Bad-Sport Boulder Tells Naked Cyclists to Keep Their Clothes On
The World Naked Bike Ride has spread to 100 cities and will happen rain or shine in the Northern Hemisphere starting today, in cities ranging from Drumheller in Alberta to Zaragoza, Spain. What's startling about seeing photos from WNBR rides is that with the body paints and other decorative touches, the cyclists themselves look more vulnerable than va-va-voom, which is the entire point of the ride. But Boulder police just don't approve - they've warned that they will now enforce indecent exposure laws for any riders not "covering their genitals." And guess what? According to law, the Colorado Daily reports, women or men can ride topless, but no one can ride bottomless. To add injury to insult, the article says convicted individuals must then register as sex offenders!Burn fat, not oil, say ridersMost WNBR rides including other Boulder rides have occurred without clashes between police and cyclists - but Boulder did arrest some runners in the 2008 naked Pumpkin Run, setting a precedent for this year's WNBR. Still, as a protest against overweening car culture and oil dependence, it seems like WNBR riders should be protected, no?
Judd Golden of the Boulder ACLU told KDVR that nakedness is a form of protected speech.
"The law they are seeking to enforce is indecent exposure. That essentially says these people are sex criminals and that is not the case."
Paint over it - photo Ronald Leon Hale IV.Painting over it, putting a sock on itNone of the ride organizers want people to be arrested, so pre-ride painting parties have become the order of the day, demonstrating lots of ways to ride covering up a teeny tiny bit or really getting incognito.
...or put a sock on it. Photo Ronald Leon Hale IV.The following photos above and below are from last year's WNBR in Chicago - this year the city is expecting more than last year's count of 1,600 riders. (Portland expects as many as 3,000 naked riders). If you are planning on riding, though, don't get blitzed before you get naked: riding intoxicated is a significant cause of death in cyclists - WNBR riders say the exhilaration of being in a naked crowd is what makes people get bare, not the influence of alcohol.
Read more at TreeHuggerWorld Naked Bike Ride: Baring it All for the BikeWorld Naked Bike Ride Season OpensPop Quiz: What Kills Cyclists?
