FRIENDS have paid tribute to a keen mountain biker and “larger than life” character from York, who has died suddenly.

A funeral was held for Clare Woodall yesterday afternoon at York Crematorium, which was attended by family and friends, including about 20 riders from the mountain bike club, All The Gear No Idea (ATGNI), which she was a member of.

They turned up on their mountain bikes and in their riding gear after pedalling to the crematorium together from Askham Bar Park and Ride.

Dog lover Clare Woodall, who was in her early 40s, started her own doggy day care and photography business last year, called Walkies with Woodall, in Acaster Malbis, near York.

She launched the business after losing her mother and husband within months of each other.

She told The Press at the time: "My life changed. It made me believe life's too short, and we have to do what we enjoy now."

Simon Richmond, of Wigginton, who helped form ATGNI (Yorkshire and North East) in 2008, knew Clare for about six years.

He said: “She was a larger than life character, always happy, always joking. She didn’t have a bad bone in her body. She was the life and soul of the party.”

He added: “Everyone was shell-shocked when we heard she had died. She will be sorely missed.”

Speaking about her interest in mountain biking, he explained: “She was never a passionate racer. She just wanted to be out with people. She wanted to be out socialising.”

Another friend, Richard Ayres, who is also a member of the ATGNI group, said: “Whatever she did she gave it her all. She was an all or nothing type of character. Always someone who could see the positives in people. She encouraged people to express themselves and be who they wanted to be.

“In the last year she went on a tour around Europe on her motorbike. She went to Canada snowboarding to see some friends over there. This year she spent a lot of time setting up her business.”

Clare was also a member of the ladies mountain biking group MTBchix. In addition, she was heavily involved with SingletrAction and helped the group maintain bike trails at Dalby Forest.