Nelson, BC

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First ride for this city!

Nelson, BC is a quaint, quirky little mountain town, much like South Park.

Event postponed until Saturday, 14 June 2008 due to inclement weather!!!!

Next ride

Date: Saturday 14 June 2008
Time: 12 noon
Location: Iode Park between Sidewinders and Gerick Cycles & Sports

Route: Slow riding down Baker Street to Ward Street turning right, then straight down Ward Street/3A through the light, looping down and ending at Lakeside Park, in parade procession style.

Children may participate but are not the responsibility of The Cacophony Society of Nelson, BC.

Press release

At 12 noon on Saturday, 14 June 2008, The streets of Nelson will see its first annual World Naked Bike Ride day. On this day, the entire northern hemisphere – including five cities in Canada, will be taking to the streets "as bare as they dare" in protest of oil burning vehicles and the rising cost of fuel.

"This is a fun way to show that we are tired of being oil dependent, and for one day not use our cars." says Nelson WNBR coordinator, Eva Brauwn. "It's a fact that hundreds of thousands of people are killed by cars every year, and it's killing the planet we live on. Not to mention that gasoline is becoming unaffordable. By participating in this event, we are joining the masses worldwide who are standing up and letting it be known that the people are paying attention, and we demand change."

Riders will be taking off no later than 12 noon at Iode Park between Gerick Cycles & Sport and Sidewinders cafe, slow riding together down Baker street, turning right onto Ward Street and following 3A down to Lakeside Park where they'll re-convene.

They would like to note that they cannot advocate actually being totally naked in the general public, lest ye tempt the police and risk arrest. Rather, they encourage the creative, yet minimal covering of your naughty bits; be it body paints, floral arrangements, or feather boas and electrical tape. Since the theme is always "as bare as you dare", it's all about you and your comfort level. "Those who would like to simply watch and cheer us on are great too!"

Ride organizers say all are welcome to participate. "You can even use roller skates, skateboards, pogo sticks, whatever you want to ride, so long as it doesn't burn fuel."

More information can be found at nakedwiki.org or email Eva Brauwn at [email protected]

Notes for editors

Some facts:

There are about 160,000 road accidents in Canada every year. According to the Transportation Safety Board approximately 2,800 to 2,900 people are killed on Canadian roads each year.

• Estimates of road fatalities worldwide: anywhere from 500,000 to 1.17 million people die on the roads every year — 10 million are estimated to be injured.
• Forecasts indicate that by 2030 this will have risen to 2 million deaths a year, and 50 million injuries.
• The cumulative death total in the period 1995-2030 is estimated to be 50 million.
• Globally, accidents produce about 800,000 permanently handicapped people per year.
• In the U.S., the American Lung Association estimate that between 10,000 and 24,000 people die each year as a result of traffic related air pollution.
• The work of epidemiologists and public health specialists in the U.S. and U.K. indicate that up to 60,000 Americans and 10,000 British are killed each year as a result of particulate pollution.

Exhaust fumes cause acid air, pollution, cancer, lead-poisoning and a variety of bronchial and respiratory illnesses. The average car emits a cocktail of more than 1,000 pollutants including:

• Tetraethyl Lead
• Benzene (No safe level of airborne benzene can be recommended, as benzene is carcinogenic to humans and there is no known safe threshold level)
• Carbon Monoxide
• Nitrogen Dioxide
• Nitric Oxide and Nitrogen Dioxide: together play major role in formation of acid rain
• Low Level Ozone
• Sulfurous Emissions: cause soil and water acidification, damage to plants (especially trees, mosses and certain lichens), and smog.

The Institute for European Environmental Policy has published a report showing that car drivers breathe in up to three times more toxic exhaust fumes than pedestrians or cyclists. Cars do not protect drivers from pollution, as motorists are driving in a "tunnel of pollution." Car drivers in the centre or outside lanes are subject to a huge build-up of toxic gases. Cyclists and pedestrians who stay close to the curb avoid the worst of the pollution as they are not in the pollution tunnel.

The Swedish National Chemicals Inspectorate has reported that wear and tear on car tyres releases tiny airborne particles called PM10s, which may cause cancer. Car tyres are the main source of PM10 pollutants, which have also been linked to 10,000 premature deaths in Britain each year from lung and heart disease.

The environmental cost of one car:

Extracting Raw Materials:
26.5 tonnes of waste
922 cubic metres of polluted air

Transporting Raw Materials:
12 litres of crude oil in the ocean
425 million cubic metres of polluted air

Producing the Car:
1.5 tonnes of waste
74 million cubic metres of polluted air ' 'Driving the Car:
18.4 kilos of abrasive waste
1,016 million cubic metres of polluted air

Disposing of the Car:
102 million cubic metres of polluted air

A car causes more pollution before it's ever driven than in its entire lifetime of driving.

History

2008 will be Nelson's first ride

Links

Local press contacts

To schedule interviews with riders, please contact a member of the Nelson, BC WNBR press team:

Eva Brauwn, Nelson WNBR coordinator
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 250.226.7127

Brittany Gilchrist
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 250.226.7127

Contact/s

• Email [email protected] to join this ride and for more information

Website/s

Add website/s here

Discussion group/s

There is a discussion on Facebook, but it's a 'secret' group... do a Facebook search for Eva Brauwn to join the discussion there.

Location information

• Google Map of Nelson, BC
• ilovenelson.com
• Wikipedia: Nelson, British Columbia
• Wikipedia: British Columbia
• Wikipedia: Canada