Warren Royal doesn't get a chance to take his almost century-old bike out for a spin too often.
But riding it on a mild spring evening in Rockhampton, weaving in and out of the historical buildings, he has a big smile on his face.
When the original owner of the bike, his grandfather, died in the 1960s, the bike almost ended up at the dump before Mr Royal intervened.
"I took it home and hung it up in the shed, and about seven or eight years ago, I pulled it down and made sure it worked again," he said.
The bike was purchased new in 1923 and Mr Royal said other than new tyres and a bit of oil, the bike was still good as new.
Mr Royal is a member of the Gentlefolk Single-Speed, Fixie and Old Bike Society.
It has one rule – no lycra.
It's one of many bike appreciation groups popping up across the state, especially in regional areas with rich cycling histories, according to Bicycles Queensland.
The society's coordinator Peter Kane said the group began in 2015 with just fixies, but then expanded to include more bike types and a lengthier name.
"The name sort of says it all, I guess," Mr Kane said.
"The aim is to have fun, to pretend we're 12 years old again and ride our bikes around town.
"When we introduced all bikes, it became a bit of a history lesson, people wanted to match their old bikes up with all things in Rockhampton, so each ride has a theme.
"It's very inclusive, we've had families with children, I think we might average about five kilometres an hour because there's a lot of stopping and starting.
"Occasionally we have to do a repair, we've had pedals fall off and a few punctures."
Group for one and all
In this group, bikes and people of all ages are welcome.
Zara-Lee Goodson purchased her modern penny farthing last year.
"It's a lot of fun, and gets a lot of attention, and especially in the group like this, where everyone is riding something different," Ms Goodson said.
"Everyone supports each other in cycling, so we all have a lot of fun, it's a very inclusive group."
Bicycles Queensland's advocacy director Andrew Demack said there were all sorts of ways people "experienced riding a bike", and that was "only growing" in regional parts of the state.
"From the seat of the bicycle, you have a social time with your friends as you go for a ride, and that can take all sorts of expressions," Mr Demack said.
"That could be mountain biking, that could be racing on the road, that could be a gentle spin along the banks of the Fitzroy River."
Hopes for vintage bike museum
Cycling enthusiast and group member Graeme Meade boasts a large vintage bike collection in the nearby town of Mount Morgan.
"I've got over 50 and probably less than 100 [bikes]. I've got some bikes that are fully restored and in very good condition, and I've got some bikes that are just rusty frames," Mr Meade said.
He began collecting bikes 20 years ago while living and working in Brisbane.
The collection is diverse, ranging from a 1930s unicycle to 1980s road bikes, 1990s mountain bikes, roadster style bikes from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and includes a bike owned by famous cyclist Phil Anderson.
"A lot of it is the story behind the bikes … there's so many stories about bikes, and [it's] a joy to be able to ride them," Mr Meade said.
"Push bikes are easy, you can hang them off the wall, you can make displays with them.
"In this day and age, when all this net zero stuff is going on, bicycles are really good, they give you exercise, and are such a simple means of transport and very energy efficient."
The historic gold mining town has been in a severe drought for several years, but now with plans in place for a permanent water supply, Mr Meade hopes creating a museum for his bikes soon could help boost local tourism numbers and tie in with local mountain biking trails.
"Mount Morgan has sort of been on its back for a long time and with another little thing to try and encourage people to come up," he said.
