Another Cycle Festival For York

A free cycling festival will be held in York next month - and if successful the weekend could become an annual event.

York already hosts the CTC's York Rally every year at the race course. The Festival of Cycling, will be held in Rowntree Park, and will offer cycling enthusiasts three themed areas where visitors can ride a range of cycles they may not have had the chance to.

Other attractions include a series of guided rides along cycle routes throughout the day, bikes for all the family will be available to use for free, and there will be a chance to have a go on a four-rider, pedal-powered Scalextric racing game.

The event, on Saturday, August 15-Sunday, August 16, is being staged by Cycling City York (CCY) and the York-based company Get Cycling.

The weekend will also boast a BMX competition in a skate park area, where riders can battle it out for prizes donated by businesses in the area, an information zone for visitors to access help and advice from cycling experts, and plenty of exhibitors.

The festival is designed to be accessible to all and will include specially designed activities to cater for less able cyclists.

York, regarded as one of the country’s premier cycling cities, has an extensive range of off-road cycle paths and on-road cycle lanes and was awarded Cycling City status last year. 

This saw £3.68m of government funds being made available to improve facilities for cyclists until 2011 to get more people cycling.

And the first ever Festival of Cycling promises to be the highlight of this summer’s cycling initiatives.

The Festival of Cycling will run from 11am-6pm on the Saturday and 11am-5pm on the Sunday.