Talks and performances

The York Cycle Rally & Festival hosts all sorts of talks and performances, from live music to informative talks on cycling subjects. Other performances aimed at younger visitors are described on our Children’s activities page.

2024 Music and talks

2024 music

Saturday daytime: The Sonics Rock & Roll band

We’re delighted to welcome The Sonics Rock and Roll Band back to the Rally and Festival! Three keen cyclists with long links to the event, they will play two sets on Saturday morning, from 10:30am and 12 noon, in the main central area outside the talks tent.

Saturday evening: Linda J and Nick Jackson

On Saturday evening, we welcome back 2022 and 2023’s well received performer Linda Jennings – a longtime cyclist and triathlete from Bolton. She’ll be joined this time by fellow musician Nick Jackson. Although this year’s session, which takes place from 7:30 pm in the bar area, isn’t billed as an Open Mic like the 2022 gig, do please come prepared to sing along and join in if you want! Notable in Linda’s lifelong musical career was being picked by Sir Tom Jones in “The Voice UK 2017” – as seen on TV (and her appearances are now free to view on YouTube).

Sunday afternoon: Bargestra – Arts Barge Big Band Community Orchestra

We’re delighted to have Bargestra making their debut at the 2024 York Cycle Rally & Festival – they’re York’s community big band orchestra, playing pop, jazz, latin and swing, and part of the Arts Barge project. Please make them very welcome! They’ll start playing from about 1 pm on Sunday, outside the talks area (or inside, if rainy).

2024 talks

All talks are by volunteers – please do show your appreciation. And if you could give a talk next year, we’d love to hear from you – please just ask at the Info Hub

Saturday talks

1 pm
Imagine better cycling where you live
by the York Cycle Campaign.
If you aren’t happy with the cycling where you live and want to see change, then come along and participate in this interactive session. See how some cities have made great improvements, and learn how yours could too.

2 pm
The Clarion
by Charles Jepson of the National Clarion Cycling Club 1895.

The newspaper, the cycle club and the movement.

3 pm
Does health come on a plate?
by Ellen-Ann Finnighan.

An interactive session to inspire participants to seek out knowledge and put into practice ways to stay healthy and active longer.

4 pm
Secrets of SteLa Tandeming
by Laura & Stevie Massey-Pugh of SteLa Tandem and Cracking Adventures.

Following their talk last year about breaking the world circumnavigation record, SteLa Tandem are back to divulge the secrets to their success. From planning and routing to surviving life on the road they will share their top tips to help you go further on your own adventures!

5 pm
Le Grand Tour on a bike Called Wanda
by Andrew Sykes – who also runs CyclingEurope.org.

Author Andrew Sykes abandons his usual sidekick Reggie and takes a bike called Wanda on a grand tour of Europe, exploring some of the continent’s most iconic cycling routes and locations including the Vélomaritime, the Avenue Verte to Paris, the Véloscénie to Mont-Saint-Michel, the Vélodyssée, the Canal de la Garonne, the Canal du Midi, the ViaRhôna and the Furka Pass.

6 pm
The art and science of bike fit

by Russell Gordon of InSync Cycling Coach

How modern methods and equipment are revolutionising the seemingly simple task of getting your bike to fit your physique and riding – and a chance to put your questions to a pro bike fitter!

Sunday talks

11 am
From ‘critical’ back to cycling 

by Elaine Madden.

Elaine Madden shares her experience of recovery after a severe cycling accident left her in critical care – from rehab during lockdown to recovery on a tricycle, to full mobility and hope for the future.

12 noon
The Paris Olympic Road Races: rides through cycling’s history
by Stuart Stanton.

A personal route map that highlights places and people who have contributed to our sport’s culture. (A booklet will be available on the day).

Talks and performances from previous years:

2023 talks and performances

2023 Music and talks

2023 music

Saturday daytime: The Sonics Rock & Roll band

We’re delighted to welcome The Sonics Rock and Roll Band back to the Rally!

