4TheRcrd Mag.

The World NAKED Bike Ride is once again taking Vancouver by storm, June 9th (semi-confirmed date). And no, this isn’t another one of those Critical Mass Ride things, although you may see a lot of the same people there. It’s also not the same as the Bike Polo in Vancouver, even though a lot of the same people are doing that. What exactly is the WNBR? The WNBR is a performance of resistance, a satiric outcry against the consumption of non-renewable resources, it is a social celebration of commuter street-smarts in the light of constant dangers. It is an acknowledgment that cyclists and pedestrians face automobile traffic with their bodies (naked or clothed, you are still not protected by your jeans). The WNBR is a cunning way to defend our dignity while exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable energy consumption. So, rider, get out and ride undressed, bare, exposed, visible, and vulnerable!

My two cents on the Legality of the WNBR & why Vancouver rocks are below! (for MORE, click below)

Why is Vancouver Special?
Most of the naked rides that we have done in Vancouver, have been, well pretty much naked, but Vancouver is a lot more tolerant than say Beijing or Riyadh. Use the roads that you collectively own with other tax payers to go cycling in a responsible manner. If you feel uncomfortable going completely naked or you are afraid of any legal scuffles, here is some advice. Don’t go completely naked.

The Law in Vancouver
Laws on nudity, in most interpretations, seem to hinge on a concept called “indecent exposure”. The fact of the mater is that being naked is not “indecent,” it refers the act of rendering public (or exposing) acts which normatively are seen as “private.” Cycling is not something that is necessarily private. Nor is nakedness, particularly with its (gross) mis-representations in popular media as such. There is nothing indecent about a naked body in public, riding a bicycle. The only thing that is indecent are the laws on indecent exposure in generally, and particularly where they may be stretched to relate to the act of public naked bicycle riding. The WNBR site quotes Simon Oosterman of the Auckland 2005 WNBR says it best: “Stop the indecent exposure to vehicle emissions!” After all, the shame is on them, not on us!
Thus, from a political standpoint, there are many indecent laws that we the citizens of the world have to stand up to, especially those that infringe our personal freedoms, or attempt to stretch concepts to infringe on these otherwise unanimous freedoms.

The Ethics behind WNBR.
It stands that many cyclists are seriously injured and killed by careless drivers. These people include commuters, students, children, police officers on bicycles, among others. Everybody is at risk in a society that promotes car culture over walking, cycling and sustainable transport. In a context where most roads were not built for bicycle traffic at all, and where the vast majority of our communities were not designed to take advantage of the world’s most efficient means of personal transport “cycling,” people are taking a stand. Cyclists are taking a stand because “popular culture” has subordinated their common sense and community values to the requirements of large, expensive, dangerous, loud and polluting vehicles. There is a vast resistance to this trend, and it is happening NOW.

PHOTO CREDIT: Monkey Donut.