Motorcycle Rides and Naked Bicyclists

I spent last weekend in Chicago. A small group of us rode out there Saturday morning from Indianapolis. Our main objective was to go to a bike (motorcycle) and scooter show. Mods VS Rockers is an annual event of most of the chapters of the Ton Up Club. It was an eventful ride, both there and back. My bike hates the combination of heat, distance, and speed, so she kept misfiring and intermittently running on one cylinder. Basically, she just wasn't running well.

We got there late. We hung out while the guys had a couple of beers. Ten of us were headed to the next destination- a bar about 20 minutes away. We didn't know how to get there, so all ten of us had to ride together. Traffic in Chicago is pretty hectic. Add in 10 motorcycles grouped together, and it's just crazy. Fun, but pretty insane.

We headed to our friends' house to crash, there were 6 of us. A drunken speed racer Billy was leading, followed by our own Indy drunk SG. I was next, sober, of course, and on a 350 that had issues all day, kept up pretty damn good.

So there we were; I couldn't even tell you where. We stopped at a red light and watched a bunch of naked people on bicycles ride around the block a few times. When the light turned green, we moved up so we were blocking traffic going the other way, mostly so we could keep our front row seats, but also to show support the protest.

So, what are a bunch of naked people on bikes protesting? This was one of the 70+ World Naked Bike Rides in 20 countries. The statement some were passing out:

"WHY ARE WE RIDING OUR BIKES NAKED?.
1) To promote freedom from oil dependency
2) To combat pollution
3) To foster a positive body image
4) To highlight how vulnerable bicyclists feel every day when they share the road with cars
5) TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!
Bicycles are a cheap, efficient, clean and healthy mode of transportation. Bicycling helps fight obesity and disease. Bicycles don't use foreign oil, don't spew polution into the air, and don't contribute to global warming. If more people rode bicycles, we'd have fewer problems with traffic congestion, lack of parking space, road rage, accidents, and DUIs. We'd like to encourage everyone to get on their bikes today... and every day!
For more info, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Naked_Bike_Ride or http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org or http://www.ChicagoNakedRide.com"

What are the odds that we would leave at the exact moment to get a front row seat for this?! It was great to see a real, organized protest where it seems like so many people have turned apathetic to everything going on in the world. What a fun, attention-getting idea too! Apparently, this is the 5th year Chicago has been a part of this, and next year's is already scheduled. It's a fantastic idea, especially if the local laws are pretty flexible on nudity.

I would like to add here that motorcyclists have the same vulnerability. Unless you're traveling in a group, and sometimes even then, motorcycles aren't noticed. You wouldn't believe how many times people pull out in front of me, cut me off, and sometimes even pull into my lane, right into me. Motorcycles are everywhere. Watch for them.

That was the highlight of the weekend, not because of nudity... I think we should all be naked more often if for no other reason than to banish body image issues. Nudity does not equal sex, although in this country, it would seem so.

We got home late on Sunday.My battery's negative connection disconnected itself somehow, and fried a few lights, like the headlight and taillight. Luckily, we were close to a truck stop and got everything ridable for the hour and a half we had left to get home. That would be my style- the worst can happen, but it's always in the best way possible.

I still haven't gotten a new battery or checked the wiring, but I'm still recovering from the trip. It took me this long to write about it, so I might have her running safely next week.