Manual Review Process

What happens if my ride cannot be verified automatically?

Most rides verify automatically within minutes. A small percentage land in a grey area and need human review. Here's what happens when one of yours does.

ForgedRider solves this by routing any flagged ride to the founder who reviews the evidence and may email you for a clearer photo or an explanation. Most reviews complete in 2 business days. If a ride still cannot be certified, you get a $5 credit toward your next ride.

Automatic checks come first

Every ride is checked automatically against the verification rules. The system looks at your start and finish odometer readings, your GPS track and your timestamps. If everything lines up cleanly, your certificate is issued and emailed in minutes.

For most riders on most rides, this is the entire process.

When a ride is flagged for manual review

A ride may be flagged for human review when one or more of these are true:

There is a long GPS gap in a critical section. Short gaps are normal; long unexplained gaps trigger a closer look.
Numbers conflict in a way the system can't resolve. For example, the GPS distance and the odometer reading don't agree, or the timestamps don't match the GPS track.
The route or speed pattern looks unusual. This can happen with some phones that aggressively manage battery.

Being flagged just means the automatic check needs a human's eyes.

What happens during manual review

The founder and Original ForgedRider looks at your ride. He checks the photos, the GPS track, the timing, and the route. If something is missing or unclear, he will email you and ask for clarification.

Common follow-ups:

A clearer copy of the start or finish photo
A photo of a mid-ride fuel receipt
An explanation of an unusual section of the route

You'll always know exactly what he is asking for and why. The goal is to certify the ride if the evidence supports it.

Manual review usually completes within two business days.

If a ride still cannot be certified

If, after review and follow-up, there's not enough clean evidence to certify the ride, the certificate will not be issued. You receive a $5 credit towards your next ride, that's the most ForgedRider can offer for an unverifiable submission, since the verification work was attempted automatically and manually.

This decision is about protecting what a ForgedRider certificate means. It is not a judgment about you as a rider. You still rode the miles, you just can't prove it.

The right move after a failed verification is to plan your next ride with a clean evidence approach: clear photos, full GPS coverage, and mid-ride receipts on the unusual sections. Most riders who hit one rejection clear their next ride without trouble.

Why this matters

ForgedRider's value depends on every certified ride meaning the same thing. If we issued certificates for rides we couldn't verify, the certificate would mean less for everyone, including the next rider in line.

The bar is set high. So the second-chance rebate gives you another chance to prove your ride.

Plan your next ride with cleaner evidence