World Naked Bike Ride
Naked Bike Ride organizers in Edmonton, Canada announced last week they will hold that city’s first Naked Bike Ride on June 13, and in the U.K., stodgy Cambridge holds its first on June 20. Organizers in both cities were granted permission from local government and submitted their ride route to police.
The World Naked Bike Ride began in 2004 and it has gained considerable exposure in the decade since. On their website they bill the event as both a protest movement, protesting the world’s dependance on oil, and a celebration of the human body.
Some of the rides don’t get many participants, while others, like the ride in Portland, Oregon (8,000 riders in 2011) are awash with naked people on bikes.
Not so naked, not just bikes
Given the title you might be thinking that the ride requires you to be naked to partake and that you must be on a bike. In actuality, neither is true: you don’t have to be buck naked, and providing no engine is involved – you can ride whatever you like.
“Wear as little as you can while still feeling comfortable about it,” the website reads. “Last year, people came wearing shorts, bras, swimwear, body paint, masks etc. There will be plenty of people who will cycle fully nude, so don’t feel that it is your duty to do this if you aren’t comfortable showing all of your body. Respect your own boundaries, and go As Bare As You Dare!
“Any sort of skates (skateboards, inline skates, rollerskates, rollerblades etc) are welcome too,” the WNBR site says. “You won’t be able to keep up with rides traveling on foot, but any alternate body-powered transport is welcome and encouraged.
“Several events,” the website adds. “Have people riding on skates, unicycles, tricycles, chopper bikes, tandems, recumbants and rickshaws. The only sort of bikes that would be unwelcome would be petrol-powered motorbikes and scooters.”
Cities that bare all
Edmonton and Cambridge join a long list of big and small, known and rather obscure, towns and cities hosting rides. People dress colorfully and while most rides report more men than women, some have achieved an equal mix of both genders and all have a healthy amount of female participants. Ride organizers say children are welcome but are a rarity in rides.
There are laws preventing public nudity in most countries that have hosted rides but to date there’s been no parade through courtrooms. The rides are well-organized with a planned route and generally last no more than an hour. Non-participants stand along the streets to gawk and even take photos but, organizers say, more often viewers cheer and support riders.
Over 30 countries and 75 cities host rides, including Adelaide, Nimbin and Sydney in Australia, Brussels in Belgium, Brasilia, Rio and Sao Paulo in Brazil, Helsinki in Finland, Dresden, Berlin and Munich in Germany, Tokyo in Japan, 5 cities in Mexico, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, 3 cities in New Zealand, Lima in Peru and both Cape Town and Pretoria in South Africa.
There are 7 cities in Canada that have hosted rides, 10 in Spain, 25 in the U.K. and 35 in the U.S.
Julie Enman, organizer of the ride in Edmonton (she’s also organized a ride in Whitehorse and been a part of rides across Canada) provides advice for first-time naked bike riders who want to avoid injury to their bottom.
“Your butt can get sweaty on a plastic seat,” she said. “So it’s nice to cover it with some material.”
