Everything you need to know about Ride the Night and if your question isn’t answered below, call us on 01590 646410 or call bookings@dream-challenges.com. We’d love to hear from you!
What if I can’t take part in the event?
If you can’t take part in the event, please let us know as soon as possible by contacting us at customercare@dream-challenges.com
This event is fully funded by the beneficiary charities so to limit their financial risk, we must know if you are not taking part.
You must tell your donors that you are no longer taking part and if they wish to have their donations refunded, they should contact us in writing.
Unfortunately your registration fee is non-refundable and fundraising cannot be transferred to a different event.
Can I hire a bike
Yes you can!
If you don’t have a suitable bike for the event, or you are struggling to transport yours to Windsor, you can book bike hire in advance with our partners VOTWO Event Bike Hire. You will be able to collect a pre-booked bike from them on the afternoon of the event in Windsor Racecourse, and they will receive it back from you when you finish your ride.
Visit: https://www.votwo.co.uk/bike-hire
Will I get a race number and bib?
Yes. Around two weeks before the event date, we will send you in the post your rider bib with a rider number specific to you. You will also receive the same number to attach to your bike.
Where is the Event Village for RTN London 2026?
The event village for Ride the Night London 2026 has not yet been confirmed due to race fixtures. In 2025 it was held at Royal Windsor Racecourse, and in 2024 at Kempton Park Racecourse.
The venue will be announced by October 2025.
What’s in the event Village:
- Dinner! Don’t miss your complimentary grab and go pasta
meal, served in the Pasta Party Marquee from 6pm. Other food and drink items will also be available for purchase in the Event Village. - Purchase our official Ride the Night merchandise from Scimitar Sports.
- The Photo Corner: a place for taking pictures with the fabulous Carnival head dresses and sharing photos.
- You can visit our Glitter Bar, to make yourself sparkle for the night ahead!
- Stalls from the Women V Cancer charities: Breast Cancer Now and Ovarian Cancer Action. They’ll all be there to thank you for the fab fundraising targets you’ve achieved, and help you find out more about the wonderful work they do each day to help women affected by cancer.
- Entertainment stage with charity talks and live warm up act.
- Event bike hire, plus bike mechanics for any last-minute fixes.
- First aid, event control, and Geo Tracks tracking your ride.
Where can I park?
Parking (with plenty of space) is available. The car park will open at 5pm on Saturday, with last access at 7.30pm. Parking at the racecourse is free and car-sharing is recommended to ease congestion. On arrival to the Rider Entrance at the racecourse, a Ride the Night steward will greet and direct you.
Cars will be able to leave the venue from 11pm.
After completing the ride, you’ll need to be patient when exiting the car park, as there may still be riders coming into the venue. The car park will close at 9am on Sunday.
Dropping off
If you are being dropped off, please ask whoever’s driving you to enter the Rider Entrance along with the other cars. From there, a Ride the Night steward will direct you to the drop-off area and then your driver can exit. The same information applies for pick-ups.
What’s the Ride the Night London 2026 route?
The route for 2026 is not yet confirmed as this will depend on starting venue. You can view the 2025 routes here to get an idea before we confirm the 2026 routes in October 2025.
The routes:
50 Km (Short Route) – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50078591 – 49.8 Kms (31 miles) – 111 Metres (363) feet climbing
100 Km (Long Route) – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50078758 – 106.4 Kms (66.1 miles) – 231 Metres (759 feet) climbing
The route is signed throughout and will have marshals positioned at key locations.
You will be issued a tracker that must be worn during the event and returned at the finish line. Friends and family can track you through Geo Tracks with some premium tracking options available on the paid for app. We can also track you in event control helping us to locate you quickly if you call us for medical and mechanical assistance, or if you get lost!
From the 50 km finish line, all participants and their bikes will be repatriated back to the start/finish venue.
At the Finish
- Once you have passed through the finish line it is time to celebrate and sleep! But first…
- Dismount your bike and walk up the finish straight to receive your well- earned Ride the Night medal.
- Please return your pink hi-vis vest so we can use them again.
- You must return you Geo Tracks tracking device at the finish line or you will be charged for the cost of the device. If you retire from the cycle, it is your responsibility to ensure your tracking device is returned to the finish line.
- Ride the Night officially ends at 7am.
- The venue will stay open until 9am Sunday, by which time all riders must have departed.
- We recommend having a bag packed with warm clothing for when you finish. You can leave this at our bag drop near the start/finish line.
