The World Naked Bike Ride in Chicago June 2007

In the name of protesting oil dependency, a carnivalesque protest of riding nude in the manner of critical mass rides (when hundreds of cyclists ride one day a month on city streets, taking over lanes and blocking traffic for a time) takes place annually, and this year I joined the Chicago ride. Since I am on the online listservice of Chicago's Critical Mass, I found instructions notifying anyone interested to first arrive at a Chicago park from where they would be directed to a nearby private home of one of the participant-organizers. This is done to avoid creating a distraction in a public area as riders prepare for the ride in the hours leading up to it. By prepare, I mean some put on amusing and outlandish costumes, while others have body paint applied.

The mood already seemed festive with music blaring from a garage set aside to be used as a body painting area, and many cyclists already milling about nude and or with body paint. I went ahead and joined the line to have my body painted, and it turned out to be a bike then fire around it. The ride seemed very well organized with someone in the park, at the entrance, and other individuals talking on cell phones who were going to lead and direct the ride. Finally, the ride set out shortly after nightfall around 9PM. For a time the ride didn't attract too much attention since it was in the industrial Near West side of Chicago where there aren't too many people walking around in the streets, nor many retail stores and restaurants.

Eventually, the ride did come across the first commercial retail street, which usually provoked honks, shouts, cheers, comments, and on occasion you could see people rushing from stores and restaurants to catch a view of the spectacle. People also rushed to take pictures, now quite easy since many cell phones include cameras. In the more crowded streets, the ride assumed a parade-like atmosphere as people lined the streets to look. I should add that not everyone was quite naked, that is, many people wore what look like underwear or bathing suits or various types of costumes. Also, some of the ride organizers were dressed and riding around on bikes or roller blades.

The ride itself was accompanied by speakers in a trailer playing music for most of its entire length. At some moments the music, the festive atmosphere, the notion of violating the rules of social decorum and behavior--all these gave me a sublime sense of pleasure and happiness. I have read Mikhail Bakhtin's book, Rabelais and His World, on the importance of carnival in ritually violating social rules and decorum in order to affirm one's sense of self and connection to others which is restricted and controlled by rigid social hierarchies and status. After a time I did indeed feel this that I could take part in an event and join other people, setting aside the usual barriers that would prevent us from making contact and assembling in an activity.

Personally, I've also had a liking ever since I can recall I was told to wear clothes. Seeing pictures of primitive people from around the world who wore virtually next to nothing always made me think--now why should you wear clothes if it's hot out.