Nov 15 2008
Weather, Falling, and Riding Naked
It has been an uneventful week starting with riding in the rain and wind, ending with sunshine and temps in the 40’s. There are leaves everywhere and pose an extreme hazard if you are not paying attention, which reminds me there are three types of bicyclists. Ones that are going to fall, those who have fallen,and then there are bicyclists who have ridden enough miles they are repeaters.
Sadly and happily I fall into the repeater category. Sadly because I fallen more than once and happily because I have ridden enough miles and ride frequently enough I had more opportunities to fall. Fortunately it has been a while and the leaves have not gotten me yet this year.
While I am thinking about falling, this week a news story on a nude cyclist caught my interest. Apparently he was arrested in June and this week was found not guilty for riding his bicycle naked. The idea of riding my bike naked brings thoughts of falling and chafing. OUCH!
From OregonLive.com: Judge clears nude bicyclist in Portland
A Multnomah County judge has cleared a Northeast Portland nude bicyclist of criminal indecent exposure charges, saying cycling naked has become a “well-established tradition” in Portland and understood as a form of “symbolic protest.”
Judge Jerome LaBarre said the city’s annual World Naked Bike Ride — in which as many as 1,200 people cycled through Northwest and downtown Portland on June 14 — has helped cement riding in the buff as a form of protest against cars and possibly even the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.
LaBarre then cleared Michael “Bobby” Hammond, 21, of any wrongdoing after two days of hearings that concluded Wednesday.
Hammond’s legal troubles began June 26, when he stripped off all his clothes and hopped on his vintage 1970s 10-speed — in an effort, he says, to make clear that nothing was powering his mode of transportation but his own unadulterated body.
If you want to find out what the police did not cite him for you can find a link to the video on KATU: Judge: riding in the buff is ‘tradition,’ man cleared
The idea of riding naked just seems so crazy. The chafing has got to be really bad. Interesting that he wore his helmet.