Pedalpalooza, week one: Rounding up the bike fun

Laughing Planet Cafe is the official sponsor of our 2009 Pedalpalooza Coverage

Streets filled with bikes: a common
sight during Pedalpalooza!
(Photo © J. Maus)

What an amazing week! Portland bike funnists have been outdoing themselves this year, with the biggest Pedalpaloozaever (over 200 events total!)

Team BikePortland has been scrambling trying to cover all the events we can (is this really our job or is it a dream?) — and reports and photos have been rolling in from the community, true to the DIY spirit of the event. Keep an eye on theShift list and the Pedalpalooza twitter account for live updates and discussion.

Below is a selection of reports, photos, rumors, and shout outs that we’ve come across in the past week, in rough chronological order. Share your own links and experiences in the comments.

Oh yeah, and be sure to check out our full Pedalpalooza 2009 coverage for more updates and stories, including a daily ride guide and all the ride reports we can get our hands on.

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Kickoff Parade!
(Photo © J. Maus)

- Before it all began, for the creative and impatient, there was the Pedalpalooza Preview Ride.

- The Kickoff Parade was a good-natured, high-spirited blast — I counted 200 riders, and more were reported later on. Check out our report (including a slideshow and a video), the Bike Temple’s video, andphotos by Carye Bye.

The weekend kicked off with a bang on Friday.

- Jonathan took a tour of the city.

- I tried out unicycling in the rain with a couple dozen other folks.

- Our intern Dan Liu took photos and wrote a report of the Jesus Ride and the Midnight Mystery Ride (over 300 people were rumored to attend the latter).

Saturday was off the handle!

On Parade at the Cirque du Cycling
(Photo © J. Maus)

- Cirque du Cycling was a huge success, with record numbers attending (including about 70 naked riders from the Daytime World Naked Bike Ride).Here’s our full report. There are tons of photos out there — check out some by Dan Liu. Event organizers have set up a Flickr group as well.

- Speaking of the Daytime Nekkid Ride, leader Allan Folz reports that 78 jubilant riders were counted at the halfway point — and several more spontaneously disrobed and joined the ride on the way to the Cirque. Here’s another, more detailed report (misleadingly titled — it’s about the daytime ride).

- The World Naked Bike Ride. So much has been said and written about this that it’s hard to know where to link to. Here’s our report. Someone made three neat time-lapse slideshows. Jim Parsons took some photosand also posted his GPS trace from the ride. Here are some shots from one of our commenters. Every single spectator seemed to have a phone, camera, or camcorder. Google is your oyster here folks.

Story continues below

Sunday was a completely packed day.

- Organizers were thrilled by the turnout of 50 outer-eastside bike afficionados for the Lents Bike Boulevard Ride.

We learned about meditation
at the Dharma Rain Zen Center
on the Joy of Sects Ride.

- Around church-time, the Bike Temple’s Joy of Sects Ride toured various places of worship. Here’s their report, and here’s our slideshow.

- A small but hardy group met up in Beaverton for the Pirate Ride — a success, though “no one brought any rum, and in spite of all the left turns there wasn’t even any port.” Here’s the full report.

- 20 – 30 happy riders splashed around in public fountains while dancing to music from a mobile sound system. Carye Bye tells the story with photos.

- The CRC Protest Ride attracted 80 riders. Here’s our report, and here’s Chris Smith’s write-up on PortlandTransport.

- We’ve heard rumors that the I Heart Photobooths ride was well-attended and tons of fun, but awaiting confirmation and photo scans.

- The Grant Petersen ride seems best summed up thusly.

- The Hands-Free Derby was reportedly a blast.

Monday morning:

The Romance Redux Ride
with special guest Batman
(Photo © Elly Blue)

- The day was kicked off by the 9 intrepid sugar-loving hill-climbers who showed up for the Ridiculously Early Donut Ride.

- Romantics united in the rose gardens of Ladd’s for dramatic readings from paperback romance novels, accompanied by a roving trash trailer and a Batman mask.

