(Photo © J. Maus)
Did you ride or watch the World Naked Bike Ride tonight? It was another fantastic event. Not sure what the turnout was, but I’d guess 7-9,000 people at least.
The weather held out quite nicely, especially for a day that started with drizzly rain and cool temps.
Chime in with your reactions and check out some photos below..
A pre-ride paint job…
The ride has become a worldwide media sensation. Here’s “Dutch,” one of the volunteer organizers, giving a pre-ride interview to G4-TV…
As we assembled, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset…
I love the pre-ride time, because you can feel the energy rising with each passing minute as the staging area fills up…
The ride has different meanings to different people. For some, it’s just an excuse to have fun with friends…
For others it’s more of a statement…
In the end, it’s all about the ride…
We took over the entire Hawthorne Bridge…
And we had lots of fans…
Wait. Is that the devil? On an extra-tall unicycle?!
In many ways, this ride defines Portland. That’s why I like this next shot…
This is how it feels to be in the midst of the ride…
What is it about riding naked with thousands of friends and strangers that makes you fall in love with a city?
Major thank yous are due to Shift, Umbrella (the non-profit that Shift operates under), the Portland Police Bureau for the escort and traffic control, and most importantly, the handful of dedicated volunteers who make this possible. Hope everyone had a great time.
This is just a sampling of the photos I took tonight. You can see them all here or watch the slideshow below.
UPDATE: Check out the great video coverage just posted by KPTV-FOX.
Thanks for reading.
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Fantastic! Awesome. Dug the chick with the drawn on handlebar mustache!
Two things came up this year:
1. drunk people on bikes. Chill out with the drunken-ness. I saw someone try to attack the Laurelhurst theater with their head after falling off their bike. Pure drunk stupidity. Again: chill out, folks.
2: one jerk on Madison with the superbright dual flashes on the ground that blinded me for 1/2 a block. I dont’ mind photos being taken, I *do* mind creating a hazard with flashes.
Ugh. That sucks. Hopefully PPB is a little more on the ball in terms of enforcing drunk driving next time…
Agreed on number 1. I saw some guy try to hide his flask in his bag on his rack while continuing to pedal. And, this was on that residential section between Stark and Belmont where is was very slow and crowded.
Agreed on the drunks. The only time I wasn’t having a blast was about 5 minutes when I was stuck behind this group of obnoxious drunks screaming nonsense at the top of their lungs and randomly stopping in the middle of the road, nearly causing dozens of wrecks. It was shameful.
That photo should be the new masthead.
Well obviously it was pretty amazing! I arrived a little late, but still had a chance to meet up with friends and have a great time. The crowds were pretty cool too.
Saw some pretty awesome bike setups, even skates, skateboards, and unicycles! I just wish it could last forever =(
I await finding the dozens, maybe hundreds, of photos and videos documenting tonight!
Video from the ride:
http://vimeo.com/25372056
Awesome – thanks you organizers, volunteers, security and everyone else who came out. I blew a tire (pout) near the end, but still had a blast. Where were all the freak bikes? I missed them this year.
I saw a tall tandem, a few other talls and a low rider chopper.
Yep. Based on the pics, I clearly was just in the wrong part of the pack. Glad they were there. I heart pdx.
Oooo, wait. And Tron bike. How’d you do it? It was beautiful!
Lots of Time and EL wire & a little bit of cash!! I posted my video on youtube. It’s Titled ( Blake Hicks vs Tron Bike ) or you can just search my name Blake Hicks. Im happy you enjoyed it! It got me booked for a huge rave in Vegas starting this Thursday! Going to blow this Thing up!!!
Actually heres the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsALf3eCoEU
More pictures please – (to show non-Portlanders that we ain’t weenies when it comes to the cold & dark). Can’t believe I said that.
This was my first WNBR and I loved it! The sense of camaraderie was all encompassing. The variety of ages and body types included everyone. Great experience. See you all next year.
And a thank you to mirror deedlebug’s: thanks to the organizers, volunteers, security and Portland’s police bureau!
