June 12- nude bicyclists ride against oil dependency

World Naked Bike Ride in Seattle, etc.
[ http://worldNakedBikeRide.org ]

[ Will WNBR occur in San Francisco?
To participate, bicyclists may email
x100percentLoveX [at] riseUp.net ]
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BICYCLISTS WILL SHED CLOTHES IN PROTEST RIDE
[ http://tinyurl.com/2r3ah ]
by Tan Vinh,
Seattle Times staff reporter
Friday, 11 June 2004

[ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001953594_naked11m.html ]

Folks may be used to naked bikers at the Fremont Solstice Parade.
But are they ready for bikers baring all around Queen Anne, downtown and
splashing into the Seattle Center's International Fountain?

Rain or shine, some activists plan to show their sunny side tomorrow [Saturday, June 12]
as part of World Naked Bike Ride Day.
Seattle is one of 22 cities around
the world, including Olympia and Bellingham, where riders plan to
protest oil dependency and "to empower people to feel more comfortable
with their bodies," said Daniel Johnson, the lead organizer of the
Seattle ride.

At least 50 riders here have shown interest, although how many will
ride is unclear, organizers said.

The exact route has not been determined, but riders plan to gather at
noon at Gasworks Park and will probably ride along the Burke-Gilman
Trail, then cross under the Aurora Bridge and head up Phinney Avenue
North to Fremont. Then organizers plan to ride through Queen Anne
before heading to Dexter Avenue North to the International Fountain at
Seattle Center, where they plan to jump in.

Seattle police will allow the nude ride because, from a legal
standpoint, being nude is not considered obscene behavior if it is at
an event where nudity is expected.

Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said authorities will "monitor" the
riders but will not interfere unless residents complain.

Seattle Center officials have been diplomatic, saying only that their
facilities are open to the public. But signs will explain the ride is
not a sponsored event.

"We will put signage around the International Fountain (saying) we
anticipate these people are coming, so parents with young children can
make a choice whether they want to come down," spokeswoman Kym Allen said.

Where law enforcement is concerned, most cities cope with nude public
events the way Seattle police plan to. San Francisco's Bay to Breakers
12K, which draws more than 70,000 runners, many of them naked, is
treated like any other race. A police spokesman did say nude runners
are told to clothe themselves after crossing the finish line.

Local organizers of the Seattle ride call it a "peaceful event" and say
riders will go out of their way to avoid confrontation.

An artist and activist, Johnson, 30, of Seattle, has been planning the
Seattle ride since last September with Conrad Schmidt, 34, of
Vancouver, B.C.
 
Schmidt is the brains behind the Naked World Bike Day that has spread
through word of mouth and e-mail, drawing coverage from England and
Canada.

The events in Chicago and London are expected to draw about 200 nude
bikers each, Schmidt said.

Schmidt, a South Africa native, is a computer programmer who has
organized seven naked bike rides in Vancouver in the past two years. He
hopes to make the naked ride an annual event and scoffs at his critics.


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Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
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