This naked bike ride in Wisconsin rubs people the wrong way
Brendan Clarey
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An annual bike ride in Madison, Wisconsin, has grabbed the attention of Republican lawmakers in the state. It’s not because they were blocking motorists or blowing through traffic lights. It’s because the riders were all or mostly naked.
Aside from the fact that many cyclists might chafe at the idea of a two-hour naked bike ride, the ride is organized to protest “car culture” and “celebrate cycling and the human body.” But the local iteration of the World Naked Bike Ride seems more about forcing nudity on the public than anything else.
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If you missed the news last week, a Wisconsin state senator proposed legislation that would make it a misdemeanor to be naked in public for any reason or to allow minors to view unclothed people at events.
This comes after a 10-year-old participant was photographed in the ride this summer, raising questions about the legality of minors participating and, more broadly, whether 160 people or so should be able to breeze past a farmers market on a Saturday morning in June wearing nothing but a birthday suit.
Republican state Sen. Chris Kapenga introduced proposals last week that would threaten the future of the band of bare-bottomed bikers, according to the Associated Press.
“If you agree that people shouldn’t be allowed to expose their genitals in public and that minor children shouldn’t be paraded naked through streets and photographed, then I encourage your support on these bills,” Kapenga said last week.
I can imagine we’ll see lobbyists arise: Opponents of the legislation would be sunscreen and chamois cream companies, while bike short manufacturers and family-focused organizations would back it.
The race organizers say the “big ideas” are “body acceptance” and “oil independence.”
Let’s first take a look at the body acceptance aspect. Just maybe not too close up.
While one of the big themes of the race is purportedly body acceptance, it’s not clear who must do the accepting. Is it the riders? Or is it the general public? Apparently, the riders will yell things at bystanders such as, “You’re beautiful!” according to a local writer who participated in the 2018 iteration of the event.
Are a few hundred naked cyclists — overwhelmingly male — screaming body-positive messages at pedestrians really the best way to spread acceptance of the human body?
You might be interested to know that some of the World Naked Bike Ride’s partners are nudist organizations such as ClothesFree International and the Naturist Society, which, according to the ride’s wiki page, “has contributed a large amount of coverage in their magazine Nude & Natural (N Magazine) for the international event with comprehensive coverage of select local rides.”
The difference between nudist resorts and the city streets is that like-minded people can go to private property and live however they want. This is America. You can live how you choose. But those standing at an intersection of a city yelling stop to the onslaught of naked riders have just as much of a right.
We’ll see if the democratic process will address the undressed in Madison.
Oh, but there’s also the oil independence aspect of the ride. On this point, it should be noted that the ride takes place in June. I personally would like to see them pull off the same route through Madison in November or February even fully clothed.
Are the riders fair-weather fans, or will they risk the elements and bare it all for their cause on the darkest days of the year?
Taking a bike to work is great when the conditions are right, but for most people, it’s not a feasible alternative to a car (powered by electricity from fossil fuels or fossil fuels directly) when the snow hits the road and the temperatures dip into the teens.
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This is something to remember while planning out the brave new all-electric future: People need cars with heaters when it’s cold, especially the nudists lurking in our communities.
I appreciate that the organizers of the event don’t take themselves too seriously (I mean, how could you?), but there’s a lot to be desired when it comes to the purported goals of the ride, even if there’s nothing left to the imagination.
Brendan Clarey is an education editor who lives outside Detroit. His opinions have also appeared in the Detroit News, USA Today, and the New York Post.