14 July 2008

After the damp and floods of 2007 we were due a decent bit of weather for the 2008 ride. Did we get it? Not for long.

The morning started off fine and looked really good until around noon when it started to rain at the finish. And the rain continued, some of it very heavy, for the rest of the afternoon. It's a pity as people love the chance to sit on the grass at the finish with a cup of tea before heading off home. I think we broke the record for the number of riders who could cram into the tea tent though !!

We had our new online registration this year which, though not seamless, was welcomed by most of the entry. Hopefully we can sort out a couple of minor glitches over the winter and have a 100% solid system running for 2009.

We upped the entry a little for 2008 and ended up with a record number of riders taking part with 1,629 cyclists taking the line at Wetherby. As ever, very few dropped out and we had a couple of accidents in the middle of the route. Thankfully nothing too serious.

We continued with our revised route, introduced, after safety concerns, in 2007.

A welcome return for the tea and cakes at the last drink stop courtesy of Wold Newton School PTA who took on the baking challenge for the event.

Plus, for a second year, the Farnell-sponsored Team Spirit entertainment at the finish kept the younger supports busy while he waited for mum or dad to arrive at the finish.

We had quite a few comments about rider discipline on the roads this year and we will have to tackle this problem for 2009. Too many riders cycling 2 & 3 abreast oblivious to other road users. The answer is in your hands. Do you want this event to continue or not? It's up to you, but I will be very sad to lose the ride after all the hard work that has gone on in recent years to face up to all the new regulations.

Hopefully we can pull in another great sponsor money total as we head towards the £2m mark

Many thanks to all our sponsor companies, volunteers, charity workers and, of course, the riders themselves for making the event another great success. I hope that we see many of you at the presentations on the 9th of November.

Follow the links below to see the 2008 photos and a selection of comments from the riders.