Photography by Carrie Zukoski
For the past dozen years, cyclists in St. Louis have gone bare as they dare as part of the World Naked Bike Ride. It’s a protest/empowerment festival/party with lofty goals: protesting oil dependency, advocating for cyclists’ rights and their vulnerability on the road, and celebrating body positivity.
Past years have drawn more than 2,000 riders for the 13-mile route. This year’s ride is Saturday, and before and after, the Grove neighborhood will be a party, with a DJ, band, and costume contest. Pre-party starts at 4 p.m., the ride is at 6 p.m., and the afterparty goes all night.
“The event is very positive toward everyone who attends,” says organizer Tatyana Telnikova, herself a bike commuter and proprietor of the bike-themed Handle Bar in the Grove. “The goal is for no one to feel uncomfortable in their own skin, and to be happy being themselves.”
Some riders are clothed—fully or minimally. Some are in body paint or pasties. And some are totally starkers. It’s whatever a given rider feels comfortable with—and it’s not meant as a sexy sex thing. Telnikova laments the particularly American uptightness with nudity, lacking in Europe and her native Russia.
“Whenever parts of the body are exposed, they’re often sexualized,” says Telnikova. “This event is not about that, it’s not about sexuality at all. It’s just about being able to be you.”
She says that anyone who sees the ride is sure to notice how much fun the participants are having and might give a thought to their own potential for pedal-powered fun and freedom.
“Everyone in the ride, short of the escorts, are human-powered,” Telnikova says. There’s usually at least one person on rollerblades, and maybe a unicyclist or two.
While the crushing environmental consequences of our all-cars, all-the-time mindset are clear and dire, there are reasons to ride a bike that don’t have anything to do with doom and gloom.
“It makes you more connected with the space, the city you live in. You’re moving slower, you see things closer up, you smell the smells, the sights, the sounds,” says Telnikova. “I find myself a lot more present when I’m riding a bike.”
The ride is not just for elite gearheads, though it might not be a perfect first-ever bike ride. It’s fairly slow-paced, says Telnikova, and not competitive.
“You might be tired by the end, but it’s not a race,” she says. Luckily, there will be plenty of provisions available at the end of the ride.
A word about all the nudity in today’s Instagram world: Don’t be a jerk. Yes, folks are out in public without much on, but that’s not an invitation to leer or to post all over social media. Whether you’re a spectator or a rider, don’t photograph anyone without consent, please.
“We encourage people to be respectful,” says Telnikova.
