PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Since 2008, Philadelphia has had a tradition where cyclists strip down and go for a group ride once every summer.
The Philly Naked Bike Ride is part of the World Naked Bike Ride, which began in 2004 to protest oil dependency. Today, people ride to promote environmentalism and body positivity.
“Everyone’s beautiful. We just want to get you on a bike, have fun, feel good about yourself, to promote cycling as a major form of transport,” said Maria, who manages the Philly Naked Bike Ride’s social media pages.
The 2023 ride took place on Aug. 26. Riders gathered at Lemon Hill to celebrate and get decked out in body paint before blazing a trail through City Hall, Fairmount, Rittenhouse, and ending at Independence Hall.
SCROLL FOR PHOTOS OF 2023 RIDE
Philadelphia has the largest naked bike ride on the East Coast and the second largest in the country — behind Portland, Oregon — though a recent study ranks Philly ahead of Portland as the best city in the U.S. for naked biking.
The study was done by LawnStarter, a lawn care startup that conducts a variety of studies for its website — lawn-related or not. Richie Bernardo, one of LawnStarter’s managing editors, said they analyzed and weighed 11 metrics for this naked biking study.
“Most importantly, whether the city hosts a World Naked Bike Ride event, which Philadelphia does,” he explained. “We also looked at each city’s cyclist friendliness. … We looked at public nudity and toplessness laws, the size of the nudist population, the number of sex offenders, and historical summer climate data.”
The popularity of Philly’s Naked Bike Ride is likely what pushed the city to the top. “It also has the sixth highest average monthly Google searches for ‘world naked bike ride’ and ‘naked bike ride,’” Bernardo said.
PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
Wesley Noonan-Sessa, the main facilitator for this year’s Philly event, said it’s a fun, playful atmosphere, but the message comes first.
“I think our ride is first a protest ride, and then a party,” he said. He reiterated a post by a previous participant: “We ride the ride naked because as cyclists, we’re naked on the road. … If you’re in a vehicle, you are clothed in metal.”
Cyclists of all levels are welcome to join the ride. The route each year is roughly 10 miles at a slow pace so it’s manageable for beginners.
The organizers also lead other group rides throughout the year via Cycle Scene PHL. Wes, who asked that his last name not be used, organizes Night Cycle Philadelphia. His monthly rides, and the Naked Bike Ride, are about building community and encouraging people who are new to biking in the city.
“If you’re in a group … you’re not exposed to the full brunt of the traffic but you can get a feel for the pace and the flow,” he said. “And, you can start to learn the routes that we use and why we use them. And in a way, the group rides — including the Naked Bike Ride — are a way that the most seasoned cyclists in the city pass down our knowledge to the people who are new to it.”