- Anarchists and the anarcho-curious assembled briefly for a discussion of situationism before loosely scattering in various spontaneous directions to follow our emergent experiences on the Psychogeographical “Tour” of Portland.These photos tell the story of one of the several splinter groups. Rumor has it that another group turned up at a local bookstore to browse and buy Situationist texts. The rest may still be out there creating a new emotional map of the city.

- The Big Girls Ride was reported to be in trouble — the organizer had the flu. Any word on how/if that went?

- Apparently members of the Dandy Warhols joined in the Dandy Warhol ride on Monday night — who went on that?

We’ll unscientifically bring you the reports that roll in during the next few days. For now, here’s a quick one from this morning’s Slackers Ride.

How’s your Pedalpalooza going?

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Posted on June 16th, 2009 at 4:05 pm. Filed under Front Page,Pedalpalooza 2009, Rides/Events. Feel free to respond.

Possibly related posts

• Pedalpalooza blog launched!
• Pedalpalooza (brought to you by Shift)
• Report: Pornography of the Bicycle
• Volunteer: Distribute Pedalpalooza calendars
• Pedalpalooza Kick Off Parade

http://bikeportland.org/2009/06/16/pedalpalooza-week-one-rounding-up-the-bike-fun/

Why Are Americans Afraid of Being Naked?

April 20th, 2007 at 8:34 am 

in: Breakthrough Thinking, Current Events, Fashion, analysis

 

In the Netherlands people can be naked in their gardens, the beach and recently the gym. But in America, even chocolate sculptures can’t be without clothes. Why is that?

 

When Catholic protesters recently shut down a New York exhibit displaying a naked, life-sized Jesus sculpted from chocolate, the outcry wasn’t totally unexpected. Labeled offensive by critics, the artwork touched an angry nerve by pushing religion and nudity — two substances that historically don’t mix — into the limelight. While the media was quick to exploit the story, it also expressed surprising modesty when it came to the naked Christ, avoiding the full frontal and opting for photos of the Lord’s backside.

But in Europe, and particularly the Netherlands, where bakeries display anatomically correct marzipan nudes in their front windows right next to chocolate bunnies and chicks, such furor over confectionary draws a complete blank. On this side of the Atlantic, when it comes to nudity, Europeans happily assert they’ve got absolutely nothing to hide.

“The Netherlands is a liberal country where public nakedness is allowed, and that’s the way it should be — that’s why there’s a law for it,” says Ragna Verwer of the Dutch Naturist Federation (NFN), a 70,000-member-strong organization established to expand naturist activities.

According to Verwer, 1.9 million Dutch regularly get nude, going to nude beaches or stripping down in their own gardens, though she estimates the numbers are much higher as NFN doesn’t include sauna-goers in its research. “Naked recreation is well accepted here. But we have to take care that things stay this way, which is why we often discuss these matters with local city councils and recreation areas to create more places.”

Legally, in Netherlands people are allowed to be naked anywhere except public roads or when they annoy others, a law in play since 1986. It is not uncommon to find nude swimming sessions at public swimming pools, nude or topless beaches. Recently, Fitworld, a gym in Heteren in the eastern Netherlands, introduced Naked Sunday, offering locals the opportunity for bare workouts. This quickly proved a popular idea — at least with journalists, photographers and television crews, who easily outnumbered participants on the opening day.

 

“I’ve done interviews with people from Russia, Ireland, Canada, Australia, America and Turkey,” says Fitworld’s owner, Patrick de Man, who says Naked Sunday was in part a competitive response to other gyms offering pole dancing courses, but also a response to a request from two of his naturist clients. De Man says the amount of attention he received both from home and abroad was surprising because “being naked is absolutely normal here,” though admittedly, bare bench presses were totally new to Holland. But the owner has also received complaints from locals, mostly about sanitation, and at least one member wrote on the club’s website that he was switching gyms.

