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Get undressed to the nines for the 9th Annual San Francisco World Naked Bike Ride (SF WNBR). This is the Big One!!! Each year, our turnout is getting larger and larger riding bare through the streets of the city. Tens of thousands of naked bike riders are protesting the global dependency of our society and economies at the hands of the oil cartels and our nudity expresses our vulnerability to these matters. It also draws attention to our cause. This year we are planning to do two Northern Hemisphere SF WNBRs as our fearless WNBR leader, Conrad, has proposed a choice of two official ride dates: June 9 and July 28. The consensus among the regular SF WNBR riders is: "why not do both?" So, you'll have at least two more chances this year to call attention to environmental activism, free-body culture, bicycling as an alternative to cars and a generally greener way of living. Not-to-mention the joy of receiving an overwhelmingly positive response in the form of laughs and smiles from those that see you in the buff. If nothing else, it's a fun, light-hearted, wacky way to use your colorful, vulnerable body to advocate for or protest against various social and environmental issues. As always, it's free and no r.s.v.p. is required. Just show up! The remainder of this page will concentrate on just the June ride and longest running SF WNBR event.

Next ride

Date: Saturday, 9 June 2012.
Time: 11 AM.
Location: North end of Justin Herman Plaza (JHP) near Market St. and the Embarcadero, across from the Ferry Building. Meet on the north or east side of the large fountain next to the large grassy area. See the map on the right. (No professional body painting for the June ride unless we can find another sponsor willing to fill in for FaceFX. But, we may get FaceFX in July.)
Shortcut to this page: www.sfwnbr.org

Ride details

Schedule 11 AM: Gather. Same earlier time as last year to take advantage of the midday warmth during the ride. Undress. Apply sunscreen. Group consensus on route details. Bike checkout & attaching signs / body painting & slogans. For June plan to paint your body at home or bring supplies. (Lip stick works in a pinch as long as you like shades of red.) Noon: Ride starts (approx). Depending on the mood of the group and the amount of media coverage we are getting the ride may start a bit after noon. 4 pm (approx): Main ride finishes. Weather June weather is somewhat unpredictable but plan for cool, windy weather near the bay. We had 80+ degree weather in June of 2010 but it was in the chilly 50s in 2011. Maybe bring a wind breaker just in case. Once we warm up riding our bikes, being naked is more invigorating then chilly. It's warmer and less windy inland. Check the local weather at the following sites: San Francisco Chronicle KCBS Radio, San Francisco Getting there If you live out of town, please try to use public transportion to get to the start of the ride. Parking in the area is limited and expensive. Both BART and CalTrain take bicycles. Check out these websites for details: Bay Area Rapid Transit CalTrain Route We finally have a route worked out. It's in 2 legs like last year. You can choose to ride one or both legs. The 1st leg is mostly on flat areas along the city's waterfront landmark areas like AT&T Park, the Ferry Building, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park and the Marina Green. There are those inevitable San Francisco hills though. A slight uphill wiggle is needed to get past Fort Mason on Bay. There is also a long stretch of mild grade that will be used to ascend to the Lombard Street curves through Polk Street and Larkin Street. It is not necessary to ride down these curves, and if you choose, just walk your bike up to Hyde on the last hill and walk it down the curves. Many hundreds of Critical Mass riders did this in the past May Critical Mass ride. Want an even tamer option? There will be a split point on Larkin St. where opting out of the Lombard curve will detour you down to the beginning of North Beach in front of Blazing Saddles Bike Rentals. Here the group will gather up again for the remainder of the first leg. After North Beach, there will be a loop around in the South Of Market area (SOMA), a brief run on Market Street to Castro District past Dolores Park to the finish point at the Castro/Market St. corner in the Jane Warner Plaza. The 1st Leg is about 18 miles long. If the first leg is enough riding, you are invited to rest up and take a break at the Jane Warner Plaza, which is clothing-optional. Those who want more riding are urged to continue on for the shorter 2nd leg, which is about 6 miles (40 minutes estimate, but with more hill climbing. Both 1st & 2nd legs take us down to the Castro/Market corner as the finish point. The second leg will take us up the Wiggle to the west end of Haight Street with a hopeful repeat of our successful patronage of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream at the corner of Haight & Ashbury. Then the ride will return past Dolores Park again to rejoin with the other riders for a post-ride gathering in the Jane Warner Plaza. There are local businesses nearby with take-out food options: pizza, Chinese, Italian, deli, cookies, etc... Ride Pace and Difficulty The ride is at a slow to moderate pace with frequent stops so we can show off our decorated naked bodies and bikes, chant protest slogans and allow the public to take photos. We try to stay on level ground but San Francisco is a hilly place, so some hills are to be expected. If the route takes us up the rare steep hill we walk so no one is left behind.

