WNBR Manchester

Friday, 8th June, 2018

Well it happened, I took my kit off and cycled around the centre of Manchester as part of the World Naked Bike Ride, and it was a blast.

 
It was a protest, but a protest like no other I have been on before, it was more like a mobile party on two wheels. The looks on the faces of those taking part and on the faces of the great majority on onlookers was that of pure joy. We have made people happy, and that cannot be a bad thing.

This was no quiet protest, muck of the time there was the cacophony of constant bicycle bells, the applause of the bystanders and there there was even a sound system. The sing along to Talking Heads Psycho Killer was something: I’ve embedded the song at the end so you can have the experience of singing “Fa fa fa fa fop, fa fa fa fa fop … oh oh oh aye aye aye,” Take off your clothes and join in. You can do in private if you are embarrassed, the perfect in the shower song.

But away from the fun there was a serious purpose. That of cycle safety. Motorists will notice naked cyclists, so why not when they have their clothes on?