Whether you’re joining us for the first time, riding regularly with the club, or posting rides of your own, you’ll find everything you need here.
- Your First Ride — New to the Club
- How Our Rides Work — Riding With Us
- Leading Rides — Posting Your Own
Your First Ride — New to the Club
Before Your Ride
Book onto a ride on the Ride App, or email the Ride Leading Secretary and we’ll match you to a suitable first one.
Pick a relaxed, lower-pace ride to start — group riding is a different skill to going it alone, even if you’re a strong solo rider.
The ride details in the Ride App will indicate where the ride starts. Most rides begin at Manzil Way Gardens, off Cowley Road.
Arrive a few minutes early and make yourself known to the ride leader: introduce yourself, and ask anything — no question is daft.
What to Bring
- A road bike.
- Helmet — mandatory.
- Water, a snack, and café money if we’re stopping.
- Spare inner tube, tyre levers, pump or gas.
- Emergency contact details, on your phone or paper.
- Check your brakes, gears and tyres beforehand.
- Leave at home: time-trial bikes, tri-bars, panniers, heavy locks.
How Our Rides Work — Riding With Us
Joining a Ride
Sign up to a ride via the Ride App. Most rides are non-dropping, but be respectful of your fellow riders and choose one within your abilities.
Be self-sufficient: bring appropriate food, water and clothing, plus puncture repair and basic tools.
If you have a bike computer, load the route — the more people who know where they’re going, the better.
Group Ride Etiquette
- We ride two abreast, rotating anti-clockwise.
- Hand signals indicate turns, moving out, hazards and changing up.
- Calls accompany all hand signals, and warn of “car up” and “car back”.
- On the front, stick to the advertised pace. A good ride is a joint enterprise, constructed together.
- Read our Group Ride Policy for more detail.
Leading Rides — Posting Your Own
Leading isn’t a special status — we ask every member to do it. At its simplest, it’s posting a ride on the Ride App.
What It Entails
- Post the ride: pace, distance, route, start point and time, spaces, and any café stop.
- Give a quick briefing at the start — route, pace, regrouping points — and check everyone’s ready.
- Ride to the plan you advertised and keep the group together.
- Prefer not to go solo? Co-lead with someone, or post and ask for a co-lead.
What You’re Responsible For
- Reporting any incident to the club promptly — see the Crash Procedure.
What You’re Not Responsible For
- You are not a coach, mechanic or medic. Riders are self-sufficient adults, and ride within their own abilities.
- You are not liable for others’ fitness, decisions, or insurance.
Winter Riding
Riding through winter? Our Winter Riding Guide covers kit, bike and safety for the colder months.