Slideshow: What is it with cyclists and getting naked?

July 1, 7:22 AMBicycle Transportation ExaminerAdam Voiland

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A vintage French advertising poster.                    (Credit: WNBR)

While I was browsing for bicycle news last night, I stumbled across this story about Tel Aviv cyclists stripping down to protest a new helmet law and the lack of governmental support for cycling.  As Tree Hugger put it: "They decided to show the government exactly what it was missing by not promoting urban cycling - a nation full of attractive, physically fit specimens."  

This is hardly the first time that the words "naked" and "cyclists" have appeared in the news togehter. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently ran a story about painted and naked cyclists rolling through downtown. In Madrid, cyclists recently stripped down to make the point they feel "naked" in traffic. And here in Washington, the Post has been quipping about how the "Tour sans Pants" recently came to town.

Is it just me or do cyclists seem to have an unusually strong proclivity for nudity? Much of the recent activity stems from the World Naked Bike Ride, an event that apparently began in 2001 in Spain. These days, the event—which has a dress code motto of "Bare as you Dare"—is cropping up in hundreds of cities all around the world.

Cyclists aren't the only group who have resorted to showing some skin to get attention for a cause. The Peoples Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) has a long history of deploying scantily clad women—and occasionally even pregnant ones--to garner headlines and push political points. Likewise, naked protesters in Spain have bared and bloodied their bodies to speak out against bullfighting.

I don't have any particular problem with cyclists who strip down to show their support for cycling. And there's no doubt that photographers take note when clothes start coming off. But I will say that I worry a bit that nude cycling activists invite mainstream Americans to lump cyclists into the same crazed, lefty, extremist category as groups like PETA. And that, when it comes time to make policy and distribute transportation funds, may not be a particularly good thing.

Perhaps cycling advocates could start staging ocassional rides with cyclists in formal wear to make the point that cyclists are serious about advocating for bicycling as a legitimate form of transportation, even if we sometimes can't help but strip down to celebrate.