Hubert Opperman leads a four-man team through a village during the Tour de France, 1928. Against experienced squads of 10 men, victory was impossible, but Oppy finished a respectable 18th. The French dubbed him ‘le phénomène’ (the phenomenon), and he took to wearing berets as a tribute to their support. Photo: National Library of Australia ( VN3802604).

Known as ‘Oppy’, Hubert Opperman was one of Australia’s most successful road and long-distance cyclists, and an international cycling celebrity. Born in the small Victorian town of Rochester in 1904, Oppy started racing in Melbourne as a teenager. At 17 he began racing for Malvern Star and Bruce Small, associations he retained for the rest of his life. Oppy died at a retirement village at the age of 91 after he suffered a heart attack while riding his exercise bike.

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Beret worn by Hubert Opperman, 1928. National Museum of Australia. Photo: Jason McCarthy.

Champion long-distance cyclist Hubert Opperman competed in the 1928 Tour de France. He won the support of the French people, who dubbed him ‘le phénomène’ (the phenomenon). He took to wearing berets as a tribute to their support.

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Greg Cunningham riding near Inverell during the Big New South Wales Bike Ride, 2002. Courtesy: Greg Cunningham.

Greg Cunningham has spent decades riding and exploring the world by bicycle. He first developed his taste for long-distance riding in the early 1990s while living in London, from which he completed numerous tours around Britain, Europe and Mexico. He returned to Australia in 1993, and since then, has ridden thousands of kilometres each year on cycling trips, randonnées (designated long-distance rides) and just commuting to work.

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Velokraft VK2 carbon fibre recumbent bike belonging to Peter Heal, 2004. Heal rode this bike on his record-breaking solo and unsupported crossing of Australia in 2009. National Museum of Australia. Photo: Jason McCarthy.

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Canberra cyclist Peter Heal at the end of his record-breaking ride, at Sydney's Bondi Beach, 2009. Heal pedalled his recumbent bicycle from Fremantle to Sydney in 11 days, 17 hours and 8 minutes, breaking the record for a solo and unsupported bicycle crossing of the continent by over two days. Courtesy: Peter Heal.

The next year, Heal cycled alone around Australia (about 15,000 kilometres) in 48 days, 23 hours and 37 minutes, again lowering the record by two days. Heal carried muesli bars and snacks in a pouch under his left arm, and rode between 280 and 400 kilometres each day, staying in motels or just sleeping beside the road. A tracking device relayed his position via satellite to a webpage, and Heal attracted a dedicated following across the country and overseas.

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Kate Leeming cycling around the continent, 2004. Photo: Geoff Yeoman.

Kate Leeming and her riding partner Geoff Yeoman left Canberra in May 2004 on a 25,000-kilometre journey around Australia. Their trip took in over 7000 kilometres of some of Australia’s most isolated and rugged tracks, including the Cape York Peninsula Development Road, the Gulf Track, the Tanami Track and the Gunbarrel Highway. They visited Aboriginal communities, cattle stations and other remote outposts and towns.

Leeming cycled alone for the second half of her journey, becoming the first woman to pedal the 1800-kilometre Canning Stock Route in remote Western Australia. She returned to Canberra, joined again by Yeoman for the last week of the expedition, in February 2005. Leeming is planning to cycle across Antarctica in 2015.