Philly's Naked Bike Ride is Sunday

Written By venus on Saturday, August 24, 2013 | 12:31 AM

If you're in the Philadelphia area on Sunday, you might wish to visit the Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride.

The goal of the ride is conviviality, awareness of fuel consumption, promotion of a positive body image and cycling advocacy. The event is open to all levels of cycling prowess: competitor, commuter, athlete or novice. Rollerbladers and runners are welcome, too. The ride proceeds slowly so no one is left behind.

Pre-ride festivities and body painting begins at 2 p.m.; the ride itself starts at 4 p.m. As of posting time, the staging area and route have not been announced. This is customary for the PNBR. For details, go to the sponsor's Internet site and click on the e-mail link for the information.

Body painting is one of the attractions. Professional artists will deck you out for a fee; you're welcome also to have your friends color you for free.

The event is clothing optional; generally one-quarter of the riders are thoroughly nude. At the setup site, photographers must ask participants the rider's permission to take photos or videos. Please, no closeups without consent.

The weather is promising. The forecast calls for sun with a bit of clouds. The high temperature is expected to be around 80.

I took part in the 2011 event and had a great time even though I didn't have a bicycle. (I drove one of the volunteers around so he could monitor the event.) The participants are friendly and welcoming. I'm hoping to be there this year.

Of course, any posting of the PNBR would be incomplete without photos of recent years' events. Enjoy.