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The York World Naked Bike Ride is a protest against oil dependency and car culture. It is equally a celebration of the bike and the human body.

Please donate to the WNBR UK Fund

The UK World Naked Bike Ride fund meets the cost of insuring rides
across the UK, and provides local organisers with money for
poster/flyer printing, advertising, ride equipment etc.
Please give generously.

Next ride

Date: Saturday 4 JUNE 2011.
Time: 5pm departure (assemble from 4pm onwards)
Location: Assembly/departure point: Millennium Bridge, York.

Route and schedule

The 2011 Ride will take us in new directions, although the central portion of the route will be familiar. This year we shall start and finish near Millennium Bridge on the banks of the Ouse. The total route distance is expected to be about 6 miles of easy cycling.

As always, everyone is encouraged to go "as bare as they dare" and please don't forget to affix/paint signs on your bike and/or body to indicate the reason why you are riding.

Advantages of the York route: The York route is mostly flat with minimal car traffic. It starts close to the rail and bus stations and there are cycle-hire facilities a short cycle distance from the start. The route passes various landmarks of York including the Minster, historic Bars (city gates), and the iconic Clifford's Tower. It passes down medieval cobbled streets, traverses bridges both ancient and new, and glides along banks of the scenic River Ouse, usually to the accompaniment of some great music.

Advice for Riders 2011 Now Available

This is common-sense practical advice about preparing for and being safe on the ride. Written by cyclists for cyclists. Download your copy here Please read carefully before you come on the ride.

Publicity: 2011 Flyers and Posters

2011 flyers are now available. We have two versions: a Girl Flyer and a Boy Flyer, both designed to be printed out back-to-back A6 or postcard size. Click on the links below to check them out: they don't just differ by gender!

York WNBR 2011 Girl Flyer

York WNBR 2011 Boy Flyer

Thanks to Titom and Nick for use of the images. We also have an A4 poster:

York WNBR 2011 A4 Poster

You can print the poster in colour on white paper or black and white on coloured paper. Please try and place in a prominent position in your local community centre, college, bike shop etc and circulate amongst your cycling friends and fellow activists.

Riders are encouraged to distribute flyers among their friends, fellow cyclists, at their college, community group, workplace etc. Laminated versions can even be displayed at key locations outside, e.g. attached to lamposts along cycle paths. With a little ingenuity flyers can also be attached to bikes. When organising leaflet distribution we are often on the look-out for a place where we can leave flyers for people to collect (with a person or business in York perhaps). Preferably the flyers could be collected in the evening between 4-8pm. Any volunteers? If you know of a business that might be up for this, please ask them to ring 0798 116 1591 or write to york [at] worldnakedbikeride [dot] org.

If you would like to donate some art-work for future York WNBR events, please get in touch.

Bike hire

Bikes can be hired from the following places:

Bob Trotter Cycles 13-15 Lord Mayors Walk, York, YO31 7HB, T: 01904 622868
City centre cycle hire store just outside the city walls, a short stroll from York Minster. Adult bike half-day hire for £13. Tandems also available.

Get Cycling is a company based at 22 Hospital Fields Road, YO10 4DZ, between Fulford Road and Millennium Bridge. Phone 01904 636812. WNBR participants, or anybody going in and saying the magic words 'World Naked Bike Ride' gets 10% off the prices listed here. They offer a bike helmet and lock, and to guarantee a bike, pre booking is essential. They are open 8.30 til 6 on Saturday and 10 til 4 on Sunday. Bikes may be hired one day and returned the next. The best thing is that they are VERY close to the start of the ride.

Meetings and events

Ride planning takes place online at the WNBR York Yahoo! group, and at York planning meetings.

Planning meetings for 2011 will be advertised here. Please check this space regularly.

March Planning Meeting - Tuesday 1 March, 7:30 for 8:00 pm at the Seahorse Hotel, Fawcett Street (near York Barbican Centre).

April Planning Meeting - Tuesday 19 April, 7:45 for 8:00 pm at the Seahorse Hotel, Fawcett Street (near York Barbican). This is the postponed meeting from 5 April. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

May Planning Meeting - Monday 23 May, 7:30 pm at the Seahorse Hotel, Fawcett Street (near York Barbican Centre).

FILM & DISCUSSION EVENINGS.

Films available:

The World Naked Bike Ride - “All over the ride people are stripping off and getting on their bikes” (The story of the ground-breaking 2005 London ride, narrated by Jon Snow)

Indecent Exposure to Cars - “I see painted naked people on bicycles” (Directed by Conrad Schmidt, Ragtag productions 2007). A light-hearted slightly corny take on the origins of the WNBR movement.

