Bicycle Network
Bicycle Network is an Australian charity, one of the largest cycling membership organisations in the world, whose mission is to have More People Cycling More Often. Before 2011 it was known as Bicycle Victoria.
Bicycle Network is financially self-supporting and independent. It is primarily funded by its major events and membership subscriptions. Some events and programs receive specific government and commercial sponsorship, though Bicycle Network maintains financial independence as an organisation. This independence allows the organisation to lobby in the interests of bicycle riders without perceived external financial pressure, although this is debated by critics.
Currently, Bicycle Network employs about 35 permanent staff and has a number of additional staff on contract for events and special projects, as well as using the services of volunteers for events. Alison McCormack became the first female CEO in 2022, succeeding Craig Richards, and has campaigned for increasing the numbers of women cyclists. Before Richards, Harry Barber had been the CEO since 1996. Bicycle Network has its head office in Melbourne, and an office in Hobart, Tasmania. They also have a workshop in Sunshine North, Victoria.
History
1970s
The organisation was established in 1975 as the Bicycle Institute of Victoria. It became an incorporated association in 1986 and a new constitution was adopted on 7 November 2005. Incorporation and the formal renaming of the organisation to Bicycle Victoria occurred on 5 December 2005.The formation of the Bicycle Institute of Victoria in 1974 was instigated by Brian Dixon MP, Victorian State Government Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation. Dixon, creator of the famous Life. Be in it. fitness campaign, brought together a group of bicycle advocates, including Keith Dunstan, to help form the BIV. Dunstan went on to become the founding president of the Institute. Rupert Hamer's Government also formed the State Bicycle Committee which was originally within the Ministry of Transport. Under Dixon, the SBC reported directly to the Minister. Only after about 1990 did it have to report through VicRoads.
When Bicycle Victoria was founded in 1975, the renaissance of cycling in Australia was gathering momentum. Bikes were becoming popular again for recreation and cyclists were becoming accepted on the road once more. Founding president, Keith Dunstan, records in his memoir Confessions of a Bicycle Nut: "By the late 70s I was called a '—–– idiot' only once a month instead of every day".
In April 1976, the first edition of the newsletter Pedal Power announced that the fledgling Bicycle Institute of Victoria aimed to cater "for the need of the majority of cyclists who urgently need safe, convenient and pleasant places to ride". The chief campaigners were Dunstan and Alan Parker, who immediately began pressuring State and local government on everything from lanes on roads to citywide planning.
In 1978, the Victorian government approved a $1.6 million, five-year Geelong Bikeplan as a test case for bike planning in Victoria. The plan proposed programs of education, enforcement and encouragement as well as engineering for cycling. Ted Wilson of the Geelong police was key in the plan's implementation. He worked on getting cyclists to comply with the road rules and encouraged police to look out for cyclists on the road. By way of education and encouragement, he taught the newly developed Bike Ed program in schools around Victoria, a program he loves and is still involved with.
Wilson also suggested re-establishing Police Bicycle Patrols in Victoria. The idea was written into the Melbourne Bikeplan in the late 70s and subsequent plans developed for centres on Victoria but did not come to fruition until 1990. Once again Geelong was the site for the trial and Wilson was charged with training police in bike skills. Now all police areas across Victoria are equipped to run Bicycle Patrols when they fit the bill.
With conditions for cyclists steadily improving, cycling clubs began popping up all over Victoria. One of the oldest and largest was the Melbourne Bicycle Touring Club. Founded in 1973 as "Action Unlimited" and changing to MBTC in about 1976, it soon became affiliated with Bicycle Victoria. One of the early members of MBTC was Ian Christie, who went on to run the renowned shop Christie Cycles for 22 years.
1980s
Ian Christie sees the 1980s as the period when cycling really began to take off. He credits this to cycling gaining a name as a great health pursuit at this time and the newly invented mountain bike. It wasn't an innovation he had much faith in at the time. As a project manager for Bicycle Industries Australia, Christie was often asked about current trends in the cycling industry. He laughs, "I'm still making forecasts but I remind people that I was the one who said mountain bikes would never take off."Past president of the Bicycle Institute of Victoria, Charlie Farren, concurs that the 1980s saw a tremendous boost in recreational cycling in the state. Her involvement with the organisation coincided with the development of the Great Victorian Bike Ride from the 1984 first ride when over 2000 people rode from Wodonga to Melbourne.
That first Great Victorian Bike Ride in 1984 was meant to be a one-off celebration of the 150th anniversary of European settlement of Victoria but it was such a hit that cyclists demanded another event the following year. Farren sees the Great Bike Rides as one of the most significant tools in the development of cycling in Victoria. "The events that Bicycle Victoria have nurtured have put enormous numbers of Victorians on bikes and they have ended up as sympathetic car drivers", she points out. "I’m proud to have been a part of that".
In 1988 the Bicycle Institute of Victoria adopted the trading name of Bicycle Victoria.
1990s
The first Round the bay ride took place in 1993, with manual timekeeping and riders were asked to bring a spanner to remove pedals while crossing the Bay entrance on rented fishing trawler. Harry Barber became CEO in 1996.2000s
Infrastructure for Cycling in Melbourne continues to be improved by the campaigns and advocacy of Bicycle Network, including the development of many on road bike lanes and shared use Melbourne cycle trails, such as the Federation Trail following the route of the disused sewer between Footscray and Werribee.In September 2007, Bicycle Victoria, Bicycle NSW, Bicycle Queensland and Bicycle South Australia announced the formation of the Bicycle Coalition; an agreement to work together on several projects such as National Ride to Work Day.
2010s
In July 2011, Bicycle Victoria changed its name to Bicycle Network Victoria for the interim, a two-step name change towards their rebranding as Bicycle Network in 2013.In 2011, Bicycle Network Victoria began a campaign - opposed by the Australian Taxation Office - to become a Health Promotion Charity. This campaign succeeded in getting Bicycle Network Victoria registered as charity, although not as a "health promotion charity" and so without the right to Deductible Gift Recipient status.
In August 2013, Bicycle Network Victoria changed its name to Bicycle Network, which reflected its now nationwide reach.
2020s
Membership
Bicycle Network Membership provides bike riders with support through benefits including insurance and enables them to contribute to improving conditions for bike riders.Membership of Bicycle Network is open to the public and is subscription-based. Membership is a source of income for the organisation. Benefits of being a member include discounts at bike shops, crash insurance, bi-monthly membership magazine, maps, advice services and other bike-riding resources.
Ride On is Bicycle Network's bi-monthly member magazine. Ride On provides all bike riders with bike related information.
Annual Cycling Events
A large portion of Bicycle Network's funding comes from an extensive calendar of fully supported bicycle rides and events. These events also encourage cycling.Great Victorian Bike Ride
The Great Victorian Bike Ride, commonly known as The Great Vic, is a non-competitive fully supported nine-day annual bicycle ride organised by Bicycle Network. The Great Vic takes different routes around the Victorian countryside of each year. The total ride distance is usually in the range of, averaging about a day excluding the rest day. The ride first ran in 1984, attracting 2,100 riders in what was initially supposed to be a one-off event, but due to its unexpected popularity and success it subsequently became an annual event. The Great Vic typically draws several thousand participants each year, with a record of 8,100 riders in 2004, which makes it one of the world's largest supported bike rides.It has been called by The Age newspaper as "Arguably the world's greatest one-week cycling holiday".