World Naked Bike Ride To Strike Again – Some Portland Residents Not Happy

The international clothing-optional World Naked Bike Ride is slated to strike again, ladies and gentlemen! Its victims this year shall once again include the residents of Portland, Oregon, reports the Huffington Post. The difference is that this year’s planned festivities are drawing an unexpected dose of backlash.

What The Heck Is The World Naked Bike Ride Again!?

The World Naked Bike Ride is an annual event in which men and women from cities all across the world team team up to cruise their respective cities in the buff. The next ride occurs on June 7, and up to 74 cities across 17 countries are expected to participate. Portland always participates. In fact, it has been participating since like forever.

What’s The Backlash About?

Several Portland residents have teamed up this year to collect signatures for a petition to put an end to the event. The premise behind their arguments is that permitting folks to bike around naked is not good for any children who might stumble on the event.

Why Are People Just Now Speaking Up?

According to The Oregonian, the starting line for this year’s World Naked Bike Ride got moved to a relatively quiet Northeast Portland neighborhood, i.e., suburbia, a place brimming with impressionable little children. This move is not sitting well with neighborhood residents like Cathy Goertz:

“It’s bad enough to see it as adults, but kids? They could be scarred for life. The participants are mostly naked, and what they do have on is very strange… I like quirky, weird things. But then they cross the line to offending the city’s residents. Why are we letting ourselves be bullied by this group? We think of moving because of that.”

Cathy’s neighbor Maria Horvath concurs:

“It’s morally wrong to expose children to that.”

Unfortunately for them both, Cathy’s petition against the World Naked Bike Ride had only garnered 25 signatures by May 28.

Can The Police Do Anything?

During an interview with KGW-TV, Portland Sergeant Pete Simpson basically insinuated that it would be a massive waste of time to try and arrest thousands of naked bike riders. Instead, local officers are encouraging Portland’s inhabitants to simply avoid the event: stay indoors, close the blinds and send the kiddies to bed.

So When Is The World Naked Bike Ride Again (Wink Wink)?

If you are interested in learning more about the upcoming ride in Portland, we suggest you visit the official website for the event. In the meantime, make sure to polish up (trim, shave, whatever), because you if you want to ride around in the buff, you got to look gooooood!

Image via [pdxwnbr]