- Whatever you do when you finish, don’t drive home tired!
How fit do I need to be?
Ride the Night is non-competitive and it isn’t designed for professional athletes. It’s designed for women from all cycles of life looking for a challenge to get fit for and push themselves out of their comfort zone to raise funds for people facing cancer.
Cycling 100 km (approx. 62 miles) or 50 km (approx. 31 miles) in one night is a mighty challenge, but it’s achievable if you train and we provide you with a training plan that you can download at any time from Getting Ready area.
A number of the women who will take part in this exciting challenge will have a low fitness level when they sign up. Ride the Night is the perfect motivation to train and get fit, all whilst raising funds for amazing charities.
Take it from one of our wonderful past Ride the Nighters, Joanne:
“Come on ladies, I did the 100km challenge and I’d never been on a bike before I signed up. You have people cheering you all the way around and an absolutely fantastic feeling when you finish! I will definitely do it again! When I signed up, I was the same as everyone else, like “sure I can do this,” but as the time got closer, I started to question why I had entered – but I’m so glad I did!
It was organised so well that I had no doubts when I arrived. Yes, 100km sounds a lot, but you just do it. We did it in eight hours and it was pain free. So if I could do it in the stupid weather we had, then anyone can!”
How much do I need to raise?
To take part in this important Women V Cancer fundraising event, we ask you to fundraise a minimum of £199 by the event, so that your challenge can make a difference for people facing cancer at an extremely tough time.
The money you raise is split evenly between our two charities and will go a long way to help them continue their vital work…
- £30 could buy a bottle of specialist dye to stain cancer cells, so that Ovarian Cancer Action’s researchers can study them with a microscope.
- £100 could give someone with breast cancer an hour of vital support from someone who really understands what they’re going through. Breast Cancer Now’s Someone Like Me service connects people with breast cancer with someone who’s been through a similar experience.
How does the money I raise help women affected by cancer?
The money you raise funds the vital work of our Women V Cancer charities who are raising awareness, providing support and funding research into breast and ovarian cancers. If you’d like to know more about how each charity is making a difference for women affected by cancer, visit their websites below.
Breast Cancer Now. Registered charity no 1160558 (England and Wales) and SC045584 (Scotland) and 1200 (Isle of Man).
Ovarian Cancer Action. Registered charity no. 1109743 (England and Wales) and SC043478 (Scotland)
What happens if I don’t reach the fundraising target?
This is a hugely important fundraising event for our crucial Women V Cancer charities. Breast Cancer Now and Ovarian Cancer Action have invested a lot of money in essential event costs, including your participation, trusting that everyone who has registered for the challenge will take part and do their very best to fundraise or donate a minimum of £199 by the event.
Without your support, our incredible Women V Cancer charities may lose out on the vital funds they need to continue to help those facing cancer.
If you don’t think you’ll be able to fundraise in time, you have several options:
- Make a donation on your own fundraising page to reach your £199 target.
- Pledge to raise the minimum by or soon after the event date.
We would love to have you at the event either way. If you are struggling to meet the target by the event date, but expect to raise enough by a date soon after, please email us at customercare@dream-challenges.com to let us know your intention.
How long can I still fundraise after the event?
Your fundraising page will stay open indefinitely until you close it.
What is included in your entry fee?
The registration fee and event costs (included in the sponsorship target) cover:
- Full event management and support – the Dream Challenges team are on hand from the moment you sign up for the challenge to provide any help you may need and answer any questions.
- Our start/finish venue with toilet facilities, a supervised bag drop and bike racking, help desk etc.
- Pre-event warm-up and entertainment, with motivational music and speeches, charity and supplier stalls and a variety of refreshments available for you and your supporters to purchase.
- Pasta supper for all participants before the ride starts.
- 2 expertly-designed, safety-assessed and signposted routes with marshals.
- Feed Stations on the route, with a variety of tasty refreshments, water and hot drinks (vegan and gluten-free options available).
- Ride the Night high-vis vest.
- Ride the Night medal.
- Bicycle mechanics (both roaming and at the start/finish).
- First aid support (both roaming and at the start/finish).
- Control Room in operation throughout the event, with medical and route staff who can locate where you are for any non 999 emergencies and get you help as soon as possible.
- Your Ride the Night resources, including a training plan, sponsorship form, and Rider Pack, with your Rider Manual, Bike Number and Rider Number (posted around two weeks before the event).
