York Cycle Campaign led a cycle ride through their historic city on Sunday morning. Hundreds of cyclists rode together as part of the global Kidical Mass movement, in which people of all ages cycle to call for safe room to ride, safe routes to school and investment in active travel.

The riders set off from Hungate Reading Rooms café at 10:00am on the 26th September, riding via Goodramgate, York Minster and Lendal Bridge. Nearly 200 people rode all kinds of cycles including recumbents, trikes and a varied collection of utility bikes, cargo-bikes and trailers, some carrying young children while others rode their own bikes. Riders rang bike bells, blew whistles and playing bicycle-themed music as they went.

Passers-by waved and took pictures and videos of the spectacle, drivers beeped their support as the ride passed, and as they arrived at Millenium Bridge after a ride down Terry Avenue past Rowntree Park people on the bridge gave them a round of applause.

A spokesperson for York Cycle Campaign said, ‘We need to transform how we travel in York. So many new houses are being built and there’s no more room in the city for cars. Cycling is vital for every resident of York. Cycling can help us tackle our traffic woes, reduce pollution and improve health and wellbeing for a great many people. There’s an appetite in York to really think a lot more intelligently about transport.

‘York Cycle backs the council’s ambition to double cycling, and reduce car use by 20% in the city by 2030, ‘If you ask yourself, could you drive 20% less? For most people, the answer is yes. People are happier in cities that prioritise active travel. The campaign plans to continue working with Councillors from all political parties to improve cycling safety in the city, with a particular focus this on autumn on safe routes to schools, saying, ‘We don’t just need a hashtag telling families to cycle. If it’s not safe we need physical changes made to school routes, and that’s what we hope to see.