Seattle 2006 2007

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10 June 2006

The date of the event was Saturday 10 June 2006 (4th WNBR Seattle Ride (there were two rides in 2005), 3rd Annual Main Event)
The time was Bodypainting party 9am - 12 noon, Special Music Guest: Mariachi Festival Mexicana 11:05 am - 12:05 pm, we left Gas Works Park at least 10-15 mins after our departure time of 12 noon. (first and easier part of ride), arrive at Seattle Center probably between 12.20pm and 12.45pm, leave Seattle Center International Fountain after 15-20 minutes max. Second leg of ride begins after leaving the Seattle Center. Last leg of ride will probably arrive back at Gas Works Park around 6pm (We told people around 4:30 pm, no guarantees) Bring a minimum to wear!).
Start Location was Gas Works Park

For more information see schedule and route planning and Seattle concerns.

2006 route plotted!

See the 2006 route as plotted out by gmap-pedometer.com.

Ride Reports

Preliminary info from Daniel

• We spent just under 6 hours on the road and in the parks, approximately 27+ miles were covered! A new record for naked bike rides in Seattle.
• We were able to use many of the bathrooms in the park system this year and that really made things go so much smoother. We had about seven bathroom breaks! We made sure everybody was drinking enough water, given all the screaming and cycling we were doing.
• The Mariachi Band was a lot of fun, they even had a vocalist.
• Our body painting area easily doubled, we had plenty of room for painting this year.
• The fountain program sequence at the Seattle Center was quite awesome.
• We were in the fountain area during the Discover Seattle: The Newcomers Fair at Fischer Pavilion. (See the Seattle Times commentary).
• We went up Pike street, a first. Much more fun than going up South Jackson in the International District and the hill really wasn't as bad as some were thinking.
• We stopped at Cal Anderson Park and took a shot at the water feature.
• The yoga session at Madronna Park with Mekosun was awesome and a first for Seattle!
• Much of Lake Washington Blvd was closed for use by cyclists, that was really awesome.
• We stopped at Stan Sayres Park and hung out there for a while. Beautiful views
• The ride to and around Seward Park was great. Views were awesome. We had an incredible presence at the Group Health Bicycle days event there. We completely took over a beach there and went in to the water and chilled out.
• We gathered to sing happy birthday to some family having a picnic at Madronna after visiting the park for a second time on the way back.
• We went through the Arboretum and over the Montlake Bridge
• We caught a number of UW grads after commencement on the Burke Gilman Trail.
• I think we got a lot of good personality shots this year and interaction with the public.
• People all over the city loved us and we had a great time!

From Nexus

'Morning... with sore legs and stretching lots...

The ride here in Seattle was great... started with 65 or so real troupers riding for the 1st leg... it was grey, windy, and not pleasant.. could have stared to rain... from Gas Works Park (on Lake Union) to Seattle Center to play in the famous International Fountain (dancing waters with music)... folks were welcome to join/leave the ride at major points (less media after we left Gas Works)... then we rode to Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill, the renamed, renovated and renewed urban park now covering the Lincoln Reservoir... a bathroom break, snacks and photo opps... then we rode via Union Street (hills!) to Madrona Park on Lake Washington where we connected with Matt Meko ( www.MekoSun.com) for some naked yoga/streching in the park... lovely!... bathroom breaks here too... then we headed south towards Seward Park, and on this day a great section of Lk Wash Blvd was closed to cars so bikes ruled the roads... very nice weather began the sun broke thru the gray skies and began to give us gifts of warm rays more often... once at Seward Park we rode the 2.4mi path around the 300 acre park all along the shores of Lake Washington... well we stopped half way for bathroom breaks, a dip in the cool water for some and a rest and snack break... at this point blue skies with just whisps of thin cloud streaks brought us much warm sunny rewards... sunbathing for a while too... The final leg was underway soon, back to Madrona Park and then via UW Commencement traffic (hehehehe) after the Montlake Bridge, and then back to Gas works park.

The entire route was 27 miles and completed in about 6 hours and with many great stories of reactions and joy and laughter shared with the many folks who observed us. Gads, we'd just rode a marathon naked!

Yes, helmets were required and shoes (the basics for riding naked).

Memories and giggles

• "Look at the pretty boats!" - said by a mother to her son as our ride passed their family (all on bikes) going the other direction...
• After meeting and hanging out with them for a while, singing a naked happy birthday to the family having a picnic at Madrona Park. Joyous!
• "He has a black dick!" - comments from a car to cyclist painted to look as if wearing black spandex shorts with blue cycling jersey.

