merlinextraligh

Uhm? Lot of climbing out of the saddle?

randya

To get into the party.

Tmax1

Amen Brother. Testify!!

~jg

aadhils

Atleast animals have a sense to act accordingly to how they were created...

Falchoon

Work safe - just!

https://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...html?from=top5

SamHouston

I've seen enough naked men & women on bikes to know that isn't true....not. at. all.

I believe bodies are beautiful too, but bent over with a bike saddle jammed between the legs, the danglies on some not dangling, dangling too much on others, cellu-lite® pressed into new & exciting shapes by contorted muscles and gravity,,and everyones favourite... hair

even lycra becomes a fabulous equalizer

FLBandit

I think it just puts cyclists on a level with the naked PETA protesters. "Don't wear fur, eat meat, or drive a car" Besides, there are a few riders around here I'd rather not see naked!

I-Like-To-Bike

Could be worse; they could be wearing lycra bibs.

randya

Portland ride reports: 52 cyclists on the afternoon ride, 300 - 500 on the night time ride.

https://bikeportland.org/2006/06/11/r...me-naked-ride/
https://bikeportland.org/2006/06/11/r...d-dance-party/

dondonaldo

I wasn't able to ride this year, but last year we had around a thousand riders in Chicago, and it was a mostly positive experience (Police in one district arrested 4-5 people, but the other districts just escorted us). The response from the public was overwhelmingy positive, encouraging and curious. People seem to like and respond to silly. The ride itself drew a ton of people that aren't on the monthly Critical Mass rides, and who hadn't been on a bike in a long time. It was fun meeting some of them along the way. There was definitely a strong sense community created and a lot of interest from the sidewalks, with plenty of cyclists stopping to hand out fliers or explain their motivation for being on the ride. There were a couple of drunks we passed whose minds were only capable of "Tool" & "Muffin" thinking, but they were few and far between.

I think a lot of people got it. Everyone was encouraged to do only what they felt comfortable with, and as a result had a lot of fun. The public certainly had a lot of fun with it. Out of tens of thousands of people encountered, only two or three had anything negative to say. My wife, pregnant 8 mos at the time, drew a number of comments that suggested people were thinking oil dependency and their children's future. Whether or not they already felt that way, I don't know. I don't care either. I met some intersting people, got to publicly express my position on oil dependency and provincial body attitudes(both bad, in case you're wondering), and had a great time .

Perhaps 10,000 fully clothed riders have a greater impact than 1000 naked ones. Can't say. You get 10,000 riders together to promote a healthier environment and I'll be there. Calling something useless from the sidelines though, is the only truly useless thing.

jfmckenna

I think it's the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Furthermore it turns away a lot of cycling advocates who don't want to participate with a bunch of streaker hippie throwbacks. It also gives Billie Bob Redneck more fodder for his *** weirdo cyclist prejudice.

randya

You're welcome to your own opinion, of course. My opinion is that you are a narrow-minded kill-joy.

webist

I would do it in a heartbeat except that the pedals would hurt my feet.

genec

Hey, is there a drive to work naked day?

ZachS

portland's ride rode by the bar where i was drinking, probably 300 people or so. definitely going to do it next year. looked like a blast.

smurfy

Thank you, jfmckenna - finally a voice of reason!

And yes, the naked bike rides also drive home the reason many clueless car drivers think cycling for transportation is for radical lefty wierdos.

dondonaldo

Speak for yourself.

Don't hide behind large crowds (cycling advocates) that you don't represent in order to support your opinions, and don't lay your prejudice (*** weirdo cyclist) at someone elses doorstep. I'm a cycling advocate, and you do not speak for me. If you have the need to call someone a *** weirdo cyclist, you should show some balls and do it, but I grew up with people labeled Billie Bob Rednecks by others and I strongly doubt you speak for them.

dondonaldo

This persistence that anyone here presumes speaks for anyone other than themselves is anything but reasoned.

rea·son
Function: noun
1 : an underlying ground, justification, purpose, motive, or inducement
2 a : the faculty of comprehending, inferring, or distinguishing esp. in a fair and orderly way
b : the proper and sane exercise of the mind

pre·sume
Pronunciation: pri-'züm
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pre·sumed; pre·sum·ing
: to suppose to be true without proof or before inquiry

smurfy

May I suggest you actually READ the posts and understand them before you shoot your mouth off!

jfmckenna said that the "Billy Bob Rednecks" are prejudice against what THEY percieve as "*** wierdo cyclists". That doesn't mean that jfmckenna thinks that.

May I also suggest you take a few deep breaths, meditate for awhile, THEN come back and post!

jfmckenna

I think you misunderstood my attempt at satire.

dondonaldo

I appreciate good satire, but find it occasionally difficult to distinguish in this format. My apologies.

dondonaldo

As it turns out, the irony seems to be that we both misunderstood jfmckenna's satire.

Do you really believe stating that a large class of people is prejudiced is not prejudiced thing to say?

I believe the issues of oil dependency/car culture and the celebration of the power and individuality of our bodies deserve a better debate. jfmckenna's satire points that out beautifully.

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too. - Voltaire

unkchunk

What about helmets? I mean if I'm only wearing a helmet, I'm not exactly being naked. And if I'm exactly naked (sans helmet) then I'll get flamed for not wearing a helmet. Or is it permissible to not wear helmets in certain convenient situations?

EnigManiac

In Ontario, so long as a person is wearing at least one article of clothing (shoes, eg), they are not considered to be naked and exposure the genitals as a means of demonstration without lewd or overtly sexual behaviour is not regarded as indecent. So, yeah, I guess you could just wear a helmet.

ZachS

anyway, this **** gives car-driving nudists a bad name. nudists aren't all dirty bike-riding hippies!