WNBR 2022
Return to DiscussionsNow that things are finally getting back to near normal, I am putting my plans together for the 2022 WNBR rides. Since all the dates have not been announced yet I am not sure which ones I will do. I really want to do Montreal again and probably Philly since I have a friend that lives about an hour away that wants to do it.. I want to do at least 3 of them and possibly as many as 5 or 6. Right now I am working hard to get back in shape since one thing I learned is the more physically fit you are, the more people will take pics, and I love being photographed nude.
Any info about any of the rides, primarily in Eastern or Midwest US would be appreciated.
As part of my bucket list item to ride in every one of the World Naked Bike Rides in the US and Canada, and the fact that I am not working now and most likely will retire, I plan on doing quite a few of the rides this summer. I just booked everything for the ride in Austin, TX 6/11/22. I also plan on visiting Hippie Hollow when there. I am also looking into a Wisconsin swing for Madison 6/18 and Milwaukee 6/25. I plan to do Montreal 7/16 and Philly 8/27 and possibly as many as 3 others so I may do as many as 8 of them this summer.
I've done a handful of WNBRs, but all were in Portland. From what I understand and what it's worth, the PDX ride is the largest with 8-10,000 participants. It is A LOT of fun. Riders meets around dusk in a park and it's a super fun, festive atmosphere. Lots of people taking pictures. It's a great vibe. The ride sets off at sunset and the city really seems into it. There are spectators almost the entire way. Some of the spectators are nude, some flash you.. everyone is having fun with it. The ride ends in an industrial underpass area with a big dance party, and that is the best part. There are also side-parties at other venues nearby. I can't recommend it highly enough!
I am scheduled to do the ride in Austin, TX on 6/11/22 I also plan on visiting Hippie Hollow while in town. Hopefully I can get lots of people to take pics of me nude I am looking into Madison, WI on 6/18 and either Milwaukee or Chicago on 6/25
Everything came together and the ride was great. It was 103 degrees earlier in the day, so glad this was an evening ride. The ride was divided into 3 stages with 2 -15 min rest stops in between. Overall took about 3 hours. I suppose there was a group meeting at Pease park after the ride, but since I had a 6AM flight the next morning, I could not stay for it.
One thing I did notice right away is there seemed to be a lot of younger riders. Most of my previous rides the majority of the riders were older and a very small minority of younger (under 40) riders. Here it was about 50/50. Nice to see a new generation of riders.
Anyone thinking of visiting Austin for the ride, or just to visit---DO IT!! What a great area. Hippie Hollow is a must visit. I wish I could have spent more time there. I will be back.
I did the 2 rides in Montreal Saturday. The weather was perfect, a bit warm for the locals, but perfect for me. As usual the response from the spectators was about 99.9% positive, especially when we rode down St. Catherine st in the Gay Village. I think we had even more spectators on the night ride (8:00-9:30) Both ride were a large loop back to Dorchester Square park, then a 10 min break then a small loop.
A big difference between this ride and the 4 others I did this summer was the Police. Major kudos to the Montreal Police. We had about 6 police cars and 10-12 Police officers on bikes, escorting us, and blocking traffic for us. All of the officers were great and cooperative and most of them seemed to enjoy being with us even though they were clothed. There was an incident at the stop before the second loop and at the end of the evening ride. There were a couple of punks that had an issue with us being naked in the park and despite the police explaining to them that it was a legal demonstration they kept harassing us. One of them started walking towards me and an officer stopped him just as he started to lunge towards me. I don't know why he picked me, I had not said anything or acknowledged him in any way. Maybe it was just a clear shot from where he was to where I was. The bottom line is if he attacked me I would have probably beat the shit out of him. The interesting thing is, if he did attack me It was not too smart to do it in front of a dozen Police Officers, and attack one of the more muscular guys there. I may be getting old, but am still pretty fit.
All in all, a great well organized ride. Only about 75 riders, but I am beginning to prefer the smaller rides. Don't get lost in the crowd
. . . One thing I did notice right away is there seemed to be a lot of younger riders. Most of my previous rides the majority of the riders were older and a very small minority of younger (under 40) riders. Here it was about 50/50. Nice to see a new generation of riders.Anyone thinking of visiting Austin for the ride, or just to visit---DO IT!! . . .
That sounds like fun ride. . . With so many rides on the same day, it would take a long time to visit all of them. . . I have been to several NBR's in past years, but I decided to skip 2022, in Columbus, OH. Among other reasons, it was a night time ride, with temps in the 60's, a threat of rain, and about 75 miles from my home starting point. It also had an unknown start point until the last day before the ride and an unknown finish point. . . After the event, it sounded like it would have been fun, but I was unprepared for all of those unknown challenges, at that time. :-/ . . . Speaking of the mix of riders, it appeared to me, that I was one of a minority of those riders who were completely nude. - - Maybe that's fair, since I wasn't protesting the use of any gas powered vehicle to get to the event, but how many legal excuses are there to get NAKED in the streets of a big city?
Its that TIME again. . . who is planning to RIDE in a 2023 event?, . . Any info about any of the rides, primarily in Eastern or Midwest US would be appreciated.
. . . I am still waiting for any details about the 2023 Columbus, Ohio event, which might occur in about 2 weeks, IF they follow the schedule of many previous years.
Some observations on the Buffalo World Naked Bike Ride:
First off, the weather was beautiful. Sunny and mid to upper 70's with a light breeze.
I got to the park around 2pm and there were a few people there already
There was a group from the AANR Niagara chapter that were involved in the organizing. Very well organized.
By the time the ride began there were about 150 riders, maybe more. - Nice size ride
The average age of the riders in this ride was much lower than any other ride I have done to date. I was one of the oldest ones there. Lots of riders in their 20's and 30's
This ride had the highest percentage of women riders of any ride that I have done, probably about 30% and at least half of them totally nude, almost all of them topless (Legal in NYS)
There were 3 rest stops along the way, all in Parks. The first one in a park with a large fountain. Many of the participants were frolicking around in the water. Too cold for me. That stop lasted over 20 minutes. Then we rode again and stopped again at another park, that was about 15 minutes. We rode again for a while and made the last stop at a park across from Buffalo City Hall. That was a short stop, about 10 minutes. From there we rode a few more miles to the site of the After party. By then the temperature dropped to a bone chilling 68 degrees, so I decided to put my shorts on and ride back to the start point.
All in all, a very enjoyable day. I will definitely do it again since I can coordinate it with my annual Western - Central NY trip
One thing though. This is the first time I rode my bike this year. Between how sore my legs are this morning, and how bad I look in the pic is how much out of shape I am.