Three keen cyclists, they will play two sets on Saturday morning, from 10:30am and 12 noon, in the main central area.

2023 music

Saturday evening: The BeatRoots

On Saturday evening, we welcome back 2022’s well received performer Linda Jennings – a longtime cyclist and triathlete from Bolton. Linda will be back with bassist John and fellow guitar/vocalist Helen, together performing as The BeatRoots.

Although this year’s session, which takes place from 7:30 pm in the bar area, isn’t billed as an Open Mic do please come prepared to sing along and join in if you want!

Notable in Linda’s lifelong musical career was being picked by Sir Tom Jones in “The Voice UK 2017” – as seen on TV (and her appearances are now free to view on YouTube).

2023 talks

Standing room only for a talk at the 2017 York Rally. Photo: Peter Eland
Saturday:

1 pm
42 Ways to Transform York
by York Cycle Campaign
How can cycling in and around York be made safe, convenient and accessible for everyone? York Cycle Campaign has developed a vision for a truly cycle-friendly city which can be an inspiration for cycle campaigners nationwide. Read the whole 42 Ways document at https://yorkcyclecampaign.bike/42ways/ or come to be inspired!”

2 pm
Being There
Peter Lumley
Getting words on paper can be like pedalling; sometimes easy, sometimes not. The highlights of seventy years of cycling, and writing about it, come to life in this talk – not least the tale of founding a cycling club, and attending York Rallies since the ’50s...

5 pm
SteLA Tandem: a record-breaking ride around the World!

Laura Pugh
On 6th June 2022 Stevie and Laura set off on their tandem to cycle around the world. They returned 180 days later with a Guinness World Record! Their trip was full of adventures and the record wasn’t easily won, so come along to hear more about their epic challenge! Read more at www.stelatandem.com.

Sunday:

12 pm
CYCLINGJAZZ – the next great cycle racing novel?

Stuart Stanton
Drawing on philosophical links between saxophones and bicycles, and the deep cultural history of the Tour de France, Stuart seeks suggestions for title and first lines of the next great cycling novel…


2022 talks and performances

Saturday daytime: The Sonics Rock & Roll band

We’re delighted to welcome The Sonics Rock and Roll Band back to the Rally!

Three keen cyclists, they will play two sets on Saturday morning, from 10:30am and 12 noon, in the main central area.

Saturday evening: The BeatRoots

On Saturday evening, we welcome back 2022’s well received performer Linda Jennings – a longtime cyclist and triathlete from Bolton. Linda will be back with bassist John and fellow guitar/vocalist Helen, together performing as The BeatRoots.
Although this year’s session, which takes place
from 7:30 pm in the bar area, isn’t billed as an
Open Mic do please come prepared to sing along
and join in if you want!

So for 2022 we are delighted to announce “Open Mic at the York Rally” with professional host Linda Jennings – a long-time cyclist and triathlete from Bolton. Notable in Linda J’s lifelong musical career was being picked by Sir Tom Jones in “The Voice UK 2017” – as seen on TV (and her appearances are now free to view on YouTube).

Linda J and assistant John will bring amplifiers, spare microphones etc. – as well as a selection of instruments including spare guitars – and while she’ll fill in any gaps with performances, her act is all about encouraging the audience to join in – with any instrumental talent (at whatever level) or just with your voice!

So if you’re coming to the Rally, please do bring your favourite musical instrument(s) along – or just your voice!

If you’re not comfortable performing solo don’t worry – Linda is expert at bringing all levels of musicianship into her performances. And anyway – at the Rally you are among friends.

The Open Mic session starts at 7:30pm on Saturday evening, and will run to around 10:30 pm. Refreshments will be available at the bar, and several catering outlets will be open on site too. We hope to see you there!

