Getting started
Start your first ride
Applies to: Android and iPhone
Before you start
Make sure you are signed in and have allowed location, so RideClan can record your ride and navigate. See Turn on the permissions RideClan needs if you have not done that yet.
- 1
Pick Ride Solo or Ride Squad. On the map home there are two buttons side by side. Ride Solo is the filled one, Ride Squad the outlined one. You are answering who is riding at the tap, so there is no question about it afterwards.
- 2
Choose your squad (Ride Squad only). Pick one of your squads, create a new one, or join with a code. You can add riders by QR code, tap-to-join link, or invite code right here. If you rode with a squad last time, that one is already selected.
- 3
Answer Where to? Record starts the ride immediately with no destination, and just logs your route and distance. Destination opens a search for where you are headed.
- 4
Search for the place (Destination only). Type and pick a suggestion. The keyboard closes as soon as you choose one, and you land on a short plan card with the route drawn on the map behind it.
- 5
Set a meeting point (Ride Squad with a destination). Optional. Give the squad somewhere to gather before you set off, so nobody is guessing where the ride starts.
- 6
Go. On a Destination ride you get turn-by-turn guidance. On a Record ride RideClan starts logging your route straight away.
Record or Destination
Destination gives you turn-by-turn navigation to a place you search for. Record skips the destination entirely and just logs your route, distance and stats, which is what you want when you are heading out with no fixed endpoint. Both are available to a solo rider and to a squad: a squad ride with no destination is a perfectly normal ride, and a solo rider who only wants the kilometres logged should not have to invent somewhere to go.
Why the plan card is short
The card that appears once you have picked a destination deliberately covers only the bottom of the screen. It used to grow to almost the full screen, which hid the route line it had just drawn. Now the route stays visible on the map behind it, so you can see the shape of the ride before you commit to it.
FAQ
Do I have to pick a destination?
No. Choose Record to start riding immediately and just log the route. Choose Destination when you want turn-by-turn navigation to a place.
Why are there two Ride buttons instead of one?
Because whether you are riding alone or with people is something you already knew before you picked up the phone. Splitting the button answers it at the tap and removes a step that was not telling RideClan anything new.
Can I go back if I tap the wrong thing?
Yes. Each step is its own card arriving from the bottom, so dismissing one takes you back to the previous step. Nothing is committed until you tap Go.
Updated September 2026