The weekly ride around a 50km block on the Taieri Plains was started by Dunedin police senior sergeant Sam Jones-Sexton on October 7, 1987.
It created more interest than normal because Brian Thomson, a guru of Otago cycling at the time, was in the original group.
"It attracted others who were keen to have a ride with Thomo," Jones-Sexton said yesterday.
It started, in all weather conditions, at 5.30pm outside the Fortex meat works, and built up to a maximum of 80 riders.
It is now weather-dependent and only the hardy come on rough nights.
There is also a break during the Christmas holiday period.
The others in the original group were Geoff Keogh, Craig Padman and Keith Poole.
Padman and Thomson are the only originals who still regularly join the group today.
Jones-Sexton emphasised that it was always a training ride and not a race.
"That was its secret," he said.
"It gave the average rider the chance to ride with the elite."
It was frowned on for any rider to break away from the bunch for the first 25km.
"The run home was different," Jones-Sexton said.
"It was everyone for himself. The tyres started to screech on the run home."
The weekly ride has attracted some of the big names of New Zealand cycling including Commonwealth Games champion Glen Thomson, Tour of Southland winner Gordon McCauley, David Thomson and top-ranked New Zealand women's road rider Carolyn Jenkins.
McCauley made a point of coming back to Dunedin for the ride after competing in this year's Tour of Southland.
In the early years the weekly ride attracted from 12 to 20 riders and it has steadily grown since that time.
Its reputation has grown and cyclists from outside Dunedin have come along for the ride.
One time when the numbers were high the cyclists monopolised the road and motorists complained to the police because they could not get through the cycling traffic.
"The police put in a road block and ticketed the offenders," Jones-Sexton said.
He was not there that night and was blamed for the police raid.
Jones-Sexton had a heart valve operation in 2001 and is not able to join the ride these days.
But his thoughts are with the riders.
"I miss it," he said.
"It was nostalgic for me to start the ride this week."
