Pedalling into its 22nd lap around the sun at Golden Bay with bikes in full gear but the same can’t be said for its riders.
The annual World Naked Bike Ride at Tākaka this weekend lets cyclists young and old hang it all out to promote positive body image, eco-friendly travel and a message for motorists to always be aware of those travelling on two wheels.
Going out in style this year is its organiser of nearly a decade, Bryan Badger, who travels (with his kit on) to the revealing event from Rolleston.
He’s determined the ride, one of only three of its kind in Aotearoa, does not hit the skids.
“This is probably my last year, I'm just sort of running out of energy,” he admits.
Going into next year's ride, I will have clicked over to 80....and so I feel the ride needs fresh ideas.
“Ideally, it needs to be somebody who's done the ride before, two or three times and knows what's going on and somebody perhaps who is freer than most people and who is also in Tākaka.”
Perhaps a low laundry bill is a host perk.
Bryan says in the events’s two decades no naked rider whose only protection is a helmet has been knocked off.
He says from its Tarakohe start point to Kiwi Spirit Distillery at Motupipi, the motorists' views are never a pain in the backside, offering toots that are friendly rather than the result of road trauma.
Locals and national visitors dare to bare and quite often internationals staying at Hangdog Camp to climb at Paines Ford also aren’t afraid to look down as they join the peloton.
Riders can doff their clothes from 1pm on Saturday at Tarakohe, with body-painting an option before the 5km pedal to the distillery begins at 2pm, followed by a social gathering.
A second chance to strip off comes on Sunday at Milnthorpe Reserve for a bush or beach nude walk at 2pm after a midday lunch at the Mussel Inn.
World Naked Bike Rides are also held at Waihī Beach and Waitati (north of Dunedin), along with many global events.
