Cork cyclists dress down for protest

MORE than 90 cyclists braved inclement weather conditions in Cork city on Saturday evening to take part in the city’s third annual naked bike ride.

A similar event in Dublin was cancelled over the weekend because of the inability of organisers to obtain Garda clearance. However, in Cork the 6km bike ride passed off without incident.

A body-painting party at the Camden Palace Hotel in the city attracted in the region of 50 local artists who painted the bodies of cyclists before the ride to the Marina got under way at 8pm on Saturday.

A spokesman for the event said organisers were delighted with the turnout particularly given the poor weather conditions.

“The weather was bad all day and I thought we would struggle to get riders. We ended up with 93 which is great as we had 57 last year and eight the previous year. We were so lucky because it was raining before we started but it didn’t rain for the 55 minutes we were out. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 68 which is just brilliant.”

This is the first year the bike ride has been held in the evening with the event usually scheduled in the early morning because of concerns about complaints from the public.

However, organisers say the ride attracted little in the way of adverse attention even if the cyclists themselves admitted to feeling a little self-conscious while stopped at traffic lights for long periods of time.

Organisers stress that, although the Cork bike ride is essentially a protest against car-dominated transport, a decision was made to link it with the vulnerability of cyclists on the road and the importance of road safety.

The first Naked Bike Ride was celebrated in Zaragoza, Spain, in 2001. World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport to protest against oil dependency and celebrate the power and individuality of our bodies. Nudity is encouraged, but not mandatory, on all rides. There are more than 100 WNBR events worldwide. The London ride had 60 participants in 2004, and has grown to over 1,000 in recent years making it the largest daytime naked cycle event in the world. The London ride takes two hours and travels down some of the busiest streets in the city.

A worldwide phenomenon, the annual naked bike ride has become successful in cities such as Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle.

Police forces throughout the world generally take a lenient approach to participants in Naked Bike Rides. However, the policing of the ride varies according to local laws, police policy and cultural expectations.