Soaring popularity forces Portland World Naked Bike Ride to take a year off

PORTLAND, Oregon - Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride will take a break in 2024 and return the following year, organizers announced Wednesday.

As first reported by the news website Bike Portland, the scale of the ever-growing event has put a strain on the group of volunteers who organize it.

“Planning for 2024 didn’t start in September as expected, and by springtime we realized we were behind on our leadership recruiting goals,” organizers wrote on their Facebook page.

The bike ride brings thousands of people together for what is officially a protest against fossil fuel dependency and for cyclist safety and body positivity — thus, making the naked part of the ride completely legal.

The first naked bike ride was held in 2004. Last year, as many as 10,000 cyclists joined the event.

“Making the protest safe and accessible is a huge undertaking, months in the making,” organizers wrote on their Facebook page. “For many Portlanders, the PDXWNBR may be their only ride of the year, so we hold the event to a high standard, with comprehensive volunteer organization, neighborhood outreach, and coordination with agencies like TriMet and Portland Parks & Recreation. Our history has also shown us how a little more planning can make the protest even more welcoming, with local artists, musicians, medics, bike mechanics, and other community partners all on hand.”

The World Naked Bike Ride is the largest and most well-known ride that’s part of Pedalpalooza, a months-long grassroots-led bicycle festival featuring dozens of organized and themed rides throughout the city. For those willing to bike clothed, there are still many themed rides to participate in this summer.