A Cycling Club Code of Conduct Members Actually Follow (Template)

Sunday, km 40. The same rider jumps the same red light for the third week running, and half the bunch follows. On Monday night the club WhatsApp group turns into a row about it, then about politics. The ride leader wants to act and has nothing to point to except "I think". That is what a missing code of conduct looks like.

A cycling club code of conduct is a one-page agreement that says how members ride, behave and talk to each other, and what the club does when someone doesn't. The version that works has four sections (road, social, online, volunteers), a four-rung enforcement ladder, and a tick-box members accept at every renewal.

What a code of conduct is, and what it isn't

Clubs mix up four documents, and the code fails when it tries to be all of them.

Four club documents that get confused, and who owns each.

Document	What it holds	Who adopts it
Constitution (FR statuts, ES estatutos, IT statuto)	Purpose, membership, officers, how a member can be removed	Members at a general meeting
Code of conduct (FR règlement intérieur, charte du cycliste; ES reglamento de régimen interno; IT regolamento interno)	How members ride, behave and communicate; the enforcement ladder	The body your constitution names, often the committee
Etiquette guide	Calls, hand signals, holding a wheel	Ride leaders; no vote needed
Safeguarding policy (IT: modello organizzativo and codice di condotta)	Protecting under-18s and adults at risk	The committee, on your federation's model

The code sits under the constitution, never beside it. The French association guide Associathèque says a règlement intérieur "ne peut contenir des dispositions contraires aux statuts", can't contradict the statutes (Associathèque, 17 July 2020). If your code lets the committee ban a member and your constitution says only a general meeting can, the constitution wins.

Before you draft a word, find your constitution's clause on removing members. Your code's top rung has to point at it.

Rules or etiquette? The one-question test

Many codes mix anti-harassment clauses with "shout 'car back'", which buries the rules under advice nobody enforces. Sort every line with one question: would we do something if a member kept breaking this after being told? Yes: it's a rule, it goes in the code. No: it's etiquette, and you coach it.

Ten common items sorted by the one-question test.

Item	Rule or etiquette	Where it lives
Following the ride leader's instructions	Rule	Code, road section
Obeying traffic law: red lights, junctions	Rule	Code, road section
Two abreast at most, single out when called	Rule	Code, road section
Telling the leader or sweep before leaving	Rule	Code, road section
No aero bars in the bunch	Rule, if you will act on it	Code, road section
Mudguards on winter rides	Seasonal rule	Winter policy, referenced by the code
Politics and selling in the club chat	Rule	Code, online section
Hand signals and calls	Etiquette	Etiquette guide
Half-wheeling your partner	Etiquette	Coached on the ride
Café-stop manners	Etiquette	Etiquette guide, briefing

Etiquette deserves a long, friendly guide like the group ride etiquette guide. The rules deserve one page. Two-abreast law differs by country, so the clause just points to it (riding two abreast in the UK, France, Spain and Italy), and mudguards belong in a seasonal policy like the one in winter club rides.

What published club codes leave out

On 21 October 2026 we read the full text of the 12 club codes and ride rules our English, French and Italian searches returned: Cycling UK, Maindy Flyers, Otley CC, Addiscombe CC, Harrow Bike Club, Willesden CC and Edinburgh RC (UK), Canberra CC and Midland CC (Australia), Maurienne Seniors and Audax Club Parisien (France), and CAI Monterotondo (Italy). We coded each yes or no on six elements. It isn't a random sample; it's what search returns, so it's what organisers find.

Published codes that cover each element (12 codes read on 21 October 2026).

Element	Codes covering it (of 12)
Duties for leaders, coaches or volunteers	9
Riding behaviour	8
Online and messaging behaviour	5
Off-bike and social conduct	4
Signature or joining act	4
At least two graded sanctions	2

None of the 12 codes covers all four areas: road, social, online and volunteers. Only 5 of 12 mention online behaviour, although much club life now runs through a WhatsApp or Facebook group. Only 2 of 12 name graded sanctions; the rest name one sanction or none. Only 4 of 12 tie the code to a signature or joining act, and 6 of 12 carry no date, so a member can't tell which version they agreed to.

Some get one piece exactly right. Maindy Flyers says its code "applies online as well as during face-to-face interactions" (Maindy Flyers). Willesden CC writes down its first step: "The first step will be for issues to be resolved through mediation with the assistance of the committee" (Willesden CC). And Cycling UK binds its member groups: "Member groups must adhere to this 'Code of conduct' and ensure they promote it regularly to all of their group" (Cycling UK Code of Conduct, V1.0, February 2026). If you're a member group, your club code adds to that one.

