World Naked Bike Ride

by Ros Barber (Brighton)

“World naked bike ride” said the e-mail. And I thought, those are four words that go together so beautifully well in my mind! I think my friend had sent it round as a joke but I was just completely taken by it; I thought that’s crazy, I want to do it.

It was the most amazing thing. We cycled round the middle of London naked, past Nelson’s Column and the London Eye. The looks on people’s faces were absolutely priceless and I thought this is just THE Brighton event, this has got to come to Brighton.

So in the cold of January, we had a meeting in a pub. I was surprised by the good turn out, people seemed really up for it, but until June I was thinking I need 10 people or it’ll be really embarrassing. I threw myself into it – and it was a huge success.

The police said we couldn’t expose our “rude bits” – which actually was a gift from the skies. We put out a press release out with the word “rude bits” on it and the press went wild for it. We got more press coverage than the London one. And 160 riders.

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What Ros Barber says about World Naked Bike Ride:

Nick Sayers came to Brighton 1992 to do a degree course at Brighton University in 3D design. Though he dropped out in the 2nd year because the course wasn’t quite right for what he was doing, he liked the place, so he stayed. He has a graphic design business (www.nicksayers.com) and also makes geodesic domes out of old Estate Agent boards. Nick says “What’s nice about Brighton is that people are really creative and there’s so much art and interesting stuff going on. What really works about Brighton is the grassroots arts projects that go on. It’s nice to give something back.”