San Francisco

List of rides > US > San Francisco 

The 3rd Annual Southern Hemisphere World Naked Bike Ride on March 10th was a huge success with 3 times the number of riders that we had last year -- close to 200. That's equal to the turn out of our largest main event ride in June. Well done everyone. We also had a very nice gender mix. Our next secondary WNBR ride is coming up on April 22nd, Earth Day. Last year we had 6 riders. We are sure to get more this year. Celebrate environmental activism, free-body culture, bicycling as an alternative to cars and a generally greener way of living. And, don't forget the main event coming up in June. As always, it's free and no r.s.v.p. is required. Just show up!

Next ride

Date: Sunday April 22, 2012.
Time: 10 or 11 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. (Body Painting Booth only on the June ride.)
Shortcut to this page: www.sfwnbr.org

Ride details

Schedule 10 AM: Gather. We are thinking of starting an hour earlier to take advantage of the midday warmth during the ride. But, this has not been fully decided yet. Undress. Apply sunscreen. Group consensus on route details. Bike checkout & attaching signs / body painting & slogans. Plan to paint your body at home or bring supplies. (Lip stick works in a pinch as long as you like shades of red.) 11:30AM: 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 later. 3 pm (approx): Main ride finishes. Weather April weather is completely unpredicable but plan for cool, windy weather near the bay. Maybe bring a wind breaker just in case. Once we warm up riding our bikes, being naked is more invigorating then chilly. It's warmer and less windy inland. 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 transportion 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 The route for the Earth Week ride is in the works. Contact us by posting on our Facebook page for any ideas. The basic concept for this ride will be to concentrate mainly in the downtown Civic Center, SOMA and southern Embarcadero areas. Ride Pace and Difficulty The ride is at a slow to moderate pace with frequent stops so we can show off our decorated naked bodies and bikes, 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. The just completed 3RD Annual Southern Hemisphere Ride had one skater stay on pace with our entire ride from start to finish. 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.) There is a new city regulation that requires nudists to place something between their bare bottoms and whatever they are sitting on when using public seating. However, we think it should be okay to sit bare-bottomed on the grass or on the concrete walls lining the grass areas. Another new regulation forbids nudity in public eating establishments. That may mean no more ice creams at Ben and Jerry's in the buff like we did on the June 2011 WNBR.

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.

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.