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This weekend in Melbourne, expect to see hundreds of cyclists with a striking difference. Instead of the usual Lycra-clad peloton, these riders will be getting their kit off in a day of nude protest to draw attention to rider safety and visibility, diversity of body image and a celebration of low-carbon transport.
Dearne Weaver, a 61-year-old community worker from Canberra, says when she first attended Melbourne’s World Naked Bike Ride in 2019 she was worried it might be too male-dominated – but she was pleasantly surprised.
“The first time I went solo and I did expect it to be mostly guys, as many nudist and cycling events are, but then we went and I found it a very welcoming, very appropriate and very supportive experience. I had an absolutely great time – I don’t think you could have wiped that smile off my face if you’d tried.”
Weaver is making the trip down to Melbourne again this weekend as the city’s annual naked bike ride celebrates its 20th anniversary – having evolved from a small grassroots event to the largest in the southern hemisphere, according to organisers.
She says one of the most exhilarating things about the 10km naked bike ride around Melbourne’s CBD and inner suburbs is the responses it gets from unsuspecting spectators. “I mean there are always going to be a few horrified glances and curses, but the vast majority of people love it and cheer us on especially when they realise we are chanting about rider visibility and safety and the environmental benefits of cycling. We’ve even had people spontaneously strip off and join us.”
Pablo Teleg says the naked bike ride feels liberating. The 30-year-old building designer who moved to Melbourne from the Philippines in 2022 took part for the first time last year. “A Filipino student had given away his bicycle that same morning and a few minutes later I was getting my body painted and then riding nude in the crowded city with people honking and cheering.”
Teleg says as a gay person coming from a conservative country, he had never experienced anything like it before. “There’s this University of the Philippines Oblation Run, which is also a form of nudist protest, but it’s exclusive to men [fraternity members],” he says. “I had no idea about [the naked bike ride’s] essence aside from being a fringe thing until I saw messages about body positivity, gender equality, climate policies and cyclists visibility in the streets painted on people’s bodies.”
“The participants had this friendly and joyful energy and it was nice and sunny. The suddenness and novelty of the experience just felt like a pleasant dream to me.”
Naked bike rides first took off in the early 2000s in Spain and Canada, before gaining speed and morphing into the official World Naked Bike Ride after Vancouver-based social activist Conrad Schmidt helped organise the first iteration, intended as a clothing-optional event to celebrate body positivity and to advocate for less oil-dependent transport and more cycle friendly streets in 2004.
The naked bike ride has taken place in more than 70 cities and towns globally since its inception, with this year’s locations including Byron Bay in Australia on 9 March this year, London, UK on 14 June, and Portland, Oregon, in the US on 26 July.
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Melbourne co-organiser and longtime participant Michael James, a 63-year-old retiree, says he has been involved in more than 50 naked bike rides in Melbourne and around the world. “The ride started small and has grown in popularity each year.”
He says those wishing to take part this year will gather on Saturday at noon at Lincoln Square in Carlton, but the route will remain a secret until the day “to avoid large groups of people gathering to view the ride and causing unnecessary traffic disruption particularly at key intersections”.
James says people can expect to see a lot of body paint, shouts of joy, bells and whistles and a once-a-year opportunity to cycle naked through Melbourne’s streets.
For Weaver, taking part in the naked bike ride is a chance to advocate for rider visibility on the roads and desexualising the human body. “There’s still a lot of road users that remain hostile or downright aggressive to sharing the road with cyclists. But on top of this, I see this as a reminder that being naked is not any kind of implied consent – it is just a human body. It’s not just body positivity, but just body acceptance.”
Weaver says especially in these times of global anxiety and violence, events such as these give participants an opportunity to do something joyful and empowering.
“At the end of the day, anything that brings people joy is vital right now, anything that distracts you from all that darkness and negativity. This brings me a lot of joy. When you’re out there, naked, smiling and laughing and riding through the city, it feels outside of the box. It just feels awesome – honestly.”
