Introduction
Here are some pointers for planning and leading bike rides. In no way does this replace formal training though it can be used as an aide memoir or a way of navigating the Let's Ride system (as of 2026), especially when getting started. Equally it does not replace information provided by the London Cycle Campaign, British Cycling or Cycling UK.
The steps required to be a ride leader can look daunting but they are simple and just need to be scheduled in whatever sequence and timeframe suits you.
As an example of local implementation the Harrow Cycle Hub ride leader role is described here. British Cycling describe the role on their website.
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| Image by Freepik Levels of training and commitment This post may suggest a lengthy training plan to be a ride leader though in fact there are graduated levels starting with LCC marshal training to assist with LCC events a few times a year. Training to be a British Cycling Ride Leader Level 1 is sufficient to be a Let's Ride Assistant which is an important role and doesn’t require the additional qualifications such as First Aid or DBS checks. Depending on your goals the following diagram shows an example of progression though one step is not dependent on the previous steps. For instance you could start with British Cycling Ride Leader Combined course (L1 and L2). You will get alot out of observing as it will inform whether the role is right for you and make any training you choose to do more valuable and relevant. 
London Cycling Campaign (LCC) The LCC provide free training for ride marshals and ride leaders to support their rides. These qualifications aren't sufficient to lead rides on the Let's Ride platform but are a great entry point and allow you to become involved in LCC rides and activities. LCC do a wide range of activities including mass participation rides. Harrow Cycle Hub (HCH) If you want to see what HCH do you could register with Let's Ride, join the "Harrow Cycle Hub" group within Let's Ride then join one of the rides as a participant. They do a 5-mile beginners bike ride most Saturdays at 2pm which is short and a good opportunity to see what is involved even if you aren't a beginner. Let's Ride is part of British Cycling. https://www.letsride.co.uk/groups/harrow-cycle-hub Your cycle club/hub may require a DBS or an Enhanced DBS check for volunteers who may be engaging with vulnerable adults and children. Voluntary Action Harrow (VAH) apply for this on your behalf and the club/hub volunteer coordinator will usually fund and facilitate this. If you are performing the role fir a club/hub they may ask you to undertake Safeguarding training. When you are ready to start leading it can help to assist for a month or two until riders in your chisen group know who you are as it can be daunting registering for a ride when you don't know the leader. You can even recruit a leader to lead from your chosen location and your Ride Coordinator can assist with this. |
Let's Ride Getting Started
If you want to be a "Guided Ride" or "Breeze" leader then the first step is to get the required courses booked.
Ride Leader Level 1 (L1) is the minimum leader training but doing the Ride Leader Combined course (L1 & L2 combined) is useful if you envisage doing faster paced and/or longer rides as L1 only covers you up to 50 miles. The combined course is the same content as L1 plus L2 but being combined over a weekend it is more efficient. For the course I completed we rode at an average 12mph over 3 laps of a 9 mile route for the L2 element. Although speed isn't essential I imagine the L2 course run as an open public event will attract faster riders.
The basic first aid training will be a minimum of three hours and needs to meet BC requirements which are provided on their website. Training doesn't necessarily cover scenarios such as what to do if a casualty needs transport. In my experience it is worth phoning 999 early and they will talk you through any actions you need to take and they will assess whether an ambulance is required. Having the What3words app allows you to provide a precise location if you are on a remote country lane. Having taxi numbers from your home location or an app would help if transport is required.
Don't worry about the order in which you do the courses just get them booked. St John's ambulance do courses and your local club/hub/association/society may be able to add you to an existing local course so use those networks and contacts.
At the time of writing British Cycling don't fund the Ride Leader training anymore (though check) but there may be other funding sources locally and British Cycling do have a bursary programme. Your local club/hub may be able to source funding for people committed to volunteering especially if you plan to support riders at the start of their cycling journey.
You need to upload your certificates to your learning record on the British Cycling website and specifically this is via the Ride Leader course you registered for. More specifically, if you can't find the upload facility click onto the course you completed and it should be there though British Cycling is upgrading its systems.
Courses done and certificates uploaded you need a Let's Ride account and that needs to allow you to lead rides for the relevant group such as your local hub or club. That can be achieved by getting Admin rights on the group though I suspect there is another route such as Let's Ride being able to 'see' your British Cycling profile.
Check your First Aid certificate is valid for three years on the BC website after you upload it; mine only showed as valid for one year and BC where quick to resolve that for me.
Ask the Guided Ride section of British Cycling to make you a Guided Ride leader. When they do that they will ask you sign an online form (the annual Volunteer Declaration) to say you will comply with their rules.
With all certificates uploaded and Volunteer Declaration signed a "G" will then show on your record ("B" for Breeze) and you can create rides after one last step.
Go to your profile and you will see a new "VOLUNTEER DETAILS" section. Update this by selecting the locations that you will lead rides in. Without this you can't create rides. The locations aren't obvious so search on county, town, council, or borough to find something in the area you lead rides from. The postcode for your start location could be a clue so "CO" may indicate you need to add "Colchester". If you get stuck then searching for the council for a given ride start may offer clues, for example Harwich comes under Tendring, and Croxley Green comes under Three Rivers. A list of councils can be found here. If you use existing routes the location will be shown so you will know what location to add.
To create a ride login to Let's Ride, go to Home and scroll down to the Create Ride button.
