The 8th annual Naked Bike Ride in Boston took place in Jamaica Plain on Saturday, celebrating nudity, body positivity and the power of bicycling.
Biker Stephanie Parilla, 23, of New York, said she was excited about “the fact that we’re naked in public. That’s always been on my bucket list.”
And what does she like about biking naked? “The fact that we’re naked.”
The participants gathered at Spontaneous Celebrations on Danforth Street in Jamaica Plain before riding nude through the streets. Various ages, body types, and degrees of nudity were welcomed as riders utilized body paint, costumes, or just their birthday suit for the event to unfold. The route was kept secret and only revealed as the ride began.
Onlookers in JP observing the start of the parade said they enjoyed the spectacle.
“Cycling is a bit like flying right, it’s freedom. Being naked at the same time as riding must actually feel pretty f—— awesome,” observed Darren Green, 47, of JP, who was watching the riders with his fiancee. “And non-judgement. People are here with all kinds of different body types and they don’t care, I think that’s wonderful.”
The nude riders from Jamaica Plain to Copley Square, to the Boston Common, down to the Massachusetts Ave Bridge across the Charles River, and ending at Flat Top Johnny’s in Kendall Square Cambridge where they resumed a clothed state.
All photos by Derek Kouyoumjian
