Portsmouth

Portsmouth Ride #1 : Friday June 10 2011

This will be a standard ride around the streets of Portsmouth

Portsmouth Ride #2 : Friday June 10 2011

This will take place after Portsmouth Ride #1, and will be from Portsmouth to Southampton (18 miles approx), so that participants may attend the Southampton Ride.

Contact [email protected]

What to wear? Do not fear! For details, please see our Frequently asked questions The World Naked Bike Ride dress code is "Bare As You Dare"... How bare is that ? How dare is that ?...Its all up to you, you decide what you are comfortable with. NO ONE IS EXCLUDED OR DISCRIMINATED AGAINST based on levels of clothing, bodypaint, or anything else, for that matter!

PLEASE be creative and colorful! Bodypainting and bike decorating is highly encouraged! See the above section on creative expression and also visit our body art page.

The laws on nudity, for the most part are a bit vague, difficult and often unpopular to enforce. The principal concern of most citizens is to eliminate creepy, predatory, exploitative, destructive and abusive behavior. WNBR is a fun, inspirational, non-confrontational body-positive event with a positive message of hope. That is why the ride has been such a huge hit and so many are supportive. Just use common sense and mind your manners! Nude is not lewd!

Since most of us did not grow up in a body-positive society, many will look at you with curiosity and amusement. You will probably notice that different sections of town have different cultural reactions to nudity. Some may feel mildly intimidated because they still might have issues with their own bodies and your shameless ways are unsettling to their body-phobic world. Just be friendly and respectful and things should be fine. Remember we are all human and we all have the same parts.

"Gymnophobia (from the Greek word for nude gymnos) is the fear of being (or seeing others) naked. A gymnophobic person usually wants to prevent others from experiencing the freedom of not wearing clothes." If you are concerned, you probably don't need to cover up much to be "legal". With the incredible transforming powers of a little body paint, liquid latex, a strategically placed sock, or a piece of duct tape you too can transform the average city streaking naked wild cyclist into "The legal city streaking naked wild cyclist". Be creative: a little imagination can change everything.

Signing up

It's not essential to sign up for the ride - you can just turn up on the day - but it does help to get an idea of anticipated numbers. To sign up, visit the yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wnbr-portsmouth/

Legality

Simple nudity isn't illegal in the UK, but using nudity to intentionally cause harassment, alarm or distress may be illegal. Don't act offensively and you are very unlikely to be arrested. We have notified the police of our intention to ride in protest against oil dependency and in celebration of bicycles. They are fully aware that many/most of our riders will be nude and partially nude as we cycle a route through the streets of Portsmouth.

Police restrictions

From 2004 to 2009, there have been 30 UK Naked Bike Rides with a cumulative total of 7,000+ riders in 11 locations, and no arrests.

It is unlikely that police will object to nudity at future rides in England and Wales. Local police officially acknowledged the legality of full nudity at all seven rides in 2008 and all five rides in 2007. They required people to wear clothes at three English rides (Brighton, Manchester and Bristol) in 2006, but have made no such restrictions at later events.

In contrast, Scottish police have never allowed full nudity at the two Edinburgh rides in 2004 and 2008.

For UK rides where full nudity wasn't permitted, police requirements of body coverage seemed to be similar. The groin area needed to be covered, as did female nipples. However, buttocks could be shown by either men or women.