THOUSANDS of people attended a family-friendly cycling rally in York this weekend.

The York Cycle Rally was held on Knavesmire, with families and businesses coming from as far away as Cornwall to enjoy events set up to promote cycling in the city.

Organised rides of differing distances took place on Saturday and Sunday, while families who camped and felt like staying closer to their tent could watch events in a specially-set up arena at Knavesmire.

There were also a series of fun races for children and adults throughout Saturday, an auction, live music and stalls selling food and cycling equipment.

Paul Reed, one of the organisers of the rally, said the event had been going for more than seventy years, ensuring a sense of tradition in the city, and plans were already being made for the 2019 event.

He said: "It takes an awful lot of planning and we're already thinking about what we can improve on for next year. We'll do some things differently and some things we haven't done before. We want more in the arena.

"It's traditional, but there are other things we can do. We're a cycling activities organisation, we want people to be participating in what we're doing, not just watching. Most people have been out on rides, we've got about 17 over the weekend."

Charlie Hodge is trade coordinator of the rally, which is open on Sunday from 10.30am, and said this year the rally was "expecting around 5,000 visitors".

He said: "Altogether we have about twenty-odd traders on site, and we're hoping the weather stays nice. It's been beautiful so please come down and enjoy yourselves on Sunday."

Paul said: "The event was started just after the Second World War and it's been going ever since, other than for a couple of years. We've been doing it for four years under this committee and already we're planning for next year.

"We're very much a traditional cyclist audience, really old-fashioned in our approach to cycling but next year we hope to have more stuff."