Seattle Downtown Day

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Date: Saturday 7 July 2012
Time: 12:30pm assembly, for 2:30pm departure
Location: Olympic Sculpture Park Beach, off the Elliott Bay Trail

2012 Downtown Seattle Daylight Ride promo image

2012 Downtown Seattle Daylight Ride photomontage

Our first World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) Seattle event of the year is scheduled for Saturday, July 7, 2012!. This is our WNBR Seattle Downtown Daylight Ride 2012. 2012 marks the nineth year (since 2004) that Seattle will be staging WNBR events.

Things to Know

Check out our latest newsletter about this event! Please share the short URL http://bit.ly/WNBRseattleJuly7_2012 with your friends who might be interested in riding with you!

Wear clothes before and after the ride

While we encourage riders to "bare as you dare" (it is Nude Recreation Week, afterall), nudity is not required or expected. Just come ride with us dressed for fun and spread cheer and inspire others with our pro-cycling message! You are always allowed to strip down as much as you like, when you feel comfortable. A swimsuit or undies are recommended if you want to go in the water without being naked. Remember, nude is not lewd! Looking for ideas? See some examples on our international WNBR Flickr photo group.

This is a grassroots, collaborative, D.I.Y. event, so bring your own body paint (and supplies), creative wearable art, musical instruments and bike art supplies. Things can go much smoother when you bring your friends to help out! Tell them to bring their bikes and they might even ride along with you! Here are some body art resources to consider.

As always, the latest scoop on the WNBR Seattle rides can be found here on our WNBR Seattle Wiki Website.

The new WNBR Downtown Seattle Daylight Ride start and end location is at Olympic Sculpture Park Beach, featuring a sandy shoreline + a sweeping view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains! (Please refer to Olympic Sculpture Park Map). The address of Olympic Sculpture Park is 2901 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121. If you look at the map, the beach is located at the North end of Foster Foundation Path, on the South end of Myrtle Edwards Park, off the Elliott Bay Trail/Terminal 91 Bike Path. Please note we will not be going into the main areas of the park naked.

The Ride Starts at 2:30 PM!! The ride will be an amazing tour of the urban core of Seattle! We will go along the Central Waterfront, which now through Pioneer Square, Downtown, Pike Place Farmer's Market, the Pike/Pine Coridor, Capitol Hill, Belltown and the Seattle Center International Fountain (video) and back to the OSP Beach to finish off the day with our second year of the Seattle Skinny dipping Record Attempt. An after party may follow later.

We hope to have a route map up soon, but its more or less the same as last year except for no pre-party in Belltown and possible Pioneer Square re-route changes due to the Fire Festival. The new route will also highlight a new attraction, the Seattle Great Wheel, a 175-foot tall Ferris wheel being installed at the end of Pier 57.

Please bring a creative minimum amount of clothing for the ride (undies, loincloth, sock, pasties, loincloth or thong) in case you need it. Important: You will also want to make sure you use the restroom well before we leave!!!

Please note: We may be entering the Seattle Center from a different entrance this year. Please follow instructions from ride marshals before and during the ride. We are expected to enter from the North this year, which is different than in previous years.

When we enter the large Seattle Center International Fountain (video) area, we must all get off our bikes and walk with our bikes into the fountain area. Bicycles are not permitted down into the water area. Lock your bike, walk down the ramps. We will spend no more than 15-20 minutes in the fountain. Please also be very polite and vocal (or ring bells) when passing around adults and children in the area. We have also been asked not to use amplified sound such as megaphones in this area. The Seattle Center puts up signs to alert sensitive people to the presence naked people. Thank you for ensuring a safe and fun Seattle Center experience for everybody!

Don't forget to have your bike tuned up, tires pumped and make sure your bicycle is properly fit to your size.

Come to our Crazy Pre-Ride Party at the beach!

Tourists + Seattleites alike love the creativity, exuberance + spontaneity of the naked cyclists!

Please consider decorating your body and your bike with WNBR themes or bring musical instruments! See our Seattle preparation page for info on what to bring and things to consider when getting ready to participate.

The Pre-Ride Party formally commences at 12:30 PM and ends at 2:30 PM.

The Pre-Ride Party will be great place to body paint, decorate your bike, finalize your handmade costumes, adjust your helmet, tie your shoes, use the restroom one last time (make sure you check the location of nearby restrooms first), inflate your tires, find helpful people to answer all of your questions, check the latest information about the route, take soom cool snapshots of your ensemble and meet other like minded free-wheeling folk! Yes friends, it's all that and so much more!

If you don't want your picture taken in the public areas outside of the building or on the ride while naked, please consider wearing a disguise, sunglasses or wearing clothes. There are many reasons people may not want to go naked but still ride with us in solidarity. Please also see our photography policy.

Post-Ride Beach Wade-in

Inspired by other WNBR wade-in traditions such as at the end of WNBR Vancouver (BC, Canada) and WNBR Brighton & Hove (UK), we're planning to set a new record for skinny dipping at a Seattle beach! So stick around with us after the Seattle Center! (You can easily throw on your undies until you reach the beach after rinsing off your body paint in the fountain, if you wish).

By the way, the Seattle Center has no problem with us washing off our body paint in the International Fountain. They explained to us that they actually have a very thorough filter system because of all the messy kids (+ fun-loving adults!) Better to wash off in the fountain than in the Puget Sound! Keep it clean!

We may also have an after party after the wade-in.

After Party Anyone?!

We may later hit a bar for a clothed social and after ride decompression (Belltown, Fremont, Queen Anne?) One thing we've learned over the years is that many naked cyclists like to drink beer and chill after the ride to recall what happened during the ride, plan for the future and meet like-minded creative, fun-loving folks like themselves.

More info

For those carpooling/driving, limited parking is available in the area. We encourage you to take the bus, walk or bike to the start location! Even better, come with your friends, family and co-workers! A bathroom is located up the Elliott Bay Trail, within the Elliott Bay Park (probably ~6-8 minute bike ride away), at the OSP facility, Cal Anderson Park and the Seattle Center (see Google map).