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For anyone unfamiliar with the WNBR I suggest a visit to http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/ I took part in the London ride and had an amazing time. Riding naked on a glorious Sumers day through Central London past all the famous landmarks etc was a truly uplifting experience. I'll leave the description to Jesse ( The UK organiser for the WNBR)
Jesse Schust wrote: Extraordinary weather boosted numbers and we ended up with a lot of people. Really. Really really a lot. When the ride started, we were able to make an accurate count. The official counters got 692 and 695 as their figures, so we left with very nearly 700. The ride steadily grew, accumulating various riders along the route. Leaflets were given out and lots of people had signs on their bikes and bodys. People had flags, decorations, foliage and body-paint. The whole feeling was magnificent - and people we passed seemed to grasp our pro-bike, pro-body, pro-fun, anti-oil, anti-car message. Our oldest participant was 84 - Marguerite "Gran" Elsley of York. She participated in last year's ride when it was too cold for her to take any clothes off, but this year she had the opportunity to ride as clothes-free as she wished. Here's something she said "I'm now a fit and healthy 84 year old, and I love being free from the restrictions of clothes. I also revel in living a car-free life. By remaining very active, I benefit from the pleasure that always follows exertion." The police helpfully blocked off traffic and made our progress much faster than it would otherwise have been. The cycle-mounted police were very pleasant to ride with, and they didn't interfere with the pace and quality of the ride at all. When we arrived back from the ride, the numbers were impossible to count as people streamed around the Wellington Arch and walked there bikes out onto the lawn. There were 574 riders who passed through the Arch. We always gain a significant portion of riders during the ride itself, and this year was no exception. As an accurate count wasn't possible, I've ventured a guess assuming that this year's gains were comparable to those of previous years. On this basis, I can say... we are confident that we returned with at least 800, but it seems likely that we had up to 900 riders upon our return. The police bid us farewell, and for the next hour, people enjoyed a clothing optional space at Wellington Arch. By then people started to disperse fairly quickly, though some people stayed undressed until 8pm. We did a remarkable thing today, and everyone on the ride seemed to realise this from the very start of the ride. It was a pleasure to ride with all of you. Last year, we made history by being the largest nude protest event in British history. We had 250 riders at the end of the ride. This year, we easily exceeded our predicted turnout of 350 riders. We made history by having many more riders -between 800 and 900 at the ride finish. The largest ride that ever happened before this was an unbelievably huge ride of 400 riders in Zaragoza, Spain!
Jesse Schust wrote: Extraordinary weather boosted numbers and we ended up with a lot of people. Really. Really really a lot. When the ride started, we were able to make an accurate count. The official counters got 692 and 695 as their figures, so we left with very nearly 700. The ride steadily grew, accumulating various riders along the route. Leaflets were given out and lots of people had signs on their bikes and bodys. People had flags, decorations, foliage and body-paint. The whole feeling was magnificent - and people we passed seemed to grasp our pro-bike, pro-body, pro-fun, anti-oil, anti-car message. Our oldest participant was 84 - Marguerite "Gran" Elsley of York. She participated in last year's ride when it was too cold for her to take any clothes off, but this year she had the opportunity to ride as clothes-free as she wished. Here's something she said "I'm now a fit and healthy 84 year old, and I love being free from the restrictions of clothes. I also revel in living a car-free life. By remaining very active, I benefit from the pleasure that always follows exertion." The police helpfully blocked off traffic and made our progress much faster than it would otherwise have been. The cycle-mounted police were very pleasant to ride with, and they didn't interfere with the pace and quality of the ride at all. When we arrived back from the ride, the numbers were impossible to count as people streamed around the Wellington Arch and walked there bikes out onto the lawn. There were 574 riders who passed through the Arch. We always gain a significant portion of riders during the ride itself, and this year was no exception. As an accurate count wasn't possible, I've ventured a guess assuming that this year's gains were comparable to those of previous years. On this basis, I can say... we are confident that we returned with at least 800, but it seems likely that we had up to 900 riders upon our return. The police bid us farewell, and for the next hour, people enjoyed a clothing optional space at Wellington Arch. By then people started to disperse fairly quickly, though some people stayed undressed until 8pm. We did a remarkable thing today, and everyone on the ride seemed to realise this from the very start of the ride. It was a pleasure to ride with all of you. Last year, we made history by being the largest nude protest event in British history. We had 250 riders at the end of the ride. This year, we easily exceeded our predicted turnout of 350 riders. We made history by having many more riders -between 800 and 900 at the ride finish. The largest ride that ever happened before this was an unbelievably huge ride of 400 riders in Zaragoza, Spain!
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