hello, my name is Steven

I hosted the pre-ride gathering party last year, and I 'steered' the ride, which
put me in a
good vantage point to videotape Chicago's 2007 WNBR. That being said, I must
apologize
for the overall crappie quality of the video, and for not editing it down
further (30min), but
it should be useful for those that have never been on a World Naked Bike Ride.

You get to see the pre-ride gathering, where you can get your body painted if
you arrive
early enough (this year body painting stops at 8:30pm). I realize everyone is
super anxious
to know where we are gathering this year, please be patient as we are still
working to
confirm a location, just keep in mind it will be very near Union Park again.

IMPORTANT! The video has a lot of me yelling directions to the group and
screaming SLOW
DOWN!!! Part of that was my fault as I should have delegated the responsibility
of leading
the ride, this year we'll have maps to hand out, and if anyone wants to help
steer the ride,
please contact me offlist.

EVERYONE! If you find yourself at the front of the ride:

1. Remember to keep a slow pace, it's easy to get excited and start pedaling
faster, but we
really need to stay together and not get stretched out.

2. Keep in mind we don't need to blast through every red light just because we
can, red
lights are a great chance for the group to mass up, so we should stop every so
often to
allow the group to remain in a tight parade formation.

3. Avoid passing cars and swallowing them up in the ride, drivers caught in bike
parades
tend to make erratic moves, so it's best to just stop behind a pack of cars and
wait for
them to move on.

4. Stay out of the oncoming lane, we do not need to take both sides of the
street.

The rules are a little different for the group responsible for the tail end of
the ride, so
please refer to Howard's previous request for volunteers to mind the rear.

If you have never been on a big group ride in Chicago, the following link offers
some
helpful tips (http://chicagocriticalmass.org/about/newbies).

Mr Bike has some great tips for riding naked (http://www.mrbike.com/how.php).

ok, here's the video of last year...
---------------------------------
World Naked Bike Ride: Chicago 2007
http://bike365.blip.tv
---------------------------------

~steven