Our 47th Year Leading Off a San Francisco Pride Parade

By Kate Brown, Ph.D.

Tales From Two Wheels

Happy Pride Month from “four days to the Parade” (as of Thursday, June 22) and counting!

We are so excited to be back on Market Street again. In 2023, the San Francisco Dykes on Bikes (DOB) Women’s Motorcycle Contingent is in our 47th year, and we are honored to lead off the San Francisco Parade this Sunday, June 25. It’s a thrill every year to greet excited riders while they line up and get ready to kick off the parade— the costumes, the signs, the beads, the tassels ... which may make you wonder, where does everyone put their helmets and gear?

For 2023 we are honored and proud to announce the K. Anne Rickertsen Memorial Helmet Truck. Anne unexpectedly left us in 2022. She rode with San Francisco DOB for more than 30 years, and was a longstanding presence at the Pride Parade.

For decades, “Helmet Truck Anne” would show up on Market Street bright and early in the Veritable Vegetable truck, ready to welcome riders and securely tuck their possessions away in boxes so they could enjoy the parade without worrying about all their riding gear. The helmet truck is one of the most critical elements to the success of our presence in the Parade. It keeps our riders safe, and is a sturdy, reassuring, helping presence—just like Anne was. We always miss her even more this time of year, and are grateful for her many years of being, as her obituary truly stated, a “hard working badass.” And a big thank you to Anna, who not only proposed that the truck be re-named the “K. Anne Rickertsen Memorial Helmet Truck,” but who also has taken over responsibility for the helmet truck and conveying our riders gear safely down Market Street.

A special thank you also to Veritable Vegetable for many years of ongoing support. Veritable Vegetable stores our pallet of helmet boxes at their facility 363 days a year. It’s a kindness that many people may not know about but that is a considerable gift to our organization—we appreciate all that Veritable Vegetable does in support of LGBTQIA2S+ riders for the parade!

Please register to join us if you’re interested in riding with us in 2023. We welcome both participants and volunteers to come be part of the Parade with us!

You can read more information and pre-register at: www.sfdykesonbikes.org

You can also register at: https://tinyurl.com/2p8nfesw

Or, you can also register on the day of the Parade.

We want to send one last reminder to welcome everyone to attend our annual Pride Saturday Fundraiser on Saturday, June 24, from 12:30–3:30 pm. We’re at a fun new queer venue for our party this year—The Academy SF at 2166 Market Street. Come join us for dancing (music from DJ Rockaway), auction prizes, and more! You can pick up our limited-edition T-shirts and Dykes on Bikes® merch, and also preregister to ride with us at the Parade. Our mid-day event allows for plenty of time to experience all the activities on Pride Pink Saturday.

Kate Brown, Ph.D., is the President of San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Women’s Motorcycle Contingent. https://www.dykesonbikes.org/