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--- Bristol World Naked Bike Ride 2011 -
Are you scared to ride a bike in Bristol, come and ride naked with us!
SADDLE up for the most weird, wonderful, incredible bike ride you've ever seen!
Bristol World Naked Bike Ride is happening on Sunday 19th of June. The ride leaves the Full Moon Pub, on Stokes Croft, at 1.30pm. The Full Moon will be our start and finish point. Be there, as bare as you dare! There is also some body painting going on. If you want to body paint yourself, come at 11am, it takes a while.
Helpers needed!!! There will also be a pre-ride event at the Attic Bar, next to the Full Moon, at which we will be making flags, banners and recruit stewards and helpers. Everyone is welcome to join us for this making session at 6pm on Tuesday June 7th.
If you would like to help in any way large or small, before hand or on the day please send an email to [email protected]
Last year Bristol had its very first WNBR and it was a massive success. A colourful, noisy, uplifting parade of hundreds of naked and semi-naked riders cruised the city highlighting how vulnerable cyclists are in the ever growing tide of traffic - they may indeed as well be naked such is the risk of cycling in urban areas.
By riding naked on the streets of Bristol those taking part are calling for greater awareness and respect between all road users - cyclists, cars, lorries, buses and pedestrians - to make all journeys safer and more enjoyable.
With the aims of The Bristol Cycling Campaign in mind - which is campaigning for a car free city centre, priority cycle routes and a 20mph speed limit - the route has been planned so that cyclists of all levels can take part.
The dress code is as "bare as you dare" and participants are encouraged to wear as little as they feel confident with. Birthday suits are certainly encouraged and judging by last year will be on show in abundance. But no-one will be turned away because of what they are or are not wearing. Last year many people were semi-naked or were painted head to toe in body paint. There are no clothing limits between you and your saddle.
The police have been informed and no-one is breaking the law. Nudity itself is not an offence and at last year's ride there were no problems at all - only double takes, smiles & broad grins all round.
The ride, which is registered with Bike Week, will be leaving from The Full Moon Pub, on Stokes Croft, at 1.30pm. Anyone who wants to be body painted or decorate their bicycle can turn up from 11am.
This is a fantastic event which shows the bicycle as a huge catalyst for change. Cycling has a massive role to play in the future of sustainability, transport, community and recreation.
Cities all around the world are reducing car traffic in their centres and the benefits - economically, environmentally and socially - are immediately obvious. Bicycles create public space, enhance street life and build a sense of community.
The Bristol World Naked Bike Ride is highlighting all these issues not just for cyclists now but for future generations. Surveys consistently show that children want to walk or cycle to school. We are just too scared to let them in the current levels of traffic. Our cities should be safe for anyone of any age to cycle in a safe environment.
Our message is clear. Scared to ride your bike in traffic? - Come ride naked with us!
Everyone is welcome to join this free event. Please note that no minors are allowed without parental supervision. Any children at the ride are the responsibility of the parent/guardian who brings them.
The route will travel through the city centre for approximately one and a half to two hours, stopping at College Green at approximately 2.30pm, where there will be a photo call.
The ride will finish back at the Full Moon Pub at about 3.30pm.
There is now a facebook group called Bristol World Naked Bike Ride, and we started a blogspot for extra web exposure and fun Bristol WNBR Blog
We hope you can all join us again this year for another wonderful ride.
Again! Again! Again!
your Bristol WNBR Team
Please donate to the WNBR UK Fund
The UK World Naked Bike Ride fund meets the cost of insuring rides
across the UK, and provides local organisers with money for
poster/flyer printing, advertising, ride equipment etc.
Please give generously.
- See also: Bath
Contents
Next ride
Date: Sunday June 19th 2011
Time: gather from 11am, ride leaves 1:30pm
Location: The Full Moon and Attic Bar, Stokes Croft(info here)
History
A "taster" version of this ride took place on 14 October 2006, as an activity associated with the free film screening at the Watershed Cinema at 11.45am. The screening was hosted by the Wildscreen Festival, and the numbers at the film were more than the theatre capacity (40?). Following the film, at 12.30pm the riders assembled to set off on an impromptu ride. The police decided to require the riders to cover their "genitals" at the front (for female riders, this meant breasts too). The riders complied, and then set off on a mini ride, in very cold weather. Although the ride was intended to last just 30 minutes, the 17 riders continued for an hour, and managed to pass out all the leaflets they had on hand. By and large, the ride was greeted with support and enthusiasm, and bystanders were able to discern the purpose of the ride (thanks to many signs on bikes). The BBC (Points West) filmed the event and included it in the regional TV news reports. There is a short written report on the BBC website too. There seems to be enthusiasm for a future ride in Bristol – probably in June 2008.
