(Not) sharing the experience
I feel odd to be alerting my out-of-town visitors that this is “the season” for naked bicyclists. The concept that there could be room for multiple clothing-optional biking events has fried my puny cognitive abilities.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m all for nudists on bikes. We must get some pretty interesting accident reports. My in-laws are plenty cool. They probably won’t freak out about it. But they are still my husband’s parents, and I am not ready to think about them and the naked bike riders of Seattle, together in the same space in my head. So, I don’t quite know where we’re going to be on June 11 (World Naked Bike Ride 2005) or June 18 (Fremont Fair’s naked-but-painted cyclists)… well, yes, I guess I know where we’re NOT going to be, but there will be maps involved and mutterings of “how can we get to X without passing the mumblemumble?”.
And the FAQ on the Naked Bike Ride site was not nearly clear enough about the whole bike seat thing, so I really have to ask. Is there a silent agreement that when you buy a used bike in Seattle, you change out the seat? No, seriously. I really want to know.
Related posts:
While I don’t have an answer, that’s the funniest thing I’ve read all morning. :)
First, I’d like to congradulate you for writing a blog entry that wasn’t an advertisement. I wonder if anyone has noticed that no one is commenting to the event announcements. Personal observations: much more interesting.
Bike seats: now that you have forced me to ponder it…perhaps the cyclists cleanse their bike seats with moist disinfectent towelettes. Embrace that image. Add Lysol if you need to.
The naked cyclists at the Solstice parade: Years ago it was surprising. Now it’s “oh yea, whatever”. At least now they are trying to be creative with the body paint…I’ve always wondered about the fact that after they ride through the parade, they then have to casually ride back to where ever they left their clothes (I don’t think they are a completely organized group). It’s one thing to ride through a pagen parade as a group. It’s entirely different to ride back to your clothing hiding place on Leary avenue in traffic. That might surprise your relatives…
I just rode my bike in the parade yesterday, and I’ll answer your questions regarding bike seats. Most people cover their bike seats to protect the seat from paint, sweat, etc. We cut up towels, or buy seat covers. Also we carry small clothing items to cover the ‘naughty bits’ before riding back to the starting point.
Check out…”The World’s Only Real Bike Seat” at http://www.realseat.com