Riders who qualify to lead rides are registered with Cycling UK and are paid up members. A ride leader’s overall responsibility is to make sure everyone comes home safely. Certain mandatory action is required to ensure essential Cycling UK insurance.
A Ride Leader must:
-
- Plan the route in advance. Plan a route that takes into consideration road conditions, group riding strength, weather, daylight hours and appropriate stops.
- Appoint a Back Marker where appropriate. Appoint a reliable & experienced rider to act as your eyes & ears and protect the group at the back.
- Count riders & advise back marker.
- Have a written list of all Attendees at the start. If you have organised the ride using Spond, all riders should already be listed.
- Sign up visitors. Cycling UK insurance requires non-Cycling UK riders to be registered for the ride. Again, if using Spond, you should already have their details.
- Brief the Group. At the start of the ride, briefly explain the route and coffee stops. Introduce the back marker, and warn the group of any likely hazards. Subject to traffic conditions split the ride into smaller groups..
- Give warning signals. Use hand signals and calls as appropriate, ensure all the group is aware of signals.
Further advice from CyclingUK can be seen here.
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Route planning | Plan the route in advance. Plan a route that takes into consideration road conditions, riding ability of the group, weather conditions, daylight hours and appropriate stops. |
| Post ride on Spond | Post all club rides on Spond. In addition to being an effective way to manage ride participation, Spond fulfils several important safety and administrative functions. |
| Ride Cancellation | Cancel, postpone, or amend ride if adverse weather creates dangerous conditions. Consider the likelihood of ice, high winds, or prolonged heavy rain. |
| Newcomers and guests | Record the details of any rider who is not a member of Cycling UK or who is not on Spond, and request ICE details. Assign an experienced rider to stay with an inexperienced rider. |
| Children and vulnerable adults | Persons under 18 years of age and vulnerable adults should not participate in normal club rides. Special events involving such riders must be sanctioned by the club’s committee and organised to comply with Cycling UK’s guidance, which can be found here. |
| Count riders | Maintain a count of riders at the start and during the ride. Consider appointing a Back Marker. A reliable and experienced rider to assist the Ride Leader and ensure that nobody is left behind. |
| Brief the group | Before the start of the ride, briefly explain the route and planned stops. Introduce the Back Marker, if applicable. Warn the group of likely hazards. Remind riders to use calls and hand signals. Inform riders of when they will need to split into smaller groups to make being overtaken safer |
| Accidents | Read detailed guidelines on what to do if there is an accident here . In the event of an accident follow this guidance. All accidents must be reported using the Cycling UK on-line form here (accident report form), and the club’s committee notified, as soon as possible. A printable from is available here. |
| Heavy traffic | It is hazardous to undertake stationary or slow-moving vehicles when in a group. Exercise caution when overtaking – cyclists may become stranded in the right-hand lane. Better to stay back and be patient. |
| Horses | Approach horses at low speed. Alert horse riders and horses to your presence with the human voice. Pass singularly or in small groups giving horses good clearance. |
| Signposting | At a change in direction, ask a rider to stay, in a safe location, and signpost to avoid losing riders |
| Regrouping | Stop in a safe location to ensure no rider is left behind or to advise of hazards ahead. |
| Punctures | Move to safe place to repair. At least one experienced rider should stay with the unfortunate cyclist and one person should have the route. |
| Post-ride debriefs | Conduct a short review with remaining riders to get their views on the day, particularly on any safety issues and opportunities for improvement. |
| Confirm list of attendees | Ensure that the Spond list of attendees is correct at the end of the ride. Then, select “register attendance” and “save”. |
Planning a ride
Check route beforehand – planned roadworks and interruptions can be seen on this website
Use an appropriate ride plotting website (Plotaroute, RidewthGPS, Garmin etc. ). Post the ride on Spond and link the post to the TCX/GPX route.
Previous rides are stored on the RidewithGPS club page
Take a guest entry form.
If a guest has not pre-registered on Spond, print out an attendance form to be filled in at the start of the ride.
You can let the Group know of last minute changes by using the WhatsApp groups, by sending an email to the relevant Google Group and by posting a ‘Newsflash’ item to the website. For details of how to do this please contact the Webmaster .
After the Ride
If you are not using Spond, scan or photograph the Attendance Form and then send form to Neil McIntyre.
If you were involved in a traffic incident you can report it here.