— Advertisement —

Your guide to biking naked in the 2015 Fremont Solstice Parade

Photo by John Cornicello (used with permission)
2013 photo by John Cornicello (used with permission)

The Fremont Solstice Parade is Saturday, and that means it’s time to go buy some paint, put a plastic bag on your saddle and join hundreds of people in the annual Solstice Cyclists Painted Bike Ride (AKA the Fremont Solstice Naked Bike Ride).

For 23 years, people have been biking naked in front of the Fremont Solstice Parade, an awesome human-powered parade that rings in the summer Seattle-style. Over the years, more and more people have joined in the pre-parade bike ride with recent years seeing perhaps 1,000 riders (there’s no official count, so nobody really knows how many people participate).

The ride helped inspire the World Naked Bike Ride, which happens in cities across the globe each summer. But unlike the WNBR, the Fremont Solstice ride has no overt political statement. Rather, it’s just a mass display of bold creativity.


— Advertisement —

If you get painted up at your own private painting party, just show up at the parade start at the corner of 3rd Ave NW and NW 36th St between 2:30 and 3 p.m. Don’t be late or they won’t let you in. Or you can join the official group painting party at CSR Marine (4701 Shilshole Ave NW), which goes from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Then there’s usually a slow tour of Ballard before entering the parade route. Bring $10 to donate.

So you’re thinking of biking naked…

Congratulations! The solstice ride is an absolute blast. Here are a few tips you should know before you start:

  • Put on sunscreen before you paint. Even if it looks cloudy, just do it. You can thank me later.
  • Cover your bike saddle with a plastic bag. If you don’t you’ll be biking around with telltale evidence of your Solstice ride covering your saddle and your pants for the next couple months.
  • Be prepared for a lot of photographers. It’s a public event, and your photo will get taken a lot. If you can’t be seen participating for whatever reason, consider wearing a mask, wig, giant sunglasses or some other clever disguise.
  • Go “as bare as you dare.” People ride in various levels of paint and costuming.
  • Bring a way to carry your clothes on your bike to Gas Works Park. It’s not a round trip.
  • Don’t drink too much before the ride. Every year you see a couple people who hit the liquid courage a bit too hard.
  • Be awesome and have fun!

Oh, what’s that? You don’t have a bike for the ride? Well, you’re in luck! This is the first Solstice Parade since Pronto Cycle Share launched, and they’re offering six hours of riding without late fees so people can use their bikes in the parade. All you have to do is check out a bike, ride in the parade, return it within six hours and then call customer service (844-677-6686) by midnight to tell them you were in the parade.

But please, do us all a solid and cover the saddle with a plastic bag when you ride!

And finally, here’s one of the funnier fundraising ideas I’ve heard in a while: New this year, organizers will carry your clothes to the end of the ride for a $10 donation to the Fremont Arts Council, which puts on the main parade (UPDATE: Ethan says they had to cancel this service due to a lack of pre-registrations. Still, it was a good idea!). Details:

Solstice Cyclist Shuttle Service: Have your clothes arrive at Gas Works Park for you!

Fremont Arts Council will offer the Stuff Shuttle Service for cyclists from the Paint up Party to Gas Works Park. Fill a box for $10. There will be a U-haul Van parked at the Paint site to offer this service. There will be water bottles for sale at this point as well. All proceeds directly support the Parade. Reserve your box now, they’ll fill up fast! contact [email protected].

Here’s the schedule for the ride:

Friday
6:00-7:30 p.m. Set up at CSR Marine, 4701 Shilshole Ave NW.

Saturday
9:00-1:30 Painting at CSR Marine or satellite locations.

1:30-2:00 Clean up and organize for ride.

2:00-2:30 Ride to parade.

2:30-3:00 Enter the parade route.

3:00-?? Loop back through the parade route as often as you like, always keeping ahead of the parade, and always keeping to the right side of the street.

Sunday
11:00-1:00 Clean up at CSR Marine.


About the author:


Related posts:

Comments

6 responses to “Your guide to biking naked in the 2015 Fremont Solstice Parade”

  1. Harrison Davignon

    Thats good for some people. I would rather have clothing on and enjoy a pleasure ride, and non distracted exploring.

  2. The FAC had to cancel the offer of the van delivering supplies from the paint site to Gas Works Park this year. Not enough people pre-registered.

    1. Tom Fucoloro

      Thanks for letting me know! I’ll update the story.

  3. […] took part in a huge, fun bike event this past weekend. No, not the annual Solstice Cyclists Painted Bike Ride (AKA the Fremont Solstice Naked Bike Ride), the other thing: Swift Campout. Masterminded by local pannier maker and Seattle Bike Blog sponsor […]

  4. Jhana

    What kind of sunscreen works best and won’t keep the paint from adhering?

  5. Van Tolsien

    OMG. SHM. Sodom & Gomorrah. Have you no shame? What about the children who view those who are totally naked under the paint. This is unbelievable. The hideous propaganda of the dumpocraps has taken hold of your tiny minds, and even tinier souls. May God have mercy on you, savages.

— Advertisement —

Got a tip? Email Tom.

Get posts via email

Shorts

Join the Seattle Bike Blog Supporters

Supporters receive endless love in addition to the satisfaction of knowing you helped power independent bike news in the Seattle area. Please consider supporting the site financially if you are able, starting at $5 per month:

Bike Events Calendar

Jun
3
Sat
9:00 am First Saturday Neighborhood Clea…
First Saturday Neighborhood Clea…
Jun 3 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Every month volunteers gather to collect garbage and help beautify our neighborhood. On average, we collect about 15 bags of garbage per clean up, which means 1,000’s of small pieces of plastic that do not[…]
Jun
4
Sun
10:00 am South Seattle Infrastructure Tour @ Cafe Red (patio)
South Seattle Infrastructure Tour @ Cafe Red (patio)
Jun 4 @ 10:00 am
South Seattle Infrastructure Tour @ Cafe Red (patio) | Seattle | Washington | United States
Let’s check out some new, ongoing, and future bike infrastructure projects (including new bike runnels) in South Seattle on a 7.4 mile bike ride at a Leisurely (10-12 mph average on flat ground) pace! Bring[…]
Jun
5
Mon
7:00 pm D5 Candidate Forum on Mobility
D5 Candidate Forum on Mobility
Jun 5 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Join us for a chance to hear what Seattle City Council Candidates for District 3 Representative have to say about transportation, mobility, and climate issues in Seattle. Moderated by Colleen Echohawk.Virtual options available.Monday, June 5,[…]
Jun
6
Tue
7:30 pm NW Greenways Meeting @ Broadview Tap House (N 125th and Greenwood Ave)
NW Greenways Meeting @ Broadview Tap House (N 125th and Greenwood Ave)
Jun 6 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
The next NW Greenways meeting will be in-person at Broadview Tap House on Tuesday, June 6 at 7:30pm. Broadview Tap House (at N 125th and Greenwood Ave) is dog and family friendly and, with the longer[…]
— Advertisements —

Latest on Mastodon

Loading Mastodon feed…

Latest on YouTube