We have compiled the following timeline of each known BikeTag game as far as we were able to investigate. We’ve included links and sources, some of which are from the wayback machine (internet archive) and some still live on. We’ve tried to include the first tag images next to the information we have about each game and where it started. Please forgive us if we’re incorrect in any of this information and know that we would be happily corrected. We hope that you find this information interesting!
2007 – Minneapolis, Minnesota
March 17, 2007
The oldest example we can find is from March 2007. An online motorcycle forum group called MNSBR seems to have started a game that is similar to the one we play today. The initial poster there wrote: “This has been done many times on other forums over the years and I thought it might be fun here.”
With inspiration from the MNSBR forum, I’d like to introduce The Photo Tag Game. The rules are simple:
1. Find the last untagged photo in the thread, ride to that location and take a picture of your bike in that same spot.
2. Reply with that picture and a new photo (including your bike) that someone has to tag.
…
https://web.archive.org/web/20071214172332/http://mplsbikelove.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2938&start=0
Crowdsourced information from mplsbikelove.com
2010 – London, UK
February 20, 2010
User MinhDinh, on a cycling forum in the London area, made this post:
I copied this from my motorcycle forum.
Basically they are tagging their motorcycle from one location to another. They take a photo of the same spot as the last poster and then take a pic of wherever they want.
I don’t think it has been done on here yet. I hope it can be done.
Rules:
Bicycle must be in pic.
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/163391/
1 clue only.
…
Crowdsourced information from lfgss.com
2011 – San Diego, California
March 12, 2011
User Sigurd, on sdbikecommuter.com, a forum for cycling in San Dieog, made this post:
San Diego cyclists now have their own “Tag-o-Rama” game!
A tag isn’t really an actual tag – it is just a picture of your bike in an interesting or well-known location, perhaps with some hints if you think seekers need it. Members here will figure out where the tag is, and go out to take a picture in the same location, with their own bike in a similar position. The finder is then the new “it”, and he gets to place the next tag: Continue ad infinitum!
Here’s a custom Google Map of a few of the initial tags in the game.
San Diego BikeTag Map
For now, check out the rules:
#1: If you’re “it”, find somewhere relatively easy to place a tag – the game is about getting people out on their bikes (see #2) …
#2 The first finder (the one who posts a picture of his bike in the correct location) is the new “it”, If you are not first (you have been “Bruced”!), post your photo, anyways (see #3).
#3: “As “it”, you have 48 hours to place a new tag. If you don’t, the honor of being “it” transfers to the second finder/poster. It is highly encouraged to post the new tag quickly and in a way that is locationally diverse …
#4: You need to ride your bicycle to and fro, and include it in your tag photo!
#5: To keep the tag moving, pls. limit yourself to the City of San Diego: Even then, placing a tag in San Ysidro or Rancho Bernardo may be funny, but not fun!
#5: The location of a claimed tag should not be revealed until a new tag has been posted.
#6 (edit): The photo needs to be physically posted to the board – a URL to it is not sufficient for a catch. In case a “place” photo is taken at an earlier time than a “catch” photo, they both need to be taken on the same ride – no file photos allowed.
#7: Only tag owner shall provide tag location hints.
#8: No whining!
https://web.archive.org/web/20191102051608/http://sdbikecommuter.com/forums/comments.php?DiscussionID=524
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Crowdsourced information from sdbikecommuter.com
2012 – Cambridge, United Kingdom
June 29, 2012
User Wrongfellow, on wereallneighbours.com, a forum for people of Cambridge to communicate, organise and take action, is credited with the idea for the game.
- Wrongfellow starts because he mentioned in the “Anyone know…” thread that he had an idea for a location.
- The conch then passes to the first person to guess where Wrongfellow took his photo and so on and so forth.
- Any sort of bike can be used, not just fixies (even Bigmal’s, and he cheats by having an engine fitted to his).
- Photos have to be taken in Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, King’s Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Queen Edith’s, Romsey, Trumpington, and West Chesterton – no trying to be clever by using photos taken when on holiday in Cambridge MA or anything like that. Also, no cheating by taking a photo of your bike in your house or similar – they’ve got to be taken in places accessible to the public (unless getting into the place is really cool, anarchist and funny).
