Ben Swift to launch York’s Sky Ride

York’s traffic-free Sky Ride takes place on 14th September – and Yorkshire cyclist Ben Swift will be among those taking part.

Swift, from Rotherham, will be among over 1,300 cyclists taking to a special closed-road circuit on Saturday. The route follows riverside roads south to the Millennium Bridge, before returning to the city centre on the west bank. It crosses Lendal Bridge, which will be specially closed to cars for the occasion, then passes in front of York Minster.

He said: “Coming from Yorkshire, I am thrilled to be part of Sky Ride York this weekend. It’s a great opportunity to cycle around the city on traffic-free streets and should be a really fun event. There’s so much going on in Yorkshire and with Le Grand Depart in 2014, there’s never been a better time to be on your bike. Look forward to seeing you all there!”

You can register for the Sky Ride at the event’s website.

Cross-town: north-south

The River Ouse path provides an easy, largely traffic-free, cross-town route. A dedicated cycle path starts at Skelton and crosses the meadows, meeting the east bank of the river at Clifton. Crossing the river, Scarborough Bridge has recently been improved and is now a comfortable, wide cycleway. There’s no riverside path in the very centre (south of Lendal Bridge), but you can cycle along Skeldergate until rejoining the river.

The route finally swings away from the river after the Millennium Bridge, where you can swap banks again for Fulford, or continue south towards the railway path and Bishopthorpe.

Cross-town: east-west

The easiest route from the east of the city to the centre is the Foss Islands railway path. This starts from Osbaldwick and Tang Hall, with a new bridge over the River Foss to link it to the Minster. It’s direct and fairly fast, though the stop-start path through the retail park is exasperating. Watch out for broken glass.

Crossing the city centre isn’t straightforward. You can head for Bootham and then south to Scarborough Bridge, which avoids the busy central bridges. From there, a cycle path skirts the station before reaching the quieter paths and roads of the western suburbs.

City centre to the University

Depending where on the campus you’re going, there are several sensible routes between York city centre and the University. But by far the most pleasant is along the riverside, crossing at the Millennium Bridge if you started on the west bank; then continuing past the barracks, and over the Walmgate meadows, to the campus. It’s largely traffic-free or very quiet; you’ll only meet significant traffic at the light-controlled Fulford Road crossing.

Bike life

With 20% of journeys in York being made by bike, a vibrant culture has grown up around cycling in the city.

There’s an annual York Festival of Cycling, a family-focused event with traffic-free rides and stunt displays. Until 2012, the CTC held its national rally and show here. Other events include the York Cycle Challenge, where employers aim to have the highest proportion of cycling workers.

For those of a sporty disposition, there’s a closed road circuit at the Sport Village, on the ring road beyond the University, and an off-road track at Rawcliffe Country Park.

Your Bike Shed is York’s new cyclé cafe, combining great coffee and cake with bike repairs. If you’re riding out for the day, the local CTC has also produced a bewilderingly comprehensive list of cafés in the area.

Bike theft is inevitably a problem. Operation Spoke is an ongoing initiative to mark bikes and register them electronically. Local police have also been ‘tagging’ badly parked bikes with little advice slips to warn cyclists when their bikes are at risk!