Suncoast Cycling Alliance

In 2006, fellow club members Damien Jones and John Stephen co-founded the Suncoast Cycling Alliance, a grassroots advocacy body dedicated to improving infrastructure and support for Active Transport across the Sunshine Coast.

As long-standing members of the Sunshine Coast Bicycle Touring Club, they saw the need for a coordinated voice to champion safer, more accessible cycling routes and facilities in our region. In the Maroochydore Council in particular there was a certain reluctance to provide on road cycling facilities, in fact on road cycling infrastructure simply did not exist.

A consequence of this was that the motoring public were quite resentful of cyclists riding on the road and there were many adverse confrontations between drivers and riders in those past years.

More activists than advocates the Alliance engaged extensively with local and state government, often holding reluctance to account. They contributed to planning consultations, infrastructure reviews, and public awareness campaigns. Their efforts helped elevate the visibility of cycling as a legitimate mode of transport—not just recreation—on the Coast.

One particularly memorable initiative involved a covert collaboration with Queensland Main Roads. Alongside one other rider, Damien and John were commissioned to conduct live traffic testing on two notoriously narrow bridges—at Bli Bli and Eudlo Creek. Equipped with front and rear video cameras and a side distance recorder, they rode repeatedly across the bridges under varying signage conditions to assess driver behaviour and cyclist safety. The project was deliberately kept out of the media at the time, but the reactions from motorists ranged from curious to downright hostile—an unfiltered glimpse into the challenges of sharing road space.

Their work was formally recognised through:

• A regional award for contributions to sustainable transport and community advocacy on the Sunshine Coast.
• Nomination for a national Australian Bicycling Achievement Award (hosted by the Cycling Promotion Fund), acknowledging the Alliance's impact on cycling promotion and infrastructure development.
• Personal nomination for a national award recognising individual contribution to cycling advocacy.

The Crazy4wd video (above) happened on the Main Roads bridge. Despite all the signs the person in the Land Rover was hell bent on beating one of us to the bridge all the while putting the cyclist and the occupants of the car they nearly collected in danger.

While the Alliance itself is no longer active, its legacy lives on in the improved cycling conditions and community awareness they helped foster. Damien remains committed to supporting cycling culture through ongoing involvement with the community organisations and other local initiatives like recently encouraging Yandina to make submissions resulting in a "Walking Network Plan" that is steadily being constructed.