Yesterday, I was just minding my own business at Starbucks when I heard some ruckus down the road. Before my brain could process what was happening, I thought to myself, “Hey those bike riders look like they’re naked.” And hey, guess what? They were.
I witnessed The Naked Bike Ride. I wasn’t prepared to see floppy boobs and small penises during my Starbucks outing, but I guess it was my lucky day. There was even someone ballsy enough to roller-blade (yay?). My husband and the rest of the Starbucks diners were laughing and giggling and Paul leaned over and said to me, “Only in Victoria.”
Naked Bike Ride Victoria
Turns out Victoria wasn’t the only lucky spot in the world. The Naked Bike Ride occurred all over the place! Cities throughout North America and Europe have participated in the Naked Bike Ride. Riders decorate their bodies with paint and other materials, or just go naked. Personally, I think riding a bike with clothes on is painful enough around the groin area, so why would anyone want to subject themselves to the harsh seats of bikes without any protection?
Because they want to be noticed, of course! The Naked Bike Ride isn’t just for shits and gigs (at least, lets hope shits aren’t involved). They’re around to raise awareness for various causes. I think the first bike ride took place in British Columbia in 2003 where the riders simply rode for peace. The ride this year was to protest against oil dependency and in favor of sustainable transportation.
I’m not a big awareness gal. Like, if people try to stop me on the sidewalk to talk about random causes where they need my support and money, all of a sudden I’m “in a huge rush!” The only thing I really care about is helping animals. That being said, I totes respect the naked riders because I definitely couldn’t do that. A lot of the girls were wearing undies though. Why were the men so eager to get naked but the women will only go halfway. Go big or go home, right?
Did you see any naked riders in your neck of the woods? Were you scarred for life or did you love it?
Lily In Canada 
If anyone dared to bare in my town, I’m pretty sure they’d get shot at. Not even kidding.
Yeahhh I feel like these kind of events wouldn’t be super welcomed in conservative southern areas. Consider yourself lucky.
I’m sure you helped instigate this event in some way Lily…
Totally! It was all me! 😉
Did you stick around for the ritual burning of the bicycle seats?
lol no! Do they really do that? If so, that’s amazing. And very sanitary 😀
LOL, great way to spend a day in starbucks 🙂
Yes! Too bad I was sitting outside of Starbucks so I was even closer to the bikers!
Wait. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
This was one of the days that I wish you were here! We would’ve had a damn good laugh and we could have held each other’s hair when we threw up!
Yeah, they’ve been doing it in St. Louis, MO for a couple of years now.
Oh cool! I mean, gross. I mean, fun?
I am overcome with horror. If we’d seen that I would have had SO many uncomfortable questions to field.
Haha I know right? It was so alarming and so unexpected! All of a sudden there were too many body parts that I did NOT want to see!
I do admire their own comfort level – you have to be really okay with yourself to do that.
Nudity in new york is way too frequent
And not the beautiful people either.
It never is, huh? It’s always the people that shouldn’t be naked that are the first ones to shed all clothing.
I totally would have graded people’s nakedness.
Oh definitely. Judgments were made!
Hah, first time I saw this was in another Victoria, the Australian, Melbourne one. I think it was like a slut walk or something. That, or gay rights. Can’t remember.
Makes sense. I hear Australia has one of the best gay rights parades ever. That would be really fun. I’m glad I’m not the only one to witness nudity in a Victorian city!
Derwood saw the naked bike riders in Portland yesterday. How can that possibly be comfortable and ewwww….
My friend also saw the Portland one! So crazy and yes, extremely uncomfortable! All for a good cause…
I love it when people stop me in the street trying to raise awareness – the last time someone did it went something like this:
“Excuse me sir, would you like to help protect animals in the rainforests?”
“well, yes, I would. But I’m afraid I don’t really have the skill set to do it. There are, however, highly skilled professionals I’m sure you could contact who’d be very happy to look at the problem for you. They’d be a much better choice the job than me”
Love it.
That’s a great response! I love when I see someone trying to raise awareness and some other chatty pedestrian is talking their ear off. It’s like the best thing ever.
How did you think of such a witty response off the top of your head? I think I would get all flustered and tongue tied!
I saw this in NYC years ago. The only thing I became aware of was that my body wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. I swear I have mental anorexia.
Exactly. After witnessing this, I had so much self esteem. But not enough that I would get on a bike and ride around naked.
You should have removed some of the bicycle seats just for a laugh
Haha I’m not going anywhere near those seats!
Nope, no nekkids riders around here.
It always seems to be ugly people doing these things. These World of Warcraft players rarely leave the house, and they all decide to go on this.
That’s nice! I would think that they would definitely be in London since I would see naked guys on my walk home from uni…but they were usually associated with some kind of rugby thing haha.
It’s always the worst bodies that are the first to get naked. So much confidence….
I’ kind of glad I didn’t see my brother or sister-in-law in that picture.
Lol yeah no kidding, right? They would have a lot of explaining to do!
Nope, haven’t seen this!
But a few eyars ago, a film was made here with a scene starring lots of naked guys on bikes.
What a cool country we are! 😉
Hah that is cool! That’s pretty much the same thing as this. Kind of gross, but kind of funny!
Your lucky day 🙂
Totally! You know how I love seeing naked folks.. 😉
oh my god, i forgot about them! it happened in london again this year, of course, but i was in town one year when they drove past a friend of mine and I, on Oxford St of all places. the small penises and the number of small penises, we could not believe it..how??? and so proud….good i guess, but very disturbing to see what nature does sometimes. and i mean small. like hazelnut small. for probably 80% of the riders.
