Dear Ronin,
Portland is a strange and wonderful place. Each spring, there are several weeks of bicycle events for a local festival called Pedalpalooza. Many of the events are great, but the crown jewel has to be WNBR – the World Naked Bike Ride.
This annual ride is a way to remind both riders and the cars around them that humans are soft squishy beings. It highlights the vulnerability of cyclists everywhere. Although the ride is held in cities around the world, Portland’s tends to be the biggest. During the 2010 ride, over 10,000 people participated.
Last year, the WNBR was held on my expected due date June 18th. Despite you father’s concern, we went anyway. It was a blast and you didn’t arrive for several more days. Jonathan Maus from BikePortland.org even captured an incredible photo of us crossing the Burnside bridge (warning: naughty bits).
Since you now have your own bicycle, we decided to ride again this year. You did great! We met up with some friends and heading down to the starting point around 9pm. The total ride, including the travel back, was nearly 20 miles.
For much of the ride you sat upright, with your helmet on. You waved at people and clapped whenever music rolled by. Later in the evening, you started to get a bit cranky. We pulled you out and nursed a bit. Many of the people who past by shouted “how beautiful”! The next day, we even found the following quote on a blog about the event:
“One of the coolest things I saw on this year’s ride: a naked family. :) Naked mom had pulled the bakfiet over for a little late night naked nursing of her naked baby. Naked dad was close by in attendance and offering support. Beautiful.”
Afterwards, we simply placed you in the car seat and you slept through the rest of the ride and all the way home.
Love,
Your mom
