The World Naked Bike Ride came to DC on June 11, the same day as Capitol Pride. Poor promotion meant only 13 riders showed up, but the riders still took to the streets stripped as close to naked as lawyers felt could be gotten away with.

Riders departed from Franklin Square, after among other things a short history lesson on other struggles in the square, especially the Franklin Shelter saga, from myself. The route was an orbit of the Mall, proceeding first to th US Capitol. Throughout the ride tourists snapped vast numbers of photos and were generally quite supportive, with the exception of "oh god" type remarks from a small number who disapproved.

There were NO cop problems on the DC streets or at the Capitol. The White House, the second objective, was another story. Park Police were unable to stop the ride but made it clear to one rider willing to stop long enough to speak to them that the ride would be opposed if an attempt were made to go close to the center of the Penn Ave White House area. A major rally, I think a Syrian rally against that butcher Assad, was underway and I also had misgivings about having the ride approach due to cultural considerations for a people under siege. Anyway, riders withdrew, with one of two objectives reached.

For this ride to take place on the same day the Air Force sponsored the Clarendon Cup bike race gave new meaning to the "Bikes not bombs" slogan used by some riders. After all, the "Bikes AND Bombs" crew had finished racing for the day less than an hour before!

Hopefully better promotion will bring better turnout next year. Many potential riders had been unaware of this year's date for the ride. Past rides have had much larger turnouts.