The template, part 1: on the road

Copy it, cut what you won't enforce, and rewrite it in your club's words. Open with a header that settles scope and version:

[Club name] Code of Conduct, version 1.0, adopted [date] by [body named in the constitution]. It applies to members, guests and trial riders on club rides and at club events, in every club online group, and to volunteers acting for the club.

1. Follow the ride leader's instructions on route, pace, regroups and singling out. One voice decides, so nobody argues at a junction.
2. Ride to the traffic law of the country you're in. No red lights, even when the road looks empty. One rider's shortcut splits the group.
3. Two abreast at most, and single out when the leader or the road calls for it. It's the clause drivers judge the club by.
4. Ride with the group you joined, at its published pace. No attacks on a no-drop ride. The pace is a promise to the slowest rider; see what a no-drop ride means.
5. Tell the leader or sweep before you leave, for any reason. Otherwise the group searches for someone already home.
6. Turn up roadworthy and self-sufficient: working brakes, tube, pump, tools, food, an emergency contact on you.
7. Follow the seasonal kit rules published with the ride: lights in low light, mudguards in winter, no aero bars in the bunch.
8. Listen to the briefing and ask if anything is unclear. It's where the leader names the sweep and the regroups; see the pre-ride briefing script.
9. Respect other road users and the villages we ride through. No abuse of drivers, no litter.
10. Guests and trial riders ride under this code from their first ride. Check how your insurance treats them in club ride waivers and insurance.

The template, part 2: off the bike, online, and for volunteers

Off the bike

1. Treat everyone with respect. No discrimination, harassment or bullying, at rides, socials or events.
2. No riding after drinking. Alcohol at socials in moderation, never before or during a ride.
3. Welfare concerns go to the welfare officer. The safeguarding policy takes precedence over this code where they overlap.

Online

1. This code applies in every club group: WhatsApp, Facebook, Strava club, email lists.
2. Club groups are for club business: rides, changes, cancellations, socials. No politics; selling only in the thread set aside for it.
3. Ask before posting a photo where someone can be identified, and never post under-18s unless the club's photo consent is in place.
4. At least two committee members are admins. Admins can delete posts and remove people, and tell the secretary when they do.

The online section is easier to run with one main channel; see how to run club communication through one channel.

Volunteers

1. Ride leaders lead to the published route and pace, brief the group and count heads.
2. A ride leader may ask a rider to leave a ride for safety; the leader then checks they can get home (phone, route) and reports it to the secretary the same day.
3. Declare conflicts of interest to the secretary: a sponsor you work for, a shop you own.
4. Keep members' details and incident reports confidential.
5. Volunteers working with under-18s hold the checks and qualifications your federation requires.

End with one footer line: "Members accept this code when they join and at each renewal. Breaches are handled under the ladder below. Questions to [secretary's email]." For the leader's full job, see the ride leader checklist and recruiting and keeping ride leaders.

When someone breaks it: a four-rung ladder

The people who act are named before anyone needs them.

The enforcement ladder: who acts at each rung and what gets written down.

Rung	When	Who acts	What is recorded
1. A word	First minor breach	Ride leader, same day	One line to the secretary: date, rider, clause. No email to the member
2. Written reminder	Repeat after a word, or a breach that spoiled others' ride	Secretary or welfare officer	An email naming the clause, kept on file
3. Suspension from rides and groups	Repeat after a reminder, or one serious breach	Committee, if your constitution allows, after hearing the member	Written decision with reasons, the length (e.g. a number of rides or weeks) and the end date
4. Exclusion	Continued or gross misconduct	The body and procedure your constitution names	Whatever your constitution requires

Two exceptions keep it safe. Asking a rider to leave for safety (volunteer clause 2) is a safety call, not a sanction. And a dangerous breach can start at rung 2 or 3.

Before rung 3 or 4, the member is told what they're accused of and gets to answer. In Spain that's statutory: every member has the right "a ser oído con carácter previo a la adopción de medidas disciplinarias", to be heard before any disciplinary measure, and a sanction must give its reasons (Ley Orgánica 1/2002, art. 21.c, consolidated text of 28 June 2025). Cycling UK's sample constitution lets a group remove a member "for conduct or character likely to bring the group into disrepute", with an appeal to a panel of members, "however the committee's decision on such matters will be final" (sample constitution, March 2026, clause 6).