Alternative Participation Being California, everyone does things differently. We want to offer the broadest possible welcome. First of all, obey all the Laws of Comfort! There's no nudity requirement. Whether you come clothed in a full-length Fun-Fur or just a top hat, come as bare as you dare. Most riders carry some minimal clothing to wear when arriving and departing the group. One bike rental place offered 50% discounts to WNBR riders this year. See the FAQ for more info. Skates Secondly, skaters are welcome. Some skaters have joined us repeatedly! Since skaters tend to expend about 2x as much energy, and tend to roll 50% slower than bikers, skaters may wish to follow an abbreviated but comparable route by linking the level grades in the beginning and ending segments of the ride. One very accomplished naked skater in the 2010 SF WNBR skated up and down the steepest part of Lombard Street, The Crookedest Street in the World, to everyone's amazement. Public Nudity in San Francisco Liberal San Francisco is accustomed to people going completely naked on public streets in broad daylight. Other city events where open nudity is common are Critical Mass rides, Bay-to-Breakers, Nude Olympics, the Folsom Street Fair and Gay Pride events. Basically, as long as you only go naked in public streets and stay out of any city or federal parks you are good. Going naked outside the main group does increase your chances of being cited for something whether justified or not. There's more safety in numbers. Inform yourself of the local nudity laws before you bare all in case you have to explain yourself. This File:SF WNBR.Nudity laws.pdf (~100 Kbs) contains the actual codes and regulations (with references) regarding nudity so you can educate anyone who may question your right to go naked in public. Always treat the authorities with courtesy and respect and dress when ordered to do so. (If you need help interpreting the codes, please seek the advice of a lawyer.) There is a new city regulation that requires nudists to place something between their bare bottoms and whatever they are sitting on when using public seating. However, we think it should be okay to sit bare-bottomed on the grass or on the concrete walls lining the grass areas. Another new regulation forbids nudity in public eating establishments. That may mean no more ice creams at Ben and Jerry's in the buff like we did on the June 2011 WNBR.

Links

Join us! Main WNBR website ‎

Discussion groups SF WNBR Yahoo! Group SF WNBR Tribe (might be dropped for lack of interest)

Location Links Google Map of San Francisco Wikipedia: San Francisco Wikipedia: California Please also visit Climate Crisis.org

Subpages

Publicity, Media Coverage and Ride Reports This page contains links to press releases, media coverage and ride reports covering previous SF WNBR events. (Some of the coverage contains images of public nudity.) Promotional Materials This page contains links to flyers and other promotional materials for past and future SF WNBR events. (Most flyers contain images of public nudity.) Help us get the word out. Print these flyers and distribute at other protest events, sport/bike shops and college campuses. Or, create your own flyers by combining your own ideas with the materials provided.

Photos This page contains links to photo collections covering previous rides. (Obviously, these photos contain images of public nudity.) FAQ This page contains questions and answers to many of the more common concerns regarding the SF WNBR. Thanks to Leo for this. Ride Safety This page discusses safety issues when riding around San Francisco. Thanks to Leo for this.