Ride leaders – enjoyment

We cycle because we love it.

Through a shared enjoyment of cycling, we build bonds with our clubmates and create new friendships.We are all a friendly, welcoming group of people and new members often comment on this. The ride leader has a particular role to play - explaining how the club ride works, gauging ability, answering questions and helping to ensure new members enjoy the introduction to the club.

Ride leaders also help to maintain this enjoyable atmosphere – keeping the group together by monitoring the speed, checking in if a member is struggling, making decisions in relation to routing, conditions and traffic on the fly. Their calm, confident approach keeps the group reassured.

Mechanical issues will always occur. The first concern for the ride leader is whether the group can stop somewhere safe to assess the issue. They do not need to know how to fix everything, but with assistance from the group, the issue can be diagnosed and a decision made about how quickly a repair, if possible, can be completed. If this occurs on an MTB or gravel route, this may mean finding the quickest way to a road.

Riders will get cold quickly if stopped for long periods, and it may be better to split the group and meet at the café to keep people happy.

For some, part of the enjoyment of cycling comes from going fast and testing themselves and against their peers. Individuals should be aware of their own abilities, particularly off-road, but also that not all members of the group feel the need for competition in the same way – the ride leader is there to step in and remind members of this if it gets forgotten.

And finally we need to remember that our enjoyment shouldn’t come at the expense of others – the ride leader guides our behaviour around vehicles, pedestrians, horses and other riders, particularly off-road.

As ever, please leave questions and comments below.