Event Saturday at BLACK BEAR! cyclist specials galore

Greetings all wonderful cyclists!

Some exciting news regarding this year's WNBR (a little over a week away!):

1) Promotional Event: This Saturday, August 8 at 7 pm at Black Bear Bakery, located at 2639 Cherokee St. Live music, screen printing t-shirts, potluck, and delicious Black Bear baked goods. We're asking for a donation of a potluck dish, body paint, or $5 ($3 for cyclists). Bring a t-shirt to screen print for free or buy one.

Also, we've got some music lined up but if anybody else would like to perform, let us know. There's always room for more!

2) Mokabe's Coffee House (3606 Arsenal) is also doing a Cyclist's Special from August 1, 2009 to August 15, 2009 (Day of WNBR-STL) w/ $1 off a customer's bill w/ proof that the customer rode their bike there (i.e. helmet, bike lock key, point out their bike, something). Bike pumps will be available to cyclists at this location on the day of WNBR-STL.

3) We're the password at the Thaxton Speakeasy the weekend of the ride... look out for it (http://www.thaxtonspeakeasy.com/events.html).

And don't forget - AUGUST 15! 7 pm gathering, 9 pm departure at Stupp Plaza. Tell your friends and family, help flyer, come mingle with us on August 8.

bicycle towns!

check it out...


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.html

Meeting Minutes

For all those interested who couldn't make it to the meeting, here's what we went over. We're setting up a smaller email group among those who came to the meeting to coordinate flyering at events, etc, so if you'd like to be added to that send us an email.

PUBLICITY:

Flyering-
-We'll be flyering businesses, bike shops, etc around the St. Louis area.
-We'll also be distributing quarter sheets at various events, including FBC rides, Metro East Pride Festival, Tower Grove Park Pride Festival, and outdoor concerts (Twilight Tuesdays, Missouri Botanical Garden, etc).

How you can help:
-Make copies of flyer/quarter sheets and distribute them on your own. Hand out quarter sheets, especially at events.
-You can also contact us if you'd like to distribute the flyers in a group at the previously mentioned events, or if you have more event suggestions.


Promotional event-
-At Velocity Cafe on Saturday, August 8 at 7 pm. Mingle with fellow cyclists. Dinner (percentage of proceeds will be going to WNBR) as well as live music and screen printing t-shirts and patches with our logo. You can bring your own t-shirt/cloth to screen print for free; otherwise, we'll have some t-shirts and other material that you can buy.

On that note, does anybody have music suggestions for that night? It would be great if it would be a band willing to play for free. Velocity is willing to host musicians at no charge.

Press-
-We'll be sending press releases closer to the date of the ride to Post Dispatch, RFT, KDHX, and other local media outlets. We're compiling a massive list of contacts.

Coordinating with businesses-
-We're going to try to work with South Grand/Tower Grove businesses to see if they'll give discounts/freebie drinks/desserts or other benefits to cyclists during the week before the ride. It would be great if this could be a city-wide permanent initiative to encourage cycling.

THE RIDE:

Route-
Check the wiki for our updated route (http://nakedwiki.org/index.php?title=Saint_Louis). We're open to suggestions. New spots: the Loop, CWE.

We are going into U City for a short bit, so we'll be contacting U City police about the ride ASAP. We'll also contact important loop business folks for support.

Starting place-
We'll stick with Stupp Plaza. Possibly some folk musicians will accompany us, hopefully some food from Food Not Bombs like last year. We're also going to try something new: we're going to ask local bike mechanics (in particular from A & M and Bikeworks) to see if they'll help out cyclists before the ride.

Post-party-
Atomic Cowboy like last year. A few changes: bike racks will be set up in advance, more space on the patio open to cyclists, and volunteers will be available to help others with directions if necessary.

To make things easier, we're going to encourage cyclists to check our wiki site beforehand to become familiar with the route/ending location.



On another note, is anybody a master with couchsurfing? It would be great to encourage cyclist travelers to swing on by Saint Louis and have a free place to stay during the event. Couchsurfing might also be a good tool for publicity in general, as well.

Let us know if you have any other questions/suggestions. Get excited!

2009 flyer

Help us out by making copies and flyering in your neighborhood and beyond! There are never too many world naked bike ride flyers.

planning meeting May 3, 5 PM, Velocity Cafe

Calling all volunteers! If you're interested in helping out organize this summer's WNBR, come to Velocity on Sunday, May 3 at 5 PM to Velocity Cafe (located at 286 DeBaliviere, 2 blocks north of Forest Park's History Museum). We'll go over publicity, the route, etc. Everyone is welcome.

For more info, email us at nakedbikestl@gmail.com.

bike powered band!

WNBR 2009 Date Set

SATURDAY AUGUST 15!

You besta be there.

Planning Meeting!

If anybody would like to help begin planning for this year's WNBR in St. Louis fashion, come on down to Mokabe's (Grand and Arsenal in St. Louis) for a brainstorming session. We'll be meeting Sunday, February 15 at 5:30 PM.

Thank Yous and Photos

Lovely participants:

Thank you all for making Saturday night a HUGE success! We had an estimated 300 participants, maybe more (does anyone have a better count?) and zero arrests. The police were very cooperative, helping block traffic when necessary. We biked towards fireworks, past crowds of cheering supporters, past gas stations (suckers), by the Stadium even though we were strongly encouraged not to, by the Arch, and through Washington Avenue where we surrounded confused cars by the masses.

We couldn't have done this without all your support - thank you to everyone who helped, whether it was with publicity, telling your friends, making the trek to Tower Grove Park, or just showing up.

Hopefully this is a good memory for all and you'd like to capture the memory forever through documentation, so I've set up a flickr account (thankfully intelligent people have found it already and started posting).

