Like everyone, I get a lot of unsolicited emails with the classic clickbait trick of offering a “top ten” list or something like it. I usually delete or block them without opening, but this one succeeded in getting the click, and I am sure it is news some Power Line readers will want to know (whether as a list of where to avoid, or cycle to, I leave to you to decide):
Love feeling the wind in your hair — and all over your body — while riding on two wheels?
There are U.S. cities where that’s not only legal but also celebrated, so what are 2022’s Best Cities for Naked Biking?
LawnStarter ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities ahead of upcoming World Naked Bike Rides like the one in St. Louis on July 30.
We first assessed the regulatory landscape in each city to help naked bikers avoid legal (and other) bumps on the road. We then considered the local popularity of naked biking, the size and activeness of the cycling community, and, of course, the climate.
Check out the best cities for biking in the buff below, followed by key insights from our report. (Take a peek here to see where your city ranks and for some surprising findings.)
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Chicago Wins the Race: Hold on to your bells, handlebars, and everything in between — the Windy City is our inaugural Naked Biking Capital.
Chi Town finished first in the Popularity category and is one of a handful of cities that hosts a World Naked Bike Ride. It’s au(nly) naturel that locals can barely contain their excitement about the event: Chicagoans searched for “naked bike ride” more times in the past 12 months than Googlers in any of the other 199 cities.
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Keeping Austin Weird and Naked: Austin, which finished No. 4 overall, sped past the other 199 cities in our Naked Biking Friendliness category, thanks to some of the most lax public nudity and bicycling laws in the U.S. It’s one of only four cities where total nudity won’t land you a ticket or jail time.
The city with the 30th biggest nudist population even had its own local near-naked biking fixture, Leslie Cochran, years before there was ever a Naked Bike Ride. He’s gone now, but there’s a plaque in his memory on 6th Street.
Some years ago I spotted a statistic that the average age of people at nudist colonies was 56. Which I think would even send mosquitos fleeing as fast as possible.
And yes, you can see a pretty clear breakdown between blue states and red states in the “best” and “worst” lists.
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