From Cowboy Ken

The ride was quite liberating for me. The very idea of me riding a bike through the streets of Seattle naked with no self conscious feeling at all was at least a step in the right direction. I just did something that most people could not do even if they wanted to. As for the ride itself, I found it to be the most organized event I've witnessed ever. It could have had more news coverage though. Thanks again and see ya all next year. -Ken

From Chip

While covering much of the route with the photographer, watching the crowd and talking to some of the general public up to and thru the Cal Anderson Park stop, there was nothing negative at all that I saw. We have a picture of the lady with the kids that is the only mention of a reaction. The shot of her laughing friend is a great counter. My neighbor on East Pike street thought it was great. The restaurant crowd in particular. I was at the Park at the time you guys were coming up E. Pike but the folks at Rosebud said they thought it was a hoot. So, nothing negative from anything I saw. The honking cars and cheers when you came over the Fremont bridge were a lot of fun. -Chip

From Quinton

The only negative I recall was the woman at Seward Park, when we stopped by the water and couple of people were swimming.

Oh, and a woman who had three children turned in at Seattle Center. . . while next to her was another woman with children saying "look! look!" -Quinton

30 June 2007

The date of the our first WNBR Seattle Night Ride event was Saturday, 30 June 2007. This was the 5th WNBR Seattle Ride.
The time was 10 pm meetup, 11 pm ride start The ride location was at Green Lake Park East Swim Beach, meeting near the life guard chair. The address is 7201 E Green Lake Dr, located in North Seattle near the Green Lake Community Center and Evans Pool. Parks & Rec page: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/GreenLakePark/beach1.htm

Concept and theme

This is new for Seattle. Naked night rides have been done quite a bit in Vancouver and Victoria BC and Portland, OR. Seattle does have other night rides including Critical Mass http://scrimass.org, Point 83 Thursday Night Community Bike Ride http://www.point83.com/forum, as well as Tuesday Night Community Bike Ride (hosting organization?). We also found out, upon meeting some cyclists at the first event, there is an informal streaking group that cycles Green Lake Park on occasion.

Interestingly enough, the original WNBR concept was pitched as being a night ride. I was actually criticized a bit for suggesting to do it during the day. But Seattle has a strong tradition of day riding already in place with Critical Ass and the Solstice Cyclists so it was a bit hard to imagine doing it any other way. Some WNBR cities still only ride at night.

A night ride has some advantages though, some people may prefer riding late at night because they are a tad shy. There is also less car traffic and the nigh time does have its own mystique and party atmosphere sometimes. Its also a bit easier to find some secluded areas for having a pre-ride party.

Be seen!

Excessive blinky bike light insanity, radical costumes, kustom bike art culture and over the top body paint jobs are highly encouraged. WNBR (and any other large bike ride IMHO) IS ABOUT BEING SEEN, HAVING FUN and getting others excited about cycling!

Where to get stuff

You can buy bike lights at any good local bike shop. Some bicycle shops listed here: http://www.nwsource.com/peoplespicks/2004/shopping/bicycle_shop.html

Funky lights

Aside from your standard LED lights which you can find at any good bike shop, there area also other funky lights out there including:

• Bicycle Tire Sparx Go online to find other funky lights
• You can also buy trippy hypnotic spoke lights online at Hokey Spokes Very cool! Note: these do add noticeable weight to the wheels and makes pedaling a slight bit more of a chore.

Special requests

Please do not disrobe completely until just shortly before we all leave together. As always, nudity is optional during the ride. Being respectful of other riders, other people using the road and the general public is not optional. Everybody is expected to help self-police the event to make the experience is safe and fun for everybody!

Route

Daniel intentionally made no ride route or planned destinations for the night ride. He wanted this ride to be more spontaneous than the main rides. The options were to discuss where we might want to go before leaving or we may just follow the people in the front of the ride, much like Critical Mass. Suggested places included U-District and Gas Works. But the ride was stopped after going around about one time, about 95% around the 2.8-mile path around the lake.

Media & Press coverage

No press releases were sent out for this ride.

Ride Reports

Daniel's report

Pre-ride

• I arrived late for the meetup due to special event at Bastyr. I did send out an e-mail about this but this did cause some confusion.
• I initially did not give much time for bodypainting. If people want to bodypaint for these events we should discuss it. I'm not aware of body painting ever being done for Night Rides in Seattle. Because of my tardiness, I also did not provide the body painting stuff.
• I really wanted to encourage people to bring bike lights. Paul and I both had Hokey Spokes and tire valve LED lights. Paul was spelling out some words on the spokes but it was difficult to see. I had one on my front tire and four on the rear. That added some very noticeable weight that was a bit awkward, but the effect was very cool. I easily had the most light. I had eleven lights all together, all LED-based.

Attendance

• We had six people show up to ride for the event, one photographer and one supporter from one of the local clothing-optional beaches.
  • Two girls were not able to make it one sick, the other got a flat somewhere. Another male could not make it because it was too late at night. Perhaps we should move the time of the ride to 10 or 10:30? I initially chose 11 because Portland does midnight rides.
• We met up with three cyclists who said that they occasionally streak Green Lake Park on their bikes. I had no idea people were streaking Green Lake so much. Very inspiring.
• All six of us got undressed in the dark on the trail and shortly after started the ride.

Ride

• The weather was only slightly comfortable. I found it fine for a night ride. We probably should move the bigger night ride events out of June.
• Sprinklers were on in the park and we went through a number of them.
• Strayed off the path once onto the turf and up towards Highway 99 and then along that road for a bit before going back down to the trail.