Here's the group: http://flickr.com/groups/nakedbikestl/

For more pictures, check out the River Front Times photo essay: http://riverfronttimes.com/slideshow/view/11180600. Also, I found a blog, dangerous intersection, that was a nice photo essay: http://dangerousintersection.org/2008/08/03/naked-bicycle-ride-2008-st-louis-to-discourage-dependency-on-oil/#comment-22718.

If I figure out how to post some photos on here, I'll do it. Unfortunately, I don't have any of my own, so if you have any you want on here, go ahead and email them to nakedbikestl@gmail.com. You can also email us there if you have any comments/suggestions for next year's bike ride or want to help us organize that one. Or any pleasant anecdotes... those are good too.

Thanks again, and stay cool this week!

NEW STARTING PLACE! LEGALITY! ROUTE!

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some beautiful links

WNBR is getting loads of publicity - check it out:

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/events/indecent-exposure-to-cars-the-story-of-the-world-naked-bike-ride-543619

http://www.stlimc.org/newswire2008/world-naked-bike-ride-cycles-saint-louis-summer

http://www.rogerkramercycling.org/HTML/2008/07/world-naked-bike-ride-coming-to-st.php

We're also featured on KDHX and KWUR. Keep up spreading the word, and see you Saturday at CAMP!

after party

Atomic Cowboy has responded with a "Right on" to the possibility of having the post naked bike ride at their facilities. Anybody have any opposition to this? Or any other suggestions for a raging after party?

Meshuggah Meeting Minutes

Sorry these are long overdue... I'm a little technologically inept and I couldn't figure out how to sign in. But for all those avid readers out there, we had a meeting a little over a week ago to go over the event. Here's what we completed (compliments of Mariah's noting skillz):


1. Alternate body painting location suggested by Don. The pool pavilion is next to a playground (highly trafficked by youngsters) so we'll have people there to direct body painters to a more discreet location still within Tower Grove Park at 7 pm…but 9 pm departure will still be at the Pool Pavilion!
2. More flyers are on the way for the "Indecent Exposure to Cars: The Documentary of the World Naked Bike Ride" screening set for July 26th at CAMP (3022A Cherokee Street). Also, flyers has been hitting the streets of St. Louis-Cherokee, South Grand, and the Loop that is!! Don will be distributing our flyers at the Fucking Bike Club Ride this Friday which ya'll should try to make it to. (Don, would you mind adding the time and date info for the CAMP movie and our e-mail address to those flyers? Much appreciated!)
3. Speaking of the film screening, we'll be having a bake sale at the event to raise funds for body paint purchasing and paying CAMP. The more cookies and yummy goods the better, so get your oven mitts on!
4. The PO-PO: we're in contact with the lieutenants in charge of coordinating public events but have yet to decide whether to reveal our location and time to them. Vidya will also try to find contact info for a bike-friendly officer who attended an event she was a part of recently. Thanks Vidya!
5. Ze route- so far we're looking at leaving Tower Grove then to Cherokee then to Broadway (past the Lemp Brewery) then downtown near Busch Stadium (if no baseball game) then Wash Ave then eventually ending back near Lafayette Park. During the ride, we'll have a person in the front and one in the back with bike lights to help keep us together.
6. Finally, we're trying to arrange an after-party at Open Lot which is near Park and South 18th. If folks have ideas for alternate after-party locations, send them our way! That's about all, we'll keep you posted on our upcoming guerilla flyering party, but until then happy cycles and keep spreading the word!

updates updates !!

Alright, so the St. Louis World Naked Bike Ride is now hosting a grand promotional event for Saturday, July 26 at 9 pm (exactly one week before the actual ride... whoa!).

Come see Indecent Exposure to Cars: The Story of the World Naked Bike Ride
Where: CAMP (Community Arts and Media Project, located on 3022 Cherokee St).
What to bring: price is $2 for cyclists/walkers, $3-5 for drivers. OR you can bring body paint and come for free! We'll also have a delicious bake sale, so if you'd like to donate baked goods or just come with a craving for sweets, that would be excellent.

Hope you all can make it. Mariah and I watched it a few weeks ago and it definitely pumped us up for the event. Plus, it'll be a great way to meet each other fully clothed.

Other stuff we've been working on:
Legality - We'll be contacting the police soon. So far, we've contacted other cities, and though it's usually illegal to go around naked in the city (as in Saint Louis), since it is a protest, the popos are usually more lenient on the issue. But basically, until we get further information, be ready to comply the any police requests, but it should hopefully be chill.

Route - We're planning on starting around Tower Grove Park itself, then going down Cherokee and the Lemp Mansion, down Broadway, near the Arch, around Washington Ave, maybe Central West End, and ending around Lafayette Square. It's not set in stone, so any suggestions/requests are still appreciated.

Publicity - Please let friends and strangers know about the event! We've started flyering and leaving quarter sheets around, and if you want to help out, either make your own or let us know and we can give you a copy/copies for you to do some fun flyering of your own. Maybe we'll schedule some sort of fun bike guerilla flyering extravaganza in the dark of the night a little bit before the event. We've also been letting websites and online calendars know, though we're not sure if they're all listening...

Anyway, hope everyone is having a pleasant July. Please email us or call us... we're lonely and love conversation. And help.

Date and Location Established!

After much deliberation, your trusty coordinators have decided on a date and location of the bike ride. It will take place on Saturday, August 2 at 9 pm. If you want to body paint, you can come at 7 pm. We'll be meeting in Tower Grove Park near the Pool Pavilion. If you're not familiar with where that is, it's located near the intersection of Magnolia and Tower Grove Park, which is the north entrance of the park.

The route has not been completed yet, so any suggestions are appreciated.

Hope to see you all there!