A man hoping to take taking part in the Canterbury leg of the World Naked Bike Ride yesterday was told to put his trousers back on and leave the event before it began – after getting “overexcited.”
The cathedral city in Kent was hosting its edition of the event, designed to highlight both the vulnerability of cyclists and the effects on the environment of fossil fuels, for the third year.
According to a witness quoted on BT.com, ''Everyone was taking their clothes off to get ready for the ride. I heard gasps and I turned around – it was a horrible sight.
"It's fair to say he was overexcited and got aroused. It looked like he was enjoying the event a bit too much.
"One of the organisers went over to him and told him to put his trousers on while speaking on a walkie-talkie to police.
"The man looked sheepish when he was spoken to by the police."
Participants had been warned by organisers beforehand that “the police have confirmed they will act on any inappropriate behaviour and we, the organisers, will support that.”
Chief Inspector Mark Arnold from Kent Police said: "One individual was spoken to by the protest organiser and stewards and he was required to get dressed and leave the protest, which he did.
“His details were taken by police but no action will be taken against the man.”
Organiser Barry Freeman said on the event’s Facebook page: "We do not accept this behaviour, and he was dealt with and removed before the ride started."
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45 comments
I know its not 'the done thing' ... but who knew the nudist crowd were such prudes?
A man hoping to take taking part in the Canterbury leg of the World Naked Bike Ride
He must have been taking part in the third leg of the ride (Sorry I know, I'll get my coat).
"Man thrown off naked bike ride"
Could of been worse, imagine the public outrage if he had been tossed off. Though perhaps that might have been a happy ending.
I'll get my coat....
Dental visits are so much easier with road.cc !.
Now I've gotta stop laughing !
Can we have some analysis of the lateral stiffness vs vertical compliance?
The other half was disappointed that there wasn't a photo.
One assumes he was standing up to the cause more than others.
This will make me think twice when I next think of buying a second hand saddle on ebay; the current owner might be one of these arsechafed freaks.
Agree with the other posters - aren't the people who take part in events like this supposed to be all non judgemental and not wanting to look at other people in a sexualised manner? So an erection, if slightly embarrassing in an inappropriate situation, is (usually) involuntary. That's like taking offence because someone's nipples went erect or because someone broke wind, surely? If he wasn't - er - actively doing anything to put himself in that state, then I'm not sure how it's his fault. Last I checked, the limbic system was involuntary.
This has just been blown up out of all proportion (sorry). Perfectly normal physiological reaction to suddenly being out in the fresh air and someone gets thrown off a nude bike ride! Crazy..
I cracked a rib in a crash yesterday. I only mention it because the comments on here are making me laugh and it hurts like hell!
I wonder if he felt as stiff as I did this morning...
He should have parked behind one of the CTC fellas, that would have dropped it quicker than thinking of Katie Hopkins
Perhaps his bike was an old Boneshaker?
No SMIDSY for that fellow!
Probably just saw a Colnago C60 with Lightweight wheels and Campy SR EPS.
Right, so he wasn't actually on his bike or riding round at that point, in fact, is there any confirmation he actually had a bike?
Really? Not the sort of attitude I'd expect from someone participating in a naked bike ride. I'm fairly certain these pride themselves on being non-judgemental events. If this is just some bloke who's got an ill timed stonk on it's a bit harsh.
The coppers seem to have had a word, he's put his kecks back and they've been happy to leave it at that. No real fuss or drama, the organiser's response however appear to make him seem like he's the one that is well, you can guess where that is heading...
The quotes could have been misrepresented or taken out of context though, but I'd expect a little less judgement.
It could be that this fella was indeed swinging his tallywhacker around with gleeful abandon, but in that situation I'd expect the coppers to be a bit more stern with their response. As it is, I just can't see the police turning down the opportunity to launch a raving sex case in to the back of a van. I think this is just something that's happened that is unfortunate and embarrassing but I don't think we need to worry about this becoming Sodom and Gomorrah just yet.
Strange reaction given that we're all on the planet thanks to an erect penis.
Must be an opportunity for sponsorship from whatever saddle manufacturer he uses as its clearly not inhibiting blood flow...
I wonder if it made him more aero, marginal gains and all that
Was he "taken in hand" by the police
I thought everyone knew it's a side effect of using Tiagra.
can't come up with a better reply then this.Nice
Awesome.
Naked bike rides are a stupid idea. In terms of the point of them - do they make the non-cycling public think about the vulnerability of cyclists and the damage that motorised vehicles do to the environment - I would wager they have a value of approximately nil. They merely confirm the non-cycling public's view that we are a bunch of nutters.
I tend to agree with the earlier suggestion that if you are going to hang around with a bunch of naked people you probably shouldn't be offended by a stray erection. I don't imagine I'd ever be (doing a nude bike ride) sufficiently relaxed to get a chubby in these circumstances, but then I'm probably terribly English and repressed, so hats off to the nude bikers for creating the kind of welcoming and supportive environment where inhibitions are shed to this extent.
I am also surprised this is the first time it has happened. All societies develop customs in order to discipline errant behavior - presumably getting a boner is considered poor etiquette, but I wonder what the usual protocol is when confronted with a rampant participant. Perhaps we should stop being so myopic and look beyond the world of cycling to the naturists, who must have to deal with this sort of thing all the time.
I would imagine that riding a road bike saddle with any degree of arousal is not a particularly pleasant experience. Cue the fat bike jokes.
I tend to think that, when voluntarily in mixed-sex naked company, politeness requires tolerance of the occasional wayward boner.
Boners only mind. Tugging, frottage, leering, spaffing, waving it around etc. all clearly beyond the line...
Kind of a stiff punishment there..
Really though, isn't this just some sort of weird male body shaming going on? So much for being liberal.
What planet are some of you on, just because there are bikes involved doesn't mean you can go around in public naked, with an erection, try it without a bike and see what happens. He should have kept his pants on.
This dude should start a thread on here about whether he's broken the law
I came here for the comments (no pun intended); I was not disappointed :')
I think the word we're looking for is hypocrisy.
Sounds a bit hard on the guy This is why you won't catch me on a naked ride .Either something like this happens or you shrink to the size of a slug ,neither a good look lmao...plus your saddle will stink
That's terrible, he should have been bloody well hung!
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