It was my first time and the maiden voyage of my new bike, the Portlandia Pele! We had a great time, laughed, rode slow, rode fast… rode naked. It was awesome. I loved the guy on the tall unicycle with wings and the father with his (bikini-clad) daughter riding a recumbent. I loved the pedicab blasting music and all the friendly folks who shared the road. I can’t wait to ride again! Thank you all <3
This is my fourth ride.
The after party was a nice touch and much appreciation to Bridgeport (even if the should have had more than two brews).
Loved that we did the east side ride again. Sooo much better than the almost all-club district on the west side. Even when we jammed up on the small residential street, it was fine (there weren’t drunk guys on the sidewalk slapping women’s asses there like there was two years ago). And people on Belmont and Hawthorne are just more into getting it it seems.
I went with a partner whose first time was last year and together we brought in two newbies. Fun! They had a blast and as the ride went on, more clothes came off as they felt overdressed in their early bashfulness.
One other observation: Seems there was a pretty bad wreck again on Hawthorne between 39 and 22nd. Pretty close to where there was a bad injury last year.
It seems like the only way to avoid those wrecks would be to avoid long downhills entirely. There are always going to be drunk hotdoggers….
On Hawthorne between 24th and 25th. She needed an ambulance. Someone said she was drinking, but I don’t know for sure.
i watched in horror as a super drunk guy grabbed his front brake and endoed spectacularly on hawthorne, at least the medics were nearby. hope he learned something… and recovers quickly.
Great ride! Not a drop of rain, warm enough once we started riding, excellent support from the PoPo (really, kudos!), a little west side, east out to Chavez, bombing down Hawthorne… was a great night!
Even saw two accidents (both small, no broken skin) and was delighted with how fast the crowd responded, offered help and routed around. Good communication out there!
it was my first naked organized ride. it was overwhelming… saw someone in the swamp ditch on burnside. hope he/she is ok.
I saw two women in the bioswale on E Burnside. They were using it as a loo.
Eww, really classy guys…
Platinum!
Caroline, call me…
Wow, any word on the rider that was down on Hawthorne on about 22nd ave? There was an ambulance and a stretcher, and what looked like a lot of blood… I hope he/she is okay…
I was first on seen to the accident and a former EMT. She was out when we got to her but regained consciousness with in a couple minutes. Luckily as far as I could tell a bad laceration to the temple was the worst of it.
Were the streets closed for this? Seems sub-genius to ride left of the center on Hawthorne.
They were most definitely closed, and even though there were some folks trying to help with traffic trying to go around the event, it was a huge debacle for anyone who was trapped in the ensuing jam. Probably made for some bad feelings-if this is to be a parade, it needs more management, otherwise probably best to go back to a more informal version.
There was no oncoming traffic on Hawthorne for a long stretch as if it were blocked off. I was about to move over to pass when I saw head lights. Seems like we had the same problem last year. It looks deceptively safe to pull into the oncoming traffic lane, but there are still cars occasionally using it.
still, there’s never any substitute for common sense, including wreckless weaving and passing of other cyclists. which i saw plenty of.
True. I was trying to say that even though the oncoming lane looks clear it’s probably best to stay out of it.
Anyone get a head count like last year?
(and can there be less cowbells in the crowd, I woke up with the ringing still in my head… or is that the after-party hang over?)
I’m not sure you belong in a city with a hockey team, bobsled run, Christopher Walken or a ski lift if you can’t handle MOAR COWBELL.
Yes, I’ve got a fever, and the only presription for it is MORE COWBELL!!
It was my second ride. I was really bummed as I was at work and was watching the drizzle fall all day long and thought it was going to be too cold and wet. But, was happy to see the sky start clearing and not get any colder.
Great fun and cannot wait until next years.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/montanamerida/sets/72157624919510455/with/5848059994/
After two years of almost doing the ride and chickening out at the last minute, I finally did it this year. It was a great time! I thought the ride was organized very well and have immense gratitude for the organizers, sponsors, and the police.
I’ll add that the route was outstanding. I think keeping the amount of time spent downtown to a minimum helped keep things flowing more smoothly.
