Support the Right to Bare Butts!

So, the 2016 Halifax Naked Bike Ride is on for 02 July.  That isn't very far away!  I'm not sure why they hold it so late there but that's up to them.  We don't have a WNBR event in New Brunswick so the proper thing to do is to support the neighbours' efforts.  I'm strongly considering going to Halifax for the event and I've put myself "in training" for it. 

I dragged my bike out of the garage last Thursday and, after spending about two hours disassembling, lubricating and reassembling the gear shifters -- and every other moving part -- I was finally good to go.  So far I’ve found time for a couple of two-hour rides around town, and a few less than an hour.  For those I was clothed of course, but that really isn’t in the full spirit of the WNBR.  So yesterday I headed out to a not-too-distant network of woods roads and got nearly two hours of straining my legs to give my butt a ride -- naked of course.  That is the only proper way to prepare for the WNBR, training in realistic conditions and experiencing the possibilities of chafing you just don’t notice when layered in Lycra. 

It wasn’t exactly a brilliant day but the slightly cooler temperatures made riding around that much more comfortable.  It worked out quite well, all things considered, and was preferable to either a truly hot day or a rainy one.  I’ve experienced both from time to time.  When I rode in the WNBR at Montpelier in 2011 the day was cool, even chilly, with a steady drizzle.  Prior to the start of that ride there was much discussion about whether we should proceed, given the weather.  But you know what?  Skin is eminently waterproof and much easier to dry after the ride than, say, anything else.  So off we went and a good time was had by all.  We all looked like drowned rats when we posed for the group photo on the statehouse steps, but we were happy drowned rats.

So that’s the way I look at WNBR events – go with it rain or shine.  Oh sure, if it is ridiculously cold or incredibly windy you have to be sensible, but a bit of drizzle shouldn’t put things off.  As an example of being sensible, at Halifax last year the primary date for the ride coincided with the arrival of the strong remnant of a hurricane.  Now that was a very good reason to put it off to a later date, and they did.

Let’s hope we get good weather this year and have a good turnout for the ride -- all nude, none lewd.  Support the Right to Bare Butts! 

World Naked Bike Ride

Today (the second Saturday in June) is the “official date” for all 2015 World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) events within the northern hemisphere.  That date may vary somewhat due to considerations of weather or coordinating two or more different events that are close enough together that some riders might want to attend more than one. 

I consider that WNBR events are good for naturism.  Some other naturists disagree but I stand by my opinion.  Each event puts some tens, hundreds or even thousands of naked people in the streets of major cities, to be seen by all and sundry, and wonder of wonders, society does not collapse as a result.  There are no riots, no orgies and no displays of rampant lewd conduct.  Most onlookers are either bemused by the riders or supportive of them as evidenced by comments heard in passing.  At the end of the ride civil society remains intact.  It is in this annual setting of such a good example that the WNBR is good for naturism.

Yes, I’ve participated in the WNBR, at Montpelier VT and Montréal QC in years past.  Both of these rides were and are quite small events.  In Montpelier this is understandable, but Montréal?  Montréal could be huge, but it isn’t.

Maybe there is not so much of that joie de vivre as we have been led to believe.  Or maybe it is the lingering and reproachful influence of the Roman Catholic church.  Consider, according to the WNBR Wiki page  there will be three rides in Canada this year on the "official" date, Vancouver, Edmonton & Toronto, plus Halifax on 04 July and Montréal on 05 July, neither of which have updated their listings. Also this year there are (at least) seventeen WNBR events planned in Britain, three in Spain, four in Germany, several more elsewhere, but none in France.  Given the fact that Spain, which is by far a more conservative Roman Catholic country than France, has (at least) three rides scheduled for this year, it seems that the church is not the issue.  If not the church, then what?  

There are, it seems, some ethnic preferences or prejudices involved in this lack of WNBR events in areas inhabited by Francophones.  This observation seems to be born out by comments provided some years ago to a quick check of whether Moncton NB might be amenable to hosting such an event.  Although there has been neither an official question raised nor an official answer provided, the unofficial answer was "No."  I really have to wonder why this is so. 

Whatever the reason, Happy Anniversary to the World Naked Bike Ride.  May you have many more in the future.