Photography

• Before leaving I also talked to a group of about six or more young people along the path heading north. They agreed to take our picture in exchange for sending us shots. They seemed to think it would be cool. We passed them at a fairly slow pace. Haven't heard back from them.
• I felt there was a bit of tension with the small number of cyclists and presence of a photographer who was not riding in the event. I did not anticipate this in advance. We asked initially what everybody thought about photography and everybody seemed OK with it. The amount of photography contrasted to the number of cyclists seemed to be a bit much. During large naked/painted cycling events there are more photographers and more cyclists, somehow the dynamics seemed quite different in this event. Things were way more intimate, probably for two reasons, we did not have crowds, number of riders was small. I could sense the public world of WNBR and the more private, casual world of night streakers was clashing a bit.
• While initially stating that photography was ok, one of the riders changed his mind after the photographer and helper tried to get a shot of us on a dock on the west. This felt a bit unnatural to stop the ride and take a shot. Here it is significant to point out that this ride felt distinctly different than daytime WNBR events, Solstice Cyclists, Beeper. In part this related to the experiences and expectations of riders participating and perhaps the streakers were not used to.
• Perhaps we could schedule regular streaking of Green Lake Park and have one of the events be a WNBR event. Riding around Green Lake without clothes did seem to have the feeling of a political event for some reason to me. It just seemed like fun. I will have to give this more thought.

From Keith

(General suggestions for Night Rides)

• When we have a night ride scheduled it should be no later than 10:00 PM. 11:00 PM is late for many people and I think the attendance would be better
• Night rides should be on Saturday evenings not Sunday. People often work on Monday. Day rides could be on Sat or Sun. It would be necessary to get feedback on what day is better.
• The entire group should have input on the route and the agreement should be mutual.
• If someone is not comfortable we should talk about it or take a different approach.
• People need to be honest if they are worried or nervous about anything about the ride. Speak....
• NO NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY. I think it slows down the ride and some people might be uncomfortable.
• When departing for the ride it is important to make sure everyone is ready to leave and not just start going. Last night people started going and I felt left behind in the beginning. At the Solstice ride it was very structured and no one was left behind. Everyone new when to go.

Some things that might help for future rides:

• Have a theme or reason for the ride. For example, less use of oil or to reduce greenhouse gases and to promote biking etc.
• Naked rides should be to promote nudity in a good light and not that being naked is taboo.

From Paul

My Thoughts..

• I would agree with Keith and Daniel. This ride was fun, but very different from the other rides I've done. The wind was a little too cold, but a simple top would have been enough.
• I sensed doing this ride that it's a totally viable option to gather in July and August on warm nights just for fun rides at Green Lake. I didn't hear that the others had been doing it.
• Painting on bottoms would make the nakedness almost invisible at night. By the time you ride by someone with all the lights, they won't even notice. However, it isn't necessary to be painted. It does make me wonder about painting on bike shorts and going for a night ride along the Burke Gilman trail or other similar routes! :-)
• It does seem like this kind of ride is more a fun event than any kind of message statement. I believe many more riders are necessary to make any kind of statement to the public during a ride.
• That said, this is likely the only way to build up any of these rides to where there is any kind of statement made, whether about body acceptance, oil use, cycling, health etc. I am reminded of the Seattle P.I. article about the Solstice Parade. The writer noted comments about the difficulty in parking near the parade route! What will it take to show people they can afford bikes and use them, even if to drive near to an event and use the bike for the rest of it? It is amazing to me.
• I'm writing this on a very warm 4th of July, and can't help but wonder about a quick network of communication to meet others for a nice ride on an evening like tonight's, even with fireworks etc.
• I also agree, that until a large group ride is a reality, there is no need for photography.
• It would be good to know an idea of the length in miles or time ahead of the ride if possible, for those that may have time constraints.
• If it starts earlier with the shortening days, then it's easier to just agree to a route on site, or follow a leader, as it wouldn't be as late into the night.

14 July 2007

57 riders. We did a count using J. Steve's placard method at our secret rolling start location.

Warm day, warmest weather we have ever had.

Some of us danced at a concert at Cal Anderson Park called Sounds Outside: A Celebration of Adventurous Music and Community (See Marte's movie of this below). This was presented by The Monktail Creative Music Concern. http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/CalAndersonPark/event3.pdf

Police were involved in our event three times. Three were arrested at Seward Park and held in holding cell and released within 2 hours. First arrests for a WNBR Seattle event.

There was a belligerent rider who generated a complaint from a citizen and many complaints from riders and staff.

Yoga in the Park at Madrona Park this year featured drumming by Dennis Martin's drumming group.

First post-ride party at secret location revealed only to riders and volunteer staff.

People came from all over for this ride! We had two cousins visiting Seattle from Brazil (a smaller city near San Paulo?), both of them riding a tandem; Marte Kinder from Newcastle, Australia; one male from Post Falls, Idaho; and his female friend from Kalispell, Montana; and Tom from Portland.

Ride Reports

Check back soon