A World Naked Bike Ride will happen Saturday, but it’s not the one you think

Back in June, organizers of Portland’s version of the World Naked Bike Ride decided to take the year off. Making this massive event safe and enjoyable is a major undertaking, and the leadership team behind the ride didn’t feel like they had the personnel to pull it off in 2024. So the decision was made to retrench, put out a call for volunteers and leaders, and bring it back better in 2025.

Then a few weeks later, on July 9th, Nakedhearts:PDX posted a surprise announcement on Instagram: “The World Naked Bike Ride Portland is on. We have a constitutional right to gather and protest and we are doing just that.”

The post seemed odd since I had recently spoken directly with Meghan Sinnott, one of the lead organizers of many previous WNBR rides (and the person who runs Bike Summer/Pedalpalooza), about how it was cancelled this year.

I soon learned that World Naked Bike Ride Portland (WNBR PDX) is completely separate from the traditional Portland World Naked Bike Ride (PDX WNBR), even though the names are nearly identical. Not only that, but the person who initially spearheaded the ride planned for this Saturday, Moorland Moss of Nakedhearts:PDX, was explicitly urged to not organize a ride that might confuse some in the community who aren’t aware of the split between the two groups.

The original PDX WNBR, the one that’s happened in Portland since 2004, is an official project of Umbrella, a 501c3 nonprofit that provides financial and legal support to a host of cool things in our community — from the naked ride to Shift (host of the Bike Summer calendar), Breakfast on the Bridges, The Ladd’s 500, and so on. As the legal entity (a.k.a. fiscal sponsor) behind PDX WNBR, they are concerned people will assume the upstart WNBR PDX is their event. The legal concerns are amplified because the organizers of this year’s ride — the one unrelated to Umbrella and the traditional naked ride — are asking for financial donations.

Put another way, if something goes awry with the WNBR PDX — is a real possibility given the inherent complexities of an immense naked protest event with thousands of people that takes place on public streets — PDX WNBR could be negatively impacted. At the least, the creation of a ride with a very similar name, with similar plans and goals, in the same community, seems in poor taste — especially since the leader of it was explicitly asked to clearly differentiate their ride from the original one.

On June 12th, Umbrella Board President Adam Zucker sent an email to Moss of Nakedhearts. The message was sent by request of Sinnott, an Umbrella board member, and the PDX WNBR leadership team.

Here’s an excerpt from that email:

“WNBR requests that other rides refrain from using ‘world naked bike ride,’ ‘WNBR,’ or similar to describe or promote their Bike Summer, aka Pedalpalooza ride. This is in order to avoid confusion for participants that may mistakenly think a similarly named ride is associated with WNBR, Umbrella Project, or otherwise connected to Umbrella’s, 501c3, nonprofit status.”

Umbrella and organizers of the original PDX WNBR have no problem with another naked ride happening in Portland (there are dozens of them every year that are unrelated to PDX WNBR), they just want Moss to take their concerns seriously.

As of this morning, there’s nothing on the @worldnakedbikerideportland or @nakedhearts.pdx Instagram profiles (above) that makes it clear the 2024 naked ride is unrelated to the original ride, and someone would have to read to the final line of an official press release sent out yesterday to learn, “This ride is unaffiliated with PDX WNBR, Pedalpalooza or Umbrella.”

During a phone call Tuesday, I asked Zucker if Umbrella remains concerned about how the upstart naked ride is being promoted. “There is concern. Yes. There is concern this [ride] might provide confusion.”

In their press release, organizers of the newly launched WNBR PDX say their event, which will start this Saturday (September 21st) at Colonel Summers Park at 3:30 pm, “Celebrates 20 years of joyful protest and body positivity.” The ride will host opposition to the Zenith Oil project and participants will stage a die-in to symbolize, “the devastating impacts of oil dependency on the environment and communities.”

The ride was initially organized by Moss, the person behind Nakedearts:PDX. Since late 2022, Moss has created a large and loyal following as a ride leader. Moss — often in an all-white pantsuit or colorful, mis-matched tights — has led hundreds of group rides under the Nakedhearts moniker while pulling the ubiquitous, heart-shaped mobile sound system named “Gertrude” behind them in a bike trailer. Moss is revered by many in our community for their dedication and creativity. Just three days ago, friends of Moss hosted a Nakedhearts:PDX Appreciation Potluck Picnic & Ride. “Moorland has managed to create an inclusive space where people from all walks of life feel welcome and connected. So many of us would have never imagined having these sort of spaces and friendships,” the description read. “Moorland is a beacon of positivity and brings us all together through these shared adventures.”

Because of this track record, Moss was welcomed onto the PDX WNBR planning team in 2023 and was named official ride leader. Moss was poised to lead the ride again in 2024, but as time passed, the PDX WNBR leadership team grew uncomfortable with Moss’s plans for the ride and their organizational style. When it became clear some members of the leadership team wouldn’t return in 2024 if Moss was involved (or if he didn’t agree to bring on additional volunteers, which apparently was a sticking point), the decision was made to cancel the ride.

Asked for their perspective on all this, Moss said they’re not the leader of the 2024 ride and deferred my questions to other ride leaders they’re working with. When I said my questions are directed at them personally, Moss declined to comment.

When asked if they were honoring concerns about confusion expressed by Umbrella, 2024 World Naked Bike Ride Press Liaison Máximo Castro said via email this morning, “We are not affiliated with PDXWNBR, Pedalpalooza or Umbrella and we clarify any confusion of that when asked. Our website and social media page also state that as well.” “WNBR is not owned by any one person or entity…  it is a movement that belongs to everyone,” he continued. “Here in the Portland area, our World Naked Bike Rides have gone through many ride leaders and groups at the helm.”

The World Naked Bike Ride is definitely a global movement. And Portland’s bike community thrives because of people who take initiative and organize big, awesome, fun things. We can all agree on that. So for now, Portland has two World Naked Bike Rides. One on hold for a year, the other marching full steam ahead.