Over 1,000 Naked Cyclists Expected in Five UK Cities for World Naked Bike Ride Weekend

May 17, 2007 - Press Dispensary - On Friday 8 and Saturday 9 June, 2007, over 1,000 cyclists are expected to ride naked through the streets of London, Brighton, Manchester, York and Southampton. Now in its fourth year, the http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org" target="_blank">World Naked Bike Ride takes place in over 50 locations around the world, and is believed to be the largest nude protest event in history. The ride is an environmental demonstration against oil dependency and is also a celebration of cycling and the human body.

Riding under the slogan “real rights for bikes”, participants cycle naked to highlight their vulnerability on city streets and draw attention to the destructive effects of car culture. The ride is a body-positive event where nudity is optional – riders are encouraged to go “as bare as you dare”.

The London event alone is likely to attract more than 1,000 riders, setting a new record for naked protest. Last year’s event was the largest naked protest in British history, with over 800 people riding through the streets of the capital for two hours. Debut rides in Brighton, York and Manchester last year were attended by an impressive 160, 60 and 30 riders respectively. Ride routes offer participants an enjoyable “naked sightseeing experience”, and go past a number of city centre landmarks. As in previous years, cycle-mounted police will facilitate the ride and provide traffic control.

Rides in Manchester, York and Southampton will take place the day before the London ride, on the evening of Friday 8 June. The Brighton and Hove ride starts on the morning of Saturday 9 June at 10am. The rides are timed to allow participants to attend locally and join the London ride at Hyde Park Corner at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

The campaign is part of a growing international awareness of the destructive effects of climate change and unsustainable oil dependency. For many people, these issues are prompting a choice of greener lifestyles and reconsideration of how our actions impact the planet. The London Naked Bike Ride is making specific demands: cycle-only zones in cities, real rights for cyclists, safer streets, separate two-way cycle lanes and a ban on car advertising.

Previous rider, Emma Jackson, 28, said: “The ride is fun, but has a serious side as well. Unless we change the way we think about transport and start calling on the government to do the same, it’ll be too late. It’s up to each and every one of us to take responsibility, get on our bikes and call for real, practical action on climate change.” She added: “The ride is becoming as essential an aspect of the British summer as Glastonbury or Wimbledon.”

Those wishing to participate can find more details at www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk

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Rides schedule:

Friday 8 June

* York: meet 5pm at Memorial Gardens, off Leeman Road, York, YO26 4ZZ
* Manchester: meet 6pm at The Basement social centre, 24 Lever Street, Manchester, M1 1DW
* Southampton: meet 6pm on Southampton Common, near the western end of Omdurman Road, Southampton.

Saturday 9 June

* Brighton & Hove: meet 10am at The Level, a park south of Union Road, Brighton, BN2 3FX
* London: meet 3pm north of Achilles Statue, near Broad Walk, Hyde Park Corner, London, W1J 7JZ

Footage of previous rides:

Photos available from the following photographers:

Mike King (London) ­ Tel: 020 8299 0484 / Mobile: 07973 303707 / Web:
www.mikekingphoto.com
Kevin Meredith (Brighton): 07951 479552 / Nigel Swallow (Brighton): 01273 686506 /
The Argus newspaper (Brighton): 01273 544544 /

Stock photography available at the following sites (search for ³naked bike
ride²):

* Rex Features ­ www.rexfeatures.com
* Getty Images ­ editorial.gettyimages.com
* Corbis ­ pro.corbis.com
* Alamy ­ www.alamy.com

Further images available: Details on request (discretionary)

High-quality digital video footage also available

Further information:

* Interviewees available on request
* All UK rides are part of Bike Week 2007: www.bikeweek.org.uk
* London ride is part of London Sustainability Weeks:
http://lovelondon.london21.org/
* Most northern hemisphere rides will take place on 9 June 2007
* Southern hemisphere rides took place on 10 March
* Next year¹s UK rides are expected to be on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 June 2008, with southern hemisphere rides on Saturday 8 March

For further information, please contact:
Graham Lee, UK press officer, World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR)
Tel: 07956 261902
Email:
Site: www.worldnakedbikeride.org

Martin Ireland (WNBR London press officer)
Mobile: 07946 354852 / Email:

Graham Lee (WNBR UK press officer)
Mobile: 07956 261902 / Email:

Jesse Schust (WNBR UK press officer)
Mobile: 07814 587361 / Email:

Meg (WNBR Manchester coordinator)
Mobile: 07896 347196 / Email:

Tony (WNBR York coordinator)
Email:

Peter Belasyse-Smith (WNBR Southampton press officer)
Mobile: 07920 098732 / Email: