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• April 18, 2015 SF WNBR: It's that time to tune up those bikes and toss those riding duds in the wash, you won't need them for the World Naked Bike Ride in San Francisco. It's the second WNBR of the year, in conjunction with Earth Day and the FIFTH anniversary of the British Petroleum Deep Horizon explosion and Macondo Well oil spill disaster, the worst oil spill in history that occurred on April 20, 2010. Ironically, environmentalist John Muir's birthday.

• It is time for the Fifth Annual Earth Day World Naked Bike Ride - San Francisco chapter.

• The BP oil spill left dead sea life and birds as well as the environmental devastation of the gulf that will impact sea life and the economy of the gulf's fishing industry for decades. With the Japan quake & tsunami 4years ago all but forgotten, environmental issues are more important than ever. There still remains to this day a huge blanket of oil at the bottom of the Gulf. Don't let clear waters above fool you into thinking the clean up job is finished. What better way to refresh the public's memory than with a World Naked Bike Ride.

• We meet on the northeast side of Vaillancourt Fountain, between the fountain and Embarcadero Blvd at 11:00 AM. This gives us time to do body/face paint and reacquaint ourselves. Bring body paints, watercolors and markers to apply slogans and designs to each other and adorn your bikes with signs; meet with old and new friends.

• While it is a "naked" bike ride, all are welcome; it's ride as bare as you dare. That is, body paint, rubber latex, bikinis, topless, lingerie, bubble pack, whatever costume you are comfortable riding with. And we have already had 8 WNBRs while under cloud of the oppressive Weiner anti-nudity ordinance, with NO citations or complaints. If you are still uncertain, than its best to have a sarong, a beach wrap or shorts ready for quick coverup.

• As always, our ride is in continued protest of an unsustainable energy policy in all nations around the globe. We support the innovation of alternate and improved energy technologies, the social commitment to a more sustainable energy consumption and generally the pure fun and joy of riding naked to draw attention to these issues. However, this time the main protest is about the BP oil spill and since this is Earth Day, special reverence for our ecosystem and respect for Mother Earth.

• You decide how much bare you can dare, you can go all out in the joy of sun clad nakedness, go topless, bikinis, body paint or latex, leotard or lingerie, or tuxedos, whatever you feel like. For this ride, however, since an oil spill is the target of our angst, an appropriate statement can be made to mimic spilled oil. Nude riders can use black body paint splattered or coated. Those a little timid about nudity can use black trash bags that resemble spilled oil. Or you can be even more creative and artistic with black latex body paint to achieve a sheen and gloss that really looks like spilled oil. Since it is Earth Day we are celebrating the environment, so if you don't go the bare route or the oil spill look, then adorn yourself with green colors; shoes, hats, scarves, capes, whatever, to promote a greener way of life.

• Skates or skateboards have ridden along with us in the past. Also we had our first tandem bike in our last ride. How about a nude unicyclist? And music maestro please. How about some of you musical bikes from Rock The Bike sounding off with us?*

• Our ride will focus on downtown SOMA areas, Embarcadero, and most flat areas along the financial area downtown. We will go down to Fisherman's Wharf and then back toward the Earth Day Festival in the Mission District before ending our ride in the Castro.

• Later that evening, many of our riders may want to take in

BICYCLE DAY 2015at the Warfield Theater, starts at 7:00 PM

• Earth Day Event Page

• Keep up to date on events and info at our: Facebook Fan Page

Saturday, April 18, 2015

• Time: 11:00 AM | Location: North end of Justin Herman Plaza (JHP) near Market St. and the Embarcadero, across from the Ferry Building. Body/Face painting was previously provided by Very Fairy Event in past rides and they will try & be here again in June.

• Body Paint Face Paint Slogans We are always seeking the assistance of local and national artists for body painting, face painting and slogans. Don't want to ride, but want to do some cool paint, you're welcome to help us out at the start. Riders are also encouraged to please bring markers and water paints to do slogans and graphics on each other, a fun way to make new friends. Meet on the north or east side of the large fountain next to the large grassy area towards Embarcadero. See the map on the right.