Lol yes there were lots of shriveled body parts. Very disturbing when unexpected. Actually, it’s pretty disturbing even when they’re expected!
Just wrong on so many levels. And please , why on earth??
Hershey trail indeed….
Audra, it was so gross. I’m glad you didn’t witness it. However, I’m sure you could have written an awesome haiku about it!
Wobbly wieners bounce
Full moon spread eagle bike seat
No more! Bleach my eyes
ahaha O my G. I love this. Bleach my eyes.
I heard there was a huge one on Mexico City. They were trying to raise awareness of sharing the road by pointing out the frailty of the human body.
I’m with you on the causes. 🙂
Yeah I heard Mexico City was a big one as well! That’s an interesting cause form of awareness that they chose.
Yeah causes get old after a while! Hah
Hey! I’m not very far from you! Just across the border actually 🙂 And yes, we had the naked bikers here too. Unfortunately my 2 1/2-year-old grandson saw them before we did. O.o You should let me know if you ever come this way and maybe we can meet up for coffee or something!
Oh really? Are you near Seattle? Or Port Angeles? We should definitely get together if I’m ever over there or if you’re ever over here!
Lol that’s crazy about your grandson! Yikes!
I’m a little farther north. I work in Bellingham, about 20 minutes from the Peace Arch crossing.
Oh coolio! I know where that is but I haven’t been over there yet! Someday!
I’m in Bellingham. Just north of PA and about 20 minutes from the Peace Arch.
oops.. sorry, my computer is dumb today 😦 And it’s totally NOT operator error either! 😦
My eyes! I’m blind! Naked bike rides are gee-ross! Don’t even get me started on the seats. Ugh.
I know right? So gross. Too much nudity too early in the morning! And yeah those seats cannot be sanitary!
omg. this is amaze-fest. can’t believe i’m just reading this post.
I know right? You would have died laughing!
I really hope that the person who was ‘ballsy enough to rollar-blade’ was a guy and you made a hilarious gun.
You should feel proud that you’re the only one who actually got that sneaky pun that I didn’t feel like explaining. You’re awesome 😀
There is beauty in all ! We would do this in a heart beat if we were close enough to one.
There is definitely beauty in all. It’s just so surprising to see ALL of the beauty when you’re not expecting it 🙂
I came across your page while googling the victoria naked bike ride. I’m kind of shocked and saddened by how put off the majority of people are by the idea of a naked person…which we all are. At some point when we were young it suddenly became not ok to be naked and we’re taught to cover up and become uncomfortable being naked in front of others. There are lots of reasons to wear clothes of course. But it seems obvious that nudity makes most people uncomfortable, and i have to wonder why that is. Perhaps because we are uncomfortable with our own bodies, because we are taught we must strive for some idealistic form of perfection only capable with Photoshop. This ride celebrates what you might call everyone’s imperfections…but there is no perfect. Everyone is different. I commend everyone for doing this ride and being brave and comfortable enough with themselves that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of their physical being. I think those that cast the stones that attempt to shame and feign disgust at seeing something as natural as a naked human body, might want to look inside to ask why this is eliciting such a reaction and why there is the desire to hold everyone up some unrealistic standard of beauty.
JL,
You bring up some very interesting points. We are all the same without clothes, so why should we be shocked or disturbed to see someone naked, right? Well, sometimes forcing others to look at your naked body can be seen as invasive and violate a person’s boundaries. Not everyone feels comfortable looking at that kind of thing (I kind of just laughed about it, I didn’t mind too much). I don’t think people would feel any different about it if there were a bunch of sculpted models riding around naked. If you don’t want to look at that kind of stuff, you shouldn’t have to.
I think nudity is best when everyone around is consenting, and approving of it. Like at a nude beach or a nudist colony. That way everyone, or most people are naked and they want to be. No one feel uncomfortable and nakedness isn’t being forced on others.
I think you could make the argument about being being subjected to something in a public forum that makes people uncomfortable, for more than just nude people, and its widely subjective argument. I think the reason for this may be moreso to do with your following point. Once again, you are going back to the argument of if “were a bunch of sculpted models” then that would make it ok, which insinuates that any body that looks unfit for a magazine cover is not beautiful or acceptable just because this isn’t the body type we hold up on a pedestal. I hate to break it to ya, but most people don’t have the body of a model and i think this bike ride proved that (and these are generally fit people that ride their bikes regularly!), and there is nothing wrong with it. I agree with your words,”if you don’t want to look at that kind of stuff, you shouldn’t have to,” which also can be applied to pretty much anything in a public forum. Just turn your head, which I have no problem doing. The problem I have is when it is decided that seeing a regular non-model naked person is gross.
Sorry, by “I don’t think people would feel any different about it if there were a bunch of sculpted models riding around naked” I meant that I don’t think people would be any less put off and maybe grossed out. Thank you for breaking it to me, but I’m an actual person and I know that not everyone looks like a model. You don’t need to talk down to me. I think it’s kind of gross to see anyone naked out on the street–especially sitting on a bike seat. That’s kind of what grossed me out the most. This isn’t based on what people look like, fat, skinny, old, young. It’s based on the shock of seeing a gang of people riding their bikes naked down the street when they’re least expecting it.