Houstonians Prepare for Saturday’s World Naked Bike Ride

Houstonians shouldn’t be alarmed if a pack of naked cyclists is spotted cruising along Polk Street on Saturday night.

Houston’s version of the World Naked Bike Ride is planned to start at 8 p.m. September 13 at Super Happy Fun Land, and riders are encouraged to be as “bare as they dare.”

“Just last week, yet another beloved member of Houston’s cycling community was killed by a motorist,” organizer David Collins wrote on the Critical Mass Houston social media page. “If you’re mad as hell and not gonna take it any more, come join us.”

The 12-mile ride is described as a protest to advocate for the following initiatives, according to the event website:

• Improvements for the safety of all road users. The nudity is a political statement, symbolizing the vulnerability of cyclists and pedestrians and calling for policies to protect them. Not everyone can afford a car, even in Houston.
• Swift action to stop the climate chaos that causes more frequent, more severe storms, floods, droughts, and fires. That means severely curbing (ending if possible) dependency on fossil fuels, and that means getting over dependency on personal motor vehicles.
• Bodily freedom and individual expression.

Cyclists are particularly concerned about the recent closure of dedicated bike lanes on Austin Street in Midtown. Houston Mayor John Whitmire decided in April to remove the lanes without feedback from the City Council or the public. The city plans to widen lanes on Austin Street and install “sharrows,” or road markings of two inverted V shapes, to indicate that bicycles and vehicles share the road.
Whitmire has “embarked on a campaign to undo the bike-lane progress of his predecessors,” according to the World Naked Bike Ride website. “He has ignored the evidence that these lanes increase safety. He wants to replace the protected lanes with ‘sharrows’ painted on the street. Sharrows? Really? Paint is not protection.”

Collins said Whitmire’s undoing of bike-friendly policies put in place by previous administrations “is definitely the focus of this year’s theme: Take the lane.”

“We’re saying, be brave enough to take as much of the lane as you’re entitled to,” Collins said. “[Whitmire’s] policies, especially reversing the very forward-thinking policies of previous mayors, are very troubling and definitely a cause for protest.”

“Protected bike lanes save lives,” he added. “Not only do they make it easier and safer to get around by bicycle, but they also make most motorists drive more cautiously, reducing auto wrecks.”

Collins said Houston is doing bike lanes right in some areas, like The Heights, where extra-wide sidewalks accommodate pedestrians and bicycles.

“I also live fairly close to Hermann Park and we have a nice, wide walkway down Almeda Road,” he said. “The bike lanes that were rolled out in Third Ward and other areas, thanks to County Commissioner Rodney Ellis coming up with the funds, including the bike lane on Austin Street, which is subsequently being ripped up, were a big move in a positive direction.”

Houston ordinance says it’s unlawful for anyone to appear on a public street in a state of complete nudity or exposing genitalia, buttocks, or, in the case of a female, breasts.

Riders flout this ordinance at their own risk, according to World Naked Bike Ride. There is no state law against public nudity per se; a prosecutor would have to prove that one is “reckless about offending someone,” organizers say. Participants are encouraged to bring some covering so they can visit local bars along the ride for refreshment breaks.

Collins said it’s comfortable to cycle in the nude, and there are rarely incidents of “damaged equipment.”

“Riding bikes in a group at night is exhilarating,” he said. “Doing that while wearing as little as possible, or nothing, is even more exhilarating. There’s nothing quite like it.”

The route for the event will be announced just prior to the ride. Cyclists are encouraged to arrive by 6 p.m. and grab a pizza from Flakey’s. Collins said Houston has hosted a World Naked Bike Ride every year since 2011, with the exception of 2020.

“Yes, we ride at night,” he said. “It’s too hot during the day. Plus, we take breaks at bars along the route, where we can explain to puzzled bar patrons just what the hell we’re doing and why.”

Collins said many participants paint the words, “Can you see me now?” on their bodies to raise awareness about distracted drivers.

“We have an epidemic of motorists who are unable to see anything but what’s directly in front of them or perhaps their phone if they’re trying to use it for navigation, but they don’t tend to see pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users,” he said. “When we’re out there in a state of undress, we’re definitely more visible. We get a lot of cheers, a lot of great encouragement.”

The event website explains that nudity is not consent, and participation in the ride is not an indication that someone is “a target for pickup lines.”

“This is a protest, not an opportunity to ‘hit on’ fellow riders,” the website states. “Nor should anyone pressure anyone else into daring to bare more. If any participant is saying or doing anything that makes you uncomfortable, notify a ride organizer so that appropriate action may be taken.”

Cyclists are advised to make sure they have working lights on their bike and “not too much intoxicant” in their system. The ride in years past has drawn anywhere from 20 to 100 people.

“Come on out to Super Happy Fun Land,” Collins said. “Don’t be the asshole that tries to use it as an excuse to hit on scantily clad persons of your preferred sex. Come out to have a good time. Go bare as you dare. Stick it to the man. Do it for Houston because Houston has never even had as big a crowd as Austin draws typically for their rides. We were in direct competition with Austin and now we’re way behind.”