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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us June 13, 2005 Bikers celebrate all of the human body By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Protesting the country’s dependency on oil and the city ban on nudity in city parks and the downtown area, a dozen naked bike riders, a few clothed pedalers and one nude skateboarder cruised through Ashland streets early Saturday evening. A group of naked riders gathers at Triangle Park during Ashland’s part of the World Naked Bike Ride on Saturday. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings The naked bike ride was part of a coordinated worldwide effort Saturday to promote alternative transportation and celebrate the human body. “We’re out here to have a good time,” said Ashland ride organizer Ryan Navickas, who learned about the event from the World Naked Bike Ride calendar and thought it would be well-received in Ashland. “We think that all people’s bodies are beautiful.” The Ashland riders left Triangle Park just after 5 p.m. heading south on Siskiyou Boulevard after painting slogans such as “Nudity is natural” on their backs. They turned down Wightman Street and, according to Navickas, intended on swinging past the Ashland Food Coop on First Street between A and B Streets before ending near the Siskiyou Brew Pub on Water Street. At the request of Ashland Police Chief Mike Bianca, the city council passed an ordinance in summer 2004 prohibiting complete nudity in the downtown area and all city parks. People can still be topless anywhere in Ashland. Bianca decided to pursue the ordinance after more than 16 incidents of public nudity in the area during the summer of 2003. Violators can be fined up $250 in Ashland Municipal Court. “It’s a strange phenomena that the human body is criminal and war for oil is perfectly OK,” Navickas said. “We think it’s a shame that our city has moved to criminalize the human body.” The riders avoided the downtown area and no citations were issued. World Naked Bike Ride events were scheduled in more than 40 cities worldwide over the weekend. Dozens rode Saturday night in Chicago, about 60 took to the streets under cloudy skies in Seattle and more than a hundred rode past Big Ben and the U.S. Embassy in London. Five naked rides were also held in southern hemisphere locals on Feb. 15, 2005. Saturday’s worldwide events marked the second annual naked bike ride. This was the first year Ashland participated. Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams