The World Naked Bike Ride

In July, thousands of naked people converged on a park in Portland, Oregon for this annual bike riding protest/party. (The event website says they get between 7,000 and 10,000 riders!).

After a few hours of naked merriment at the launch site in the park, the bicyclists head out at dusk for the 7 or 8 mile ride to an undisclosed location in town.

From there, cyclists either put on clothes and head home or they break away for after-parties.

Last year I showed up to the launch fully clothed with my thermal camera, not knowing what to expect.

This felt like a big faux pas, so this year I wandered around naked and it was a lot more fun.

Caesar the "No-Drama Llama" was in attendance with Larry McCool, who takes Caesar (a retired show llama) to events for "emotional-support hugs" and I got a chance to give him a hug, which was amazing.

He's soft and didn't even smell at all llama-like.

I'm not much of a cyclist, so I was basically just there for the before party in the park and to watch them all set off into the dusk.

It's an awe-inspiring sight to see so many proud, naked, joyful people taking over the streets on their bikes.

I love how the thermal camera depicts people in the environment, with hints of trees and sometimes riding a nearly-invisible bike.

The camera is better with details if the subject is close, and farther away they are just vaguely human-shaped (or dog-shaped) heat blobs.

The ultimate reason for the event, besides the fun of it, is to protest the dominance of fossil fuels, to demand safe bike infrastructure, and to show that every body has power.

©2026 Cammie Toloui. All Rights Reserved