Cycling in London for a Date: Hire Bikes, Routes and the Rules, Checked

Why a bike ride works as a date

A ride gives you something to do side by side, a route to follow and a natural place to stop for a drink. It also lets you cover more of London than a walk, so two people who live a long way apart can meet somewhere in the middle and ride somewhere neither knows well.

It does need more planning than a coffee. You both need to be comfortable on a bike, agree on a pace, know where you will park or dock, and know how each of you gets home. This guide covers those practical questions from official pages read on 14 October 2026. Where a page did not say something, such as age limits for hire bikes or a speed limit in Richmond Park, we say so rather than guess.

A sensible first ride is short, mostly off busy roads, and ends near a station. Agreeing a rough length in advance, an hour with a cafe stop for example, makes it easier for either person to say yes.

Santander Cycles: what you pay

Santander Cycles is London's docked bike hire scheme, run by TfL. According to TfL's price page, a single ride costs £1.65 for up to 30 minutes, and each extra 30 minutes costs another £1.65. An e-bike single ride costs £3 for up to 30 minutes, plus £3 for each extra 30 minutes.

If you expect to ride for longer or make a few stops, TfL's Day Pass costs £3.50 and gives unlimited rides of up to 60 minutes each. Each extra 60 minutes on a ride costs £1.65. E-bikes on a Day Pass cost an extra £1 per journey, plus £3 for each extra 60 minutes. TfL also sells a Monthly Pass from £20 and an Annual Pass from £120, both with unlimited 60-minute rides and the same extra charges.

The useful habit on a date is to dock before your time runs out, then take a new bike after your stop. TfL says you can keep a cycle for up to 24 hours by paying the extra charges, but warns you could be charged up to £300 if a bike is not returned within 24 hours or is damaged.

TfL's price page mentions subscription discounts but did not list their prices or who qualifies when we read it, so check the page directly if that applies to you.

Hiring, docking and e-bikes

TfL says the scheme has more than 12,000 bikes at around 800 docking stations across inner and central London. Wikipedia records that it began on 30 July 2010 as Barclays Cycle Hire, with 5,000 bikes and 315 docking stations, and was renamed Santander Cycles in 2015.

You can hire through the Santander Cycles app, which gives you a release code, or at a docking station terminal, which takes debit and credit cards including contactless. TfL says the terminal lets you hire up to four bikes at once, which is handy if one of you has no data or a flat phone battery. Terminals are for pedal bikes only.

To return a bike, TfL says to push it firmly into any empty docking point and wait for the green light. Without a green light the hire may not have ended, and TfL gives 0343 222 6666 as the number to call. If a docking station is full, choose No docking point free at the terminal to get an extra 15 minutes to reach another one.

E-bikes show a lightning symbol in the app and can be hired with the app or a membership key. TfL says the pedal assist supports you up to 25kph and starts when you pedal. Neither TfL page we read stated a minimum age for hire, so check the scheme's terms before you plan a ride with anyone young.

Other companies run dockless hire bikes in parts of London. We could not verify their current prices or parking rules from an official page today, so we have left them out; check the operator's own app and your borough's rules on where they can be left.

Cycleways and planning a route

TfL describes Cycleways as high-quality cycle routes linking communities, businesses and destinations across London, and says it aims for the network to reach 40% of Londoners by 2030. Some routes still appear on maps under older names, Cycle Superhighways or Quietways, while they are renamed.

Routes TfL lists include Cycleway 4 from London Bridge to Greenwich, Cycleway 8 from Battersea to Lambeth Bridge, Cycleway 23 from Lea Bridge Road to Dalston, Cycleway 25 from Leytonstone to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and Cycleways 60 and 61 from Chingford to Walthamstow. Cycleway 4 is a natural date route: start near London Bridge and end in Greenwich with somewhere to eat.

For planning, TfL publishes a cycle map showing routes and docking stations, Cycleway routing in the TfL Go app, and a set of suggested leisure routes. Its Cycle Sundays page collects relaxed Sunday route ideas, with featured routes on komoot and Strava, though it did not list dates or costs when we read it.

The Regent's Canal and other towpaths

Our parks and walks guide covers the Regent's Canal route itself; this section covers riding it. The Canal and River Trust, which looks after the canal, says it welcomes considerate cyclists and that no permit is needed.

Its Towpath Code is short: pedestrians come first, cyclists should slow down for others, and riders should take extra care passing people, pets and wildlife, and give space to anglers, boaters and paddlers. Legal e-bikes are allowed; e-scooters, motorbikes and modified e-bikes are not. The Code page we read did not mention bells, bridges or dismounting.

