Under 18 Year Old riders on Sunday Group Rides

Following discussion at the Ride Leaders Meeting on 3 August, the committee is keen to extend Sunday group rides to riders aged 16 and over. Under the proposed approaches, 16–17 year olds would be able to join Sunday rides with or without a parent needing to ride with them, provided the ride leader has agreed in advance. Riders under 16 will still need a parent to ride with them, as well as the ride leader's agreement before the ride. In all cases, a parental consent form will be completed and a U18 rider behaviour agreement signed, and the ride leader will always have the final say as to whether a junior can join a ride they are leading.

The meeting also weighed up real risks and views on both sides: concerns were raised about the burden on a ride leader of having to contact a parent following a serious on-road incident involving a young rider, against the view that 16–18 year olds may in fact be safer riding as part of a group of adults than riding alone. To help the committee reach a decision, we're asking all ride leaders to read the full briefing paper and then vote below on which of the three proposed options, outlined in the paper, you would be happy to support.

NB: We do not expect to have a huge rush of juniors joining our Sunday rides. If that happened it could be that the feel of Sunday rides would shift. If we find we have more than a few requests, the Committee will consult of an alternative solution, which could involve (in time) the development of a Youth section and dedicated leaders. Such a solution would need to be a long-term aspiration.

The Three Options being considered are:

Option 1 – Strengthen the Current Policy
Keep the existing rule that 12–17 year olds must ride with a parent or parent arranged chaperone, adding parental consent forms, a parent/youth/club ride contract, and mandatory advance contact with the ride leader via SPOND.

Option 2 – Strengthen + Split Age Bands
12–15 year olds must ride with a parent or parent arranged chaperone; 16–17 year olds may ride independently with parental consent and the ride contract in place and mandatory advance contact with the ride leader via SPOND.

Option 3 – Individual Risk-Assessed Approach
Assess each junior individually; riding background, intent (social vs training), and group, riding skills, attitude, then apply either Option 1 or Option 2 depending on the rider concerned. Decisions can be reversed if poor / excellent riding is experienced.

Please indicate your level of agreement for each of these options using the form opposite. You can remain anonymous, but please not multiple voting from the same user will get highlighted by the voting system.