London naked bike ride: 1,000 cyclists bare all in major protest across the capital

Tourists walking around London today might be in for a surprise as more than 1,000 cyclists will take to their bikes in the buff.

The World Naked Bike Ride is being held in the capital this afternoon, as it has every year since 2004.

The event has faced calls to be banned, but organisers and participants insist it is a peaceful, legal public protest which, despite appearances, carries a serious message.

What is the World Naked Bike Ride?

There are more than 10,000 naked cycle ride events held every year.

The event (called WNBR for short) is actually a protest against car culture and other linked themes.

Participants are also demonstrating against the global dependency on oil, all while celebrating their bodily freedom.

Last year more than 1,200 people took part in London’s naked bike ride.

The event has now been moved to a Sunday, rather than a Saturday, to avoid the traffic and protests surrounding Trooping of the Colour.

Controversy

Not everyone is a fan of the naked bike ride.

Sadiq Khan has been accused of failing to protect children and has been told by a sexual abuse charity that he could be doing ‘so much more than he does’ to prevent young people from seeing the event.

Emma Jane Taylor, founder of Project 90-10, told the Telegraph: ‘The next day [after the bike ride], if you go and do that, you’ll be arrested. How come on this day it’s had the green light?’

She has launched a petition calling for on the government to reform the event’s legal and safeguarding policies.

A spokesman for WNBR said: ‘Our body positivity/body acceptance theme is all about having a sensible attitude to the human body instead of suffering from the angst of body image and peer pressure for abnormal sexual activity.

‘We all have bodies, we are all different, and that’s OK.’

The naked bike ride received national attention last November when a rider was punched during the event in Essex.

The victim was taking part in a World Naked Bike Ride in Colchester on August 9, when Lee Turnage rode up alongside him on a motorbike and attacked him.

The cyclist fell off his bike as a result and was left with a leg injury that, he says, continues to cause him a lot of pain.

Turnage was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years earlier this month.

Where and when does the London Naked Bike Ride start? 

You don’t need to sign up or pay to participate in WNBR. Naked bikers just need to turn up at the right time.

There are a string of different locations across the capital where you can meet fellow riders.

These are:

• Clapham Junction, Grant Road, SW11 2NU, meet at 14:00, depart at 14:15
• Croydon, 233 Shirley Church Road, CR0 5AB, meet at 10:45, depart at 12:45 
• Deptford, Piehouse Co-op, Arches 213&214, Edward St, SE8 5HD, meet at 12:00, depart at 13:30 
• Hackney Wick, Thingy Cafe, 1 Trowbridge Rd, E9 5LD, meet at 09:00, depart at 13:30 
• Kew Bridge, North end of Kew Bridge near W4 3NQ, meet at 12:45, depart at 13:00 
• Regents Park, Outer Circle, near NW1 4NA, meet at 14:05, depart at 14:20 
• Tower Hill, Trinity Square Gardens, EC3N 4DJ, meet at 13:15, depart at 14:15 
• Wellington Arch, Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner W1J 7JZ, meet at 13:45, depart at 14:15 
• Accessible Option at Leake St, SE1 7NN (wait there to be met), meet at 15:00, depart at 15:15
• The AfterParty at The Steel Yard, 13-16 Allhallows Lane EC4R 3UE, meet at 18:00, depart at 23:00

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