Shortcut to this page: www.sfwnbr.org

• Join our Facebook Fan Page
• RSVP at our Facebook 2015 Earth Day World Naked Bike Ride Event Page

The Facebook Event Page has discussions and posts as well as additional ride details

The WNBR Basics

Schedule 11:00 AM: Gather. The earlier time allows us to take advantage of the midday warmth. Undress. Apply sunscreen. Turn sheets & maps distributed and going over route details. Bike checkout & attaching signs / body painting & slogans. Group photo, then pre-start circling in the plaza in front of the fountain just after Noon: Ride starts (approx) usually between 12:15pm to 12:30pm. Depending on the mood of the group and the amount of media coverage we are getting the ride start always varies a bit after noon. about 2:00PM We plan on returning to Justin Herman Plaza for a brief stop to allow any remaining artists and models to join our ride 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? Route Done. The Earth Day Ride will focus on the downtown, SOMA district, Fisherman's Wharf, of course the Wiggle past Buena Vista Park to Haight St and Ben & Jerry's and of course down to and around the Earth Day Festival, held this year done in the Mission on 22rd St between Mission and Valencia... We definitely want as many riders as possible to stick with us at least to Haight Street and what has turned into a traditional stop for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream 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. Weather April weather tends to be a bit warmer and at times downright hot. The forecast for this weekend is temperature in the upper 70's and low 80's: 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. If you do drive, try to carpool. There is a fair number of parking on the southern area of Market near the ride's final destination at the Castro/Market corner. It takes about 10-15 minutes to ride your bike from there to Justin Herman Plaza. Check out these websites for details: Bay Area Rapid Transit CalTrain

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 last 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 not so liberal anymore with the passage of an anti-nudity ordinance that went into effect on February 1st, 2013. Our four WNBR rides last year were a test to see how far we can push the limits. If this year is going to operate under the same leniency, there is no problem anticipated. It is apparent the city officials have studied the matter sufficiently to not desire a legal battle with the First Amendment protection our protests afford. If you go naked, have a protest message to go with the nudity in the form of body painted slogans or signs. Be prepared to cover up. So far, the authorities have been nice in giving people an opportunity to cover up before giving out citations. Bare breasts are okay. To be legal, you just need to barely cover your private parts. Going naked outside the main group will definitely get you cited. There's more safety in numbers. Bay To Breakers citations! A few nude runners/walkers during the recent 2014 Bay To Breakers were told to cover up, in spite of the so-called written exemptions written into the "Weiner Law" for this event and others like the Folsom Fair that have had a longstanding tradition of nudity. A few nudist activists were given citations. It looks as if a number of SFPD are being told to do an "end run" around the ordinance. If anyone encounters any officers doing "their job" and directing you to cover, please take down their badge numbers and names. You typically have a 5 minute time interval to cover without getting a citation. We have in the past had a good relationship with the SFPD. If confronted, be polite and non-confrontational, try to defuse, not escalate the situation. One person being an ass or a dick (pun intended) can put the remainder of the ride at risk. 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) (now out of date) contains the actual codes and regulations (with references) regarding nudity. 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! Our World Naked Bike Ride - San Francisco Facebook Fan Page is the place to get latest ride info and where to find WNBR Event pages to RSVP ATTENTION: WE"RE BACK!!! Our Facebook Fan Page has been republished. After Facebook prudes took it down a week before our July 2013 ride, we were determined to start up again. A new WNBR Fan Page has been created and NO photos will be allowed if Facebook has a problem with plain nudity and social protest. Old WNBR website (information often outdated) ‎

Discussion groups SF WNBR Yahoo! Group (No longer a reliable information source for lack of interest from the page admin, however a few WNBR riders still post there) 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 350.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.