In practice that means the towpath is a slow route, not a fast one. It suits a gentle ride where you expect to stop, and it is a poor choice if you need to be somewhere at a set time. The Trust also manages the Lee Navigation, which links into the Lee Valley.

Richmond Park

The Royal Parks says cyclists in Richmond Park should keep to the roads and the Tamsin Trail, respect other park users, and watch for animals, which sometimes cross the paths. The park's main page describes the Tamsin Trail as a route of just over seven miles that is also popular with joggers and walkers, so expect to share it.

The Royal Parks' sport and leisure page names Parkcycle as renting Trek mountain bikes all year from the Roehampton Gate car park, with helmets included and child seats and junior sizes available. Neither Royal Parks page we read gave a speed limit for cyclists, so follow the signs on site.

Lee Valley: VeloPark and longer routes

Lee Valley Regional Park lists walking and cycling trails of up to 16 miles. Examples on its cycling page include the Golden Circle at the VeloPark (5.5 miles), Road to Gold (3.5 miles), Rye Meads Discovery from Dobbs Weir (6 miles), Fishers Green Foray in River Lee Country Park (12 miles) and Pedaller's Paradise at Gunpowder Park (16 miles). The route list can be filtered by toilets, refreshments and accessibility.

Lee Valley VeloPark, the London 2012 velodrome, offers track cycling, BMX, mountain bike trails and a one-mile traffic-free road circuit. For a date where neither of you wants traffic, the road circuit is the simplest option. The park's cycling page did not say whether bikes can be hired there, so check with the VeloPark before you travel.

Bikes on trains and staying safe

TfL says folded bikes, including folded e-bikes, can go almost anywhere on its network at any time, though a bus driver can refuse one if the bus is busy. Non-folded bikes are more limited. On the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines they are allowed throughout the network; on lines such as the Bakerloo, Central, Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly only between certain stations. On the Tube, Overground and DLR they are allowed on weekdays before 7.30am, between 9.30am and 4pm, and after 7pm, and all day at weekends and on bank holidays. Only folded bikes are allowed at Bank on the DLR.

Non-folded bikes are not allowed on buses or trams. The Elizabeth line has its own train-by-train rules, and TfL says you cannot change to the Tube with a non-folded bike at stations including Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street, Paddington, Liverpool Street and Stratford. Non-folding e-bikes are generally banned on the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line and DLR, and e-scooters on all TfL services. Most river services take bikes, but TfL suggests checking with the operator first.

TfL's safety advice includes stopping at red lights, giving way to pedestrians, using a white front light and red rear light after dark, keeping a door's width from parked cars and staying well back from lorries. It warns that riding through a red light or without lights can each bring a £50 fine. If one of you is out of practice, TfL lists free adult cycle training courses booked through most London boroughs.

Before you go

• Decide whether you will both hire, and download the Santander Cycles app in advance if you want an e-bike, since terminals only release pedal bikes.
• Dock before your 30 or 60 minutes are up and wait for the green light each time.
• Pick an end point near a station both of you can use, and check whether either of you needs to take a bike on the train in the weekday peak.
• Choose a route that matches the less confident rider: a towpath or park road rather than a busy main road.
• Take lights if you might ride after dark.

Questions people ask

How much does a Santander Cycle cost for a date?

According to TfL, a single ride costs £1.65 for up to 30 minutes, with £1.65 for each extra 30 minutes. An e-bike costs £3 per 30 minutes. A Day Pass at £3.50 gives unlimited rides of up to 60 minutes, which suits a ride with stops.

Can I cycle on the Regent's Canal towpath?

Yes. The Canal and River Trust says considerate cyclists are welcome and no permit is needed. Its Towpath Code puts pedestrians first and asks cyclists to slow down and take care when passing.

Where can you cycle in Richmond Park?

The Royal Parks says cyclists should keep to the roads and the Tamsin Trail. Parkcycle rents bikes from the Roehampton Gate car park, according to the Royal Parks.

Can I take my bike on the Tube?

Folded bikes can go almost anywhere at any time, according to TfL. Non-folded bikes are allowed only on some lines and sections, and not on weekdays between 7.30am and 9.30am or 4pm and 7pm. They are not allowed on buses or trams.

Can I take a Santander e-bike from the terminal?

No. TfL says e-bikes cannot be hired from the on-street terminal; use the Santander Cycles app or a membership key.