So now the 2008 edition of Chicago's World Naked Bike Ride is done,
and I need to get some of my thoughts and ideas out before they dry
up and blow away.

The first thought is that people don't realize how much work went
into it. For many of us the ride began back in April, when we began
meeting to discuss the route, the publicity, the promotional pieces,
the problems of past years and how to avoid them, etc. Everyone who
was involved was a volunteer who did this out of the goodness in
their hearts; many spent their own cash for printing, posters, etc.
True, there were a dozen people who were heavily involved in
organizing this thing, but the task was huge, and each of us spent
many hours on it. Andrew and Steven in particular
worked like dogs to pull everything together. I hope everyone on
the ride got the chance to shake
Andrew's or Steven's hand; many kudos go out to them and the other
organizers for all their hard work.

Weeks before the ride I found myself wandering the neighborhoods of
Evanston, Rogers Park and Lakeview with a wad of posters and fliers
in one hand and a roll of tape in the other. At first I hit bike
shops, then coffee shops, then eco-friendly restaurants (yes,
including the Heartland) and alternative lifestyle shops. Finally I
got smart and began taping fliers to the handlebars of every parked
bicycle I saw (I gave up on handing out fliers to actual riders, as
that inevitably resulted in long discussions about the time, place,
method, etc.) I'm sure a lot of retirees and prudish people got
offended by the Naked Biker drawing, but I hope a lot of riders
learned about it who otherwise might not have known (HINT: anyone who
came to the ride because you found a flier taped to your bike, please
say so, or I'll think I was wasting my time and won't bother next
year.)

My second thought is that I broke the rules by driving down to the
ride. That felt weird; driving to a ride to protest oil dependency.
But I was one of the only ones who actually had a car (required since
I have 2 separate jobs 15 miles apart). So I was given a long
shopping list; in addition to myself and my bike, I drove to the ride
with 4 cases of water, 4 bags of ice, 2 coolers, 2 cases of soda, 3
boxes of leaflets (which my wife and I copied and cut out ourselves),
assorted snacks (the 2 dozen bananas in particular were gone within
minutes of my arrival), some painting/costuming items and a variety
of tools (my can of WD40 was a boon for several cyclists).
I'm glad it worked out the way it did.

I was particularly pleased with the leaflets, which were my own
baby. The first few years of the ride there wasn't much promotion or
publicity; a small circle of folks knew about it and spread the word
among friends and other riders. Then we'd appear, get painted and
costumed, and ride around.
All the bystanders would say, "Hey, naked bikers! What gives?" and
had no idea what we were about.
So two years ago I drafted a little leaflet entitled "Why are we
riding our bikes naked?" and began to copy them to pass out to the
crowd. I've been a bit of a pain about it, constantly hollering to
all the riders to take a packet of leaflets, and at every stoplight I
would bellow a reminder to everyone to pass them out, to get the
message out. But I went to the ride with 28,000 leaflets, and came
home with less than 4,000, so I hope they served their purpose. If
we don't get a message out then the ride is really pointless (other
than being a naked party on wheels, that is) Here's the text of the
leaflets:

"WHY ARE WE RIDING OUR BIKES NAKED?
1) To promote freedom from oil dependency
2) To combat pollution
3) To foster a positive body image
4) To highlight how vulnerable bicyclists feel every day
when they share the road with cars.
5) TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!
Bicycles are a cheap, efficient, clean and healthy mode of
transportation. Bicycling helps fights obesity and disease. Bicycles
don't use foreign oil, don't spew pollution into the air, and don't
contribute to global warming. If more people rode bicycles we'd have
fewer problems with traffic congestion, lack of parking space, road
rage, accidents, and DUIs. We'd like to encourage everyone to get on
their bike today…and every day!
For more info, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Naked_Bike_Ride or
www.worldnakedbikeride.org or www.ChicagoNakedRide.com"
I wrote them to be as non-political as possible (something some folks
didn't seem to grasp: "Why don't they mention the oil war/Bush is a
chump/an anti-SUV message/promote organic living/etc." I wanted them
to be as basic and all-encompassing as possible, so that EVERY rider
could agree with the thoughts they contained and would be happy to
pass them out. Many thanks to everyone who passed the things out and
helped spread the word, and to everyone who put up with my constant
hollering about the damn leaflets.

So, I arrived at the pre-party, to find some of the pals I knew from
past rides getting set up.
Riders gradually dribbled in and began to disrobe and get painted.
Clothing was optional, of course; many chose to go naked but many
more rode in undies, shorts, swimsuits, etc. Three professional body
painters volunteered their services and did an awesome job; many
thanks to Melissa and the other two talented ladies (whose names I
didn't get)

One of the early problems, which kept re-occurring all evening,
occupied my mind a lot; the problem of pictures. Four of the
organizers (including me) had been designated as official
photographers; we were supposed to ask permission first, and not to
post photos on porn sites or the like. (We also divided the ride
between us, so there was an official photographer at the front, rear,
and two spread in the middle. The idea was that if any trouble
occurred—as has sadly happened in the past—we were to get pictures or
videos right away. That way aggressive police officers or drunken
gropers would appear on YouTube the next day; and our presence might
prevent trouble before it started.

Others weren't supposed to take photos at the pre-party. But a bunch
of people didn't get the message. It's fine if someone takes a
picture or two of their friends, with their permission, before the
ride starts. But a number of folks showed up just to snap-snap-snap,
without the courtesy of asking first, and who knows where their
pictures would end up? In particular, one young lady (and you
thought all such perverts were men, didn't you?) with a large camera
and separate flash seemed to be all over, shoving her huge lens right
up against people and snapping a half-dozen shots of any bared skin
whatsoever. I challenged her on it, and she insisted she was asking
permission from everyone, which I hadn't noticed. (To be fair, she
did ride with us, which wins points in my book; it's fine to take
pictures as long as you 1) get permission, and 2) get on your bike.)
Then two guys in wheelchairs appeared and began rolling around and
gawking; they weren't riding bikes, so why were they even there?
Andrew later told me they'd volunteered to help at the entrance gate,
but as soon as he'd left them there they were over by the
bodypainters, trying to take pictures. I guess there are volunteers,
and then less enthusiastic volunteers.

So I wandered about the pre-party, saying hello to those I knew, and
taking photos of the painted designs, slogans, bikes, costumes, and
people (I'll admit it, I'm a voyeur, but I tried to capture the
festive spirit of things, rather than just roam about looking for T
&A). I also had a stack of cards that I kept giving out; these had a
dual purpose. One side listed my art fairs, because I'm shameless
when it comes to promoting my stuff. The other had my email address
and website, which reassured some people. I've already gotten 8
emails from riders; 6 wanted me to send them the photos I took of
them, and 2 wanted me to NEVER send ANYONE the photos I took of them.

The crowd grew, and grew; by the start time over 300 people had
crowded into the bodypainting area.
There was a band (the Environmental Encroachment Marching Band) and
hula-hoopers, jugglers, drummers, and all kinds of shenanigans going
on. It was chaotic, confusing, but wonderfully fun; the presence of
so many happy riders, naked or not, just spread a joyful spirit
through the crowd.
(That joyful spirit is what distinguishes the WNBR from some of the
Critical Mass rides I've been in; sometimes they're focused on fun
and love, but too often they seem antagonistic and haughty to me.)
Eventually, we worked our way out into the street and, about 9:15
Steven led us off on the fifth edition of Chicago's World Naked Bike
Ride.

To be continued...