diff --git a/src/ConfigDialog.cpp b/src/ConfigDialog.cpp
index 491bd50a6..b44358619 100644
--- a/src/ConfigDialog.cpp
+++ b/src/ConfigDialog.cpp
@@ -113,7 +113,8 @@ void ConfigDialog::save_Clicked()
 {
     QSettings settings(GC_SETTINGS_CO, GC_SETTINGS_APP);
     settings.setValue(GC_UNIT, configPage->unitCombo->currentText());
-
+    settings.setValue(GC_ALLRIDES_ASCENDING, configPage->allRidesAscending->checkState());
+    
     //If the user never switched pages, then make sure we have up to date data.
     if (cyclistPage->getCurrentRange() == 0 || cyclistPage->getCurrentRange() == zones->getRangeSize() - 1)
     {
diff --git a/src/MainWindow.cpp b/src/MainWindow.cpp
index 2cc0eece3..91cb6f01b 100644
--- a/src/MainWindow.cpp
+++ b/src/MainWindow.cpp
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ MainWindow::MainWindow(const QDir &home) :
 
     splitter = new QSplitter(this);
     setCentralWidget(splitter);
+    splitter->setContentsMargins(10, 20, 10, 10); // attempting to follow some UI guides
 
     treeWidget = new QTreeWidget;
     treeWidget->setColumnCount(3);
@@ -393,8 +394,19 @@ MainWindow::MainWindow(const QDir &home) :
     QMenu *helpMenu = menuBar()->addMenu(tr("&Help"));
     helpMenu->addAction(tr("&About GoldenCheetah"), this, SLOT(aboutDialog()));
 
-    if (last != NULL)
-        treeWidget->setCurrentItem(last);
+    // This will read the user preferences and change the file list order as necessary:
+    QSettings settings(GC_SETTINGS_CO, GC_SETTINGS_APP);
+    QVariant isAscending = settings.value(GC_ALLRIDES_ASCENDING,Qt::Checked);
+    if(isAscending.toInt()>0){
+            if (last != NULL)
+                treeWidget->setCurrentItem(last);
+    } else {
+        // selects the first ride in the list:
+        if (allRides->child(0) != NULL){
+            treeWidget->scrollToItem(allRides->child(0), QAbstractItemView::EnsureVisible);
+            treeWidget->setCurrentItem(allRides->child(0));
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/src/Pages.cpp b/src/Pages.cpp
index 41e8fff75..147d2e363 100644
--- a/src/Pages.cpp
+++ b/src/Pages.cpp
@@ -21,6 +21,14 @@ ConfigurationPage::ConfigurationPage(QWidget *parent)
     else
        unitCombo->setCurrentIndex(1);
 
+    allRidesAscending = new QCheckBox("Sort ride list ascending.", this);
+    QVariant isAscending = settings.value(GC_ALLRIDES_ASCENDING,Qt::Checked); // default is ascending sort
+    if(isAscending.toInt() > 0 ){
+        allRidesAscending->setCheckState(Qt::Checked);
+    } else {
+        allRidesAscending->setCheckState(Qt::Unchecked);
+    }
+    
     QLabel *warningLabel = new QLabel(tr("Requires Restart To Take Effect"));
 
     QHBoxLayout *unitLayout = new QHBoxLayout;
@@ -32,6 +40,7 @@ ConfigurationPage::ConfigurationPage(QWidget *parent)
  
     QVBoxLayout *configLayout = new QVBoxLayout;
     configLayout->addLayout(unitLayout);
+    configLayout->addWidget(allRidesAscending);
     configLayout->addLayout(warningLayout);
     configGroup->setLayout(configLayout);
 
diff --git a/src/Pages.h b/src/Pages.h
index 90268e520..fa6fccca7 100644
--- a/src/Pages.h
+++ b/src/Pages.h
@@ -9,12 +9,14 @@
 #include "Zones.h"
 #include <QLabel>
 #include <QDateEdit>
+#include <QCheckbox>
 
 class ConfigurationPage : public QWidget
 {
     public:
         ConfigurationPage(QWidget *parent = 0);
         QComboBox *unitCombo;
+        QCheckBox *allRidesAscending;
 };
 
 class CyclistPage : public QWidget
diff --git a/src/RideFile.cpp b/src/RideFile.cpp
index c6ad20c89..fba46157b 100644
--- a/src/RideFile.cpp
+++ b/src/RideFile.cpp
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "RideFile.h"
 #include <QtXml/QtXml>
 #include <assert.h>
+#include "Settings.h"
 
 static void
 markInterval(QDomDocument &xroot, QDomNode &xride, QDomNode &xintervals,
@@ -140,6 +141,12 @@ QStringList RideFileFactory::listRideFiles(const QDir &dir) const
         i.next();
         filters << ("*." + i.key());
     }
-    return dir.entryList(filters, QDir::Files, QDir::Name);
+    // This will read the user preferences and change the file list order as necessary:
+    QSettings settings(GC_SETTINGS_CO, GC_SETTINGS_APP);
+    QVariant isAscending = settings.value(GC_ALLRIDES_ASCENDING,Qt::Checked);
+    if(isAscending.toInt()>0){
+        return dir.entryList(filters, QDir::Files, QDir::Name);
+    }
+    return dir.entryList(filters, QDir::Files, QDir::Name|QDir::Reversed);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/Settings.h b/src/Settings.h
index cb44e1d95..6a6d8ed71 100644
--- a/src/Settings.h
+++ b/src/Settings.h
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 #define GC_DATETIME_FORMAT          "ddd MMM dd, yyyy, hh:mm AP"
 #define GC_UNIT                     "unit"
 #define GC_SETTINGS_LAST_IMPORT_PATH "mainwindow/lastImportPath"
-
+#define GC_ALLRIDES_ASCENDING       "allRidesAscending"
 
 #endif // _GC_Settings_h