Houston WNBR Visits New Orleans WNBR

Two regular WNBR participants from Houston made the journey to New Orleans for that city’s 16th annual Naked Bike Ride. The ride was shortish, just over an hour, but amazing nonetheless. Tens of thousands who gathered in the French Quarter for the New Orleans Pride Parade got the lagniappe of seeing more than 200 Bare-As-They-Dare cyclists and skaters.

The main idea behind making the 600-mile round trip to ride nude for about an hour was to see, up close, how the New Orleans ride operated. While we acknowledge that traveling such distances for a protest against anthropogenic climate disruption is contrary to the spirit of WNBR, we consider this trip a vital research activity.

The findings of the research: no major surprises. It was known in advance that NOLA’s ride is very different from those in Houston and Austin. The main difference is that the New Orleans organizers obtain a permit from the city and a police escort, whereas most rides just slip under the radar of law enforcement and city officialdom. WNBR NOLA takes place during the heat of the day (and June in New Orleans is quite hot and humid). Also, it is a non-stop, five-mile journey, running from the Bywater to the Quarter via Marigny and back; there are no refreshment stops at pubs or landmarks along the route.

Naked in NOLA

The Crescent City has a reputation for free-spiritedness, especially around Mardi Gras season. However, the laws of the state of Louisiana do not permit public nudity (to say the least), although intent to arouse others sexually must be proven in prosecution. Fortunately, the city recognizes the ride as a First Amendment–protected activity; not all cities do. (It also has a reputation for potholes, as the soil beneath it is even swampier than Houston’s, so five miles on a bicycle there can leave a rider pretty thoroughly shaken.)

For the Houston contingent, a major lagniappe (look it up if you must) came when a group of about a dozen riders decided to take a post-ride excursion from Mickey Markey Park to two area bars and an after-party at one participant’s home. The Bare As You Dare dress code remained in effect, as several in the group rode around town and hung out in the nude, either inside the bars or outside, dependent upon what management on duty approved.

Also Worth Noting

• As in Houston, the participants in NOLA’s ride are a beautifully diverse lot in dimensions such as ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
• Louisiana’s only recognized nudist resort, Indian Hills near Slidell, hosted us and a few other WNBR participants. A weekend at Indian Hills made the trek seem less like a six-hour drive each way just for one hour of cycling.

Police Escort for Future H-Town Rides?

Would Houston want to follow New Orleans’s example and enlist the aid of local police? The last time Houston’s ride facilitators inquired about cooperation from city government, the city’s Events Office made it very clear that an escort from Houston Police would most likely not permit participants baring more than the city ordinance allows. Getting a permit from the city includes a police escort and use of a public park as the start/finish location, but it’s expensive. (NOLA’s group pays several hundred dollars that it hopes to recoup via donations from riders.)

Unless and until the right changes occur, it is unlikely that Houston’s WNBR will reach out for help from law enforcement or the City of Houston. Given that Space City’s new mayor, John Whitmire, has been visibly less bicycle-friendly than his predecessors, changes in the right direction seem even less likely, and a protest like WNBR seems even more necessary.

Additional links: Here’s Carlos Gonzalez’s photo album on Shutterfly and the Google Photos share page.