Bicycle NSW is a Member-funded organisation. The individuals and groups at the heart of the Bicycle NSW community are how we are able to do our work. They are also why we do our work. It is for them that we continue to campaign for a better cycling environment across NSW.
d’Arcy Lunn’s initiative, Teaspoons of Change, has seen him travel around the world, from South Sudan to Kyrgyzstan, focused on projects and programmes that address global inequality and sustainability. He’s even done a TEDTalk on why he loves waking up on Mondays.
Some of these trips have been pedal powered, from cycling 800km along the river systems in South Korea, to 400km through southern Uganda (and then another 400km across Rwanda), as well as 4000km around the South Island of New Zealand.
Now he finds himself in Sydney. Keen to learn about cycling advocacy, d'Arcy recently became a Member of Bicycle NSW.
Here we learn a little more about his background, how he got into cycling, and his plans to support the cycling community here in NSW.
d’Arcy on a trip cycling around Aotearoa New Zealand, 2009 (Image: d’Arcy Lunn)
How did you get into cycling?
I inherited a large bike as a 4-year-old from my brother who is 9 years older than me. I couldn’t really touch the pedals and sit on the seat at the same time so I got a lot of balance practice from the beginning…
I then rode to school almost everyday of my primary and secondary schooling. I mostly hated it but did always try to beat my fastest time coming home from school each day!
I never chose to ride a bike for ‘fun’ until I was 28 and I returned to Australia, after many years of travels and work in a lot of countries and continents. I decided a cycling advocacy tour - from my hometown of Adelaide to my sister’s farm (700km or 7-hours drive away) and back - would be a great way to share stories.
Back in 2006 bike touring wasn’t super popular, but it seemed like a natural extension of the ways I had got around the world up until then: backpacking, mountaineering, and volunteering.
So in October 2006 I packed a heavy cheap bike, with an even heavier homemade bike trailer, and headed on my first advocacy cycling trip to the farm. I soon fell in love with bike touring and the adventure of the next corner, rise and place to stay…
That trip soon inspired more. Cycle touring is something I come back to every couple of years. I’ve been lucky to bike tour in lots of places: Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, Japan, Rwanda, Uganda, China, South Korea. And most places I’ve managed to live since that first trip in 2006.
“Rwanda / Tanzania border with some friends as we took 4-days to cycle across Rwanda, known as a land of a thousand hills, which was very true!” (Image: d’Arcy Lunn)
I’m still just someone who rides a bike and not a cyclist! However, I do prefer padded cycling shorts, clip in shoes and a few different types of bike – maybe you can better decide on my cycling status!
How did you find out about Bicycle NSW, why did you become a Member?
I’ve been a big cycling advocate since that first trip in South Australia in 2006. I love sharing the joys of cycling and its benefits, both the personal and global. To continue sharpening up my advocacy skills and ability to support good people doing good things, I’ve learnt to find cycling groups and associations wherever I go.
I was a long time member of Bike SA and transitioned over to Bicycle NSW as soon as I moved to Sydney recently. I’m primarily a Bicycle NSW member for the advocacy side of cycling and getting more people on bikes more often.
Then there are the bonus sides of membership like insurance, community, events and being a part of something bigger than myself!
Are you involved in other parts of the cycling community?
My favourite global cycling community is Warm Showers. The platform has created a community of people - all cyclists keen on long trips - who can offer one another a shower and place to stay, while exchanging stories and perspective on life with an adventurous lens. I’ve met loads of great people both as a cyclist, and host, through this group.
Being new to Sydney I’m trying to get more involved in the cycling advocacy space in Sydney and NSW. I hope to meet people, start high quality conversations on cycling and learn where or how I might be able to lend my support to the community.
Do you have any ideas for cycling advocacy that you'd like to share?
I founded Teaspoons of Change to be a friendly, gentle space and a welcome mat to big ideas and conversations. For example,
What does it mean to be a good person? What might good decisions look like in my own little slice of life?
So I love to explore the part that cycling plays in answering these types of questions.
My upcoming Teaspoons of Change cycling trip (during February), from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, will throw a bunch of elements together that will offer loads of opportunity for connection, conversations and more cycling!
Finally, my favourite cycling advocacy slogan from New Zealand’s peak advocacy group, the Cycle Action Network (CAN) is: Cycling – health, happy, simple, sustainable and makes your arse look great!
Here to have some fun and add value where I can!
“With students at Kinaire School, South Island New Zealand, on one of my advocacy bike trips”
Become a Member and be insured whilst cycling
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- Give yourself and your loved ones peace of mind while you are out riding
- Protect yourself and your loved ones
- Provide protection from financial risk when something goes wrong
Become a member today and be instantly covered by the best insurance available to recreational riders in NSW.
Membership starts from $121 per year (less than $2.50 a week).
