Hundreds take part in Brighton Naked Bike Ride

Cyclists set off from Preston Park in Brighton for a seven-mile journey, passing by some of the city’s landmarks, including the i360, the Royal Pavilion, North Laine, and the Palace Pier before finishing at the Black Rock naturist beach.

The annual event sees bikers bare all to celebrate car-free human-powered travel, while also calling for greater action on environmental and social issues.

Bikers carried banners and flags along the cycle through the city, while others painted campaign slogans on their bodies such as Bee Kind, Car-Free, and Less Gas More Ass.

Motorists honked their horns and passers-by cheered as the nude cyclists made their way past, with spectators urged to donate money into collection tins by organisers to raise money to cover the £1,000 cost of the event.

The event aims to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists on city roads and their strength and safety in numbers.

One participant, Keon West, said that Naked Bike Rides around the world are about “making cyclists go from invisible to hyper-visible”.

He said: “Research shows that cycling cities are better, safer and happier - so the more you build infrastructure for cyclists, the better it is.”

Keon West was among those to take part in yesterday's Naked Bike Ride

Keon also said that the event also serves as an opportunity to celebrate body positivity.

Another cyclist at the event, Twydall Crumblepatch, said that he always makes sure to take part in the Naked Bike Ride every year.

He said: “It’s my Christmas Day. I am a nudist in general and I’m a cyclist as well, so this event also highlights how vulnerable we are on the road, but it’s also just a jolly good bit of fun.”

Organisers said they hoped the return of the naked bike ride “brought joy, music, freedom, solidarity and fun, as well as spreading important messages onto the streets of Brighton”.

Hundreds of cyclists took part in this year's Naked Bike Ride in Brighton

A marshal at the event, who gave her name as Bryony, said the cycle around the city was an opportunity for all body types and sizes to be celebrated, as well as to campaign for safer streets for cyclists.

She said: “Even in Brighton, which has invested heavily in active travel over the pandemic, people still feel worried when cycling down roads, especially as recent changes in the Highway Code are not being fully implemented by some motorists.”

The bike ride was one of several across cities in the UK and around the world this month to celebrate cycling and the human body.