If you drove over the Venetian Causeway this afternoon and came upon a barrage of naked bicyclists, you weren't to panic: it's for the birds.
Organizers of the Miami jaunt of the World Naked Bike Ride say their pedaling sans coulottes is less about doffing their tops and bottoms, and more a "labor of love" to protest the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by promoting independence from oil and car culture.
"Miami World Naked Bike Ride provides a platform for the members of this community to channel all this in a genius, positive, creative, ridiculous and slightly subversive way," wrote Miriam Cruz, head of the bare-as-you-dare endeavor.
"There is value to exercising our right to peaceful protest. At the very least it will inspire others to do the same, at its very best it will draw us together as a community, show us that we have heart, and help create the bonds that will help heal us a little."
Heh. It also showed us the protesters possess a little more than heart, but let's just leave it at that.
World Naked Bike Ride is nothing new. It's been held annually since 2004, though in cities around the world like Auckland, Vancouver, and Brussels, so this marked the first time it's been undertaken by attractive people (just kidding, Belgium!). Cruz says her group wasn't motivated to take it off until it the issue hit so close to home.
The fleshy flotilla met up at the BP gas station at Biscayne and 10th Street at 4:30, and then rolled on over to South Beach. Nudity was optional, naturally, but body painting -- and therefore spectating -- were officially encouraged.
