Boulder

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Date: Saturday 14 June 2008
Time: 4pm MDT
Location: Hawthorne Community Gardens (aka North Boulder Community Gardens)

  • Note that there will be a Denver ride on Saturday 12 July 2008!

Media coverage

2006

Photos

2007 photos

2006 photos

2005 photos

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2004 videos

History

WNBR 2004

Date: Saturday, June 12, 4:00 PM Location: Hawthorn Community Gardens (aka North Boulder Community Gardens), South Side

About 15 people, not much full nudity.

WNBR 2005

Date: Saturday, June 11, 4:00 PM Location: Hawthorne Community Gardens (aka North Boulder Community Gardens), South Side

Three generations of men and women, in various states of undress, on bikes, a skateboard and a Segway, converged at 4:00 PM to the designated rendez vous place: the Community Gardens. They were shocked to see tens of curious onlookers already there, tipped off by a well orchestrated publicity campaign. It was immediately a festive scene, with riders and onlookers alike checking out the costumes, signs, and get-ups, people snapping pictures with anything from cell-phones to broadcast TV cameras. A neighbor excitedly came by with a basked of candies to help the riders celebrate. (It was a far cry from the previous year, when barely a dozen of embarrassed, cold riders met and tried to encourage each other in the otherwise empty gardens.) So emboldened, the group headed into the residential streets. The plan was to head east on deserted paths to give people time to gain courage. That plan was spoiled by the Boulder Police. Within five minutes, a police cruiser arrived and stopped the group. They had received a complaint (such incredible fast responsiveness!) and wanted to check everyone's IDs. Half the group said the heck with it, turned around and was led by Robin (whose nipples doubled as the noses of two cute drawn mice). That group headed straight downtown (no further emboldening needed), screaming chants such as ("More Ass / Less Gas", "My ass is clean / How about your gasoline") to the great cheers of onlooker. Mostly. One onlooker was a young man holding a baby in his arm, covering the baby's eyes (!); when told that seeing a few naked bodies wouldn't harm the child, the man, stopped covering the child's eyes just long enough to flip the riders the bird. In the meanwhile, the police let the other group go after finishing the perfunctory action of taking some names, to allow them to tell the concerned citizens that they had taken action. This group headed east, according to the previous plan, and went by the local community station, KGNU, where an amused DJ interviewed a few of them. Through that radio interview, the first group found out where the second group was, and a plan was made to rendez vous along the Boulder Creek. By now the reunited group numbered around 50, a very heartening turnout, for a relatively small city such as Boulder! After one more lap through the downtown area, interrupting buskers and shocking out-of town visitors, the group headed back to the starting point, the home of one of the organizers, for cheering, marry making, group photos, and eventually revert to what by now felt like a very cumbersome custom: wearing clothes.

WNBR 2006

Date: Saturday, June 17, 4:00 PM Location: Hawthorne Community Gardens (aka North Boulder Community Gardens), South Side

The ride was postponed by a week to accommodate people who planned to attend other like-minded events on 10 June. Again, about 60 people took part. There was more nudity, as participants had become more comfortable with it. This year the Media were absent at the start, though a few reporters simply rode with us (clothed). The ride included a plunge in the Boulder Creek, which gave an excuse for the shyer ones to finally shed their clothes. Unfortunately, a few people quit the ride at the end, and went to a liquor store, where two of them were arrested. The circumstances are under dispute. Here are two sides of the story:


WNBR 2007

Date: Saturday, June 16, 4:00 PM Location: Hawthorne Community Gardens (aka North Boulder Community Gardens), South Side

Once more, the ride was postponed by a week to accommodate people who planned to attend Apogea on the 9th of June. A big downpour at 3:00 PM was a concern, but, by 4:00 PM., people started gathering at the meeting point. About 54 people took part. Most people were nude or nearly so, with just 2 or three people fully dressed. There were no media nor spectators at the start, unlike past years. Because of the rain, few people were about around town, and the Downtown Mall wasn't crowded. Mostly, participants spent more time enjoying the ride and waving at well-wishers, and less time chanting slogans. The mood seemed rather relaxed, as there was an understanding that, as long as we didn't break any traffic rules, the cops would leave us alone. A cop did stop to tell us not to stop in parks with children, and not to be photographed with children; fair enough. A highlight of the ride was when we ran into a wedding party at Eben G Fine park; the naked riders formed an arch on either side of the sidewalk, and the wedding party marched through it, a bit of uneasy perhaps, but certainly in good nature (that will make one interesting wedding video!). By 6:00 PM, the riders had returned to the starting point, happy to have successfully completed the 4th annual World Naked Bike Ride in Boulder.

Photographer's note: Actually the wedding party encounter was not at all uneasy. I talked to them prior to their procession and they seemed to really enjoy the opportunity and had a good time with it. It was truly a great and memorable WNBR-Boulder moment.

BoulderWeddingParty.jpg

Photo by Brett Amole: http://www.amolephoto.com/

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