- The more money raised by participants on the challenge the higher the percentage of funds that directly support the work of the two charities, so please do your best to exceed the minimum fundraising target.
Is there a minimum / maximum age limit?
You need to be 18 years old or over to take part in Ride the Night London 2026. There’s no maximum age limit. One of the amazing things about Ride the Night is that it brings adults of all ages and from all cycles of life together for one incredible cause.
16 and 17-year olds may participate if given permission by the event organisers. Please get in touch with us to discuss this. Simply email bookings@dream-challenges.com and we’ll be happy to help.
Can men take part?
We’re afraid men can’t participate in this Women V Cancer challenge. However, they are more than welcome to join the cause as a Ride Maker (aka. Ride the Night volunteer). We’ll have a range of roles for both men and women, from supervising the bike racks to helping out at registration or the rest stops and more.
If you are interested in joining us as a Ride Maker, please get in touch and we will contact you to confirm your place as a Ride Maker.
Is there somewhere to get food and drinks?
Of course! All Ride the Night warriors can pick up a free pasta supper from our Pasta Party stand at our start/finish venue. There will also be a range of other vendors selling food and drink for you and your supporters to buy.
Once you complete the challenge, there’ll be vendors waiting to cook you an optional warming breakfast and a hot drink (at an additional price).
Will there be a bag drop?
Yes, we will have a bag drop at our start/finish venue, which will be supervised at all times throughout the night by a trusted Dream Challenges team member or Ride Maker. You’ll receive a bag tag when you drop your bag off so you can find it easily once you return from your challenge.
How do my funds reach the Women V Cancer charities?
It’s all done automatically through your fundraising page so you don’t need to do anything. If you have raised funds offline, you can add these as offline donations to your page. You will need to contact us at customercare@dream-challenges.com to discuss sending the money to the charity account.
Where can I get a sponsorship form?
You can download sponsorship forms, along with charity info sheets, seasonal fundraising ideas, your training plan and more from the Ride the Night Getting Ready Area.
Can we fundraise as a team?
Of course! You’re more than welcome to sign up and fundraise as a team. Do note that all participants need to fundraise a minimum of £199 each. That means if you are fundraising as a team, you will need to fundraise £199 for every member of that team. For example, if you have a team of two people, you will need to fundraise £398 together, and teams of four people need to fundraise £796 or more.
What bike do I need?
You need to bring your own bike and a cycling helmet is essential.
Both the 50 km and 100 km routes are all on road – therefore we recommend using a road or hybrid bike. If you plan to use a mountain bike we would advise fitting road tyres for the challenge.
You are also more than welcome to use an electric bike or a hand bike. If you are using a hand bike, you must let us know before the event takes place. We recommend that your bike is serviced before the challenge to minimise the chance of any mechanical problems. The event mechanics may not be able to assist with problems specific to electric or hand bikes.
It is also essential that you have front and rear lights fitted on your bike. Please bring spare batteries too. We provide bike mechanics but do ask that you bring a spare inner tube that is specific to your bike, should you get a puncture on the challenge.
If you don’t have a suitable bike, or you are struggling to transport your bike to Windsor, you can hire a bike in advance and collect it on the night from our partners VOTWO Event Bike Hire: https://www.votwo.co.uk/bike-hire
What about insurance?
We cannot insure your bicycle on this challenge, so please make sure your bicycle is covered on your home contents insurance or that you take out a specialist bicycle cover.
You may also want to consider cancellation and travel insurance.
What do I need to be aware of when cycling at night?
It is vital that you follow the Highway Code throughout the challenge and please note that there will not be road closures for the event.
The route is well lit and on quieter roads wherever possible. However, once you arrive in central London, there will be traffic and you should be confident to deal with this.
We recommend that you don’t ride alone at any part of the challenge. However, don’t be afraid of signing up solo – we have a Lone Riders Facebook group and meet-up on the night, so you can cycle with fellow Ride the Night participants. We’ll send you the link to the Facebook group once you’ve signed up to the challenge.
We also ask that you respect the local residents along the route and keep noise levels to a minimum.
Please check out the Ride the Night London Safety Video on the Getting Ready Area.
We will also have a short safety briefing prior to setting off on the night of the challenge.
It is very important that you are visible to road users. We will provide you with a free Women V Cancer Ride the Night high-vis vest to wear on the challenge.
It is essential that you have working front and rear bicycle lights for the duration of the challenge and that you bring spare batteries for them. We recommend that you wear additional high-vis clothing.