Cycling festival draws crowds in Bristol, as NCN use grows

A number of British towns and cities took part in the National Festival of Cycling and Bike2 Work Day last week. Pictured above is the gathering in Bristol, where events included races, time trials, family rides, a Sustrans 'Pedalling Picnic' and free 'Dr Bike' cycle safety checks.

Other participating towns and cities included Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester and York. In York, the North Sea Cycle Route Inaugural Run took place to celebrate the opening of Europe's longest distance cycle route.

• Use of the Sustrans national cycle network (NCN) rose by 2.3% between 1999 and 2000 according to the charity. The growth was calculated using monitoring data from 120 sites around the UK. In total, 60 million miles are being travelled on the NCN each year; Sustrans claims. The network now covers 6,000 miles and will be a 10,000-mile network once it is completed in 2005.