By Kate Brown—
What a weekend! As San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® (DOB) Women’s Motorcycle Contingent celebrated our 50th Anniversary, we were joined by nearly 50 members from chapters around the world. Riders came together from across the country and across the globe to honor our shared history, strengthen our international community, and ride proudly into the next 50 years.
The weekend began Friday evening with a meet-and-greet at Rikki’s, where everyone was excited to visit this incredible lesbian-owned small business in the Castro dedicated to celebrating women’s sports and serving the diverse and inclusive women’s sports community. It was the perfect place for members, patch-holders, prospects, friends, and supporters to reconnect and settle into an unforgettable Pride Weekend.
On Saturday, DOB helped lead the Trans Ally Rally, a powerful and necessary gathering focused on activating cis allies and standing in solidarity with our trans loved ones. The rally was held in partnership with Indivisible SF, SF Pride, People’s March & Rally, the San Francisco Dyke March, and San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® WMC.
For 50 years, SFDOB has led with our engines, our bodies, and our presence. We know what it means to take up public space when the world tells us to be quiet, smaller, or invisible. As the mother chapter for Dykes on Bikes chapters around the world, we are clear: We stand with our trans siblings. Trans people, including trans dykes, are part of our community, our movement, our families, and our future. At a time when trans people face legislative and judicial setbacks, and a concerted effort to erase their existence, allyship must be more than a word. It must be action, protection, and solidarity.
SFDOB and our members from chapters around the world were proud to show up on our motorcycles, providing the loud, engines-roaring visibility Dykes on Bikes is known for as we rallied for trans safety and recognized the urgent importance of protecting trans individuals, especially trans youth.
And the rally made a real impact. Organizers from Indivisible SF shared that the Trans Ally Rally helped drive more than 500 calls to Governor Newsom’s office and helped save $26 million in LGBTQ+ services in the state budget. For anyone interested in continuing to support this work, please visit I Could Be Trans (https://www.icouldbetrans.org/) and consider purchasing an “I Could Be Trans” T-shirt, with proceeds going to the Trans March.
After the rally, we held our annual Pride Saturday fundraiser at The Academy SF. We were deeply honored to receive special recognition from Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office. In recognition of our golden milestone and how, for five decades, SFDOB has enriched San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ heritage and inspired riders and activists worldwide, Mayor Daniel Lurie issued a proclamation declaring June 27, 2026, as Dykes on Bikes Day in San Francisco!
A very special thank-you goes to The Academy SF for generously donating their beautiful space, and to DJ Page Hodel for keeping the afternoon moving with music, joy, and energy. We are deeply grateful to the businesses and individuals who donated items and services to our silent auction: Bay FC; Catch Seafood; Hand of God Winery; Paul Sears and Resilient Rover; Dr. Burg ART Chiropractor; El Dorado Hotel & Spa in Sonoma; Prohibition Distillery; Emily Doskow Law; Dora Dome; Pam Quan; Judith Lizner, Goorin Brothers; Corner 103 Winery; Temescal Brewing; Cycle Gear; Beaux; Hi Tops; Stag & Manor; Blush Wine Bar; FreeBorn; Cliff’s Variety; Fabulosa Books; R3 Resort; Baked on the River; Surrey Resort; Bozo; Midnight Sun; Le Marais; and Super Duper. Our sponsors also included Orphan Andy’s, which will celebrate its own 50th Anniversary this fall. Links to our supporters and sponsors can be found at the SFDOB website (https://www.dykesonbikes.org/).
After the fundraiser, many of us headed to Los Yaquis on Folsom Street for a “working dinner,” where we reviewed final details for Sunday’s Pride Parade.
And, of course, the Pride Parade on Sunday was incredible. Since 1976, when a group of dykes moved their motorcycles to the front of the parade and claimed their rightful place in history, the San Francisco Dykes on Bikes have roared down Market Street at the front of the world-famous San Francisco Pride Parade. What began as an act of courage and defiance has become one of Pride’s most iconic traditions, with the rumble of hundreds of motorcycles announcing the arrival of Pride itself.
Before 7 am, volunteers were already showing up for registration, crosswalk monitoring, lineup, rider support, and countless behind-the-scenes details. Our Road Captains, as always, played an essential role in keeping everyone safe during the ride. The parade may look effortless from the outside, but it takes tremendous preparation, coordination, and care to move hundreds of motorcycles safely down Market Street.
This year, more than 250 motorcycles came out to ride with us. Seeing that many riders gathered as part of our 50th Anniversary to kick off the San Francisco Pride Parade was overwhelming in the very best way.
We are especially grateful to MotoJava and MotoMike for helping create a special experience for our VIPs. Through their support, honored guests and key members of our community were invited to ride down Market Street with us, including DOB General Counsel Brooke Oliver; civic activists Elba Rivera and Olga Talamante; Ali Marrero-Calderon, one of the original riders who first moved to the front of the parade in 1976 and our first emeritus member; Dr. Sheila Malone emeritus member and official DOB archivist; Christine Elliot, who designed the original version of the logo we fought all the way to the United States Supreme Court to defend; Ranell, emeritus member; and Judith, patch-holder and Board of Directors.
Words cannot fully capture what it felt like to make our way down Market Street. The engines roared, the crowd cheered, and the sound of hundreds of motorcycles created the glorious cacophony that helps kick off the world’s most famous Pride Parade. It was bold. It was joyful. It was defiant. It was San Francisco Dykes on Bikes celebrating 50 years in style.
After Pride, many of us continued north to Guerneville, California, for a much-needed weeklong retreat at the Surrey Resort. There, we had time to rest, ride, reconnect, and reflect as an international organization on what the next 50 years means for Dykes on Bikes®.
Our 50th Anniversary Pride weekend reminded us that Dykes on Bikes® is not only a tradition. It is a living, roaring, evolving community. Year after year, the rumble of our motorcycles announces the arrival of Pride itself, honoring generations of dykes, queer womxn, lesbians, and gender-expansive riders who have fought to be seen, respected, and celebrated. As hundreds of engines turned over on Market Street, the crowd heard more than noise. They heard 50 years of courage, defiance, joy, and community taking up space together.
Here’s to the next 50 years.
Kate Brown, Ph.D., is the President of San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent. https://www.dykesonbikes.org/
Dykes on Bikes®: Tales from Two Wheels
Published on July 16, 2026
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