Saint Louis

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Welcome to the Saint Louis World Naked Bike Ride page!

Please visit wnbrstl.org or facebook.com/wnbrstl for most recent information on the 2017 World Naked Bike Ride in St. Louis!

Next ride

Editors: to change this section,
click the Edit tab at the top of the page

Date: July 15, 2017
Time: 5 to 7 p.m. pre-ride festival and rally, 7 p.m. departure
Location: Depart from the Grove, on Manchester between Sarah and Kentucky

Objectives

  • To encourage cycling and promote cyclist awareness
  • To protest oil dependency
  • To promote positive body image
  • To build community in a fun, creative way

Ride information

PLEASE VISIT http://www.wnbrstl.org and http://www.facebook.com/wnbrstl for the latest details!


Participants are encouraged to go "as bare as they dare," though nudity is by no means necessary.

Further questions can be addressed at the WNBR FAQ section.

Here are a few of the latest 2018 ride updates…

  • We ask that photographers and press help create a safe space by being respectful and asking CONSENT to photograph, and encouraging others to do so!

4 to 6 p.m. Pre-ride gathering, complete with

  • Live music
  • Body-painting
  • Costume contest
  • Expo of cycling, environmental, and body positivity organizations
  • Food and beverages from local businesses

2018 Sponsors

  • 4Hands Brewing Co
  • Just John
  • Gramophone
  • Spoked Bikes & Stuff
  • HandleBar
  • The Grove CID
  • Mangrove

6 p.m. RIDE!

8:00 till midnight: Post Ride Celebration in the Grove between Sarah and Kentucky! Manchester Bike Bash street festival with live music!


How to Get Involved

  • Volunteer We are in need of volunteers! Volunteer roles include

Contact information

If you'd like to help contribute to the event, please contact:

Names: Matt Green
Email: [email protected]

2017 Route

[1]

13.1 Miles


Get Involved

We would greatly appreciate volunteers!! Please email [email protected] if you want to help make the 2017 ride a success!

History

World Naked Bike Ride in St. Louis started in 2008, drawing 300 cyclists in the first year. Since then, the ride takes place every summer and has grown to 2000 cyclists and 9000 attendees at the Manchester Bike Bash!


2012:

Estimated 1000 riders

St. Louis held its FIFTH World Naked Bike Ride on Saturday, July 28, 2012. The ride far exceeded our expectations; we had an estimated 1000 riders in attendance, doubling last year's ridership alone. Yes, 1000 riders in a post-industrial city of a mere 300,000 population, with a small (but steadily growing) cycling community, and often thought of as conservative. (Several riders commented, "how did you pull this off?!")

This year's ride included partnerships with several cycling, environmental, and body-positive groups and businesses who came out to the pre-ride gathering on South Grand and set up booths, did bicycle maintenance, and shared resources. The ride itself received positive reception from the biggest St. Louis business districts (many of which took it on their own to host watching parties to support the ride) and were greeted with smiles, cheers, and at times stripping by onlookers, in cars and on the street alike. We had very few traffic issues considering the size of the ride and the fact that riders, rather than a police escort, were leading the ride, and due to limited resources, only one police car was available for traffic safety. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department were cooperative and helped block traffic in larger intersections. No arrests were made. The ride ended in a street party in the Grove, an eclectic night-time district in St. Louis, where regulars went with the flow and embraced naked bike riders, and at times decided to join in and strip as well.

Some riders came from surrounding smaller cities and are interested in starting WNBRs in their own homes, and we also received several comments by riders stating that as always, it was the best night of the year, and others stating they had no idea how fun, tolerant, and cool their city could be. So yes for helping increase city pride and making it a little more fun and interesting!

It was an incredible, empowering, and positive experience, and we anticipate even more growth in future years.


2011:

Estimated 500 riders

The 10 mile ride was the best yet, covering the busiest business districts, receiving incredible positive reception, and police escort.

THANKS TO the volunteers who helped organize and publicize the ride, Charlie for distributing routes and Dave for helping with last minute bike maintenance, Yelp and Sex Positive STL for helping publicize the event, Nowell and Rachel and the South Grand CID and businesses for letting us use their lot and supporting the event, Buck the Trend for a great pre-ride performance, District 3 Police and Officer Joseph Calabro for coordinating the police escort for the ride which ensured safety of participating cyclists, Atomic Cowboy and HandleBar and all the other Grove establishments who put on a great party, set-up bike parking, and let everyone in despite various states of undress, and of course, all the participants and supporters of the ride! And anybody else I've forgotten to thank.

