A Sydney Spokes group out on a ride in central Sydney pause for a photo at a colourful spot in Prince Alfred Park! The 90m rainbow path was painted in 2017 to commemorate the November 2017 decision to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia (Image: Sydney Spokes)
The history of Sydney Spokes
Sydney Spokes was founded in 1986 after Allan Hildon posted an ad in the local paper searching for people to cycle with. Out of the four people that went on the first ride, three went on to formalise the group as a committee: Peter Wilson, Les Clements, and Allan himself.
The name was chosen to be in line with a comparable cycling group that Allan had heard about. “Different Spokes” was founded in 1983 in Southern California to promote cycling activities among members and friends of the gay and lesbian communities. It offered a wide variety of road and mountain bike rides within the greater Los Angeles area, as well as social events and weekend trips.
Allan dreamed of riding with kindred spirits and wondered if a something similar would take off in Sydney.
Sydney Spokes began with a schedule of rides each Sunday, mainly congregating around Centennial Park. Ride attendance varied from 10 to 20 cyclists. Ride schedules were communicated via post to a carefully maintained mailing list.
“It makes me laugh to think how primitive the distribution system was – stamps and envelopes no less!” recalls Allan. “I used to surreptitiously type the program during the lunch break on the only available typewriter in the office where I worked.”
The group also held the occasional weekend-away rides, where members would travel to regional caravan parks and dress up for a day out in the countryside.
“On one occasion about 12 shrieking queens, in cycling drag, invaded a tearoom somewhere near Bowral,” says Allan. “Apparently, this was quite a shock to some of the old dears enjoying their Devonshire teas!”
