Okay, fine. Enough of y’all have asked that I’ll post about it. :)
Stasia, did you ride in the 2014 World Naked Bike Ride?
Why yes, yes I did.
Stasia, did you take pictures of the 2014 World Naked Bike Ride?
Nope. Not one. Even though tons of people did, it felt a little weird to me. I know that I wouldn’t want to find myself plastered naked on someone else’s blog, so I’m not going to do that to anyone else either. That being said, there are tons and tons and tons of pictures that you can ogle over at BikePortland. Like this one:
(From BikePortland.org)
 I wouldn’t recommend looking at it at work, though, unless you’re prepared to answer some uncomfortable questions about how you’re spending your time.
Wait a minute. Isn’t it cheating to not take pictures but then post someone else’s pictures on your blog?
Heh. Maybe. Though 1) at least I didn’t feel like a creeper at the event, and 2) you’ll notice that the two pictured I borrowed are neither full-on nudity nor do they show the people as they would look in real life except for more naked. I feel okay about that.
So if you wouldn’t want to be on the internet naked, why would you ride naked on your bike through the streets of Portland?
Good question. I see those as two different things. A body in motion surrounded by other naked bodies in motion is awesome. A naked body–especially one not decorated as a piece of art–frozen in a picture and placed on the internet for anyone to find, divorced from its context and probably without consent, is not as awesome.
How was the naked bike ride, anyway?
Amazing. Though I got a little grumpy at all the wait time—that many thousands of people on bikes take a looooong time to roll out, plus there were a few bottlenecks in the route—overall it was rad. Plus, it was James’ first naked ride. I think he got a kick out of seeing that many people sans clothes all in one place.
(sans clothes doesn’t mean sans style! Another picture from BikePortland.org)
 Any other thoughts?
Glad you asked! I’ve gotta say, following a bunch of naked butts on bikes is maybe one of my favorite things. Not because I inherently like butts, but because there are so few times in life that you actually see what other people’s bodies look like—and even fewer times that you can see other bodies in a totally non-sexual way. It’s so refreshing to remember that everyone looks different, and everyone is lovely in their own fashion. That’s definitely my favorite thing about this ride, how normal it is for everyone is to be naked, how decent.
So I totally recommend it—if nothing else, the World Naked Bike Ride is a Portland institution that is worth doing at least once in your tenure of living here.
Of course, if it’s totally not your thing, no worries. There are still two and a half whole weeks of Pedalpalooza bike fun happening, and most of it happens fully clothed! Get after it!