Gimme Some Skin

The diffuse messages are what make the Philly Naked Bike Ride refreshing.

by Brian Howard

On Sunday, hundreds (maybe even thousands) of cyclists will strip to their skivvies and beyond before embarking on the second annual Philly Naked Bike Ride, a casual, snaking tour around the city to raise awareness for, well, a lot of things. (See footage of last year's ride below.) One of the rubs (if one can comfortably use that term here) on the naked bike ride phenomenon is that its goals are ambiguous. The naked part appeals to nudists, anarchists and body-beautiful types (and, according to detractors, freaks and pervs); the bike part appeals both to advo†cates of cycling and proponents of reducing our carbon footprint; and the nude-on-a-bike part is a fleshy object lesson for drivers of just how vulnerable bicyclists really are.

Of course, the diffuse messages are part of what make the PNBR refreshing in a climate where political discourse can be shrill, predictable and redundant. (It's also refreshing in a climate where temperatures have been unseasonably high.) Nothing like a big, throbbing mob of naked cyclists saying, essentially, "We're here, we're naked, and we'll leave it up to you to figure out why."

I've been lucky enough the last two years to be allowed to sit in on (clothed) meetings with the facilitators — they actually eschew the "organizer" tag because the ride, they say, belongs to the riders. (To do the whole full disclosure thing, I've hung some posters, distributed some fliers and voted on issues.) Last year's ride was preceded by months of meetings and quite a bit of hand-wringing: Would enough people show up or were a handful of naked lambs being led to slaughter? Then last year's ride was an unmitigated success (an estimated 1,000 riders participated, in various stages of undress). So this year's planning was a little less tense.

Last Sunday, around facilitator Clifford Greer's Devil's Pocket dining room table full of pizza donated by Mama Palma's, the planners gathered to nail down things like route tweaks ("We can't leave hundreds of people sitting naked on Girard"), after-party logistics, the publishing of a route map ahead of time (yes, despite agreeing at the last meeting not to), body paint supply ("If people don't like Tempera, they can bring their own"), trash disposal ("We'll be at the starting point for an hour. We can't generate more trash than we can dispose of") and a last-minute dispute about where that starting point would be.

Regarding what message, if any, facilitators should give to inquiring media, Greer was explicit that the ride was not anti-, but pro-. "We should speak about things in a positive way," said Greer. Which is to say, pro-cycling, pro-fuel independence, pro-positive body image. "This ride is a protest," he continued. "It will always be a protest." But what it's a protest of, exactly, should remain, much like getting naked and hopping on your bike, a very personal thing.

(bhoward@citypaper.net)

The Philly Naked Bike Ride will take place Sun., Sept. 5, at dusk. The meetup location will be announced the day before the ride at citypaper.net/clog as well as on the PNBR e-mail list at phillynakedbikeride.org.