Any naked bike rides you see this year will be purely recreational.
Yes, the Glastonbury cancellation stung. But given that London’s World Naked Bike Ride is essentially the Glastonbury of clothing-optional sporting events, this one hurts too. Originally scheduled to take place on June 13th, 2020, the World Naked Bike Ride has become another victim of the coronavirus outbreak – instead pedalling off butt-naked into the sunset, perhaps not to return until 2021.
Sensitive eyes are therefore spared the sight of a parade of nude cyclists gleefully winding their way through the streets of London upon a fair summer’s day, often bedecked in body paint and pro-cycling slogans. The naked revolution is designed as a twofold statement; on the one hand, protesting car culture and our global oil dependency, whilst on the other promoting body positivity.
Organisers “considered current circumstances and concluded we must take a cautious approach for the safety of our participants and the general public. We assume it will still be unwise to encourage public gatherings in June.” A depressing assumption, for sure, but a rational one to make. There’s the faintest glimmer of hope though, for the organisers promise to review the situation monthly, and if needed, “mount a ride at short notice if circumstances change”. We will of course keep you abreast of the situation, should things change.
June is simply too soon for this to happen, but if we’re extremely lucky, we might yet see the naked peloton upon the streets of the capital. (I don’t fancy the chances of it happening in December, mind you.) In the meantime, they’ve committing to marking the original June 13th date with “It’s Not the World Naked Bike Ride” – a series of activities that will further the campaign’s aims without the need to hop on a bike. Hey, if we’re still in lockdown at that stage, you can probably honour the spirit of the ride and do them all naked…