Learn and Lead - free one-day Ride Leader workshop

If you enjoy cycling in a group, and would like to lead rides for your friends, family or people in your community on your favourite route, this workshop is for you.

Through our network of local cycling groups and projects, we enable thousands of people to choose from hundreds of different rides across the country each week. We now want to help more cycling groups develop knowledgeable on-road Ride Leaders, so we can support even more cyclists and offer a wider range of rides to everyone, bringing people together through the healthy and enjoyable activity we all know and love.

Thanks for the training - it was invaluable." 

Ben Colman, Bury Tandem Club for Blind and Partially Sighted People

To achieve this, Cycling UK and the Big Bike Revival will run a series of FREE one-day Ride Leader workshops at multiple NEW locations across England.

Register for Ride Leader Workshops

Having already trained over 800 new Ride Leaders in 2015, and another 175 already this year, we would like to offer even more Cycling UK members and Big Bike Revival participants the opportunity to learn how to become a Ride Leader themselves.

What you will take away from the day:

• Increased confidence in leading a group ride
• Ride Leader workshop pack and essential documentation
• Cycling UK Ride Leader workshop certificate
• Cycling UK goodie bag
• Lunch and refreshments

To ensure we get more people in the saddle and cycling, a stipulation of this free Ride Leader workshop is participants must lead one Cycling UK Big Bike Revival led ride in their local area, for local cyclists, at a pace and on a route that the Ride Leader chooses during the weeks of 15-30 October 2016.

Thanks for an excellent course – I will be recommending it – I gained lots of ideas fro our group and introducing new people to cycling."

Sue Reeve U3A

"Learn and Lead" takes confident cyclists through the necessary steps to lead a ride in their local area in their own way, benefiting from the advice and input of fellow Ride Leaders and workshop facilitators to think through the practical and bureaucratic measures involved.  Experienced Ride Leaders: we would like you to pass on your knowledge, whilst learning tips and ideas from others.

If you are interested in taking part in the one-day Ride Leader Workshop please register your interest NOW.        

CASE STUDY

"I just wanted to let you know that I have now led my first ride, since attending the workshop in Liverpool on 21 May.

"I ride with Bury Tandem Club for Blind and Partially Sighted People and I am also on the committee. Since the workshop, I've realised and raised at committee meetings that our club rules while good, are a response to a risk assessment that we haven't recorded. We recently updated the rules but they're basically 30 years old.

"On being asked to lead a ride on a new route, I rode the whole route prior to the Sunday ride. Of particular concern to me was heading through the centre of Warrington from the south. Much as I like Warrington, it is not a cycle-friendly place, especially for large, slow-moving tandems with people who don't know and can't see the roads. It took me three attempts of going back and forth before I was confident that I had found a route that worked! I noted a couple of sections of the ride included existing roadworks and one section had a warning of resurfacing the week before the anticipated ride. I also noted that the Bolton IronMan was taking place, so adjusted the route home accordingly.

"An early start on morning last week, gave me the opportunity to do a final check on the route, on my way into work. It also let me tweak the route on the Garmin.

I was able to navigate the route comfortably and confidently, giving the other riders clear instructions with plenty of notice.​"

Ben Colman, Bury Tandem Club for Blind and Partially Sighted People

 

"The ride itself went really well. We met up on time, I was able to brief all the riders clearly and set off confidently. The resurfacing had been finished and thankfully was well done and wasn't just surface dressing - this was bonded with tarmac. In the event, I didn't need to follow the Garmin, having got the route fixed in my head. The one down-side that I hadn't accounted for (silly me!) was the poor cafe. It was open (which I had checked) but it was a bit rubbish. Our route home went without a hitch. I was able to navigate the route comfortably and confidently, giving the other riders clear instructions with plenty of notice. Even though a major set of traffic lights were out, we were fine. All in all an excellent day out, due to planning. OK, so the nearly unbroken sun helped too.

"Thanks for the training - it was invaluable." 

Ben Colman, Bury Tandem Club for Blind and Partially Sighted People