naked bike ride
==🚲 I'm doing Blaugust this year. This is 9/?? posts in August ==
Today while walking through the centre on Bristol I happened upon the start of world naked bike ride.
It was a roasting hot day again. There's a bit of a dip in the park I was in, a clearing surrounded by some groups of trees where people are sheltering from the sun. In the centre of the clearing, a group of drummers was playing, watched by a group of naked people with bikes. I'd say the demographic was mostly male and largely at least middle aged, although there are a couple of women there as well. The demographic gives this gathering a British eccentric, elder hippy vibe, and there are several signs: "Protest - cyclists are vulnerable. Think bike - give bikes room - you see me now!!" and "Please BARE with us" written in paint on someone's back.
I hung around until the drumming stopped and they left on their bike ride, doing a bit of reading and waiting for my friends. I agree with their aims (The ride demonstrates the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and is a protest against car culture [1]) and think they have the right to protest however they want - I'm also pretty chill about casual nudity. On the flipside, I overheard a couple of people in the park who were bemused or put off by the display, and I'm not sure it how helps the profile of cyclists generally, when cyclists are prone to being seen as "lefty lunatics" in the UK. Although loads of people cycle! I cycle commute to work everyday and frequently get close passed by cars going too fast 🙃
Anyway, there was a nice vibe in the park, here were some other things going on:
Other people using the park who were unperturbed:
A man and a kid filming each other cycling down a big hill and doing skids at the end.
A mum and her toddler dancing along to the drums.
Several other spectators nearby or people just sunbathing.
People who were perturbed:
A man on his bike who stopped in bafflement on the cycle path who I had a brief chat with. He was a bit concerned about "what if his daughter had been there". I wish I'd had a better response to this, as I don't believe people being naked in public is inherently sexual.
Two girls who said "what the fuck" as the cyclists departed en masse.