Andrew and Alex Barker in their "heli-bike" won the prize for Best Modified Bike.

Despite some early morning showers, more than 1 000 riders between the ages of two and 72 came out for this year's Nation Fun Ride yesterday.

From as early as 5:30 a.m., riders began flocking to the National Stadium car park and most might have been glad for the rain as it gave them the perfect temperature for the 18-kilometre route.

There was a high number of children in attendance, with their parents, and they had a shorter route of 15 kilometres. At least seven physically challenged people also participated, making the course look easy.

Many made light work of the route starting from the stadium, down Station Hill, through Bridgetown and Lower Bay Street onto the Spring Garden Highway, over University Hill, along the ABC Highway and back down Waterford to the Stadium.

Some riders encountered difficulty at University Hill and chose to walk over the incline and on to smooth sailing from there.

The elite riders started first and by 6:20 a.m., one rider was already heading down the hill to Warrens Roundabout. John Proverbs won in the elite male section, while Denise Crebbin took top honours in the female class. Others chose not to be competitive, but simply had fun with friends and family.

Some interesting bikes were also on display catching the attention of some drivers passing by.

Andrew Barker rode a two-seater "heli-bike" with his son Alex and they won the prize for best modified bike. It had a battery powering a fan blade at the top and an old radiator fan at the back of a body built from plastic pipe and card board.

Others had interesting decorations on their bikes with pieces of various Nation editorials while some of the well known cycling groups came out in huge numbers.

The largest group on show was the BNB Roamers with 101 riders.

Senior Corporate Communications Officer of Nation Publishing, Marilyn Sealy, said she was extremely pleased with the turnout, especially given the weather at the start of the ride.

She also commended those parents who brought their children to participate explaining that this year's turnout was bigger than last year's. (PCA)