Sam Salt said:As the York Rally approaches,why is it that every year people seem to
say it is [censored] and it's days are numbered ?
I first went to York Rally back in 1974, riding there from Hull when I
was 13, and although I have been a regular ever since, I must say it
does depress me somewhat nowadays. Nothing to do with the effort put in
by the organisers who do a great job. (Although it has to be said that
the bike show at York is a mere shadow of what it used to be). Rather,
when one has attended for so long on can see just how York Rally stands
for a past (and I would say better) era. I often joke that for me York
Rally weekend is a trip back to the 1950's, but unfortunately we now
live in the congested, car-centric 2000's and the transition back to
the present does tend to leave one feeling flat.
It must be even worse for those who have known the rally for longer
than me. One long-time stalwart of the Hull cycling scene told me how
in the 1950's he once looked behind himself whilst climbing Arras hill
out of Market Weighton at all the cyclists riding home from the rally
back to Hull. He said there was a constant line of cyclists all the way
down the hill, and as far as one could see. Nowadays hardly any use the
main York-Hull road which has become a traffic-choked racetrack.
Back in the '70's York Rally was a 'must' for every self-respecting
club rider, including those who raced. It was especially attractive to
school kids, and at that time cycling and even cycle racing was quite a
mainstream sport for kids. My school had grass-track events at the
school sports day, my local park had a series of summer schoolboy
criteriums attracting 40 riders or more. 'The comic' used to devote 2
page spreads to schoolboy championship races and every time-trial
result printed has its own 'schoolboy/girl' result list and so on. For
us kids back then York Rally was a big event, now very few kids ride to
York Rally (or ride time-trials come to that). Also many of the current
generation of 'racing lads' wouldn't be seen dead at York and are more
likely to see attending a car show or going out for a high-speed blast
in their cars as being 'a good day out'. (Look at a site such as
'veloriders' if you doubt me). All of this is symptomatic of the
increase in 'individualism' in British society, one example of which is
the decline in the traditional social aspect of club cycling.
Nowadays York is to a large extent the preserve of old timers and a few
'eco-friendlies' and at times I get the feeling that when the old boys
at last hang up their bikes, the cycling traditions represented by York
Rally will die too.
Of course, things don't have to be this way, the rally might be able to
change with the times, much as cycling in the UK generally has changed,
with mass club runs being replaced by individuals taking part in
'sportif's and so on. However, 'the old guard' inevitably want to
preserve what York Rally always has been, even though it's long-term
survival almost certainly means accommodating the 'modern' world. An
attempt was made to do just this back in 2000, when it became the
'National Festival of Cycling'. The traditionalists hated it and the
public stayed way in droves (50,000 were predicted to turn up, in the
end only 8-10,00 actually paid to see the show). The low attendance at
the 2000 show, which was aimed directly at the general public,
encourages one to think that not only are the days of 'traditional'
British cycling (as represented by York Rally) numbered, the bright new
future for cycling which everyone was looking forward to back in
1998-2000 ('A new deal for transport' and all that) was nothing more
than an idealistic dream.
So yes, York Rally is still a great event and if you are not a
long-term visitor you will not be aware of the subtle changes over the
years, but York Rally always leaves me pining for lost opportunities
and an almost lost age.
