FAQs

 Yes! Anyone can join anywhere along the FreeCycle route without signing up in advance – however, if you do this, you won’t be able to benefit from a free tabard, so we recommend you sign up once entries open.

Yes, you must be 16 or older to take part in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 30-mile and 60-mile distances. If you are 16 or 17, please note you must be entered into the event by an adult aged 18 or older and you must also ride with an adult. You must be 18 or older to take part in Ford RideLondon-Essex 100.

No, it is not possible to exchange a place in one event for a place in another event.

The following bicycles are permitted across all Ford RideLondon-Essex mass participation events: standard road and hybrid bicycles; single-speed (both fixed and freewheel) bicycles – as long as they have suitable brakes; mountain bikes – although please use slick tyres to conserve energy; handcycles; e-bikes that comply with current UK/EU legal requirements for ‘electrically assisted pedal cycles’; tandems – if officially entered.

There are a number of stops along the routes with food and drinks. We will provide water and a selection of energy products for participants at the four Rider Welfare Stops on the Ford RideLondon-Essex 100 route. There will also be an opportunity to buy hot and cold food and drinks from local vendors.

Participants will be notified of individual start arrival times by email three weeks before Event Day. An Event Guide will be sent to all riders in early May, which will include all the information you need to know before, during and after your event. 

All riders in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 30, 60 and 100-mile events have eight-and-a-half hours to complete their ride from the departure of the last start wave. We expect the final participants to finish at 18:00. Further information on specific timings will be within the Event Guide.

Due to the numbers of riders (25,000), it is not possible to choose your start arrival time in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 100. Riders in this event will be informed of their start arrival time three weeks before Ride Day. It is not possible to change the start arrival time. All participants in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 30 and 60-mile events will start together.

No, we do not offer a deferral, transfer or refund option for your entry – please see our General Conditions of Entry for more details.

It's important we have up-to-date details for you. You can update your details via your entry confirmation email from Let's Do This. If you cannot find this, please contact us with your full name, date of birth and updated details.

Yes – for all the events, every participant must wear a helmet that complies with current UK safety standards.

Route details for the Ford RideLondon-Essex 100, 60 and 30-mile events, as well as the Ford RideLondon Classique and FreeCycle events can be found online, under the Our Rides section.

We have contacted all charities with places rolled over from 2024 and offered either a refund to exchange their RideLondon places for charity places in the 2025 or 2026 TCS London Marathon. 

We hope so and Essex County Council is keen for this to happen. RideLondon and Essex County Council have a three-year agreement for the event to take place in Essex until 2026. 

We hope so. FreeCycle is a hugely popular part of RideLondon with riders of all ages and abilities enjoying the wonderful opportunity to cycle on traffic-free roads through the centre of our great capital city past world famous landmarks. We also took the FreeCycle concept outside London for the first time in 2024 with the successful staging of RideGlasgow FreeCycle in June. 

Yes. We will reserve 400 places in the 2025 Etape Loch Ness, a 106KM ride on closed roads in the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and riders can substitute RideLondon for this event next year as part of their London Classics. Read more about Etape Loch Ness, which takes place on Sunday 27 April 2025, here. Participants also need to complete the London Marathon and two miles at Swim Serpentine to complete the London Classics. The events can be done in any order over any number of years.  

Yes. Everyone who has entered the 2025 RideLondon-Essex 100 (the only event currently open for entries for 2025) will get a full refund of the entry fee they have paid. We have emailed everyone who has entered to explain the situation and confirm that the refunds will be made by Friday 27 September. 

We hope so. We have held 10 hugely successful editions of the event since the inaugural RideLondon in 2013. The event has inspired more than 300,000 lapsed cyclists to get back on a bike or to cycle more often and has also raised more than £85 million for charity. 

No. There will be no RideLondon or RideGlasgow FreeCycle events in 2025 while we bring all stakeholders together to work on a new concept for the events. 

No, it is not. We were very disappointed when the UCI unilaterally changed the dates of the women’s WorldTour calendar for 2025 as the Classique could not take place on the new date but that was not the reason for the decision to take a pause in 2025. 

This will be part of the strategic review. From 2013 to 2019, RideLondon took place in late July/early August. Since 2023, it has taken place on the late May bank holiday weekend. 

We feel the time is right to take a pause and bring all stakeholders together to work on a new concept for RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling. We have now held 10 hugely successful editions of the event and inspired more than 300,000 people to get back on a bike or cycle more often. The event has also raised an incredible total of more than £85 million for charity. The event did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and that pause enabled us to put in place many changes and improvements to the event, including the partnership with Essex County Council. A hiatus in 2025 enables us to reimagine the event for future years.