Naked cycle ride in my town today

[JustlookingNotbuying]

We have a naked cycle ride through our local town this afternoon.
Apparently, it’s a protest against car usage.
This has been a thing for several years now (with a hiatus over the last two years).
About 4 years back my, (at the time), 10 year old dd pointed these people out to me when we were walking near the town one day. We stood there whilst a load of (mainly) middles aged and older men cycled past completely naked.
I have no issue with body image and my kids have grown up not to be ashamed of their bodies/nakedness etc but I don’t think it’s on for naked strangers to be cycling past young children with everything on show.
I am all for protesting and especially global warming/climate control issues but wouldn’t it be better to be done in a more fun/carnival-type way where they can involve all ages and the protesters could stop and talk to people and express their concerns, hand over leaflets with tips and advice to reduce car use etc? This seems a bit pointless, I mean, who would want to stop and chat to naked 60 year old Bob about his concerns over global warming while his cock and balls are sat there flopped over the bike seat, no thanks!
I don’t know if this is a country-wide protest but it’s coming to another nearby town in a few weeks.
Has anyone else seen this in their town? Do you have any thoughts about it?

I think I’d be tempted to go and have a good laugh.

Exactly

I care much less about any wobbly bits or being 'thin' now I am 50-ish, but no WAY would I be doing shit like this. It's weird as fuck. I would disown anyone I knew who did this, even if they were relatives. Don't know anyone in real life who would do it though. No-one I have in my life is that attention seeking or weird.

What I’m trying to say is how I don’t understand their protest, how riding a bicycle, naked is going to get people talking about climate changes and how it will get people to consider reducing their car mileage. All we end up discussing is their nakedness and not the actual plight, that gets lost.
Surely there are more family-friendly, fun ways to do this, to raise their concerns whilst helping to educate us all?
Naked bike riding just does not make sense to me. I am not prudist about the naked human body, I am certainly not ageist (50 myself), or against men etc but there truth is that the majority of these people are men who appear to be over 50, that’s a fact.

I can't think of many things worse than middle aged men, probably with big hairy bellies and sagging moobs, cycling through my town. I only hope they give the saddles a good clean with strong bleach afterwards yuk yuk 😅

Exactly, it’s attention seeking but for the wrong reasons because instead of discussing the very reason they are riding naked, everyone focuses on their nakedness, so why would anyone do that? They know that they majority will be discussion that part so yes, it is the worst kind of attention seeking imo.

That sort of thing is always an absolute perv magnet.

Honestly it seems like nowadays everything is designed to break down barriers and have sexual stuff in our faces all the time.

Is it pearl-clutchy to say that? Because it seems that's just an effort to silence anyone who complains.

Totally agree with this

Im increasingly finding the need for some men to be naked or semi naked rather annoying. I'm sick of posturing shirtless men strutting about. It just screams of the power differences between men and women in society.

I have only ever seen one huge pack of men completely naked in a public place. My Universities rugby club had a naked initiation run across campus, well it was a sight to behold. DH said he also did this at his college as his rowing or hockey team had the same initiation, can’t remember which sport. All banned now apparently.

Well, they're certainly intending for people to see their genitalia and are well aware that it will cause some people alarm or distress. They wouldn't be doing it otherwise.

TopBitchoftheWitches Totally grim!

Utterly Grim

I can just imagine the sweaty balls and under the boobs in this weather too
Oh Dear

Is there a correlation between the people that tell people to 'look away' when faced with men and their genitals being out, with the people that tell people to 'look away' when men get their genitals out in womens' and girls' changing rooms I wonder.

Personally, the law of the land does not permit public nudity so it shouldn't be permitted just because of pretend 'enviromental issues'. As if these people don't have cars or clothes or use electricity or gas or fuel...it is just another excuse for men to expose themselves to women and kids.

The use of the term 'pearl clutchers' by the way is meant to disuade women from not being happy that kids are seeing men's genitals.

It would be a very effective protest if it was just a normal bike ride. The whole point is to shock people and make them look up and think about your cause.

You would have to be looking quite intently to see more than a glimpse of penis. They're moving at speed and it would be mostly obscured by their legs and the saddle

I was walking from Fenchurch Street to Tower Hill recently and came across this unexpectedly. Rather than averting my eyes I rolled them into the back of my head at the chap sporting a red rugby sock on his bits when it was clear that a trainer sock would have done the same job. It is possible to be taken unawares by events.

Sounds like a load of old bollocks!

Eugh sweaty balls and bum crack slipping around on a bike seat. No need. They could get the same point across wearing pants - just no need! People get arrested for being naked in public - why can you call or a protest and suddenly it's ok?

Where I've lived, direct action cycle rides have attracted a wide range of participants - including the 'bare as you dare' events. If I saw a ride that was mostly men, of a similar age, being judged as perverts, I'd see that as a reflection of the community being not diverse, not inclusive, and lacking in awareness.

How might your community encourage wider participation in the next direct action cycle event, OP?

The need to prove that the person exposed their genitals intending that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress means that a naturist whose intention is limited to going about his or her lawful business (i.e protesting) naked will not be guilty of this offence.

But the entire point of a protest is to intend you are seen and it goes without saying that some people will indeed be alarmed. Weak argument if you ask me ...

YANBU, I totally agree with you. In what other scenario would it be legally ok to expose you genitalia to all and sundry?
It’s the criminal act of flashing disguised as a protest.

How does naked cycling help the environment exactly?

it sounds like an excuse for a bunch of guys to get their cocks out and flash.

Yeah, I'm not inclusive of people riding around bare arsed pretending they are being brave.

I've been a member of a naturist club for years and love going there, it's very private and there is a lovely big pool.
But even I think the naked bike ride is absolutely grim. And why does everyone have to be naked? Won't they "swallow" the seats? Totally inappropriate".

We had one near us and some people turned up on those local bikes that you hire - that is just all kinds of wrong.