San Francisco

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The Next Ride Details

  • June 13, 2015 SF WNBR: It's that time to tune up those bikes and toss those riding duds in the wash, you won't need them for the World Naked Bike Ride in San Francisco. It's the third WNBR of the year.
  • It is time for the Twelfth Annual World Naked Bike Ride - San Francisco Northern Hemisphere Edition, Part I.
  • Normally we meet on the northeast side of Vaillancourt Fountain, between the fountain and Embarcadero Blvd at 11:00 AM. However an issue regarding Permits and the National Park Police has brought about the need to consider an alternate meeting spot. One spot in consideration is across the street from our usual Justin Herman location in an open public area to the north and between the Farmer's Market and the Starbuck's. Further research will need to be done regarding jurisdiction of this public space. It may be under the Port Authority or under the Ferry Building management.
  • This gives us time to do body/face paint and reacquaint ourselves. Bring body paints, watercolors and markers to apply slogans and designs to each other and adorn your bikes with signs; meet with old and new friends.
  • While it is a "naked" bike ride, all are welcome; it's ride as bare as you dare. That is, body paint, rubber latex, bikinis, topless, lingerie, bubble pack, whatever costume you are comfortable riding with. And we have already had 8 WNBRs while under cloud of the oppressive Weiner anti-nudity ordinance, with NO citations or complaints. If you are still uncertain, than its best to have a sarong, a beach wrap or shorts ready for quick coverup.
  • As always, our ride is in continued protest of an unsustainable energy policy in all nations around the globe. We support the innovation of alternate and improved energy technologies, the social commitment to a more sustainable energy consumption and generally the pure fun and joy of riding naked to draw attention to these issues.
  • You decide how much bare you can dare, you can go all out in the joy of sun clad nakedness, go topless, bikinis, body paint or latex, leotard or lingerie, or tuxedos, whatever you feel like.
  • Skates or skateboards have ridden along with us in the past. Also we had our first tandem bike in a recent ride. We've had a nude unicyclist. And music maestro please. How about some of you musical bikes from Rock The Bike sounding off with us?*
  • Our ride route has not be finished yet, but certainly we will go through many of our favorite locations along Embarcadero, the Haight and SOMA.


Where we are meeting

Saturday, April 18, 2015

  • Time: 11:00 AM | Location: North end of Justin Herman Plaza (JHP) near Market St. and the Embarcadero, across from the Ferry Building. Body/Face painting was previously provided by Very Fairy Event in past rides and they will try & be here again in June.


  • Body Paint Face Paint Slogans We are always seeking the assistance of local and national artists for body painting, face painting and slogans. Don't want to ride, but want to do some cool paint, you're welcome to help us out at the start. Riders are also encouraged to please bring markers and water paints to do slogans and graphics on each other, a fun way to make new friends. Meet on the north or east side of the large fountain next to the large grassy area towards Embarcadero. See the map on the right.


Shortcut to this page: www.sfwnbr.org

The Facebook Event Page has discussions and posts as well as additional ride details


The WNBR Basics

WNBR San Francisco Style


Schedule

  • 11:00 AM: Gather. The earlier time allows us to take advantage of the midday warmth. Undress. Apply sunscreen. Turn sheets & maps distributed and going over route details. Bike checkout & attaching signs / body painting & slogans. Group photo, then pre-start circling in the plaza in front of the fountain
  • just after Noon: Ride starts (approx) usually between 12:15pm to 12:30pm. Depending on the mood of the group and the amount of media coverage we are getting the ride start always varies a bit after noon.
  • about 2:00PM We plan on returning to Justin Herman Plaza for a brief stop to allow any remaining artists and models to join our ride
  • about 4 hours after it starts (approx): Main ride finishes. Riders are free to leave the mass at anytime, as it is a DIY (do it yourself) ride, but why miss out on the fun?

Route

Work In Progress The ride will focus on the usual favorite spots; SOMA district, Fisherman's Wharf, of course the Wiggle past Buena Vista Park to Haight St and Ben & Jerry's and will try to take us out west to the Great Highway and Ocean Beach.

Ride Pace and Difficulty

The ride is at a slow to moderate pace with frequent stops with the intention of maximum visibility to the motoring public, 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.

Weather

June weather tends to range from warm and at times downright hot. Four years ago it was nearly 100F.

Getting there

If you live out of town, please try to use public transportation to get to the start of the ride. Parking in the area is limited and expensive. Both BART and CalTrain take bicycles. If you do drive, try to carpool. There is a fair number of parking on the southern area of Market near the ride's final destination at the Castro/Market corner. It takes about 10-15 minutes to ride your bike from there to Justin Herman Plaza. Check out these websites for details:

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 last year. See the FAQ for more info.

Skates

Skater on Lombard

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

April Citation Notice: One rider received a citation at the April ride at the beginning behind the fountain. However, he was the only one there and only had frontal regions covered. Please do not arrive undressed or get undressed at the start, especially if nobody else is there yet. It is best to wait until a significant amount of riders are present and our departure time is near.

Liberal San Francisco is not so liberal anymore with the passage of an anti-nudity ordinance that went into effect on February 1st, 2013. Our four WNBR rides last year were a test to see how far we can push the limits. If this year is going to operate under the same leniency, there is no problem anticipated. It is apparent the city officials have studied the matter sufficiently to not desire a legal battle with the First Amendment protection our protests afford.

If you go naked, have a protest message to go with the nudity in the form of body painted slogans or signs. Be prepared to cover up. So far, the authorities have been nice in giving people an opportunity to cover up before giving out citations. Bare breasts are okay. To be legal, you just need to barely cover your private parts. Going naked outside the main group will definitely get you cited. There's more safety in numbers.

Bay To Breakers citations! A few nude runners/walkers during the recent 2014 Bay To Breakers were told to cover up, in spite of the so-called written exemptions written into the "Weiner Law" for this event and others like the Folsom Fair that have had a longstanding tradition of nudity. A few nudist activists were given citations. It looks as if a number of SFPD are being told to do an "end run" around the ordinance. If anyone encounters any officers doing "their job" and directing you to cover, please take down their badge numbers and names. You typically have a 5 minute time interval to cover without getting a citation. We have in the past had a good relationship with the SFPD. If confronted, be polite and non-confrontational, try to defuse, not escalate the situation. One person being an ass or a dick (pun intended) can put the remainder of the ride at risk.

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) (now out of date) contains the actual codes and regulations (with references) regarding nudity. 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.)

Critical Mass with more ass!


Links

Our World Naked Bike Ride - San Francisco Facebook Fan Page is the place to get latest ride info and where to find WNBR Event pages to RSVP ATTENTION: WE"RE BACK!!! Our Facebook Fan Page has been republished. After Facebook prudes took it down a week before our July 2013 ride, we were determined to start up again. A new WNBR Fan Page has been created and NO photos will be allowed if Facebook has a problem with plain nudity and social protest.

Discussion groups

  • SF WNBR Yahoo! Group
    (No longer a reliable information source for lack of interest from the page admin, however a few WNBR riders still post there)

Location Links

Please also visit

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.

Route Info

This page contains links to route descriptions, maps and turn sheets for current and past rides.

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.

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