York World Naked Bike 2008 - see Souvenir DVD below.

No film evenings are currently planned, but if you'd like to host a screening of any of the above films, please get in touch with Tony at: york [at] worldnakedbikeride [dot] org or ring 0798 116 1591.

York Critical Mass
Used to meet on the first Friday of every month, 5.30 pm at the west end of the Minster. Check out York Indymedia and the Facebook group "People who ride bikes in York".

York Green Festival 2011
Details to follow or you can have a look at their Facebook group from last year

Previous Rides

2010

The late afternoon of June 19th was the occasion for the chilliest of our naked bike rides. Nevertheless about 100 riders bared their shivering bodies in a great show of support for an oil-free green future. We processed through the ancient city streets of Petergate, Parliament Street and Coppergate. We rode round the circle below Cliffords Tower and crossed to St George's Field to join the riverside path. Once over the still-shiny Millennium Bridge we called in at the Racecourse where two minutes silence were observed in memory of a young cyclist who was killed there in 2008. The return leg took us via the Mount and a busy Blossom Street and thence under Micklegate Bar and back into the City once more. Our own experienced stewards did their very best to manage ride safety, with scarcely any help from the police. By the time we got to Museum Gardens we were quite glad to get our clothes on once more!

2009

"Bike Pride" was truly in evidence in York on June 12th. We had 100 riders counted on Parliament Street, and the feeling on the ride was great! The new extension offered an interesting peek at Clifton for the out of town folk, and a relaxing start to the ride. The folks in York were typically surprised, bemused, delighted, shocked, nonchalant, and impressed. And once again we took some of the key attractions of the historic city, Lendal Bridge, the Minster, Clifford's Tower, plus the more recent Millennium Cycle Bridge.

World Naked Bike Pride? Petergate, York 2009. Photo © Toniminou

The York Press was present as was a crew from Yorkshire TV's Calendar programme. Apparently, before we finished the ride, the people of Yorkshire knew all about it via their evening televisions.

After an excellent pro-cycling send-off speech - and blast on the air horn - from Green city councillor Dave Taylor, we all set off via Marygate, emerging onto Bootham where we became the main outbound traffic. We had lots of elaborately decorated bikes and beautifully painted and decorated bodies riding them! The police were happy to assist us at junctions and were in a good mood about the whole thing.

A number of riders had the words "Less Gas More Ass" on their backs in memory of Jonathan Brooke who sadly passed away in 2008 and to whom this ride was dedicated. He had participated in all three previous York rides. He loved the ride, and his relaxed, friendly, and enthusiastic nature was a delight to fellow riders.

We were fortunate to have the company on this ride of the UK's oldest rider: Margaret or 'Gran' who rode the entire route in good spirits at the spritely age of 87. While she found the London ride in 2005 too cold to ride in the nude, she managed the rides in London 2006 and York 2009 with the clothes she was born with.

What a great ride! I look forward to 2010!

(Report by Jesse and Tony)

2008

There were 90 riders (89 people and one dog in a trailer), and the atmosphere was excellent. We were warmly received throughout York, and initial responses suggest that the new route variation was popular.

At the assembly point there was some hectic last minute body-painting and interviews with the media then we all relocated to the Esplanade for the official ride opening. Local campaigner Randall Ghent from the World Carfree Network opened the proceedings with a rousing send-off speech and three toots on an air-horn. The ribbon was cut and off we rode to the tune of “Bare Necessities”.

WNBR York 2008: Riders crossing the Millennium Bridge. Photo © Johnathan Carey

Proceeding over Lendal Bridge towards the Minster there were some fine shots to be had of naked cyclists against the sunlit backdrop of the cathedral’s west front. We rode down historic Petergate, Colliergate, across to Fossgate and up over the little cobbled bridge than spans the river Foss. Along George Street we gave a passing nod to the last resting place of highwayman Dick Turpin, then it was through Fishergate Bar and down to join the banks of the Ouse. Many had turned out to watch and applaud us as we went over Millennium Bridge and headed northwards once more to rejoin the city walls at Skeldergate. We meandered through some quiet streets and found ourselves on historic Micklegate – and more cobbles! Ousebridge was full of traffic as usual though at least half of it this time consisted of our naked selves. On Coney Street there were throngs of people cheering us on the home run. Finally a bevy of photographers - with very little help from the police – kindly blocked the traffic for us as we crossed to finish our ride in Museum Gardens.