Ride Creation on Let's Ride
When you are ready to put rides up it is recommended that you review the required data fields on the Let's Ride web site, create the text in a document (text, MS*Word, web) then cut and paste the text across. This is because some people have found their text dissappears in certain circumstances when creating a ride such as updating the photo or GPX file. If it is a ride you then plan to copy and re-use it is worth taking the time to get the text and route right as the Let's Ride platform allows you to copy a ride to create a new ride event.
Copying a ride is very easy though be careful if your ride text included start times and be careful when updating with the new date, time etc. In particular the photo may revert to the Let's Ride default and you may wish to insert your own which in turn will blank some of the text fields. Strategies for picture choice include:
- One picture for all your rides; people can associate the ride with its leader.
- A picture representing the start point; this is especially useful if starting in a park
- A picture representing the ride itself such as the café or viewpoint.
Let's Ride picks up a postcode from the .GPX file so don't worry about that, especially if it doesn't match the postcode used in your own description of the start location. As start locations are often in parks or other areas not easily identifiable by a new rider the What3words reference will help.
Ride Suitability is peculiar in that the text gets translated to an age group for example:
- "Local Rides Steady" translates to all age ranges from age 5 up which may or may not be what you want.
- "Local Rides Challenging" translates to "Adults 16+".
In addition to ride suitability there is also ride level which, confusingly, has the same Steady and Challenging classification. The meaning here is as follows:
Finally, if you can't create rides because the system thinks that you don't have a valid British Cycling membership it may be picking up an old expired membership and ignoring your valid one; speak to British Cycling to get expired accounts deleted or merged. If you still can't create rides try deleting your web browsing data as a fix. As of spring 2026 British Cycling is updating its website and back-end systems so other issues may emerge or it may be seamless.
Let's Ride Administration
You need to do pre-ride risk assessment which means accepting standard BC provided risks and adding any new ones specific to your ride. Frankly, if you need to add risks it is worth considering redesigning the route.
The day before the ride:
1. Ensure the pre-ride risk assessment is done.
2. Optionally, you could update the maximum attendees to ensure no late joiners, especially if you know the current group of riders are uniform in their pacing. Not required for short slower paced rides.
3. Download the participant register so you have participants details and their ICE contact. This will be in PDF format so you may wish to screen grab that for ease on the day.
After the ride there is more administration including a post-ride risk assessment and you need to delete any personal data such as the participant register.
Tooling and Organisation
Get organised recognising that you will likely keep tweaking routes and thereby creating multiple versions. There is good integration between apps these days though staying with one brand may be easier.
Primary version: I use Komoot as the master copy as this is where I create and edit rides.
Navigation version: I link the Wahoo app on my phone to my Komoot app so the Wahoo app always sees the Primary version. I then ensure my Wahoo cycle computer is refreshed (synced) from the Wahoo app.
Backup and ride creation text: I store the .GPX file and relevant image for a ride on Dropbox so it is in the cloud and easy to load up the required files when creating rides on Let's Ride. In truth Let's Ride struggles to read from my Dropbox so I copy to a folder on my phone. Also, I can readily share the .GPX with anyone not comfortable downloading off Komoot. I now use a single standard AI generated image for all rides; the image you use needs to be approximately square.
You might be using different tools but do get organised.
Route planning
Before you start planning a route consider your audience. The only constant is the all important coffee stop and the social aspect.
- Beginners who enjoy 5 to 10 miles riding on flat mostly traffic-free roads and cycle paths
- Confident cyclists happy with 10 to 30 mile rides
- Riders who enjoy cycling as a way to explore and see sights of interest
- Cyclists who prefer a longer bike ride on open roads where they can cycle two abreast with minimal stops
Planning routes is time consuming so make use of resources.
- Paper maps can play a useful role if you want to get a big picture view
- The cycle.travel website and app will create routes for you including circular routes for whatever distance you require
- Walk Wheel Cycle Trust is the new name for Sustrans which supports the National Cycle Network.
- Komoot, RideWithGPS, Strava and similar apps have route planning functionality
- British Cycling has a library of routes
The "Epic Ride Weather" app is useful for longer faster rides and racing, where you may wish advance information on how weather conditions will affect your ride. If you have a brisk tailwind on the outward leg and a strong headwind on the return you may wish to opt for a later café stop or change how you manage pace.
A helpful tool in deciding on the destination is https://cafes.cyclingmaps.net/index.php
Summary Costs (July 2026)
LCC courses are free.
British Cycling membership is required to lead rides and is met by British Cycling if you do 8 volunteering sessions per year. This provides indemnity cover.
British Cycling Ride Leadership Level 1 costs £195 in 2026. BC have a bursary scheme and you may be able to apply to your local hub or club to cover these and First Aid costs.
First Aid training with St John's Ambulance Community First Aid from £25
First Aid kit from £10.50
The Enhanced DBS check is met by your club or hub if you volunteer and the DBS update service is I believe free for charities.
Safeguarding course, Voluntary Action Harrow. Book the free training which is online but scheduled. Mention your hub or club (such as Harrow Cycle Hub) when booking, with test and certificate to the relevant officer in your group/hub/club.
Alternative Ride Leader Training
Other organisations offer ride leadership though check it meets the requirements of the organisation you will lead rides for.
Concluding Note
These are my thoughts, observations and preferences. In leading rides you need to apply best practices appropriately and if a problem occurs the question to ask is, could you justify your actions?