June 10 was London's second annual World Naked Bike Ride, a new kind of pro-bike protest against global warming and the oil business. A bit like critical mass, but without the clothes. According to the event's website, full nudity is not compulsory - "as bare as you dare" is the ethos - but plenty of people seemed to be taking up the challenge.
Cyclists of both sexes, all ages and every conceivable shape and size could be seen in various states of disrobement. Some were keeping a few items of clothing on until the last minute, but many had already thrown caution to the wind (along with their underwear) and were busy applying sunscreen to parts not normally on view half a mile from Buckingham Palace.A score of bike-mounted police officers were on hand, not to arrest nude cyclists for outraging public decency, but to escort the ride through the streets on its five-mile tour of the capital. Frankly, with their day-glo vests and black jumpsuits, they looked a bit overdressed.
A few minutes before departure, bemused onlookers were treated to the sight of the Household Cavalry, the sunlight glinting off their breastplates, riding through Wellington Arch and past massed ranks of completely starkers cyclists. Only in England.
It was certainly picturesque and probably great for tourism, but besides that, what is the point of a naked bike ride?
"The longer I live in London, the more I think it needs to become a bike metropolis," said Claire, a woman in her 30s on a mountain bike, "and this is a very pointed way of making that message heard."
So is the nudity thing just a stunt then, I asked Mark, who was wearing leopard-print bodypaint and very little else. "It's about saying that we're a vulnerable species on the road."
But for Maggie, an American living in London, there was a more positive message. "It's also about demonstrating the muscle of cycle power as an alternative to oil dependency."
Inspector Neil Ascherson was conducting the police escort operation. Unlike most of his officers, he was sporting a rather natty pair of shorts and showing a bit of leg. Didn't he feel like getting more into the spirit of the thing?
"Being in a disciplined organisation, we do have to adhere to a dress code and that's what we're going to stick to, I'm afraid - much as we may be tempted in this lovely weather."
Venus (her real name) is a veteran of the Naked Bike Ride. Last year, when the ride attracted about 250 cyclists, her slogan as she rode past the US embassy was "My bush for president". Apparently, she got some votes for that.
But the purpose of the Naked Bike Ride is not just protest. "A lot of people point the finger at George Bush and Tony Blair, but we're all responsible for climate change," she said. "So it would be nice if everyone made more of an effort to ride a bike instead of driving a car."
And many were making the effort. This year, the warm weather had brought out even more: 500 would be a conservative estimate. By the time the ride wound around Trafalgar Square, football fans were pouring out of bars. Some clearly wondered if the beer had been that strong.
Meanwhile, the open-top buses were giving sightseers an unexpected bonus. Camera-wielding tourists were frantically leaning over the sides to get a better angle.
Simon, on the ride for his first time, came along with some naturists who wished to publicise a favourite beach threatened by development. "My friends were here last year when it was 15 degrees, and they said it was very cold indeed - and that doesn't do many favours for a man."
Not a problem this year, with the thermometer nudging 30. But are there comfort issues, I wondered, with this naked riding lark? "Er, yes, my saddle's a bit narrow."
Ouch. But what struck me as strange as I pedalled along, still clothed and brandishing my microphone as a badge of professional office, was that I was the one who felt self-conscious and bashful. Perhaps this look - helmet and shoes, and nothing else - might catch on, I asked Maggie.
"Only in June."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1795723,00.html