Still no coverage in Oregonlive.com. Weird. However, the Huffington Post covered the WNBR last night – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/19/naked-bike-ride-clean-transportation_n_879888.html
not true anymore:
http://photos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2010/06/portland_world_naked_bike_ride_7.html
Oregonlive confusing as usual–that link was from last year. sorry.
That dude on the tall bike is a bit overexcited. Haven’t seen that before in such a public event.
i think i saw a pic of him again from last night. and same, uh, situation…
Check these photos out:
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvcGc6E
Best WNBR ever!
My minor complaints about last year: too short; and police presence a little too aggressive. This year, it felt a little bit longer, and the PPB were so awesome! I also think the Freak Out mystery ride and after party is just sublime. I left at 4:30 and the dancing was still a frenzy.
To the red-haired girl who shot all that video, I’m the guy with the white mobile sound system bike. Send me your video — I need it for a project.
I am so jealous of you guys.
CERTIFIABLY way too much fun!
All Red Saint Pete with the wings on the giraffe unicycle:
Pete, I have your camera and camera case from last night. Contact me at the Unicycle Bastards website so we can connect and get it back to you.
Max Taint
@ NE Sandy x 24th, I encountered a young lady on a kids bike with the rear wheel bearing so far out of adjustment, the chain would not stay on. She was at the rear of the ride, and her boyfriend was far ahead with a buddy on a tandem, she was being left behind, broke down and nude. I towed her back to the starting area, thanks to a long sleeved shirt I had in my panniers. We were joined by a very intoxicated young lady unable to ride well,on a old bike very out of adjustment and essentially unsafe due to faulty brakes. so we used back streets and a lot of caution. All ended well, but I need to reiterate the need to have your bike checked out if you can’t do it, and secondly, reinforce the discussion regarding drinking and riding.
I was not comfortable leaving either of these ladies on the street, but it could have ended up poorly for either or both.
Undoubtedly, the message was put out to check your bikes, as well as the messages on drinking and riding, but this new crowd apparently did not get it.
@Paul Smith +1. Thanks much, Joe. You were a star volunteer and a brilliant helping hand to those who would have had a very rough night but for you.
It’s nice to know there are such considerate people towards perfect strangers. Around midnight after the ride I was on my way back home and came across the gal on the broken kid’s bike freezing cold in the street next to her boyfriend’s van -their agreed upon meeting spot- but was locked out in only a tiny shirt. I let her use my phone to try and get ahold of her boyfriend but with no luck (he had her phone and wallet and things as well) finally landed her in a cab home despite not having anything with her. She was obviously not too pleased with her boyfriends drunken disappearing act, but spoke very fondly of the selfless man who towed her with a shirt. Kudos to you for taking the time to help.
What was the route this year, and the year before that? Can we know ahead of time in the future?
No. The route is secret until it happens for good reasons.
It’s peopl like you Joe that remind me what makes this city great.
Portland knows how to institutionalize silliness almost to the point of being banal.
first time rider. anytime you get a chance to ride naked through the streets of portland with thousands of others you gotta take it. would like to see more 50+ age riders. those that are still beautiful but not quite as tight as they once were. maybe form a group for next year.
pushing sixty here, got no problem riding naked in a small group in broad daylight, but i will not ride in a group of five or ten thousand, most of whom do not know how to handle themselves on a bike, and especially if many of them are drunk.
I have to disagree with you:
Most people do know how to handle a bike.
If not, there would have been a lot more crashes than there were.
Very few people were overtly drunk.
Tipsy? Probably more than a few. I actually think things were better this year than the last, and better then before the 2009 ride.
Keep in mind, you are hearing about the *anomalies* not the norm. Most of us had had a drink, in my case, around 8:30 or so. I was quite sober at the time of the ride.
If you are THAT worried for your personal safety, then by all means stay home. I recommend inflatable chairs for safety and ease of use.
every day that i ride i deal with people on bikes and in cars that don’t know how to operate them. the lesson is always be careful and be aware of your surroundings.
all i am saying is that i do not seek out these opportunities. i also do not do bridge pedal, except as a volunteer course marshal.