Keep notes factual: date, clause, what happened, who spoke, outcome. They live with the secretary, never in a group chat. Before rung 4, ask your federation how they expect it handled.

Adopt it, then make it stick

A code nobody voted on is easy to ignore. Starting a club? Adopt it with the constitution (how to start a cycling club). Otherwise:

1. The committee drafts it. The secretary usually owns it; see cycling club committee roles.
2. Members comment on the draft for two or three weeks.
3. The body your constitution names adopts it. In France the statuts decide, and "dans la pratique, le conseil d'administration est l'organe le plus fréquemment choisi", the board is most often chosen. Associathèque adds that requiring a general meeting for every change "revient à interdire toute adaptation rapide", rules out quick updates.
4. Present it at the AGM, whoever adopted it.

Then make it visible. Associathèque warns that a règlement intérieur not made known "ne peut servir de base à une sanction d'un membre", can't ground a sanction, and that it must state its date of entry into force. It wants it "affiché dans les locaux de l'association, dans un endroit visible", posted somewhere visible, and, as a precaution, also sent to every member on paper or by email. No clubhouse? Ask your comité départemental how they expect it made known. The habits that make it stick:

• A tick-box at joining and at every renewal, linking to the current version.
• A link from every ride listing and a pinned message in the club group.
• One line in the briefing: "We ride to the club code: the leader decides, no red lights, tell the sweep if you leave."
• Leaders use rung 1 early. The code dies the first time a breach is seen and ignored.
• A review each season, before renewals open.

Code of conduct in France, Spain and Italy: règlement intérieur, reglamento, regolamento

Codes of conduct in the UK, France, Spain and Italy: what the sources say and who to ask.

Country	Usual name	What the primary sources say	Who to ask
UK	Code of conduct	Cycling UK member groups must follow Cycling UK's code; removing a member follows your constitution	British Cycling, Scottish Cycling, Welsh Cycling or Cycling UK; your insurer
France	Règlement intérieur, often plus a charte du cycliste members sign	Optional, written, below the statuts. FFVélo clubs with minors must set youth arrangements in it (FFVélo rules on minors, art. 5.1, 2022; check the current version with your comité)	Your FFVélo or FFC comité départemental
Spain	Reglamento de régimen interno	Not named in LO 1/2002; a club document below the estatutos. Right to be heard before any sanction (art. 21.c)	Your federación autonómica or the RFEC
Italy	Regolamento interno; separately, a safeguarding codice di condotta	Sports associations must adopt a model and codice di condotta on their federation's guidelines (D.Lgs. 39/2021, art. 16); the FCI asks each club to name a safeguarding officer (FCI safeguarding)	The FCI Sportello Safeguarding

Wherever you ride, show the draft to your federation and ask: "Does anything here conflict with your rules or our constitution?" For the rest of the ride setup, the club ride playbook has the full checklist.

FAQ

What should a cycling club code of conduct include?

A header saying who and where it covers; short clauses for the road, socials, online groups and volunteers; an enforcement ladder from a word to exclusion; a tick-box members accept at every renewal; and a version number and date.

Does a cycling club legally need a code of conduct?

A règlement intérieur is optional in French law, but FFVélo requires one from clubs that take minors. Italian sports associations must adopt a safeguarding codice di condotta. Cycling UK member groups must follow its code. Ask your federation.

Can a cycling club ban a member from rides?

Yes, if your constitution gives that power and you follow its procedure: tell the member what they're accused of, hear them, and give a written decision with reasons. A leader asking a rider to leave one ride for safety is different.

Does the code of conduct apply in the club WhatsApp group?

Only if it says so. Add a clause saying it applies in every club online group, let admins remove posts and members, and pin the code in the group.

How long should a cycling club code of conduct be?

One page of rules members can read in two minutes, plus the ladder. Etiquette and kit advice go in separate guides. Review it once a season, before renewals open, with a new version number and date.

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How we made this. Written by club riders who organise and lead club rides, with AI help for research, drafting and translation. The coverage figures are our own count of 12 published codes, method above. Quotes come from the linked sources, read on 21 October 2026. The template is a starting point, not a legally sufficient document: check it against your constitution or statuts, your national federation (British Cycling, Cycling UK, FFC/FFVélo, RFEC, FCI) and your insurer.