RECAP We had a great ride this year, with an estimated 400-500 cyclists. Veteran riders said this was the biggest ride yet, and the best route yet, too. First-timers were gaggled with how much fun and large the ride is. We went past applauding crowds on S. Grand, Cherokee, Benton Park, Soulard, Downtown, Wash Ave, Locust Business District, and the Grove. No major conflicts and excellent cooperation by surprised spectators/vehicles and of course the police.

We even had a few folks inquire about starting a ride in their cities (Springfield and Kansas City). St. Louis, despite its wide roads, highways, and smaller population, continues to set a superb example. Chicago, a city of nearly 3 million, started its first WNBR with 200 riders and a few arrests. St. Louis, a city of 350,000, had 300 at its first ride and 0 arrests and we continue to grow! (Note Chicago has about 1700 participants as of late, but we can catch up.)


2010:

Estimated 450 riders Thanks to all who came to the ride last night! It was a great success: we had beautiful weather, a record number of naked men and women, our trusty camel, a giant American flag, our dependable rollerblader and burlesque contingent, and we received cheers throughout the city from both expectant and surprised spectators, including in Soulard, downtown, Central West End, and of course, S. Grand.

Special thanks to District 3 police who followed our route completely and ensured cyclist safety in traffic. In addition, we had NO problems whatsoever with arrests and nudity, despite three nude cyclists immediately leading the pack behind the police car. Also thanks to our lovely volunteer body painters, route leaders, and planners.

You can find photos, video, and news stories at the following:

RFT photos: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/slideshow/2010-world-naked-bike-ride-in-st-louis-nsfw-30153430 KSDK video and news story: http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=204607 STL Today photos: http://stltoday.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1027606&CategoryID=38925 Globe-Democrat news story: http://www.globe-democrat.com/news/2010/jun/20/world-naked-bike-ride-stops-st-louis/

2009:

Estimated 400 riders The year of the lost summary. We started in Tower Grove Park - had a solid turnout. We cooperated with the police for a revised and shorter route, which was a bit quieter (didn't go by many business districts) - but we ended up warmly welcomed in the Grove and at Atomic Cowboy for one of the best post-ride parties.


2008:

Estimated 300 riders The first Saint Louis World Naked Bike Ride took place on August 2, 2008, and was a complete success. There were maybe 300 participants estimated, not including the hundreds of spectating supporters throughout the bike ride. There were also zero arrests, despite warnings from the police beforehand. Though there were only a dozen or so completely nude cyclists, the overwhelming majority of the bike ride was in their underwear or a bit less. The police were incredibly cooperative, helping out at busy intersections and larger streets, as the organizers revealed the route to the police beforehand.

We started out by biking in the dark of Tower Grove Park before emerging at Arsenal, where there were many stationed supporting spectators cheering us on. We looped back through South Grand, a normally busy street that we were able to block off for over a mile. We biked towards fireworks after the Cardinals game. Despite strong encouragement otherwise, we biked onwards past the Busch Stadium, by the Arch, down Market street, and onward through Washington Ave, a popular night spot. Here we swarmed in the masses around confused cars in a single lane street. We ended up flying down a hill on Lindell and then turned on Vandeventer, where we were able to conclude the ride by picking up some cyclists, passing by some gas stations and bars and a supporting crowd at the Atomic Cowboy, our final stop point.

Some highlights of the pre and post parties: At the body painting gathering, one reporter ended up stripping to his underwear while filming. Also, at the Atomic Cowboy, all the band members ended up in their underwear by the end of their set.

Throughout the ride, we received maybe one negative comment and thousands of positive ones, from families included. We took over multiple city blocks at a time. We had some rollerbladers, and we had a camel. For the first Saint Louis World Naked Bike Ride ever, where the majority of the participants had never heard of the World Naked Bike Ride and many had never participated in a mass bike ride before, we got an amazing turnout and loads of positive feedback.

