World Naked Bike Ride 2014 – Or Why You Might Want to Avoid Downtown LA This Saturday

Los Angeles is the car capital of the world. The city itself and its surrounding suburban enclaves were purposefully designed to spread outward rather than upward. That’s resulted in a region pretty much dependent on the automobile for mobility and one that’s not all that friendly to bicyclists. Making it even less friendly, this Saturday will see the annual running of the balls, otherwise known as World Naked Bike Ride LA. Yes, there will be naked and nearly-so people on bicycles, riding through the city. Why do you care about this? Well, first off, if you happen to live around here this mass of melanoma-darers is going to make traffic a nightmare. More importantly however, they’re going to be naked and as we all know, the people who are most likely to be okay with being naked in public are those who most people would least like to see naked in public. Consider this a Public Service Announcement to prevent the need for eye bleach come Saturday. Los Angeles isn’t the locus for Schwinn-and-Bare-its, as these events seem to spring up every year in most major cities across the West Coast. Where will LA’s bare bikers be riding this year? Who knows? The organizers will only provide the start time, meeting point, and route to those who have RSVP’d for the event. Last year’s clothing-optional commute (NSFW) went through Echo Park and Chinatown, and as is usual with the annual event, it engendered some negative responses. If you’re interested in participating, you can likely still get a slot here. If however, you’re an Angelino like me, you’ll be heading anywhere BUT downtown on Saturday. Image: LAist