Thousands of wildly costumed and nude cyclists will gather in Grove this afternoon for the World Naked Bike Ride. The costume contest will begin at 4:20pm with the following categories:
- Grooviest Moves
- Cutest Crew
- Hairiest Human
- Dopest DIY
- Most Outlandish
The ride will begin at 6pm.
World Naked Bike Ride route
It’s magical to ride through the city en masse with only few stops. Once you get to Lafayette Square, you’ll find hundreds lined up in their lawn chairs to cheer you on. Downtown tourists watch with shock and delight. Soulard’s drunks flow out of the bars to offer high fives, and just when you’re exhausted from the neighborhood’s merciless incline, you cross the bridge into Benton Park, which far and away has the most hospitable and well-organized residents who will cheer, hand you beverages and even spray you down if desired. Cherokee is absolutely magical as the evening sun filters through the canopy, and then it’s back up Grand and through Shaw until returning to the Grove, where live entertainment will begin at 8:00pm.
If you sensed that I yada-yada’d the route description after Cherokee, you’d be correct. The last time I participated, I decided to break off near STL-Style and head home. That was an awkward half-mile solo ride in a Kentucky Derby hat, seashell bra, and grass skirt.
It’s wacky and exhilarating, and nobody seems to really understand how it’s allowed, but it is! Cycle through all the feels and see St. Louis like you’ve never seen it before, while showing St. Louis a side of you it hasn’t seen before.