2022 talks

Standing room only for a talk at the 2017 York Rally. Photo: Peter Eland
Saturday:

1 pm
Cycling Britain on a Twenty Five Quid Bike

Nick Dawes
Around 15 years ago I cycled LeJog with a pal, as lots of people do, but I was unfit, naively unprepared and riding an ‘old school’ Raleigh I bought cheaply off a pal. Then I wrote a book about it…

2 pm
The Unknown story of Tommy Simpson and the 1958 Cardiff Empire and Commonwealth Games
Stuart Stanton
In all the work published on Simpson, there has been very little mention of this chapter and only a very few b/w photos ever published. These came from the archive of the late Ron Good and were bequeathed to me prior to his death. The story itself is very relevant with the Birmingham on the horizon

5 pm
In Search of Lost Lanes

Jack Thurston
Jack turned his lifelong love of exploring the British countryside by bike into a best-selling series of regional guidebooks (more than 70,000 sold since 2012). Jack’s talk will focus on the enduring appeal of quiet country lanes and rural byways and he’ll share his tips and tricks on how to design great routes and get the most from your days out exploring by bike. As presenter of the long-running The Bike Show, Jack was an early cycling podcaster, and has more recently anchored the Slow Cycling documentary series on GCN+.

6 pm
Cycle framebuilding

Richard Hallett
Having learned the finer points of custom frame building under the tutelage of legendary British builder Cliff Shrubb, Richard began building bike frames to put into practice some of the ideas and experience gained over more than two decades spent testing bikes and writing about cycling technology for the UK’s leading cycling magazines.

This talk discusses technical aspects of the traditional framebuilding techniques of brazing, fillet-brazing and silver-soldering, exploring the difference between bi-laminate construction and conventional lugs, explaining how brazing makes strong joints and detailing the tube preparation required for a successful outcome.

Sunday:

12 pm
(title to be confirmed)

Inspired Cycle Engineering
(Details of talk coming soon)

1 pm
Electric bikes Q&A
Find out all about the latest electric-assist technology with John from the Electric Transport Shop in York. A tailwind for your bike!

12 pm
(title to be confirmed)

TBC


Talks and performances from previous years:

2022 talks and performances

Saturday daytime: The Sonics Rock & Roll band

We’re delighted to welcome The Sonics Rock and Roll Band back to the Rally!

Three keen cyclists, they will play two sets on Saturday morning, from 10:30am and 12 noon, in the main central area.

Saturday evening: Open Mic at the York Rally with Linda J

This year we’re taking the Rally back to its roots with the evening entertainment on the Saturday. In the early days of the Rally, visitors would entertain each other on the campsite, with whatever instruments they’d brought along.

So for 2022 we are delighted to announce “Open Mic at the York Rally” with professional host Linda Jennings – a long-time cyclist and triathlete from Bolton. Notable in Linda J’s lifelong musical career was being picked by Sir Tom Jones in “The Voice UK 2017” – as seen on TV (and her appearances are now free to view on YouTube).

Linda J and assistant John will bring amplifiers, spare microphones etc. – as well as a selection of instruments including spare guitars – and while she’ll fill in any gaps with performances, her act is all about encouraging the audience to join in – with any instrumental talent (at whatever level) or just with your voice!

So if you’re coming to the Rally, please do bring your favourite musical instrument(s) along – or just your voice!

If you’re not comfortable performing solo don’t worry – Linda is expert at bringing all levels of musicianship into her performances. And anyway – at the Rally you are among friends.

The Open Mic session starts at 7:30pm on Saturday evening, and will run to around 10:30 pm. Refreshments will be available at the bar, and several catering outlets will be open on site too. We hope to see you there!