There was lots of noise and happy faces on that day, bikes of all descriptions and some really artistic body-painting. Nearly everyone had a message either on their body or attached to their bike. One way or another we certainly demonstrated that biking it is better.

Planning collective

The York Planning Collective consists of a group of local cyclists working together in a co-operative way to a single end. Some of us are based in York itself, some live in the surrounding towns and villages. We still need more volunteers to get involved - that could be YOU!

Here's what the Collective does:

• answers people's questions with care and consideration
• keeps track of who is doing what, and how far through things people are
• deals with problems and follow the discussions at the national level
• provides email updates to let people know what's going on
• points out where and when help is needed
• acts as a contact point for general enquiries (email and mobile phone)
• maintains contact information (and keeps it secure)

Additional responsibilities for the coordinator of one of the Collective members:

• arranges meetings, compile agendas, provide minutes
• ensures that the Collective remains non-hierarchical but organised
• moderates an email list for York ride planning

Media coverage

2011

• The Press (York), 6 June 2011: "Cyclists bare all for World Naked Bike Ride"

2010

• The Press (York), 21 June 2010: "Cyclists take part in the York Naked Bike Ride"
• The Press (York), 9 June 2010: "York Naked Bike Ride returns for a fifth year"

2009

• The Press (York), 13 Jun 2009: "York Naked Bike Ride"

2008

• The Press (York), 8 Jun 2008: "Naked Ambition of Green Cyclists" ride report.
• The Press (York), 6 Jun 2008: "Naked truth about responsible riding".
• The Press (York), 4 Jun 2008: "No place for naked cyclist here" letter from enraged local Councillor.
• The Press (York), 28 May 2008: "York gears up for naked cycle ride"

2007

• Nouse (York), 20 Jun 2007: In the Buff: Bareback Riders by Sam Noble
• Indymedia (York), 9 Jun 2007: World Naked Bike Ride - York
• The Press (York), 9 Jun 2007: Naked cyclists in cheeky protest
• The Press (York), 6 Jun 2007: "York Prepares for Invasion of the Naturists."

2006

• The Yorkshire Post, 30 May 2006: "Cyclists planning new twist on riding bareback" By Julie Hemmings
• The Press (Yorkshire), 29 May 2006: "On Yer Bike...and get your kit off!"

Photos

• Flickr search: "york naked bike ride" ranked by most recent
  It's recommended that you tag photos you upload with york, worldnakedbikeride and WNBR, plus the year (eg: 2008). It may not be possible to avoid finding pictures of WNBR New York (USA), but at least it'll be easier to find WNBR York photos for a given year. Please remember, WNBR York is part of a global movement and not just a quaint local tradition! Please update your tags!

2008

• Flickr photos by Nic Thornhill
• Flickr photos by thenudeone (Rod)

2007

• Georgi Mabee – excellent photo of the ride passing the castle
• Flickr photos by thenudeone (Rod)

2006

• An Extraordinary photo near York Minster at York's first WNBR (2006) by Wikipedia member Matt Crypto
• Flickr photos by Nic Thornhill
• Flickr photos by 'toniminou'

Videos

2008

• Souvenir DVD: 24-minute DVD of the 2008 York ride. Please write to york [at] worldnakedbikeride [dot] org for further details. The DVD costs £10 (includes postage and packing), payable by cash or cheque. Virtually all participants are included in the DVD. Video is a souvenir or memento for participants, their families and friends. It is only offered for sale on this site.

2007

• YouTube: 'York naked bike ride 2007' by Barry – the return leg of the ride over Millennium Bridge and along Terry Avenue

Photography policy

The York Ride broadly follows the spirit of the London Photography and Filming Policy. For exact details of the York policy please email york [at] worldnakedbikeride [dot] org.

Links

Websites

• WNBR UK – official site for UK rides
• WNBR York wiki – official wiki page for the York ride (this page!)
• World Naked Bike Ride York 2011 Facebook group

Nearby rides

• Sheffield - where our close neighbours live, and where we hope to also ride this year.

Discussion group/s

Join the WNBR UK list if you plan to ride and want to receive important updates or share in general UK ride planning.

• WNBR UK – Yahoo! discussion group for all UK rides
• WNBR YORK – Yahoo! discussion group for planning the York ride.

Related links

• Bike Week - The York 2010 ride is a registered event in this year's annual 'celebration of cycling'!

Location information

• ViaMichelin map of York
• Wikipedia: York
• Wikipedia: Yorkshire