Chapters
End
Saturday Park Ride · For riders
Everything a rider needs for the Saturday Park Ride: how to prepare, how the start works, the rules, and the kit. The rules are not suggestions, they are the standards every London Dynamo rider upholds in the park.
Time
About 7 minutes
Audience
All members
Source
London Dynamo standards
Why this matters. Richmond Park is a Royal Park, shared with the public and ridden by London Dynamo every Saturday. The rules below are the standards we hold ourselves to, so a large club can ride here safely and stay welcome. Read them once, ride by them every Saturday.
What you’ll cover
Chapter 01
How you prepare at home decides how the ride goes. Sort these before you leave.
01
Health
If you feel ill in any way, do not come to the ride. The Park Ride is a fast, close-quarters hour. Ride another day.
02
Bike
Check gears, brakes, wheels and tyres before you arrive. Carry at least one spare inner tube, tyre levers and a pump (or CO2). A puncture in the park is your problem to fix, not the group’s.
03
Fuel
Eat before you ride and bring a bottle. The Park Ride is a hard, sustained effort, not a gentle spin.
Chapter 02
Where it starts, when, and how groups roll out.
01
Where
The ride forms up in the car park. Get there in good time so you’re ready when your group is called.
02
When
Spring (March & April), 7.45 am. Summer (May to August), 7.15 am. Autumn (September & October), 7.45 am. Winter (November to February), 8.15 am. Check the website before you go.
03
The ride
Groups are formed by pace, no more than 8 riders each. Wait for the marshal to send your group off in turn, don’t roll out before you’ve been called. The ride starts at the Pen Ponds car park and finishes at the Colicci cafe, so it is about 3.5 laps, though riders often call it 4.
Chapter 03
These are the rules every rider on the Saturday Park Ride follows. Your marshal will brief you on them before you roll out, this is what they will cover.
01
Group size
Never more than two abreast. 8 is the club’s ceiling, there is no flexibility on this number. We encourage the first few groups, especially Group 1, to reduce to 6 riders for safety in the park.
02
Leadership
If your group has no leader, it does not ride. Look to the leader for pace, hazard calls and decisions at junctions.
03
Communication
Use hand signals or audible calls. Everyone in the group is responsible for passing warnings back down the line.
04
Shouts
It avoids the impression you’re shouting at a pedestrian, horse rider or tourist. Say it loudly and first: “Dynamo, slowing!”
05
Roundabouts
Adjust pace on the approach and be ready to give way. A spinning chain-gang does not belong inside a roundabout.
06
Roundabouts
The cyclist you’re passing may be turning right. Hold station, wait for the exit, then decide.
07
Gateways
Form a single file well before the pinch point. Two abreast through a gateway gets someone hurt.
08
Right of way
If you see them waiting to cross and it is safe to stop, stop. This is a shared park, not a race circuit. Take particular care near Robin Hood Roundabout. When passing horses, slow right down and resist the urge to shout “horses” so loudly you startle the horses themselves.
09
Responsibility
You may overtake when safe to do so. You must accept responsibility for your own safety. The rider ahead isn’t making your decisions.
10
Double white lines
As per traffic rules, riders must not cross double white lines, notably on the Dark Hill climb and the Broomfield Hill descent.
11
Overtaking
Stay out until the whole group plus draft zone has passed before heading back to the left. Cutting riders up or forcibly absorbing them into the group is not acceptable.
12
Re-forming
The leader re-forms the group afterwards. Traffic must never be used to effect a breakaway or drop riders, not even on the last lap.
13
Pace
The Park Ride is not about speed. It is about riding together safely, smoothly and efficiently. Adjust pace for deer, pedestrians, horse riders, other cyclists, cars and the weather.
14
Busy areas
These are the busiest spots in the park. Expect pedestrians stepping out without looking, children running, dogs off leads. Drop your pace and be ready to stop.
15
Deer
Deer are wild animals and unpredictable. If you see one at the side of the road and it looks like it wants to cross, be ready to stop. Pass the call back through the group.
16
Royal Parks
The Royal Parks publish their own code of conduct for cyclists. Read it before you ride in Richmond Park.
17
See also
The Park Ride rules are a layer on top of how London Dynamo rides as a group. For pace lines, through-and-off, hand signals and gap management, read the Group Riding and Etiquette module.
Chapter 04
Turn up with these or you won’t be sent off. Marshals will check before your group rolls out.
01
Helmets are mandatory on every Dynamo ride. No helmet, no ride, no exceptions.
02
Jersey, gilet, jacket, bibs, socks, any one is fine. The only exception is new members waiting on their first order to arrive.
03
Tri-bars are forbidden on group rides. If yours are fitted, remove them before you arrive or the marshal will not send you off.
04
Layer up in winter, gloves when it’s cold, a gilet or jacket when it’s wet. Better to take a layer off than to find yourself frozen at the back of the group.
Chapter 05
Every group has a leader. If that is you on the day, this chapter is yours.
01
Leadership
If you volunteer to lead a group, you direct it. Pace, lines, calls at junctions, decisions on the road, all on you.
02
Decisions
Decide when the group should overtake, when it should single out at a pinch point, and when it should hold position. The riders look to you for the call.
03
Catching up
Don’t let the groups merge. If your group is clearly stronger and there is plenty of space, overtake, but tell the other group’s leader first.
04
Being caught
Hold your pace. Don’t jump on their tail and don’t give chase. Two groups, two leaders, two rides.
05
Coaching
A quiet word at a stop is better than letting bad habits propagate through the group. If you see overlap, surging, or weak signalling, say something.
06
Group size
Eight is the club’s group-size ceiling, there is no flexibility. If someone outside the group joins you, or another Dynamo brings you to nine, politely explain the rule and ask them to drop off.
07
Complaints
If a member of the public complains to you, take it courteously, get the details, then pass it on. Don’t try to resolve it on the road.
Module summary
The rules exist so we can keep riding here. Know them, follow them, and pass them on to the rider next to you.
Chapters recap
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Bookings are now open for the 7th November & 5th December 2026. Click below to learn how to join, explore our Helping Out Programme, and register for the next Newcomer Ride.