- Rules can be added if people decide we need them, or removed if they don’t.
- The number and obscurity of hints is at the conch-holder’s discretion.
Crowdsourced Information from wereallneighbours.com
2012 – Sydney, Australia
August 6, 2012
User cyclotron3k, on fixed.org.au, a forum for biking in australia, said this
I’m new to Sydney. Anyone want to play bike tag?
RULES:
Get a photo of your bike in the same locationGet a photo of your bike in a new and
(visually or historically) interesting location
Post both photos!
(Everyone then has to find the location of your photo)
hhttps://fixed.org.au/t/anyone-for-a-game-of-bike-tag/58181
…
Crowdsourced Information from fixed.org.au
2013 – Austin, Texas
May 1, 2013
User u/america_yall, on Reddit.com’s Austin, Texas subreddit made this post:
I moved here almost two years ago from Philly where we used to play “photo tag” on our bike forum. Basically someone would start by taking a picture of there bike in front of something in Austin, say the willie nelson statue for instance, whoever gets to it will then take a picture of their bike in front of the willie statue and then find a place of there own to take a picture, and so on.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BikingATX/comments/1dhjbr/photo_tag/
HOW TO PLAY:
You must bike to the “mystery location” and take a picture of your bike there. Simply naming the location is not enough. Such posts will be removed.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BikingATX/wiki/bikingatxphototag
…
Sourced from Reddit.com and conversations with user u/america_yall
2014 – Los Angeles, California
February 1, 2014
User u/riffic, on Reddit.com’s Los Angeles, California subreddit for bicycling made this post:
Photo Tag! (adapting from /r/BikingATX)
https://www.reddit.com/r/BikeLA/comments/1wshy7/photo_tag_adapting_from_rbikingatx/
The next person will have to find this location and photograph their bike in front of it and then create a new tag!
HOW TO PLAY:
You must bike to the “mystery location” and take a picture of your bike there. Simply naming the location is not enough. Such posts will be removed.…
Adopted from the rules for Reddit.com/r/BikingATX’s game
Crowdsourced Information from Reddit.com
2014 – Grand Theft Auto 5
June 1, 2014
User Artruo, on gtaforums.com, a forum for the video game Grand Theft Auto, proposed playing the BikeTag game within a video game!
The idea of the game is to post a picture of your bicycle in the same spot as the photo above, then take another photo of your bicycle someplace else. The next person then has to go to the place you took your photo and do the same. The idea is to be creative with where you take your photos and make it hard for people to guess where it is.
RULES:
https://gtaforums.com/topic/714369-los-santos-bike-tag-game/#comments
– the bike must be used to get to the final spot
…
Crowdsourced Information from gtaforums.com
2015 – Washington DC, USA
March 20, 2015
On DC Bike forum, user Steve O created the a thread for the game after hearing about Chicago’s worldwide game on The ChainLink
A while back I coffeeneured with Erin from BikeArlington, and she told me about a game of “tag” that runs on The ChainLink, Chicago’s version of this forum.
It looks like fun–much like our Founding Fathers game last year. It’s been continuously running on their forum since 2012. One person is “it,” they have the “tag.”
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?8087-Side-bet-activity-looks-like-fun
here’s the short version:
Take a photo with your bike in a context, e.g. “bike with snowman,” bike by bar with animal name,” bike with American flag,” “bike at coffee club,” etc.
The next person to take a photo in the same context gets the tag (adjudicated by the current holder).
That person then gets to take a new photo of “bike by ….” and the game continues. No saved photos are allowed: you have to go take a fresh picture.
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?8372-DC-Bike-Forum-Bicycle-Tag-(-bikeforumbicycletag)&s=0ca85fbc8e07a26364c8d9d6a04489a1
…
Sourced from bikearlington.com
2015 – Chicago, Illinois
May 5, 2015
User u/therealbombay, on Reddit.com’s Chicago, Illinois’ subreddit for bicycling made this post:
The next person will have to find this location and photograph their bike in front of it and then create a new tag!
HOW TO PLAY:
You must bike to the “mystery location” and take a picture of your bike there. Simply naming the location is not enough. Such posts will be removed.…
Adopted from the rules for Reddit.com/r/BikingATX’s game
Crowdsourced Information from Reddit.com
2015 – Houston, Texas
August 23, 2015
User u/dylix, on Reddit.com’s Houston, Texas subreddit for bicycling made a post starting of tag #1.
