This past weekend marked the ninth annual World Naked Bike Ride, a clothing optional event designed to protest against oil dependency and promote cycling advocacy. In San Francisco, nearly 100 riders gathered together at Vaillancourt Fountain to wind approximately 18 miles through some of the city’s busiest streets. In other cities across the world, thousands of nude (and partially nude) cyclists did the same.
Although the ride initially started as a way to protest against the consumption of fossil fuels, it has morphed into a hybrid of encouraging greener modes of transportation while also promoting cycling advocacy. In addition to being a means of generating attention, the nude cycling is also supposed to represent the vulnerability of cyclists sharing the road with much larger vehicles. Over 74 different cities in 17 countries were represented, with naked cyclists all across the globe abusing their bike seats in the name of activism (and in some cases exhibitionism).
Regardless of what you think about the method being used, the message of sharing the road with cyclists (naked and clothed alike) is an important one. We’ll spare you the pictures from this weekend’s festivities, but if you’re anxious to see what 100 nude San Francisco “biketivists” look like, HuffPo’s got you covered.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/75434497@N02/7169736957/
