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Nude bike riders protesting for cyclist safety, body acceptance pedal through Columbus

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Nude bike riders protesting for cyclist safety, body acceptance pedal through Columbus

In a protest against fossil fuels, about 200 nude and semi-nude cyclists pedaled through the streets of Columbus Saturday evening.

The annual event, which first took place in Columbus in 2009, returned this year after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s one of many iterations of the World Naked Bike Ride, an international event that takes place in 70 cities spanning 20 countries.

The World Naked Bike Ride says the nudity is meant to express the vulnerability of cyclists compared to cars. Participants around the world are told to come “as bare as you dare,” and while many choose to ride fully nude, others wear thongs, swimsuits, body paint, costumes or just regular clothes. Columbus’ ride this year attracted men and women of all shapes, sizes and ages.

Participants who gathered at the parking lot behind the 934 Gallery in Milo-Grogan at 6 p.m. before the ride said there’s nothing sexual about the event. They see it as a celebration of body acceptance and a protest against society’s reliance on fossil fuels and cars. Several told the Dispatch they want better public transportation and safer roads for cyclists and pedestrians alike in Columbus.

“I don’t understand why nudity is so taboo,” Sarah Hargreaves, one of the event’s organizers, said.

Hargreaves said she wants better public transport in Columbus and wishes she didn’t have to use a car to get around.

Ryan Roberts, a systems engineer whose coworkers don’t know he has participated in the event for six years, is a cyclist who supports the environmental cause and enjoys the offbeat event.

“It’s a break from the normal,” Roberts said.

The event did draw some backlash. A Facebook post linking to a Dispatch article previewing the event attracted 2,000 commenters, including some who accused the riders of sexual deviancy or corrupting children. Commenters also threatened to show up with paintball guns or slingshots.

For that reason, organizers didn’t publicize the route. Instead, a few cyclists who knew the planned path guided the group.

At 7 p.m., the cyclists rode out of the parking lot and onto the streets of Columbus for a roughly 9-mile ride.

Two Columbus police officers pulled up to the 934 Gallery during the ride. They were aware that the nude bike ride was taking place and seemed unconcerned, but they told an organizer they had received a complaint that a naked man was seen walking around alone outside the designated venue.

Ohio law forbids exposing genitalia in public under its public indecency statute, but some courts have ruled that nudity as part of a protest is protected expression under the First Amendment. That argument wouldn’t apply to someone publicly walking around naked before the protest began.

The two officers left after organizers said they didn’t know of any naked man roaming outside the venue. A while later, as night fell, the 200-some bicyclists returned from their nude ride for drinks, music and celebration.

bagallion@dispatch.com

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