Nude cycling is tops for bottoms

If you’re the kind of rider that complains about your saddle digging into you on a long ride, or who gets put off going out on your bike because the weather’s a bit on the cold side, you should stop your moaning. It could be a lot worse.

Because to celebrate Nude Recreation Week, which celebrates its 32nd year this month, travel website TripAdvisor has come up with a list of the top five nude events enjoyed by naturists internationally.

And the World Naked Bike Ride came top of the pile.

Each year since 2004, bike riders have joined to celebrate cycling and protest a culture where cars are king every June and July. This year, in 20 countries around the world, participants advocated freedom from oil and fabric.

Nude cyclists bared their bodies with messages painted on their backs, fronts and rears. One TripAdvisor traveler advises: "Remember the sunscreen ... and those saddles will be hot, hot, hot, so cover them up before alighting, people!"

Of course lobbying for ways to help the environment and cycle more is a message being drummed into us all of the time. But is riding as nature intended taking things just a little too far? There's plenty of willing participants that don't think so...

The other events to make the list are the AANR World Record Skinny Dip Across North America, Nude Beach Olympics, Running of the Nudes in Pamplona, Spain, and the Burning Man project in Black Rock Desert, Nevada where participants often take advantage of the free-spirited attitude by getting back to nature.