Bike Ride Goes The Full Monty - ‘As bare as you dare’ Say Naked Cyclists

June 07, 2007 - Press Dispensary - Over 200 cyclists are expected to bare all (or most) in Brighton this Saturday, June 9, to celebrate cycling and to protest at the toxic toll of car dependency

The World Naked Bike Ride will be taking place in over sixty cities across the world including five in the UK. In Brighton, where the ride is in its second year, the riders will set off from the Level at around 10am and parade along the seafront to Hove then back through Brighton city centre toward the Marina, finishing at the naturist beach in Kemp Town.

Last year, when over 160 Brighton cyclists participated, the police insisted that the riders covered their ‘rude bits’, resulting in all manner of creative, if minimal, coverings. This year a more relaxed attitude has prevailed, following successful negotiations between ride organisers and Sussex Police. Brighton shoppers will now be able to enjoy the spectacle of the human form as nature intended, mounted on a colourful fleet of zero emission two-wheelers.

Duncan Blinkhorn, one of the organisers, said: "This is a fun if outrageous way to make the serious point that we should not have to tolerate roads, cities and a planet dominated by the brutishness of cars that routinely foul the air we all breathe, destroy lives and impoverish the environment. We are celebrating our vulnerability as cyclists and human beings but also showing our strength of feeling and strength of numbers."

He added: "Bikes and naked bodies harm nobody – car fumes and accidents kill tens of thousands every year in the UK alone and are driving us all to climate chaos. It is time more motorists stripped off their armour plating and moved around more gently on this earth."

Mike Bliss, from Burgess Hill, has invited his friends and work-mates to sponsor him to raise money for Diabetes UK (more info at http://www.theblisspages.com or phone Mike Bliss on 07769-671665) while former ride organiser Nick Sayers plans to turn up in a rickshaw with his partner Tamsin Williams and their new-born baby Neve Wilsay.

Ride organisers say everyone is welcome to join the ride: "It’s not compulsory to do the 'full monty': it’s 'as bare as you dare!'"

The ride also celebrates Brighton's status as a Cycle Demonstration Town.

- Ends -

Some facts:

9 deaths & 750 injuries (on average) per day in road traffic accidents in UK
30 deaths per day (on average) due to traffic related air pollution.
Airborne pollutants associated with vehicle emissions include Benzene, 1,3-butadiene, Carbon monoxide, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulates (PM10), Sulphur dioxide, Ozone and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.
The Lancet has reported that life expectancy is shortened by six months for each extra 10 micrograms (100th of a gram) of particles (PM10) per cubic metre of air. In many parts of Brighton & Hove the levels average 40 micrograms. This means that Brighton & Hove residents are likely to die (on average) two years earlier than they would otherwise.
Several sites across Brighton & Hove, including Preston Circus, Vogue Gyratory, Old Shoreham Rd, Highcroft Villas & Boudary Rd, routinely exceed air quality objectives for particulates – there is no ‘safe’ level.
Nitrogen Dioxide Levels routinely exceed targets on the Lewes Rd, Bear Rd, Hollingdean Rd, Grand Parade, London Rd & Viaduct Rd with no prospect in sight of a significant reduction. (see Air Quality Action Plan on City Council website)

WNBR general info:
www.worldnakedbikeride.org

Press info and archive about Brighton ride:
http://wiki.worldnakedbikeride.org/wik/i/Brighton_press" target="/blank">http://wiki.worldnakedbikeride.org/wik/i/Brighton_press
http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/releases/q99432.php

Info about Cycle Demonstration Towns:
http://www.cyclingengland.co.uk/demotowns.php

Air quality action plan reports:
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1164866

Air quality archive:
www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1001259

Background:
For background on this event, please refer to previous press releases:
Sussex Police Cover-Up At Brighton's First World Naked Bike Ride, 5/6/06 (http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/releases/c99747.php )
World Naked Bike Ride Gets Brighton 'As Bare As You Dare', 19/4/06 (http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/releases/c99700.php )

For further information, please contact:
Duncan Blinkhorn , WNBR Brighton co-ordinator, WNBR
Tel: 07944 152706
Email:
Site: www.worldnakedbikeride.org

Jesse Schust
Tel: 0781 458 7361