Bicycle Network is an Australian charity, one of the largest cycling membership organisations in the world (45,000 members, 2015), 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 (see below). Currently, Bicycle Network employs about 60 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. Craig Richards is the CEO, succeeding from Harry Barber who 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 (SBC) 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