
Finally, as you’ll see on the Past Events and History page, we’re looking for a volunteer to take on managing that side of the site – or just to collate and provide material for me to post up. Please get in touch (info@yorkrally.org) if you can help!
Just back from the Sportive! A great turn-out with around 120 riders…
More shortly but for now here’s a quick look at the Sportive HQ (taken as riders returned in early afternoon, so relatively quiet):
and riders as they went past the Sherriff Hutton control where I was based. I’ve included some out of focus or otherwise poor images if they were the only ones showing a rider. If anyone would like their picture removed please just let me know (publicity@yorkrally.org). Equally, if anyone would like the higher quality originals of any of these images (no charge) please just ask. Apologies to all I missed, or indeed to anyone who is in the photos but wasn’t on our Sportive!
I’ve had to split these into batches of 40 to keep the website software happy:
Batch 1:
Batch 2:
Batch 3:
Batch 4:
Just a quick summary for now – just back from the meeting. More later and I’ll also be sending a more detailed update to the Friends who have supported the Rally thus far by their membership. But in brief:
I think that’s the main points for now – but also a reminder that the Sportive is coming up next weekend (Sunday). We could really do with three more volunteers who can help us with marshalling and managing control points. No experience necessary. If that could be you please email info@yorkrally.org ASAP, or call Paul Reid on 016973 43089 (landline, only until Monday) or 07770 134553 (mobile, any time).
Finally a huge thanks to all who attended – it was a very positive and purposeful meeting!
Just a quick note that we’ll be having our next York Rally meeting this coming Saturday (the 13th September) downstairs at the ‘York Bike Shed’ cafe in Micklegate, York, from 10AM.
All are welcome – especially those with any ideas, skills or time to volunteer!
If you can’t make it, feel free to email any thoughts to info@yorkrally.org before Saturday or just leave a comment under this posting and I’ll pass it on to the committee.
There are still spaces left on our fundraising Sportive, coming up on the 21st September – less than three weeks away!
Please do help us fill the remaining spaces (as I write, available at all three distances) either by signing up yourself or by passing around our new Sportive leaflet! Click to enlarge…
It prints out really well (please print it from this PDF file for best quality) onto A5 paper on a mono laser printer. If you don’t have access to a printer but would like some leaflets to distribute, please just email publicity@yorkrally.org with details of how many you’d like and your address, and I can post some out. Thanks in advance for helping to spread the word.
Our thanks also to the many cyclists who have already signed up – we look forward to meeting you on what should be a fantastic day’s riding!
There are still places available for riders to join the York Rally Sportive, coming up on Sunday, 20th September 2015. The ride comes in three flavours, the tough Grande Classic at 140 km, the challenging Classic at 100 km and the approachable Petit Classic at 36 km. All proceeds from entry fees go towards funding the York Rally.
Sportive organiser Paul Reid has been riding the routes in advance of the event, checking for hazards and working out where to place marshalls. He’s kindly passed on his write-up of the 100 km route for the website.
On Monday I set off on my trusted 1959 Mercian Olympic cycle. It is fitted with a 5 speed Simplex Tourist, with gears from 38″ to 77″. I was tasked with completing the risk assessment and marshalling requirements for the 100k sportive.
I set out from Wigginton, just north of York, with clear skies and virtually no breeze. The road to Sherriff Hutton was a nice warm up, just slightly rising until the bottom of Terrington Bank which marks the start of the Howardian hills. This I found it a bit of a brute so I let my gears do the work for me and just hung on until the road levelled a bit. This gave me time to catch my breath. I rounded the corner and could see the top of the climb. That I could really attack! (or as well as I can do, anyway!)
The descent is long and clear, should be no problems there. Not the same as the descent into Hovingham, this terminates in a T junction and a left turn. Care is needed at this point. The next climb, Caulkleys Bank, somewhat caught me napping. The sign said 17%, and my brain took some time to calculate what that really meant. 17% equals 1st gear, and out of the saddle!
A steady descent after Nunnington and the road became uncharacteristically flat for a while. Care is needed to cross the A170 shortly afterwards there is a bit of excitement as you see the sign for a ford, but I’ve never seen any water in it yet! The road then continually rises to Fadmoor. The next village is Gillamoor and the view on leaving is absolutely spectacular but don’t watch for too long as there is a steep descent with a few bends just to make life interesting.
Turning left up the valley of Farndale is a steady climb and when the hedgerows disappear and all you can see is moorland you realise how far you’ve climbed. Dropping down into the village of Low Mill is the most northerly part of this route. Care, once again, is needed on the descent. On reaching this pretty little hamlet you realise you’ve left your telephone signal at the top of the hill and won’t get it back again until you climb to the top of the moor again. It being a clear day I could see at least 20 miles in each direction at this point.
Watching out for the cattle grids there is a sweeping descent into Hutton-le-Hole, a pretty little honey pot of a village with tourists and pubs. At this time my mind was set on the tea stop at Marton, and again care was needed on the A170.
I stopped at Marton Village Hall, which will be our main feeding station, and stoked up on sandwiches and liquids. I made good time from there down to Amotherby and thought I would be coasting all the way back. How wrong could I be! After crossing the B1257 there was a hill! A long low, grinding type hill that just seemed to go on for ever, It didn’t but I think the heat was taking its toll. I really enjoyed the descent down to Easthorpe Hall and then turning right to Coneysthorpe. At this point I got my first view of Castle Howard.
At the crossroads I turned left towards York and followed, mesmerised, down the long straight road which is punctuated by, firstly, a large obelisk in the centre of the road, then a gate house, next the Carmire Gates, then, before the winding descent, past yet another large monument. 10 miles away in the distance I could see the towers of York Minster and from then on it was simply a pleasant run back to Wigginton.
Here’s where Paul went:
All are welcome to follow in Paul’s wheeltracks, with the backup of sag and broom wagons, marshalls and refreshments on hand! Join the York Rally Sportive on the 20th September: more info is here or you can enter online now, via the British Cycling website.
Out for a bike ride? Print out some of our York Rally cards and pop them in your wallet before you go, and hand them out to likely Rally-goers you encounter! Or leave a small handful at the counter of your favourite cycling cafe, at a cycle jumble or wherever cyclists gather…
These are business card sized and are designed to be printed in black and white on A4 paper using any printer or photocopier. An A4 sheet will yield 10 cards: get the scissors out to trim them to size.
I’ll upload new versions after the Sportive has happened!
And many thanks to the artist, who wishes to remain nameless, who kindly sent us the front artwork…
We’re featured in the latest (Aug/Sept) issue of ‘Cycle’ – the CTC magazine! See the scan below and click to enlarge…
Welcome to all ‘Cycle’ readers. You can find out more about who we are at About us and how you can help support the Rally’s revival by becoming a Friend of York Rally or taking part in the Sportive. We are starting from scratch and your support at this early stage will really help. If you could also dedicate any time as a volunteer, please do contact the committee or come along to our next meeting – details are here!
Like many of you, most of us have valued the Rally for decades as a sociable get-together to meet old friends. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Thanks to York’s Press for this great coverage! You can read the full article online:
and here’s how it looked on paper:
