"Naked cyclists get their butts in gear"
by Judith Lavoie, in the Times Colonist, Sunday, June 13, 2004
The crotch and bum were carefully ripped out of Josh Lawrence's velvet shorts, so no one could accuse him of not getting totally naked.
"I feel good about my body," he said, waving some of the relevant parts at the police and bemused tourists who gathered at the legislature Saturday evening.
Rain and wind did not deter about 16 cyclists from taking it all -- or in some cases strategic bits of it -- off for the World Naked Bike Ride round town.
Lawrence felt comfortable being the first to strip, while others, already chilly while fully dressed, waited until the last minute before the ride to bare their assets.
"I have dreams where I am naked and this is not nearly as frightening as in my dreams," Lawrence said.
Dreams also figured in Milen Kovich's decision to ride through downtown Victoria almost naked.
Kovich tempered his nudity with long woolly socks, boots, a scarf, bike helmet and strategically strapped-on bike seat.
"I always wanted to ride my bike around naked. It was a dream and now I am living it -- thank you, Victoria," he said bowing to the growing crowd.
Only a few in the loosely organized group knew exactly what the ride was in aid of, while many said they were there for simply for fun.
"And I wanted to see my female friends naked," added one man as Mandy Daley took the plunge as the first woman to take it all off.
"It's just fun. I think people will take notice," she said, with studied understatement.
The rides, which are held around the world, are to promote awareness of non-fossil fuel transportation and are also a statement against consumerism.
Similar rides were scheduled to be held in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, the U.S., England, Scotland, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
Rebecca McMackin took 45 minutes to dress for the naked bike ride, covering herself in strips of black electrical tape, much of it strategically located.
"I thought stripes would be good. At least it's totally not that sticky, so taking it off should be OK," she said.
The ride comes at the end of Bike to Work Week and should encourage people to use their bikes, said Mike Wilson, draped in floating, leopard skin print.
"It is a little humiliating though," he said as he tried to tastefully arrange the drapes.
Posted by bluprnt at June 14, 2004 06:25 PM