2022 talks

Standing room only for a talk at the 2017 York Rally. Photo: Peter Eland
Saturday:

1 pm
Cycling Britain on a Twenty Five Quid Bike

Nick Dawes
Around 15 years ago I cycled LeJog with a pal, as lots of people do, but I was unfit, naively unprepared and riding an ‘old school’ Raleigh I bought cheaply off a pal. Then I wrote a book about it…

2 pm
The Unknown story of Tommy Simpson and the 1958 Cardiff Empire and Commonwealth Games
Stuart Stanton
In all the work published on Simpson, there has been very little mention of this chapter and only a very few b/w photos ever published. These came from the archive of the late Ron Good and were bequeathed to me prior to his death. The story itself is very relevant with the Birmingham on the horizon

5 pm
In Search of Lost Lanes

Jack Thurston
Jack turned his lifelong love of exploring the British countryside by bike into a best-selling series of regional guidebooks (more than 70,000 sold since 2012). Jack’s talk will focus on the enduring appeal of quiet country lanes and rural byways and he’ll share his tips and tricks on how to design great routes and get the most from your days out exploring by bike. As presenter of the long-running The Bike Show, Jack was an early cycling podcaster, and has more recently anchored the Slow Cycling documentary series on GCN+.

6 pm
Cycle framebuilding

Richard Hallett
Having learned the finer points of custom frame building under the tutelage of legendary British builder Cliff Shrubb, Richard began building bike frames to put into practice some of the ideas and experience gained over more than two decades spent testing bikes and writing about cycling technology for the UK’s leading cycling magazines.

This talk discusses technical aspects of the traditional framebuilding techniques of brazing, fillet-brazing and silver-soldering, exploring the difference between bi-laminate construction and conventional lugs, explaining how brazing makes strong joints and detailing the tube preparation required for a successful outcome.

Sunday:

12 pm
(title to be confirmed)

Inspired Cycle Engineering
(Details of talk coming soon)

1 pm
Electric bikes Q&A
Find out all about the latest electric-assist technology with John from the Electric Transport Shop in York. A tailwind for your bike!

12 pm
(title to be confirmed)

TBC


2019 talks and performances

2019 live music

The Foresters, the Rally’s traditional Saturday evening band for many decades, retired in late 2018 and have now disbanded. We thank them for their many fine performances – they will be missed!

For 2019 we are delighted to feature American Routes featuring Irene and Brian Hume, legends of the north-eastern music scene and who with Prelude had a smash hit with “After the Goldrush”:

Please make them very welcome, from 7:30 pm on Saturday!

We’re also happy that The Sonics Rock and Roll Band will return to the Rally in 2019, and we’ll make sure they don’t have power problems this time! Three keen cyclists, they will play two sets on Saturday morning, from 10:30am and 12 noon, in the main central area.

2019 Saturday talks:

Many thanks to all of our speakers!

  • 1 pm: “The helmet issue and the latest research”
    Colin Clarke trained as a mechanical engineer and has cycled for 60 years. He was living in Melbourne, Australia, when that country’s helmet laws were introduced and has investigated the helmet issue for many years. Come along to find out how the latest research findings can inform the debate!
  • 2 pm: Electric bikes Q&A
    Find out all about new electric-assist technology with John from the Electric Transport Shop in York. A tailwind for your bike!
  • 5 pm: “Railway to Greenway”
    Peter Huxford of York Greenways explains how York came to benefit from its traffic-free green corridor, with a history spanning railways, mines, Sustrans and hundreds of volunteers. Plus: all about Sunday’s “Historical Promenade” and the ride to see it…
  • 6 pm: “The Brooklyn Chewing Gum Cycling Team”
    Steel frame nostalgia: Author David Rutter describes the exploits of the Brooklyn Chewing Gum Cycling Team, covering the years 1973 to 1977 and focusing on the team’s participation each year in the Tour of Italy, along with the Tour de France in 1974 & 1976. Copies of the book “Red White and Blue” will be available to purchase at the talk. More on the author’s website: www.hor2.com/brooklyn-chewing-gum

2019 Sunday talks:

  • 12 pm: Electric bikes Q&A
    Find out all about new electric-assist technology with John from the Electric Transport Shop in York. A tailwind for your bike!
  • 1 pm: TBC
    TBC

2018 talks and performances

2018 music and talks

For 2018 we’re delighted to welcome The Sonics Rock and Roll Band to the Rally! Three keen cyclists, they will play two sets on Saturday morning, from 10:30am and 12 noon, in the main central area.

