Melbourne Cup Day; for some it’s all about the horses but for many of Melbourne’s cyclists, it’s an opportunity to enjoy a day out on the bike. An idea it seems, that goes right back to when bicycles first took hold of Melburnian’s hearts.
One hundred and twenty-five years ago Melburnians first organised a cycling event for Melbourne Cup Day. Cup Day has attracted a public holiday in Victoria, or the Colony of Victoria as it was then, since 1875. As the bicycling craze tightened its grip on Melbourne in the 1890s, the Melbourne Cup Day holiday soon presented itself as an opportunity to ride a bicycle that was too good to resist.
And what better bicycle ride than the then relatively new fad of a Century Run? Melbourne’s first Century Run, also claimed as Australia’s first, was held in Melbourne on Cup Day in 1895, inspired by reports of similar events in the United States.
Organised by a special committee set up for the purpose and months in the planning this first Century Run was anticipated by touring cyclists and club men alike. The Century Run was 100 miles, (160 kms) and designed to be at a social pace so that all cyclists could join in, not only cycling club members or those used to scorching. Accordingly twelve hours were allocated for the completion of the ride, ten hours of cycling with two hours of combined lunch and ten minute rest stops along the route.
“Don’t forget that the pace will be slow, and a few “ necessities of life ” strapped on to the handle bars will add to the general enjoyment of the outing. ” the East Melbourne Bicycle Club advised their members in a column in Australian Cyclist. While lunch would be provided at Woodend, participants were advised to bring their own tools and extra nourishment for the day.
The route and times were published well in advance and the organising committee went out of their way to advise that “The run is open to all cyclists, ladies or gentleman”. As it was only one year since most women in Melbourne had taken up riding and public discussion about the wisdom of women exerting themselves on long bike rides was still energetic, this was no lightly made invitation. A cycling journalist noted in the Australian Cyclist that “Several ladies intend to join the century run on Cup Day, and have no fear of the distance, the road being familiar to them.”
Exactly one hundred riders set out from the Melbourne GPO (now H&M at the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Sts) at 7am on a drizzly spring morning, Tuesday November 5th 1895. Two pacemakers set the pace, ensuring that riders would meet their time slots for each checkpoint and that the ride was conducted at a sociable pace. The rules forbade any riders from getting ahead of them. Amongst those riding was a lad of fifteen, a rider on an ancient hard-tyred safety and four or five women. The most popular bicycles on the Century Run were Raleighs, of which were counted sixteen in all, seven Humbers, five Sparkbrooks and four each of Swifts, Singers and New Rapids.
The ride progressed through Bulla and on to Lancefield with residents of Sunbury walking over to the cross roads at Bell’s to witness the run where the cyclists turned up the Lancefield-road. From Lancefield over the dirt roads of the colony, dusty, often rutted, maybe freshly metalled, to Woodend, where Dinner was served before finally turning back towards Melbourne via Gisborne and Essendon.
The ride was seen as a huge success, “The Cup Day Century run will do an immense amount of good to the pastime. It can be seen by the result that 100 miles in a day of twelve hours is easily accomplished, and without distress” reported the Herald.
Those riders who completed the ride within the allotted time received certificates with the above photograph on them. Amongst the finishers were two women, controversially, in rational dress. Australian Cyclist reported at the time “Indeed, the ladies looked splendid, and the dress they wore, besides being practical was most becoming.”, a supportive note for the women who more often attracted ridicule and abuse for adopting rational dress. It also described them as the “first ladies in the colonies to ride 100 miles in twelve hours” although both women had ridden a century or more on earlier occasions. Both women were presented with an especially made badge in addition to the finishers certificate for their plucky riding.
The Australasian noted that advancements in bicycle technology were what had made the run such a success; “The result of the century run in Melbourne on Cup day shows us pretty clearly how easy it is to ride long distances on the comfortably built bicycles of to-day. Seventy-Seven riders — many of them just ordinary wheelmen who had seldom or never taken a long spin before— covered 100 miles of hilly country roads in 12 hours, including an hour or two spent in rests. This run has given us the most practical demonstration of tho case of cycling that we have ever had. A dozen years ago tho Melbourne Bicycle Club gave gold medals to its members who rode 100 miles in 12 hours, and the task was so difficult very few medals were won,”
Indeed the Cup Day Century Run was such a success that it became a Melbourne tradition. In 1896 over a hundred and seventy riders started with over two hundred in each of the years after that until early in the Twentieth Century.
While the earliest organisers of the Century Run were proactive in encouraging women to ride at a time when many people thought women shouldn’t be exerting themselves, the fact that they were ahead of the times is borne out in reactions to subsequent runs. One correspondent in the Australian Cyclist of 1896 writes;
TO THE EDITOR. S i r , —Considering the great success century run, one hardly likes to find fault; but I would strongly recommend to the con-sideration of Messrs. Broadbent, Dwyer and Co. the desirability of discouraging the attendance of ladies. From time to time efforts have been made in all branches of sports to organise races, tests of endurance, and record making for ladies, but so far without success. The perspiration, dust, and excessive fatigue in connection with a century run are evils incident to a vigorous manhood ; but to my mind are decidedly out of place where the fair sex are concerned. No one should object to ladies cycling in moderation, providing they are modestly attired, butI am sure everyone who has the interests of the sport at heart, and who has a proper respect for them, will hope that they will be conspicuous by their absence at our next century run. Probably the best way would be to reduce the time occupied in the run from fourteen hours to twelve.—
Century Runs continued into the new Century although no longer associated with Cup Day in Melbourne. Regional areas also took up the practice of hosting a Century Run as did other cities around Australia.
Going for a ride on Cup Day is still popular with Melbourne cyclists today, it being one of the few days of the year when cyclists can enjoy relatively low traffic conditions on roads. Maybe it’s time to bring back the tradition of a Century Run on Cup Day, or organise your own ride with friends and family and #ridebikesnotponies ?
A Wider World 