Kokova Magazine

Around 1,000 nude cyclists are expected to join the annual Brighton Naked Bike Ride on Sunday 12 June 2011. The annual protest and carnival on wheels is part of the World Naked Bike Ride – one of 50 similar events in cities around the globe.

The ride is a protest against oil dependency and a celebration of cycling as an eco-friendly transport solution for a low-carbon future. This year’s event will highlight body power as one of the most efficient forms of sustainable travel.

One of the organisers, Duncan Blinkhorn, said:

This is about having fun on bikes, and celebrating the human body as an important form of renewable – or should I say ‘re-nude-able’ – energy. It’s also about alerting ourselves, as human beings, to our vulnerability, faced as we are with the consequences of continued dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

The resulting changes to our global climate are increasingly undermining our planet’s ecosystems. This will be catastrophic unless we radically change course. We are conditioned to think that lugging ourselves around in a steel casket on wheels makes us safer, when sadly this is merely storing up trouble for the future.

The World Naked Bike Ride is about facing our fears and challenging ourselves. Many people are fearful of cycling on the roads, but evidence shows that the more people cycle, the safer we all are.

By cycling naked we symbolise our vulnerability, both as individuals and as a species. It also demonstrates 'safety in numbers'. We are stronger when we come together.

Participants are invited to assemble on the Level park (Brighton, BN2 3FX) at 12 noon, "as bare as they dare".

A 'Bike Train' student ride will also join the main event from University of Sussex, meeting at Falmer House at 12 noon.

The ride will follow an easy 8-mile "naked sightseeing" route around the seafront and city centre, finishing with a big splash at Black Rock naturist beach in Kemptown.

There will be spectacular bikes dressed up with flags and flowers, and bodies dressed down with painted slogans, dancing to mobile sound systems.

The international event has seen growing numbers since it began in 2004. Brighton’s ride alone has grown quickly to a thousand riders from 160 in 2006.

This year there will be new UK rides in Exeter and Portsmouth, joining regular ride locations London, Southampton, Bristol, Manchester, York and Cardiff.

The event, and nudity, have been cleared with Sussex Police, who will escort the protest. The UK rides are part of national Bike Week.

Brighton Naked Bike Ride celebrates bikes and body power in ‘re-nude-able energy’ procession @ The Level, Brighton, Sunday 12th June 2011

For more information, visit https://worldnakedbikeride.org/brighton