Since 2004, the World Naked Bike Ride has been spreading it's message of opposition to car culture and oil dependency in rides throughout the globe. The ride celebrates the power and individuality of the human body. Many riders will have their first experience of social and non-sexual nudity through the ride. All rides are clothing optional in the truest sense. There is no pressure for riders to go more clothed or nude than they wish. Rides range in size from the very small (Sao Paolo 2004 had 2 riders) to the very large (Zaragosa 2004 had 400 riders). The average ride is under 100 riders, but London beat the odds by having 250 riders in 2005 for it's second ever ride. There are over 100 rides planned for 2006.

This year's event will take place in London plus 3 new UK locations - Manchester, York, and Brighton. All non-London rides allow participants to attend both the local ride AND the London ride. Many are expected to participate in 2 rides, and it would technically be possible to participate in up to 3 UK rides. The Manchester and York rides are planned for the same time (6pm Friday 9 June), so it will not be possible to participate in all 4 rides without a Tardis (and you know how much petrol those take to run).
 http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk

The traditional ride in London is now in it's third year, and has the approval of the London Metropolitan police. This ride will assemble at Wellington Arch (Hyde Park Corner) at 3pm on Saturday 10 June 2006. Rental bikes will be available from a nearby location (provided by London Bicycle Touring Company at a discounted rate). The numbers are expected to be somewhere around 350 riders with plenty of body-painting and bike decoration. The ride is a veritable sight-seeing tour. It will pass by many popular sites including - Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Parliament, Westminster Bridge, Waterloo, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Centre Point, Oxford Street, and of course... The US Embassy (where riders can deliver their own petitions, letters of protest). The London ride is a part of London Sustainability Weeks 2006, Bike Week 2006 and Green Transport Week 2006. All the UK rides are registered with Bike Week 2006.
 http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/london

Just two days before the big ride in London, the Barbican Centre will show documentary of the 2005 ride on the Thursday the 8th of June at 7pm. This documentary by Johnny Zapatos (High Altitude Films) provides a welcome introduction for new riders who are unsure of what they are in for. The film tells the story of a small collective organising London's biggest ever naked protest event. The film crew embedded themselves with 4 different cameras within the ride. London cyclist and newsreader Jon Snow provides the narration. Like the ride, the tone of the film is upbeat and fun, but it is underpinned by a serious message. The Barbican screening will be followed by an audience/panel discussion of the film and upcomming ride. Tickets are £5.50
 http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/london/film

The Manchester ride is the latest ride to confirm it's plans. Apparently there has been interest in a Manchester ride since 2004, but nothing materialised until May 2006. The ride will assemble inside the social centre "The Basement" (24 Lever St) at 6pm on Friday 9 June. The venue will provide a photography free area for changing out of clothes (and into costumes/bodypaint). The ride will set out at 7pm and give a new meaning to the term "Northern exposure".
 http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/manchester

The York ride nearly happened last year, and this year's ride has all of Yorkshire buzzing with excitement. This year's ride assembles at Memorial Gardens (off Leeman Road, near to the Rail Station). The assembly time is 6pm on Friday 9 June, and the ride will depart at 6.30pm. This year's ride will take a fairly traffic free route through the medieval cycle-friendly streets of York. The ride concludes in Museum Gardens (5 minutes from the start location). Bike rental can be easily arranged through York Bike Rental which delivers and collects bikes until 8pm.
 http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/yorkshire

The Brighton ride is probably the most hotly tipped ride of the year. Numbers expected range in estimate from the demure 120 riders to the unprecedented 250 riders. Could a ride actually get 250 on it's debut? If anywhere could, it's Brighton - the spiritual home for the World Naked Bike Ride in the UK. The ride will assemble at 10am on The Level (a park bound by Union, Ditchling and Lewes Rds). The departure is planned for 10.30, and the ride will take a beautiful 11 km route along the seaside and through the busy streets of Brighton eventually concluding at the nudist beach shortly after noon. The finish location will allow riders to continue to exercise their choice of whether or not to wear clothes. Don't have a bike? Planet Cycles by the West Pier is offering World Naked Bike Ride participants a 10% discount on the day.
 http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/brighton

The future of the ride in Britain? In 2007 rides may pop up in even more locations than we can imagine. Some hotly tipped locations include - Bath, Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Aberyswyth, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Totnes, Norwich, and Cambridge. The main Northern Hemisphere ride date is provisionally set for Saturday 9 June 2007, but it could change before 2007.

SCHEDULE OF RIDES-

THURSDAY 8 JUNE 2006

7pm - London - Johnny Zapatos film of the 2005 World Naked Bike Ride (Barbican Centre, Tickets £5.50)

FRIDAY 9 JUNE 2006

6pm - Southend, Essex - 3rd Critical Mass Ride - Due to recent attempts by police to scupper the ride, big solidarity needed on this one, meet outside WHSmith (town centre).
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/340471.html

6pm - York - World Naked Bike Ride assembles at Memorial Gardens for a 6.30pm departure

6pm - Manchester - World Naked Bike Ride assembles at "The Basement" for a 7pm departure

SATURDAY 10 JUNE 2006

10am - Brighton - World Naked Bike Ride assembles at The Level for a 10.30am departure

3pm - London - World Naked Bike Ride assembles at Wellington Arch for a 3.30pm departure

...Meanwhile we are still waiting for the outcome of the high court case concerning the legality of participating in Critical Mass London.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5011380.stm