Rambles & Routes

Rambles

Rambles are how groups ride together. They take you to great places, set goals to chase, put you on leaderboards, and raise money for good causes. Groups create them; some Rambles ask you to confirm before they count your rides, and from there every ride you record counts on its own.

When a Ramble involves visiting places, those locations are GeoZones - circles on the map that live inside the Ramble. Ride through one and the visit counts.

The Six Kinds of Ramble

• Visit one location on a ride - Ride to a special spot and it counts. One visit is all it takes.
• Visit one location over time - Keep coming back: hit the same spot enough times in a period, and everyone who does wins.
• Visit multiple locations on a ride - String several locations into one ride - all of them, or just a few (like 3 of 5).
• Visit locations as a group - Every rider's visits add up to one group total, and everyone who pitched in shares the win.
• Pedal for Good - Every qualifying ride adds to a charity pot your group raises together.
• Leaderboard - Top the board by distance, CO2 saved, points, or rides each period.

The Rambles Page

Click Rambles in the main navigation to see everything in one place:

• An intro strip that cycles through the kinds of Ramble, so you always know what each one means
• Your rewards - Awards from your Rambles, with Claim reward or View claim buttons for shipped prizes (see Rewards & Prizes below)
• Every live Ramble from your groups, gathered under the group that runs it. Each card shows the Ramble's name, its rule, its schedule, and a progress chip such as 3/8 visits or #4 on a leaderboard.

Click any card to open that Ramble's page.

The Ramble Page

Each Ramble's page tells you everything about it:

• The rule - One line saying what counts, like "Complete 8 GeoZone visits each month" or "Ride to this location and it counts"
• The schedule - When it runs: fixed dates ("Runs 1 Jul - 30 Sep 2026"), a repeating rhythm ("Repeats monthly"), or "Open-ended - join any time"
• Your progress - Your visits so far, your leaderboard position, or the group total, depending on the kind
• Period selector - On repeating Rambles, browse back through past weeks, months, or years
• Where it counts - For the visit kinds, a map of the Ramble's GeoZones and a list of their names
• The reward - What's on offer and a hint about how winners claim it

Rewards & Prizes

Many Rambles offer a reward - discount codes, physical prizes, or other incentives. The reward is shown right on the Ramble's page, so you always know what you're riding for.

Prizes mostly settle themselves. Riding Places watches the riding and emails winners automatically:

• Visit one/multiple locations on a ride - Your award email arrives the moment you complete the visit
• Visit one location over time - The email fires as soon as you hit the target for the period
• Visit locations as a group - When the group total crosses the target, everyone who contributed gets an email
• Leaderboard - At the end of each period, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are emailed their placing and the prize

On repeating Rambles this happens again each period. Pedal for Good works differently: the reward is the donation itself.

How you claim depends on the delivery method the group chose:

• Coupon or discount code - The code is displayed directly in the email. Copy it and use it with the group's business.
• Shipped prize - The email contains a claim link. Click it to fill in your name and shipping address, and the group will post the prize to you.
• Collect in person - Your group will be in touch to arrange the handover; check the Ramble page's Reward section for the details.
• Your choice - The claim link takes you to a page where you choose between Ship to My Address or Collect in Person, then follow the appropriate steps.

Sharing a Ramble

Every live Ramble has a public page - it's the link behind the posters and emails your group shares. Pass it to a friend and they'll see what the Ramble is about, along with an invitation to join the group and take part.

GeoZones on the Route Builder Map

GeoZones appear on the route builder map as colored dots when zoomed out, becoming circles with their actual radius as you zoom in, so you can plan routes that pass through them. The colors indicate your relationship:

• Green - GeoZones from groups you've joined (active and ready to complete)
• Blue - GeoZones from groups you haven't joined yet (join the group to participate)
• Red - Expired GeoZones

Click a GeoZone circle to view details, see the group that created it, or use the Plan Route Here button to start building a route to that location.

Route Builder

Create cycling routes on the Routes page. Click Create Route to open the route builder.

Building a Route

1. Click on the map to add your starting point
2. Click again to add more waypoints - the system calculates a cycling route between them
3. Drag waypoints to adjust your route
4. Click on an existing route line to insert a new control point at that position, which you can then drag to reshape the route
5. Use the Undo and Redo buttons to correct mistakes
6. Enter a name and click Save

Routing Modes

Switch between routing modes using the menu:

• Bike (default) - Calculates cycling-friendly routes
• Car - Use when you know an area is safe to ride but bike routing won't allow it
• Straight Line - Creates direct lines between points for maximum control

Route Information

While building, the route builder shows:

• Distance - Total route length, shown in your chosen units (miles or kilometers)
• Duration - Estimated ride time
• Elevation Profile - Visual graph of climbs and descents
• Surface Stats - Percentage breakdown of paved, dirt, and unknown surfaces

Saved Routes

Once you've created and saved routes, they appear in your Routes list.

Viewing Route Details

Click any saved route to see its full details including turn-by-turn directions, elevation stats, and surface breakdown.

Exporting Routes

Export routes as TCX files for use on dedicated GPS devices from Garmin, Wahoo, and other manufacturers. On the route detail page, click the export option to download the file.

Syncing to Mobile

Routes created on the web automatically sync to the mobile app. You can navigate them or download offline maps from there.