Bicycle NSW is proud to announce that our long term cycling advocate and Bicycle NSW Member, Adrian Boss has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his outstanding service to the community in delivering cycling programs.
Adrian Boss (far right) at the Cycling Without Age Trishaw Launch 2021
A lifelong rider, Adrian Boss epitomises that riding a bike is for everyone of any age. Save for his earliest years and a period of intense study and travel during his twenties, Adrian has been a continuous bike rider. Beginning in his early school years when riding a bike gave the then 12 year old Adrian the freedom to go to the beach by himself and not be dependent on a bus to get to school at Balgowlah Boys High School, some 18km away from his family's home in Mona Vale, where the family had settled after emigrating from Switzerland in 1950.
Arriving on the Toscana, Australia Day 1950. Adrian (in the centre) with his brothers and sister. Photo courtesy of the Mirror Newspaper.
After completing his university studies, Adrian took up riding again, this time to commute to work at an architectural practice and then at the Department of Planning, where he worked for almost 25 years. At this time, Adrian had also started riding recreationally and completed every ‘Big Ride’ since his first in 1996 from Swan Hill to Albury, organised by Bicycle NSW in the 1990s.
In 1999, Adrian was introduced to and invited to join BIKEast, a Bicycle User Group located in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs (where Adrian still lives). There were submissions to be done and Adrian, given his professional background, passion for bike riding and personal ethos, was the perfect person for the job. In Adrian’s words: ‘Sydney had to do better with planning places for pedestrians and cyclists.’
Since then, Adrian has been an active member of BIKEast, acting as their President between 2002 and 2004, as well as an invaluable cycling advocate in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs and beyond.
Some of Adrian’s most notable achievements at BIKEast have been centered around the Cycling Without Age program. Cycling Without Age is a movement originating in Copenhagen aimed at helping those in care support - such as the elderly in aged care homes - experience bike riding. As many of those in care support are mobility challenged, CWA’s solution has been to get volunteers to provide safe rides using trishaws (three seater electric assist bikes).
Adrian (second from the right) with the BIKEast Committee members.
In 2017, Adrian went to a meeting organised by the City of Sydney and met Dorthe Pederson, one of the Danish co-founder of the movement (along with Ole Kassow). At the meeting, Adrian promised to dedicate the next five years to organising a Sydney chapter of Cycling Without Age, and since this time has overseen massive expansion of the program, with the training of more than 30 volunteer trishaw 'pilots', the acquisition of multiple trishaws, and the opening of multiple chapters across Sydney.
Despite COVID-19 related setbacks, BIKEast managed to train 8 new pilots and register 9 others over the January 2020 to June 2021 period, safely carrying 291 passengers over 53 ride events. The movement is continuing to grow and received matching grants from the Woollahra and City of Sydney councils, and from the Australian Government under the Supporting Strong Communities Programme.
Adrian’s interest in cycling, advocacy work and dedication to ‘Cycling Without Age’ is all driven by his dedication to community and the belief that the common good is more important than personal gain. While he appreciates being recognised for his advocacy work, he is adamant that he could not have gotten this far without the support of his many friends, family, and associates.
For anyone who wants to get involved in advocacy, Adrian’s advice is to join the local BUG and Bicycle NSW. If there is no local BUG, he suggests getting a group of likeminded people together to form a loose group which could lead to a BUG.
The team at Bicycle NSW could not imagine an individual more deserving of the Order of Australia Medal and wish Adrian all the best in life and continuing community service.
