San Francisco

Home > List of rides > US > San Francisco

The Next Ride Details

• Our first WNBR ride is January 1, 2018 New Years Day, 10:00AM - Meet at the SW corner of The Great Highway and Lincoln Way out by Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park: 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 first WNBR of the year.

• It is time for the New Years 2018 Great Highway Polar Plunge World Naked Bike Ride .

• For 7 years it has been a great New Years tradition to gather out at Ocean Beach off the Great Highway and Taraval at 11 AM and when Noon hit, so did many brave or crazy New Years revelers into the breakers at Ocean Beach. These brave or crazy souls do so in whatever various states of dress or undress they desired. The Riptide Bar on Taraval hosts this event. The bar suffered a significant fire in the summer of 2016 and has since had its grand re-opening. But that didn't keep the tradition from ending and neither should you. The World Naked Bike Ride San Francisco chapter helps hold their end to keep this tradition go on and would be glad to see others who have participated meet again at Ocean Beach on New Years Day..

• The WNBR-SF combines our unique environmental protest rides with the Polar Plunge for the Third Annual New Years 2018 Great Highway Polar Plunge World Naked Bike Ride. We meet at the west side of the intersection of the Great Highway and Lincoln Way. Bring your bikes, trikes, skates or whatever human powered mode of transport at 10 am. Our rides are clothing optional, but as always you ride as bare as you dare. That is, swimsuits, wetsuits, body paint, latex gear, whatever you choose for you own comfort and modesty level. Please be covered riding to and at the meet up spot. We will ride down the Great Highway to Taraval crossing and onto the beach for the Polar Plunge, which will take place at Noon..

• You can bring your libations of choice by bike. And those that don't want to ride to the beach, but want to do the Polar Plunge or just be a festive spectator can await us at Ocean Beach near Taraval..

• You can take Muni by bus to Sloat or the Great Highway, or train to the Judah turnaround. The riders can have friends waiting at the beach with festive feasts. After the Plunge, everyone is free to remain for an informal beach party. The first two years we did this, the temperatures were in the mid 60's to near the 70's, so why not have a nice day at the beach?.

• And all years, nudity was tolerated all day and no park rangers were seen..

• RSVP NOW!!! Keep up to date on this event, future rides and info at our: Facebook Event Page

• REMEMBER, WE MEET OUT AT OCEAN BEACH FOR THIS RIDE ONLY New Years Day, 10:00AM - Meet at the SW corner of The Great Highway and Lincoln Way out by Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park:

OUR REGULAR MEETING SPOT - For the remaining 4 WNBR-SF rides, we will meet next to the Ferry Building

== NOTE: We no longer meet behind the Fountain in Justin Herman Plaza ==

Since 2015, we decided to meet in the open public area on Embarcadero Blvd. by the Ferry Building. The area is the elevated portion with seats to the north of and between the Farmer's Market and the Starbuck's. Please stay back towards the motorcycle parking area and try to keep the main portion of the sidewalk unobstructed to regular pedestrian traffic. It is a long stretch of extra wide sidewalk space we should try to stay within. Please try to remain covered to a reasonable extent until enough people have gathered and word is given to undress, and if applying body slogans and paint, do so towards the rear of the area along the bay away from the foot traffic on Embarcadero.

Possible WNBR After-Party

• Time: After the Ride | Location: In the Castro

• We would like to have a possible After Ride Party. Our ride ends in the Castro and there are a number of places to get food and drink in groups.

We will gather after the ride for a late lunch or drinks. We try to find a bar friendly to a number of near naked patrons, Alcohol rules require some form of cover-up, so have your cock socks and sarongs ready. Suggested businesses to patronize: Hot Cookie on Castro, Starbuck's on 18th, Bisou on Market, Wine Bar on Castro.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

• Our Second WNBR of the year The date for the 9th Annual World Naked Bike Ride - San Francisco - Southern Hemisphere Ride is March 10, 2018.

• Time: 11:00 AM | Location: Across from Justin Herman Plaza (JHP) near Market St. and the Embarcadero, northwest of the Ferry Building between the Farmer's Market and Starbucks.

• 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 along side the motorcycle parking area on Embarcadero between the Farmer's Market and Starbucks. See the map to the new meeting location.

Shortcut to this page: www.sfwnbr.org

• Join our Facebook Fan Page
• RSVP event page available soon Facebook Event Page

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

The WNBR Basics

Schedule 11:00 AM: Gather. The earlier time allows us to take advantage of the midday warmth. Turn sheets & maps distributed and going over route details. Bike checkout & attaching signs / body painting & slogans. Undress. Apply sunscreen. Group photo, then we go. 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 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 Our route has been generated from years of experience riding to the more interesting parts of the city. If there is a ballgame, we always go past AT&T Park. If it is unusually warm, we try to go out to Ocean Beach. We always do a stretch along the Embarcadero and through Fisherman's Wharf. We like the Marina and central portions like North Beach and Polk Street. The Mission and Haight are interesting and of course, the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream stop is a crowd favorite. While everyone favors flat, SF has hills, and it is unavoidable to do some climbing. Walk your bike if it isn't geared for hills. The ride leaves nobody behind. The route is being generated The ride will focus on the usual favorite spots. Route will be posted night before the ride. 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 April weather can be unseasonably warm and at times downright hot. Already in the middle of February in 2016, the Bay Area and the city had been seeing temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's. In 2010, the June ride took place in near 100 degree temperatures and was the warmest ride we ever had. Always make sure you bring along enough water. San Francisco Chronicle KCBS Radio, San Francisco 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 meeting spot / final destination at the Ferry Building. It takes about 10-15 minutes to ride your bike from 4th & King to the Ferry Building. Check out these websites for details: Bay Area Rapid Transit CalTrain

Bikes Use your own bikes, borrow one or rent one from any of several bike rentals in the city such as Blazing Saddles. Google San Francisco bike rentals to find a place near our start, finish or your parking spot. Please maintain your bikes. Check them and perform needed service BEFORE the ride. Have spare tubes, air pumps, medical kits and ample water. Not everyone needs complete service and medical kits as these can be shared. We ride by the philosophy "no rider left behind", but if your bike suffers a malfunction and can't be repaired in a reasonably short time, someone usually will help them back to their starting point, but the ride will go on. 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 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 2015 Citation Notice: Prior to the 2015 Earth Day ride, one rider received a citation before our gathering 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. OH, AND THE GOOD NEWS FOR THAT ONE RIDER IS THE CITATION WAS DISMISSED; YOU MIGHT NOT BE SO LUCKY. Please remain dressed until just shortly before the ride starts. 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.)

Links

Join us! 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. Old WNBR website (Obsolete, unreliable & outdated) ‎

Discussion groups SF WNBR Yahoo! Group (No longer a reliable information source for lack of interest from the page admin, few, if any WNBR riders still post there) SF WNBR Tribe (The tribe domain appears to be dead)

Location Links Google Map of San Francisco Wikipedia: San Francisco Wikipedia: California Please also visit Climate Crisis.org 350.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.

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.