San Francisco

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Event Summary:

• June 9th SF WNBR: The June 9th ride grew in numbers over last year to about 140 riders, along with a large spectator turn out. A lot more spectators were taking pictures with iPads then we have ever seen before. There were more women riding completely naked, topless or in underwear which was a nice shift from the typical male:female ratio that rides like this often get. The SF WNBR received top billing on the FunCheap events list for that day. Someone said KGO radio promoted the event. NBC TV News and the Bay Guardian where there with reporters covering the event and doing interviews. Mitch Hightower of Hightower Productions also covered the ride at several points along the way. And, finally, we ended up doing a lengthy interview about the SF WNBR with a cinematographer doing a French film documentary on San Francisco. We'll provide more details about the ride in the coming days.

• July 28th SF WNBR: Meanwhile, we are doing our 2nd Northern Hemisphere WNBR of the year as our fearless WNBR leader, Conrad, has proposed July 28 as a new alternative ride date. The consensus among the regular SF WNBR riders is: "why not do both?" This will be our first SF WNBR on July 28th along with WNBRs in Cork, Ireland, Saint Louis and Charleston occurring on the same day. So, you'll have at least one more chance this year to call attention to environmental activism, body freedom, bicycling as an alternative to cars and a generally greener way of living. Not-to-mention the joy of receiving an overwhelmingly positive response in the form of laughs and smiles from those that see you in the buff. If nothing else, it's a fun, light-hearted, wacky way to use your colorful, vulnerable body to advocate for or protest against various social and environmental issues. As always, it's free and no r.s.v.p. is required. Just show up!

• September 22nd SF Nude-In: The 3rd annual public "Nude In" demonstration organized by Mitch Hightower will occur on Saturday, September 22 at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro at noon. Even though this protest is unrelated to the WNBRs, it supports one of the WNBR goals of body freedom. Last year we did do a low-key WNBR-style naked bike ride that ended at last year's Nude In event. We may do the same this year. Also, last year on this same day, the environmental group 350.org held their "Up The Planet" march up Market Street to the Civic Center. If they do this again, we will have a contingent of WNBR representatives, but likely it will not be an official WNBR ride.

Next ride

Date: Saturday, 28 July 2012.
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: North end of Justin Herman Plaza (JHP) near Market St. and the Embarcadero, across from the Ferry Building. Meet on the north or east side of the large fountain next to the large grassy area. See the map on the right. (We are hoping to get FaceFX to provide professional body painting but that hasn't been confirmed yet.)
Shortcut to this page: www.sfwnbr.org

Ride details

Schedule 11:00 AM: Gather. The earlier time allows us to take advantage of the midday warmth during the middle of summer. Undress. Apply sunscreen. Group consensus on route details. Bike checkout & attaching signs / body painting & slogans. just after Noon: Ride starts (approx). Depending on the mood of the group and the amount of media coverage we are getting the ride may start 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? Weather Late July weather should be quite warm and ideal for a naked bike ride. Check the local weather at the following sites: 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. Check out these websites for details: Bay Area Rapid Transit CalTrain Route In Revision. The route for the July ride is being revised. Initially, the intent was to revisit parts of the first 2004 route, and then head westward toward Ocean Beach. But then it was learned that the dreaded LA Dodgers are in town to play our beloved SF Giants, so we must do a loop around AT&T Park to start the ride and delight all those baseball fans. We'll then return to Market Street on Third Street and continue to the Wiggle up to the Haight (Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Stop!!!) Then we will head to Fulton and out to Ocean Beach. We will then ride south on the Great Highway, past the Zoo, & a lap around Lake Merced. Then we will head back east up Sloat where we will turn onto Portola and Market Street to our finish at the Market Street/Castro Street corner. It is a longer route, but with more flat portions. There are also good bike lanes on most of it, plus the Great Highway southbound has been frequently closed to vehicular traffic this summer. The final portion on Portola is a mild uphill grade and we plan several stops to regroup and refresh ourselves 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.

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 this 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 Liberal San Francisco is accustomed to people going completely naked on public streets in broad daylight. Other city events where open nudity is common are Critical Mass rides, Bay-to-Breakers, Nude Olympics, the Folsom Street Fair and Gay Pride events. Basically, as long as you only go naked in public streets and stay out of any city or federal parks you are good. Going naked outside the main group does increase your chances of being cited for something whether justified or not. There's more safety in numbers. 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) contains the actual codes and regulations (with references) regarding nudity so you can educate anyone who may question your right to go naked in public. 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! Main WNBR website ‎

Discussion groups SF WNBR Yahoo! Group SF WNBR Tribe (might be dropped for lack of interest)

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