The Naked Bike Ride was hilarious. There were naked and semi-naked bodies of varying ages and sizes, along with curious spectators, voyeurs, bicycle cops and tons of photographers.
In this case, more than most, a picture speaks a thousand words, so without further ado…
Naked Cluster
For every naked person, there was a fully-clothed photographer or two
Burn Oil Not Fat
Dave X: Take a picture of my buns
I even made a video of the Naked Bike Parade for you. It wound its way through Confederation Park, Elgin Street, Rideau Street, the Byward Market, then stopped on Elgin Street for gelato before finishing up again back at Confederation Park. I filmed this as the parade was beginning its journey.
GC mentioned at one point that it must take a lot of courage to take off your clothes in public like that. I said I didn’t think so, because the kind of people who would do it wouldn’t be the kind of people who would need courage to do it. You know what I mean?
I overheard a conversation between a middle-aged husband and wife, and she was trying to talk him into taking his clothes off. She said “Come on honey, how often do you get to be naked in public?” In the end, she was fully naked and he wore his boxers. They were very cute. (The couple, not the boxers.)
As I received a Phd in Skinny Dipperology from the University of Nudavut, I can calculate that the bike riders were not officially nude. They were wearing running shoes and bike helmets.
I think I did see Bob Rae and Rick Mercer together on a tandem bike. The video of them lasted less than a quarter of a second. I don’t know who was behind. Actually, I think both were in the behind position.
I’d worry not so much about the nudity but about my girl bits getting hurt. Ya know?
I clicked on the photos but nothing got bigger.
That’s Citizen photographer Bruno Schlumberger rushing past in the orange shirt at about 0:53. (He’s from France, so he knows how to handle this sort of thing.)
Zoom, I think that we’ve proved here that the naked truth is not always pretty. I am so proud of the way you’ve blogged it, without fear, favour, or fig leafs….
Yegads they were in Toronto too.
Now that’s a long way to ride, naked or clothed.
@Tom Sawyer: I guess those people just aren’t your type, then.
Definitely amusing.
What is with the guy with the oil can on his head?
It appears more gas can than oil. Perhaps he is suggesting the resources to manufacture them would be better utilized in bicycle helmets.
I am terribly disappointed to have missed this. Hubby and I will SO be there next year… how did you find out about it, so that we can know when it is for next year?
In the video, was the blond woman saying hello to you? I thought that was so funny.
I agree with you – I think most of the people who participate in those things are already very confident about going naked, so I’m not sure how much courage is needed. Still, I get the creeps when I see those guys with the cameras with the giant National Geographic lenses. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach that level of “comfort” with my body.
Anyway, great post. Nudity is always a good way to attract attention to an issue.
Skinny Dipper, you’re probably technically right, but where I come from, you can be naked with your shoes on. 😉
Nat, girl bits seem to have far more natural protection than boy bits.
Tom, ha, good point. It wasn’t intentional. Let me see what I can do. I’ll try to make the thumbnails clickable to larger versions.
David, thanks for the ID. He’s in about 10 of my shots. You can tell he’s a diligent photographer – he was very focused.
Coyote, now there’s a succint observation for ya. The naked truth ain’t always pretty. Love it. But I have to say this was one of the most intriguing things about this event. People’s comfort with their own nudity seemed unrelated to how conventionally attractive their bodies were. I liked that.
Bandobras, they were all over the world! It was a global event.
Milan, it was funny just to see people cycling through a park full of people, and then stopping and taking their clothes off like it’s no big deal, even though half the people there were fully clothed and taking pictures of them. (I’ve been on nude beaches, but it’s different when everybody’s naked.)
Deb, yeah, it was an environmental statement.
Susan, I’m sorry, I can’t remember how I heard about it. It’s an international event, so you can probably get on a mailing list. Will you be naked next year?
Em, yes, as a matter of fact, I do know that blond woman! She and I were on the same board of directors at one time. Before the event started, I was chatting with Dave X, and he said “Do you know that naked blonde woman over there? Because it looks like she’s waving at you.” I looked over and there she was, waving nakedly and laughing.
Zoom, Bruno Schlumberger once came to my home to photograph me and some of my homemade relish! He was very focused even 25 years ago . . .
Geez, all those clothed people in the video look so weird, dontcha think?
Darn tootin’ I’ll be naked… and I bet my husband will be, too.
We were at Major’s Hill park knitting in public last saturday (they’re doing it again this coming saturday btw, from something like 11-4pm or so if the weather’s good, otherwise they’ll be at the earl of sussex!), when the naked convoy went by.
For your events to partake in in the near future the Fringe Festival starts Thursday, and runs until the 28th!
Amy Salloway will be back again this year, this year with Heebs and Dweebs!
Maybe this year I will actually run into you, rather than find out you were at the table right next to mine JUST before I get there! (For festival programs check out http://ottawafringe.com OR get a program at any Bridgehead location in Ottawa!)
[…] “Yes,” I said, “We saw her naked at the naked bike ride.” […]
Its nice to see you make postings on this topic, I have to book mark this website. Keep up the good work.
Dégoutant!!
[…] The Naked Bike Ride, Saturday, 2:00 pm, Confederation Park. You can strip down and join the naked bike parade as it winds its way through the downtown core. If being entirely naked isn’t your thing, you can wear body paint. Or skimpy clothing. Or you can do like the rest of us and just take pictures. The naked bike ride is a worldwide phenomenon and is intended to protest oil dependency, celebrate body freedom, and curb car culture. But it’s easy to forget all that in the face of so much nakedness. Here’s my post from last year’s ride. […]