Legendary folk band The Foresters will also play their traditional session from 7.30pm in the main marquee.

Saturday talks:

Many thanks to all of our speakers!

  • 1 pm: Electric bikes Q&A
    Find out all about new electric-assist technology with John from the Electric Transport Shop in York. A tailwind for your bike!
  • 2 pm: A new type of rubber tyre
    Richard Adams of Gecko Rubber introduces a new UK-made puncture proof tyre made from pure recyclable cellular rubber, and explains how e-bikes and bike sharing are shaking up the tyre market
  • 5 pm: Bicycle poetry workshop
    Join Bernie Cullen, former Director of York Bikerescue and now Poet in Residence at Yorkshire Arboretum, for a relaxed poetry workshop, including readings of her poems and the opportunity to write your own. Paper and pens provided – just bring your imagination!
  • 6 pm: Tips from touring Europe
    Experienced touring cyclist and author of the “…on a bike called Reggie” books Andrew Sykes offers hard-won advice from many miles in the saddle all across Europe.

Sunday talks:

  • 12 pm: The bicycle: history and future
    Former owner of component maker Middleburn, Darin Palmer, muses on the development of bicycles and cycling from pre-history to modern times, and the vital role bikes must play in our future.
  • 1 pm: Flying Gates and framebuilding: Q&A
    Liz Colebrook of Beaumont Bicycle welcomes your questions on the iconic Flying Gate design, her work as an artisan framebuilder, and offers insights into cycle ergonomics and comfort.
  • 2 pm: Electric Bikes Q&A
    Find out all about the new electric-assist technology with John from the Electric Transport Shop in York. A tailwind for your bike!

2017 talks and performances

2017 Talks and lectures

Talks in 2015 included Sikh storyteller Roop Singh, and an account of high-miles cycling though the years, from Dave Barter. In 2016 we had a great line-up including sports science, touring in Canada and electric bikes. We now have our 2017 schedule:

2017 talks: Saturday

  • 1 PM: Electric Bikes: Q&A with John from the Electric Transport Shop
  • 2 PM: The Bishop of Selby (Bishop John, the “Cycling Bishop”).
  • (The auction starts 3PM – talks pause so as not to clash)
  • 5 PM: Chris Juden, former CTC technical expert. He says “The title of my talk will be ‘Choose your Discipline!’ in which I’ll discourse upon how my mission during my time at CTC was to provide some much-needed balance against the domination of cycle sport in all matters technical.”
  • 6 PM: Mark Waters, with touring tales from Ireland
  • 6.45PM: Wheelbuilding masterclass with Dave Gall from Spa Cycles
  • (Foresters start 7:30: talks stop)

2017 talks: Sunday

  • 12 PM: Charles Jepson: “Fellowship through Cycling” – an illustrated historic talk on the National Clarion Cycling Club and the wider Clarion Movement.
  • 1 PM: Andrew Sykes about his books ‘…on a Bike Called Reggie’
  • 2 PM: Electric Bikes: Q&A with John from the Electric Transport Shop
  • 3 PM: Rough stuff recumbents: Chris from Inspired Cycle Engineering explains a new option for rough-roads riding: the fattrike.

Photos from previous years:

Live music – The Foresters and Pretend Stage

Traditional folk band The Foresters played on the Saturday evening at the Rally in the main marquee until 2018. Here are some images (does anyone have a video?)

Transporting all of their kit by bicycle trailer, local performers Pretend Stage set up in the central square of the 2015 & 2016 Rallies for an eclectic performance of music and dance:

Children’s entertainments

Derek Carpenter fascinates younger visitors to the Rally with his  tricycle-based ‘Punch and Judy’ act, throughout the event:

The Foresters at the York Rally in 2015. Photo: Malcolm Carline
The Foresters at the York Rally in 2015. Photo: Malcolm Carline