6/14/2005: Naked Madrid bike ride
 

http://cellar.org/2005/nakedmadrid.jpg

Continuing in the Cellar interest in bicycling, and covering ?! the trend of naked protest. These folks are in Madrid, riding naked to protest the dependence on cars.

http://cellar.org/2005/nakedmadrid2.jpg

The organizers of World Naked Bike Ride 2005 said protests were expected in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, the United States, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Israel.

http://cellar.org/2005/nakedmadrid3.jpg

It had definitely spread to at least London, although all these shots are from Madrid. This gentleman does not appear to be using proper skating safety gear.

http://cellar.org/2005/nakedmadrid4.jpg

Of course, in any naked ride, some people will have a worse view than others.

I say . . . my Mum has a lot o' cheek putting me starkers in this bike seat!

Next time you're in Madrid, try not to touch any bike saddles :greenface

These naked cyclists really get around, don't they? It must be a club.

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What a trip.
Some of the press are naked also. Some are not.
Very open country to say the least.
I feel for the toddler, tho...... I don't think he really wants to be there. And secondly, if you look at him closely he has a very nasty rash on his face. Especially under his left eye and over his lips.
Must be downwind contamination of buttrash as a result of an unsanitary bike seat.
With a real vivid imagination, the naked guy behind the kid looks like he's got an autoweapon strapped over his shoulder instead of a vcam........He's stopped also. Guess he couldn't operate the bike, camera, & his weeny all at the same time. Not the gospel, no. Just capnhowdy's observation.
Maybe I should turn off the Pink Floyd. :jig:

"Protesting dependence on cars". heh.

With the outcome of a successful protest being.....what? Getting to smell 2000 bungholes mouldering in the hot sun instead of diesel fumes? Big improvement.

I also find it amusing that they are all wearing helmets. If this is the best idea that comes out of those noggins, I believe I'd save the $20.

They're all wearing shoes, too. Tell me again why that diminishes their point? They want you to PAY ATTENTION to their message, "ride a bike, don't drive a car" and to get that attention, they uncovered enough skin to get it. Do you interpret this "exception" to nakedness as hypocrisy and discard their views accordingly?

Does HM have all your sensors set to obliterate today?

Some people are just starving for attention. Maybe they should be wearing condoms.........

Nah, I'm always that way about environmentalists. I just usually filter it. The point of their message has nothing to do with cars, or you would see that many people on their bikes every day. Their message is, "look how edgy and politically active I am. Now that I've done this, I can live normally until the next left-wing cattle call." Five'll get you ten that at least half of em own SUVs.

Oh, but to answer your point, the joke was that their heads were their least valuable body parts, and if they were going to wear protective gear, they might have covered, say, their sweaty nasty balls.

Unlike most naked protests these folks look decent doing it. I don't really want to see the naked SUV driver protest. Even this nut from the lower right quadrant gets it. Our addiction to automobiles isn't doing us or the planet a great deal of good. I understand that the car is all about freedom and opportunity. I live in the boonies and cycling to work is work. However, bikes don't have nearly the social cost of cars. If we are going to subsidize gas to the tune of 1704 dead enlisted men, maybe widening the odd bike lane isn't that big a deal to make cycling available to folks it makes sense for.

Oh bullshit, they're out there because they can. They already knew it's fun to get naked outdoors and the more the merrier. :lol:

[quote]riding naked to protest the dependence on cars.

I wonder where they put their clothes and how they all got to Madrid? The cynic in me always gets a buzz out of "cyclist" especially the smell the roses, ride in the wilderness types as they always use cars, nay SUV's to get to the wilderness. I would be more impressed if they all sold their cars and relied entirely on bikes. But what the ..... I guess as long as they feel happy. As my mother would have said " Think about all the people in the world who can't afford a bike let alone a car"
Yada, yada, yada...

[quote=LCanal]Of course to make that possible would require a shift in public policy so that cycling wouldn't be suicidal, hence the protest. We had some Spaniards here. I wonder if the car culture around Madrid is really that bad. I had a car swerve at me during my long ride home the other night, ought to start packing. :mad2: Anyway their protest might be more toward not becoming a insular car culture like ares more than actually addressing local problems.

pix from the WNBR 2005 in London:
http://there.is/photos/WNBR2005/

my parents sold their car and now ride everywhere on their bikes. it's a great condversation starter at swanky dinner parties when no-one believes they don't own a car.