Roads awash with hundreds of bare bikers for annual Vancouver World Naked Bike Ride

Hundreds gathered at Sunset Beach Sunday afternoon for the annual Vancouver World Naked Bike Ride.

Traffic was stopped and attention was grabbed Sunday afternoon as hundreds took to Vancouver roads wearing nothing but their pride.

The annual Vancouver World Naked Bike Ride, initiated in the winter of 2002 by social activist Conrad Schmidt, saw men and women of all shapes and sizes shed their clothes and gather at Sunset Beach at Beach Avenue and Bute Street for noon, before the ride got underway at 2 p.m.

Designed to champion “human-powered transport,” the event saw some hit the streets via skateboard or rollerblades, joining the bikers in a journey that left many unsuspecting pedestrians and motorists shocked and snapping photos.

While cyclists are encouraged to be as naked as they feel comfortable with, with Sunday’s event hosting bikers in various states of undress and fancy dress, helmets and appropriate shoes are mandatory.

Many bike riders seized the opportunity to use the event as a platform to raise awareness for environmental issues, using their bare bodies as canvases for politically charged messages. One rider’s back bore the slogan “burn calories not fossil fuels”, while another had painted “climate crisis is real.”

The event culminated with a celebratory picnic, hosted by clothing-optional rights group Naked Iconoclasts Fighting The Yoke (NIFTY).