(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
The sun is shining and bike fun spirits are high. Pedalpalooza is going strong and tomorrow night it will reach one of its many climaxes when thousands upon thousands of you get naked and pedal through our wonderful city. Yes, it’s time for the legendary Portland edition of the World Naked Bike Ride.
Let’s review the basics shall we?
Where and When
The ride will happen Saturday night (June 16th) at 10:00 pm. The start location is the empty lot at the corner of SE Water and Salmon (same as last year, here’s a map). Folks will begin gathering at around 8:30 to 9:00 pm.
Why
Why not? (Oh, and it can change your life if you let it.)
How (and this is the part I need your full attention for)
Amazingly, the Naked Bike Ride (and all of Pedalpalooza for that matter) is coordinated by a loose volunteer organization known as Shift. These folks built bike culture in Portland from the street up and the Naked Bike Ride is the biggest thing they work on all year.
Organizing the naked ride — the second largest group ride in Oregon behind only the Bridge Pedal — takes hundreds of volunteer hours and it is not free. How many free, safe locations do you know about where 10,000 naked people can gather? There are permitting fees to secure the location, they have to pay security at the ride, provide porta-potties at the start, and then pick up trash left after the event. Shift takes care of all this with panache and a smile; but they need our help!
This year they’re trying a new fundraising method.
“WNBR guy” Stephen Upchurch recently shared more on the Shift email list:
“In the past we’ve had a party and sold donated beer to cover costs. But no more of that because it overwhelms the rest of the organizing effort… This year we can probably cover much of the remaining costs if everyone who attends makes a small contribution. Like a dollar. We’ll have people, somewhat official looking people, seeking your donation. Help the ride out in this small way and we will move toward a monetarily stable future for the WNBR.”
So that’s it folks. Bring a few bucks to the naked ride and help keep it going strong.
You can also donate online at PDXWNBR.com. Shift’s non-profit partner is a 501(c)3 so all donations are tax deductible.
For more info about the ride check out the official website, PDXWNBR.com and the Facebook event for the latest details. For a good first-timers guide to the ride, check out the Portland Mercury’s “How to Bike Naked” article or the Shift wiki page.
BikePortland has covered the Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride every year since 2005. Browse our past photos and coverage — including last year’s — here.
A few last things… Have fun, be smart and respectful to everyone (including the police), and bring your friends.