Previous routes

2012 Route

  • START: exit South Grand parking lot through walkway, head left (south)
  • left Juniata
  • left Arkansas
  • left Arsenal
  • left Grand
  • left Utah
  • right Arkansas
  • left Cherokee
  • PAUSE @ JEFFERSON
  • left Lemp
  • right Lynch
  • left Lemp
  • right Sidney
  • left 12th
  • right Russell
  • left 9th
  • right Lafayette
  • PAUSE @ 7th
  • left 7th
  • follow Broadway -> 4th
  • left Washington
  • left Jefferson
  • right Locust
  • right Theresa
  • left Samuel Shepard
  • PAUSE @ GRAND
  • left Grand
  • right Lindell
  • left Vandeventer
  • right Manchester
  • END @ Talmage

Return to the the start of the ride:

  • head west on Manchester
  • left Tower Grove Ave
  • left Arsenal
  • right Grand

Google Maps of 2012 Route, subject to change

2011 Route

  • START: exit South Grand parking lot through walkway, head left (south)
  • left Juniata
  • left Arkansas
  • left Arsenal
  • left Grand (stay left)
  • left Cherokee
  • PAUSE @ JEFFERSON (approx 2 min)
  • left Lemp
  • right Lynch
  • left Lemp
  • right Sidney
  • left 12th
  • PAUSE @ RUSSELL (approx 3 min)
  • right Russell
  • left 9th
  • right Lafayette
  • left 7th
  • follow Broadway
  • PAUSE @ CHESTNUT (approx 2 min)
  • left Washington
  • left Jefferson
  • right Locust
  • left Compton
  • right Olive
  • left Grand
  • PAUSE @ LINDELL
  • right Lindell
  • left Vandeventer
  • right Manchester
  • end @ Talmage

Note* PAUSES are to prevent the ride from being too spread out.

Approximate map (see discussion page): Google Map of 2011 Route

2010 Route

  • turn left onto Juniata from parking lot (going East)
  • left Arkansas
  • left Arsenal
  • left Grand
  • left Utah
  • right Arkansas
  • left Cherokee
  • left Lemp
  • left Pestalozzi
  • right McNair
  • right Sidney
  • left 12th St.
  • right Russell
  • left 9th St.
  • right Lafayette
  • left 7th to Broadway to 4th (Street Map to here)
  • left Market
  • right 20th
  • left Olive to Lindell
  • left Euclid
  • left Laclede
  • right Taylor
  • left Chouteau
  • right Sarah
  • right Manchester
  • left Tower Grove
  • left Shaw
  • right Grand (Last half of route)

2009 Route

  • Exit park at Grand and Arsenal through bike path. Head west on Arsenal.
  • to Spring (make left).
  • to Utah (make left).
  • to Grand (make left).
  • to Russell (make right).
  • to Mississippi (make left).
  • to Chouteau (make right).
  • to 18th St (make left).
  • to Market (make left).
  • to Compton (make right).
  • to Olive (make left).
  • to Grand (make left).
  • to Lindell (make right).
  • to Vanderventer (take left).
  • to Manchester (take right) to Atomic Cowboy.


Google Maps directions and course (up to date as of August 14, subject to change again)


Directions from Atomic Cowboy to Tower Grove Park:

  • Head one block west on Manchester to Tower Grove Ave (take left).
  • continue to Tower Grove Park.

Suggestions welcome! Email with comments/complaints.

2008 Route

Note: Route is not necessarily finalized. We're welcome to suggestions or complaints!

  1. Depart from Tower Grove Park Stupp Center. Turn right onto Arsenal, left onto Spring Ave.
  2. Turn Left on Wyoming.
  3. Turn left on Grand. Head north until Russell.
  4. Turn right on Russell, then left on Compton.
  5. Right on Lafayette, Left on Memorial, Right on Park. Follow Park until 17th st.
  6. Turn left on 17th until Chouteau. Take a right, then left on 4th Street.
  7. Turn left on Market.
  8. Turn right on 7th street.
  9. Turn left on Washington Ave.
  10. Turn left on 18th street.
  11. Turn right on Locust until 23rd street.
  12. Turn left on 23rd street, right on Olive. Follow Olive until Lindell.
  13. At this point, we will either take Boyle until Manchester, then head to the Atomic Cowboy for an after party. However, if participants are willing, we will head to the Central West End first before heading back.

Not the exact route, as planned, but trying to follow the directions from the route described above: WNBR Saint Louis 2008

Photos

See also Saint Louis photos

Media coverage

2012

Post-ride coverage

KSDK Channel 5 "Hundreds of St. Louis cyclists participate in World Naked Bike Ride"

Pre-ride coverage

2011

Post-ride coverage

Pre-ride coverage

2010

Post-ride coverage

Pre-ride coverage

2009

Post-ride coverage

Pre-ride coverage

2008

Post-ride coverage

Pre-ride coverage

Links

Websites

Discussion group/s

Location information

Categories

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