The World Naked Bike Ride is returning to Canadian cities this summer
The body positivity and climate change protest will take place in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal
Photo by:
7beachbum via Wikimedia Commons
Picture the scene: It’s summer 2021, you’re (possibly) vaccinated and outside enjoying the sunny weather. Things are looking up. The bike lanes are full of every type of cyclist—including one very naked person on a bike?
Suddenly a string of nude and lightly dressed cyclists turn the corner. It’s that naked bike ride thing again.
Though there might not be much bike racing in Canada this summer, the annual World Naked Bike Ride event is back and ready to surprise Canadian city dwellers.
“Less gas more ass”
The dress code motto for World Naked Bike Rides is: “As bare as you dare.”
The rides, which originated in Vancouver and now take place in more than 80 cities around the world, are organized as protests against against fossil fuels and dependency on oil. The events use the tagline “less gas, more ass”—one of the many phrases riders paint on themselves using body paint.
There’s also an element of body positivity and inclusivity. World Naked Bike Ride organizers say that the rides are a liberating experience for many people.
Canadian nudity
The World Naked Bike Ride (no association with Naked Bicycles) is set to roll through the streets of a number of Canadian cities this summer. Montreal’s two naked events will take place at 1:00p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on July 17. Toronto’s is set for 1:00 p.m. on June 12, the same day as Vancouver’s event, which will take place at 3:00 p.m.. Smaller forms of the protests occasionally take place in cities such as Edmonton, Victoria and Halifax as well.
Body painting is a popular pre-event activity, but, with social-distancing measures in place, many cities have cancelled this element of the protests.
Though riders are encouraged to show as much skin as they feel comfortable showing, there is one body part organizers would like to see covered. “With the release of the vaccine, a little more normality is expected this year,” Montreal World Naked Bike Ride organizer Gene Dare told CTV News. “We will recommend the mask and bicycle distancing for riders.”