Profound thanks to everyone who volunteered (Pete and Tim, for example!). Also, some stunning organizers not mentioned in the article: Chris McCraw, Stephen Upchurch, Kate Welch, Carl Larson, Halley Weaver, Meghan Sinnott, Erinne Gooddell, Lily Karabaic, Adam George, and Rhienna (I know I’m forgetting a few, and I apologize). The BridgePort party looked hopping, and thanks to them for the stellar (and conveniently located!) afterparty.
A few of my favorite moments:
– Sandy Hut bar loaned Joe Biel, Elly Blue and I a broom so we could sweep up the bottle someone lobbed out their window 10 minutes before the ride came through;
– Talked to a giddy bachelorette party that did the ride (best idea ever);
– Wiled away time with volunteers who kept asking folks, “What else can I do?”
– Met a couple from Georgia who rode their recumbent tandem and loved every minute;
– Enjoyed the delightful lack of skeezy photographers at the meet-up;
– The fashion? Amazing!!
My camera battery died shortly after the ride started and I got almost no photos. But a couple of people snapped pics of me and I’m seeing if anyone reading this did so. I was wearing a black top hat and Mardi Gras mask with a long nose, and for much of the ride a tuxedo jacket (but not the pants). If you have a pic of me, please send it to mthand111@lycos.com. Thanks.
I thought the ride went great and there were very timely directional signals, such as at the turn from Burnside to Sandy Blvd. Other than the World Naked Bike Walk down SE Stark and 34th, no bottlenecks. I was up front most of the time and fortunately did not encounter too many drunks.
I had a great time again helping out at one of the gates. It was maybe even more fun that the actual ride to say hello to people, see the nervous people and invite them in, answer questions of shy people. The security guards were super friendly and the ride went by way too fast. My two favorite moments were a totally mind-blown guy from New York asking “what is this?” and replying “this is Portland!” and a middle aged woman who was so timid and really needed some encouragement. See you next year.
What is this? The most fun you’ll ever have on a bike.
It was my first ride; I felt a little weird going down there by myself, but I’m glad I did. I even made a new friend in the staging area — she was there by herself too, and we did the whole ride together.
Anyway, it was awesome. It turns out there’s NOTHING weird about being in a crowd of naked people when the crowd is so incredibly big. And I have never seen so much unambiguously happy, positive energy in one place.
Some select comments from the Oregonian’s facebook page:
“It represents Portland well..they are as depraved as they come..lack of morals and anti-christ”
” I think its DUMB and these people NEED to GROW UP and go get dressed and act like responsible members of society and not like 1 year olds running outside naked……..this NEEDS to stop being talked about and given attention to the stupidity and I hope these people will GROW UP!!!!!”
“assanine….pun intended! morals aside, who wants to see that? seriously, i don’t want to see them standing their naked let alone on a bicycle!”
“I imagine that all of the restaurant owners along the route really hate it, because anyone along the way that witnessed the bicyclers pass by, surely lost their appetite.”
“my son and i declared it 1. gross and 2. gross”
“got stuck trying to get home after a 12 hour day at work…you can imagine how amused i was when every route through SE Pdx was blocked off by hundreds of really very unattractive bodies..wondered how many of these pasty ridiculous people actually paid taxes that subsidized the large police presence blocking the major through streets adding at least an hour to being able to just get home”
http://www.facebook.com/theoregonian/posts/107415296019261
Oh lordy. Put down the processed foods and judgement, folks.
really cool. Such events should be organized in more than 5 US cities.
anyone know where i can get the official WNBR t-shirt? saw a picture of the stand after the ride but missed it when i was there.
at the Multnomah County Bike Fair (MCBF) this Saturday!
Sorry you guys had to deal with the drunks. On a positive note, it seems that the event went of on a positive note and every rider should be commended for a positive way to draw attention to your cause! Georgia supports Biking Naked!!
That was simply an awesome WNBR. So smooth and just pure fun. Organizers, you did a bang-up job. Just perfect!