I moved here almost two years ago from Philly where we used to play “photo tag” on our bike forum. Basically someone would start by taking a picture of there bike in front of something in Austin, say the willie nelson statue for instance, whoever gets to it will then take a picture of their bike in front of the willie statue and then find a place of there own to take a picture, and so on.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BikingATX/comments/1dhjbr/photo_tag/
HOW TO PLAY:
You must bike to the “mystery location” and take a picture of your bike there. Simply naming the location is not enough. Such posts will be removed.…
Adopted from the rules for Reddit.com/r/BikingATX’s game
Sourced from Reddit.com
2016 – Portland, Oregon
March 6, 2016
User u/TundraWolf_, on Reddit.com’s Portland, Oregon subreddit for bicycling made this post:
Anyone interested in bike tagging?
https://www.reddit.com/r/CyclePDX/comments/4aj150/anyone_interested_in_bike_tagging/
Seems neat. It’ll make me go explore more of the city (and get off my usual paths)
HOW TO PLAY:
You must bike to the “mystery location” and take a picture of your bike there. Simply naming the location is not enough. Such posts will be removed.…
Adopted from the rules for Reddit.com/r/BikingATX’s game
Crowdsourced Information from Reddit.com
2019 – San Jose, California
September 15, 2019
User u/america_yall, on Reddit.com’s San, Jose subreddit made this post:
We played bike tag in a previous city’s subreddit. I loved finding those little hidden spots in the city and slowly getting to know other cyclists.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SanJose/comments/d3l0ak/anyone_up_for_playing_bike_tag/
HOW TO PLAY:
You must bike to the “mystery location” and take a picture of your bike there. Simply naming the location is not enough. Such posts will be removed.
Adopted from the rules for Reddit.com/r/BikingATX’s game
…
Sourced from Reddit.com
2019 – Indianapolis, Indiana
May 8, 2019
User u/Appljxx, on Reddit.com’s Indianapolis, Indiana subreddit for bicycling made this post:
Who’s familiar with bike tag?
Essentially someone snaps a picture of their bike in a cool location and posts it. Then another person finds that location and takes a photo of their bike in the original location and their bike in the next location to be found, posts it, and it goes on like that.
Here’s a link to the original game: http://biketag.org
https://www.reddit.com/r/bikeIN/comments/bg53xv/anyone_down_for_bike_tag_indy/
Bike Tag Rules:
Rule 1: Take a picture of your bike in the old location and one in the new location, it must be the same bike.…
https://www.reddit.com/r/bikeIN/comments/bmauc8/indy_bike_tag_rules_update/
Crowdsourced Information from Reddit.com
2020 – Miami, Florida
April 9, 2020
User u/megalodonkitten, on Reddit.com’s Miami, Florida subreddit made this post:
This is the first entry in r/MiamiBiking ‘s very own Bike Tag!
https://www.reddit.com/r/miamibiking/comments/fxz1u2/bike_tag_1/
Wondering how to follow this up? Here’s what you do:
– Figure out where this photo was taken. It’s tough; I know.– Ride to the “*mystery location*. Take a photo of your bike in the same place.
– Ride to a new “*mystery location*” of your choosing. Take a photo of your bike there.
https://www.reddit.com/r/miamibiking/comments/fxz1u2/bike_tag_1/
Sourced from Reddit.com
2020 – San Antonio, Texas
June 29, 2020
User u/BunnyKnuckles, on Reddit.com’s Austin, Texas, subreddit made this post:
Welcome to the 1st SATX Bike Tag!
https://www.reddit.com/r/bikesatx/comments/hi4y69/bike_tag_1/
Basically, the jist of bike tag is:
find where the current bike tag post location is, bike to that location and take a picture of your bike there.
Then bike to a new location and take a new picture for the next person to locate.
Upload the pictures to a new post titled Bike Tag X+1 and it will be pinned to the top of this sub.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bikesatx/comments/hi4y69/bike_tag_1/
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Crowdsourced Information from Reddit.com
BikeTag.Bike 