Documentary will take closer look
at Naked Bike Ride.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

A local non-profit is looking for a few good subjects who aren't bashful about participating in Portland's annual Naked Bike Ride.

Portland-based NW Documentary teaches classes on documentary filmmaking (including one on how to film by bike) and they also boast a respectable track record in producing their own short films. Lilah Cady, a NW Documentary staffer, tells us their last short film was accepted into over 30 film festivals including major ones like Tribeca and London.
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Just a portion of the vast crowd just seconds after the start.
(Photo © J. Maus)

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June 18th.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Thanks to a group of devoted volunteers working on a shoestring budget so that 10,000 people can enjoy a naked bike ride through the streets (not to mention all the people who enjoy it without even being there or participating), the Portland edition of the 2011 World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is all set for June 18th.

Behold the poster (might be NSFW, depending on where you work)... (more...)

It's a rare media outlet that can cover something like the World Naked Bike Ride with a good balance of professionalism and good-natured fun, but the crew at G4 TV seems to have done just that.

Their coverage (watch it below) of Portland's 2010 World Naked Bike Ride features some familiar faces including "Route Czar" and frequent BikePortland commenter Matt Picio and prolific bike fun participant, gravity biker, and Hammercise co-creator, Dutch.

Here's the video (possibly NSFW, depending on where you work): (more...)

Naked Riders on West Burnside. - Photo by Jared Souney/JaredSouney.com.

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Last year.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Just a few days left until Portland's annual skin-only cycling soiree, the World Naked Bike Ride. Last year, an estimated 5,000 took part (more than doubling the 2008 total), making it the largest naked bike parade in North America (if not the world?).

If recent growth trends continue (see graph below), organizers say they could get well over 10,000 riders this year. Sound like fun?! If you plan to roll out on Saturday night, here are some things to keep in mind. (more...)

The flash of naked riders
is an annual sight in Portland
(Photo © J. Maus)

The World Naked Bike Ride doesn't roll around again til June, but Portlanders will have a chance next week to ride naked around Mt Tabor as part of an upcoming Flaming Lips music video.

I spoke about the shoot, set for Wednesday, with Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne during a break in preparing for the band's appearance tonight on the Colbert Report.

Coyne was enthused about his plan. He said he got the idea from the scene at the end of the musical Hair: "You know how it's a bunch of freaked out naked people climbing some mountain with blood and fire and finding some new civilization there -- so I thought of Portland, right?" (more...)

As a follow-up to our story yesterday, about volunteer organizers of the epic Pedalpalooza Kickoff Naked Bike Ride and Party not making enough from the event to cover the bills, comes this update (emphasis mine):

From the entire Pedalpalooza Kickoff Party organizing team, thank you for the monumental response in the way of thanks, offers to volunteer in future, and donations.

We are good financially, so save your donations for the frothy or caffeinating beverage of choice to help you glide through the rest of this delightful festival of bike fun.

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Imagine if each one of them donated $5.
- Click here to donate -
(Photo © J. Maus)

Last Saturday night, 1% of Portland's population reveled in the World Naked Bike Ride. 5,000 people enjoyed it by bike (or on roller skates, skateboards, etc...), and thousands of others did so either by seeing it live and/or by enjoying the reports and photos online.

By all measures, the event's success was an exciting watershed moment in Portland's cultural history.

But behind the scenes, the celebration has been muted. As a very small core of volunteers recover from the intense amount of work it took to plan and pull off the party and the ride, they also face debt from costly permits, licenses, porta-potties, bike racks, decorations, and so on. (more...)

The masses assemble in Northwest Portland prior to the World Naked Bike Ride. There were bikes and flesh as far as the eye could see in every direction when I took this photo (from the roof of a school bus).
- View slideshow below -
- More images -
(Photo © J. Maus)

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