As Houston peels away bike lanes, a group of cyclists plans to peel away its clothes and pedal through the city in protest.
World Naked Bike Ride Houston is planned for Sept. 13, both beginning and ending at Super Happy Fun Land on Polk Street. Riders will gather at 6 p.m. and set off at 8 p.m. The route, as in past years, will be announced shortly before departure and will be about 12 miles long at a relaxed pace.
One of the organizers, David Collins, said this will be the 14th ride the group has done in Houston, but the rides are not always protests.
“In recent years, we’ve had things to celebrate,” Collins said. “We were riding in favor of the bike infrastructure that’s been constructed over the last few years. But with the current mayoral administration, we’re seeing a reversal of that. That’s kind of sad.”
Since Mayor John Whitmire took office, the city has pushed to either halt or alter road projects that included bike lanes or have removed protected bike lanes and replace them with “sharrows” — street markings that are intended to encourage drivers to share the road.
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Houston’s ride is one of dozens held worldwide each year, from New Orleans to Austin to London. Some cities provide police escorts, but Houston’s event is organized independently, without permits.
The planned ride is free, but the organizers are taking donations. Interested riders can get more information from their Facebook page.
Collins said the rides are usually have anywhere from 20 to 100 riders and that they get cheers everywhere they go.
“Only once in a while do we have somebody who says something negative about it,” Collins said.
As for riding a bike in the nude?
“A lot of people think it’s uncomfortable, but it’s not,” Collins said. “If you position yourself correctly on the saddle, it’s really not a big deal.”
Here’s a Forbes story about the WNBR, which is an international event that takes place over several weeks and which has been done in Houston for more than a decade. As that notes, it has long been “a peaceful part protest, part celebration advocating for cyclists’ rights, the end of the world’s oil dependency and a curb on car culture and pollution.” Houston’s version this year is a bit of a variation on that, but it’s well withing that original vision. You’re either the kind of person that already knew about this stuff or this is all new to you. If you were in that latter group, congratulations: Now you know. The calendar of events is here; you can still go to Austin’s event on October 4 if this one doesn’t work for you.