Bristol - World Naked Bike Ride 2010 Big Success!!!
The new Bristol World Naked Bike Ride on June 13th 2010 was overwhelmingly succesfull. We were expecting 30-50 people and we got nearer 200. There were tallbikes, a unicyclist, recumbants, tricycles, a pedal powered soundsystem, people of all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life, Super Cow was there, plenty of Avataars, stripey people, spotty people, pink people and the naked man with big boots on a penny farthing was just a fantastic sight to behold. Under the slogan of Healthy Hearts in Car-Free Cities! the ride focused on promoting the idea of regular Car Free Sundays, and highlighting proposed traffic free environments in Bristol such as Park Street, Baldwin Street, The Centre, Corn Street...
It was just ridiculously good fun. Again, again, again!! was the cry at the end of the ride. 'Can we do this every Sunday ?!'
It was great to see how everyone stopped in their tracks as the group approached, and as soon as it went there remained a happy buzz in the air with people smiling and laughing. We really made an impact and created awareness of the need and desire for car-free Sundays in city centres.
My Bike, My Heart, My City!
Have a look on the blog for some quotes, a poem and links to loads of pictures. Bristol WNBR Blog
A big thank you to everyone who came and made this event so fantastic and a regular fixture on the Bristol Calendar!
Naked We Ride Vive la Velorution!
Click here for a google maps link to our 2010 Route Map
Planning collective
UK rides are expected to be planned in a collective manner if possible, and York, London, Cardiff, and Brighton rides adopted this style of organisation. If Bristol opts to have a ride, we expect it would be organising through open planning meetings where decisions will be taken collectively. As an interim measure a few riders will act as sole organisers until there are enough people involved to arrange meetings.
That said, we have a ride coordinator who will facilitate the ride planning process whether or not there is a planning collective.
Here's what the coordinator normally does:
- answers people's questions with care and consideration
- keeps track of who is doing what, and how far through things people are
- deals with problems and follow the discussions at the national level
- provides email updates to let people know what's going on
- points out where and when help is needed
- acts as a contact point for general enquiries (email and sometimes mobile phone)
- maintains contact information (and keeps it secure)
Additional responsibilities that the coordinator choose to take on:
- arrange meetings, compile agendas, provide minutes
- ensure that the collective remains non-hierarchical but organised
- moderate an email list for Bristol ride planning
Media coverage
2006
- 24dash.com, 14 Oct 2006: "Environmentalists stage 'naked' bike ride protest"
- BBC News, 14 Oct 2006: "Clothes ditched for climate stunt"
- Stern Report on Cost of Naked Cyclists to UK Economy, October 31st, 2006 (by Josh Hart)
Photos
2010
- antinbath (flickr.com)
- bara-koukoug (flickr.com)
- solarsid (flickr.com)
- TammyLynnPhotography (flickr.com)
- IanHaskins (flickr.com)
- stringberd (flickr.com)
- princesshbd (and other pictures by princesshbd - flickr.com)
- 10982648905003711
2006
Flickr photos:
Links
Website/s
– Bristol WNBR Blog Facebook Group Bristol World Naked Bike Ride
Discussion group/s
- WNBR Bristol & Bath Yahoo! group
Related links
- Bristol Critical Mass
- CTC Bristol
- Bristol Cycling Campaign
- Bath Cycling Campaign
- Cyclebag East - an East-Bristol based cycling club
- Lifecycle - (formerly Cycle West) is a charity that helps people take up cycling.
- North Somerset Cycle Campaign
- Chipping Norton Easyriders – (Cotswolds region)
- Sustrans - a national organisation promoting cycling but it started as a Bristol organisation called Cyclebag
- Little Fiets - Hosted the first Bath WNBR in 2005 as part of the Wacky Races at The Wheel Thing festival. If you need things moved the kinder more ecological way, why not move it by the Little Fiets own magical milkfloat?
Contact/s
Location information
- The Full Moon is easy to reach from both Temple Meads train station and the central Bus Station
- Wikipedia: Bristol
- Wikipedia: UK