Just a quick shout out to all of the WNBR participants. I really appreciate the welcoming spirit I received while covering this on Saturday. Thank you again. Here is a link to the story that aired.
http://www.kptv.com/entertainment/28293558/detail.html
Feel free for shoot me any feedback or suggestions.
Nice job, I think you captured it pretty well. I wondered if it would even be feasible for any TV stations to cover the event. (Because, you know, god forbid the children might see naked people.)
Nicely done! Although when looked at the surface people could just dismiss it as another Portland freakfest, it was moving for me watching it, that people of all different persuasions came out, from the most outlandish to the most everyday, and it wasn’t seedy, it was, dare I say it, normal? Watching the people watching, I had to smile at people’s enthusiasm (and frequent high fives!) Overall, it showed Portland’s spirit of joining together for positive community experiences.
Yipes, can’t say the same for the comments on that page.
it’s great, devin! thanks for the wonderful coverage (hehe) and for being so sweet on location! well done.
The morning rain kept me inside Saturday night. Looks like I missed a great ride.
@Paul Smith. Thanks you for the feedback. I can understand as far as the comment section goes. Informed, uninformed and feelings for and against tend to make it on the comments section. I would simply say that it takes all kinds. If I have done my job correctly simply presenting the event. Then each person that decided to watch can make up their own mind. I spoke with approximately thirty spectators throughout the night at two different locations. While most said they would not do it themselves. They did not however have any issues at all with others choice to do so. The only soapbox comment I would make with regard to postings…. Some people tend to act differently when protected by a computer screen and say some things they would not normally say to a persons face….. end of rant.
You hit it on the head with the last comment there. It’s unfortunate that people think it’s ok to be rude and unnecessarily judgemental about things that don’t square with their vision of reality. Oh well, it indeed takes all kinds, they’re free to express themselves that way.
Devin I wanted to thank you again for a great job covering the event. It is easy for the media to get it wrong about things like this, and you did a great job getting it right.
What a wonderful ride! I was a spectator and was inspired by the many happy people. There were so many that it overshadowed people giving the crowd the finger and spraying “water” on people. It is funny that a few naked riders were quite judgmental and self-conscious, and used bad language. Think what is the etymological definition of “f-you”, and how it is totally against the nature, purpose, and future of the ride. It is cool that one volunteer was able to save some stragglers. Maybe more can bring up the rear. I saw 3 crashes, but the organization was great, letting people know how to be safe. Thank you for spreading joy and peace!
Curiously, right now it’s one of the most popular items on Yahoo news, and checking out the article is worth it for the comments alone (which range from the comical to the almost delusionally meanspirited):
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110619/lf_nm_life/us_naked_bikes
I read the first few pages of comments and didn’t see a single one that had even 1/10 of a clue. A lot of the morons cited the idea that “the people who go naked in public are always the ones you really don’t want to see naked.” That was definitely not true on Saturday: take a bow, Portland, we’re a pretty fit town!
Funny how the ones who talk about freedom the most are usually the most terrified of those who actually practice it.
For real. You’d think from their appeals to police to arrest WNBR’ers that a police state, or the institution of Vice & Virtue patrols would be among their dearest-held ideals.
Mostly they sound like miserably unhealthy, mindless car-drivers stuck raging against those who actually enjoy life a little.
As a Bridgeport party vendor, we were thrilled to have helped put on a terrific after party for the 2011 Portland World Naked Bike Ride. But we need your help recovering four dance lights swiped from the DJ area on Saturday night. They belong to one the local vendors that worked so hard to throw the great party. These lights are useless without their proprietary recharging system and remote programming system so there should be no reason to hang on to them. If you or someone you know might possess one or more of these fixtures, PLEASE get it returned as soon as possible, no questions asked! Return the fixtures to the offices of R-West at 1430 SE 3rd Ave., on the 3rd floor. That is right there at the event site at 3rd and Hawthorn, under the bridge. Please spread the word so we can get these recovered and that this event can continue to be the kind of thing that people will want to sponsor, support, and allow! Don’t disappoint me Portland! SPREAD THE WORD amongst the riders. Thank You!