Nude cyclists will pedal around the Coromandel town of Waihi next month to highlight the vulnerability of road cyclists and protest the overuse of cars.
The World Naked Bike Ride - Waihi Beach is believed to be the first event of its kind in the North Island, says organiser Andrew Cook.
Photo: World Naked Bike Ride - Waihi Beach
The World Naked Bike Ride is an international clothing-optional event that now takes place in over 100 countries, Cook tells Karyn Hay.
The first New Zealand version was held in the Golden Bay town of Takaka in 2004 where it still runs annually.
The event is more about promoting cycle safety and CO2 awareness than promoting nudity, he says.
"Cyclists are really vulnerable on the road and the whole idea of being naked is just to emphasise the fact that the human body is quite vulnerable when it comes to a - climate and b - dangers on the highway when cycling.
"A car puts out about a kilogram of CO2 for every 4 kilometres. It's a lot of CO2 and people don't realise that. The idea [of this event] is to try and curb our crazy car culture and start doing something a little bit more positive with your body."
The motto of the ride, which Cook says is a flat and easy 12 kilometres, is 'as bare as you dare'.
The organisers want people to join in and wear whatever they're comfortable with and nakedness isn't compulsary.
Cook, who runs the online clothes-free community Hauraki Naturally, says he's been on nude bike rides around the Coromandel in the past and never had a negative response.
"You see what normal people look like instead of the airbrushed images you see in the media and in glossy magazines.
"It's just an amazing feeling of freedom… when [people] can get close to nature without the drags of clothing."
Around 60 people have signed up so far for the World Naked Bike Ride - Waihi Beach, which takes place on Saturday 19 November.
