A DISABLED team and fancy dress characters were among 1,000 cyclists taking part in the 24th annual Selby Lions Bike Ride.

The event which gives cyclists the choice of a 25-mile or 40-mile route, attracted 150 more cyclists than last year, when it raised £9,000 for Selby Lions’ charities.

David Jones, vice-president of Selby Lions and organiser of the ride, said he hoped once all the money wass collected, this year’s event would raise even more money for the Lions’ selected charities, Martin House Hospice, St Leonard’s Hospice, the British Heart Foundation and the RNLI, as well as Selby Lions’ local charity fund, which supports various local causes.

“The weather kept dry and there was very little wind, which everybody was pleased about,” he said.

David said the participants varied from young children being towed by their parents in trailers to cyclists aged up to 84.

“A lot of people come back year after year. Some people have been coming for 15 to 20 years. They make friends with the people they cycle with and arrange to meet up with them again. But we do get a lot of new ones too.”