 

“A lot people from the church have sent me letters about God and stuff like that. But I tell them God was the first man of naturism. He and Adam and Eve were all naked on Earth,” says de Man, taking the criticism rather pragmatically. True — at least until the couple donned their first fig leaves, provoking centuries of subsequent debate.

“Nudity is definitely not shocking or even arousing,” says Mandy Servais, a customer at Amsterdam’s Sauna Deco, in a robe wrapped loosely around her body, which for all intents and purposes, was naked, as Dutch saunas are visited in the buff. Says Servais, who has frequented saunas since she was a teen, “I think as a society we’re very simple and take a practical approach to sex and nudity. We think that everything that exists is normal so there’s no need to make a fuss. We’re not really occupied with what others think.”

Verwer mirrors Servais’ response. “I think the Dutch believe let everyone have their dignity and do what they enjoy most. This isn’t just how we think about naked recreation, the same goes for gays –everyone’s accepted,” she says.

While the Dutch seem to accept that underneath their clothing everyone’s naked, the same laissez-faire attitude doesn’t apply in the States, where the public has been schooled in the cultural ideology that “nude is naughty,” and nudity is regarded as sexual.

Perhaps much of this attitude can be chalked down to America’s cultural forefathers, the Puritans, whose deeply religious moral zeal made them fear nudity so much they refused to bathe, ensuring a future of national prudishness.

 

This might appear a huge contradiction given the American media’s rampant appetite for sex, but how else to explain the fury over Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” and the network’s rush to cleanup before facing clampdowns and stiff fines? Or PBS’s need to position the disclaimer “For mature audiences only” when broadcasting footage of Michelangelo’s David.

A further inconsistency when it comes to nudity is what Americans regard as risqué: barely clad Victoria Secret models strutting their way across television or nude grandmothers? As Dove soap found out this March, it’s the latter. The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates America’s broadcast media, banned a series of prime-time ads depicting six middle-aged women posing nude for Dove Proage products, claiming it was inappropriate, though the ads ran successfully in Europe and Canada.

 

 

Ironically, Dove’s parent company is the Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever. While a number of pro-family and women’s groups complained the ad contributed to the further commercial sexualization of women — an ongoing and valid debate — clearly, older nudity is threatening because our culture rarely separates nakedness from sex, which is something the elder crowd, at least until Viagra, wasn’t supposed to be having.

On a similar note, in 2004 Wal-Mart, never one to balk at profits, refused to sell Jon Stewart’s book “America,” which featured doctored nude photos of Supreme Court judges. Old, saggy bodies were simply too offensive compared to, say, the number of slasher films Wal-Mart also carries.

 

Of the Dove Proage ads, says Claire Taylor, who works in international advertising, including projects with Ogilvy & Mather, the company responsible for the Dove ad campaign, “If the ad featured 20-year olds, there’d be no problem. It’s so hypocritical.”

Taylor, an American who has lived in Amsterdam for the last 25 years, thinks the negative reaction stateside is due to “puritanical prudishness,” which doesn’t balk at violence or soft porn on television, yet is offended by older nudity. “Now seeing older bodies — that’s reality TV if you want reality,” Taylor quips.

 

Another, perhaps sobering, reality: America has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the industrialized world, according to the American Association of Pediatrics, and a rate that exceeds the Dutch by nine-fold. A healthy attitude to nudity as well as sex, something the Dutch are regaled for, might have a positive impact as more exposure typically leads to greater information.

 

Still, in America, being naked remains complex. Because our associations are often limited to porn, hippy naturalists, or the $400 million a year nude recreation industry, nudity is either seen as sexual or a gimmick. Take journalistic “undercover” exposes — a choice phrase, given the situation — on nudists at play (”Just look at those guys playing tennis!”).

 

Or the media’s buzz over photographer Spencer Tunick and his nude landscapes. Tunick, who specializes in photographing hundreds of naked bodies sprawled together in abstract forms against an urban backdrop, has definitely pushed social boundaries at home. But in Amsterdam, where Tunick is due this summer, it’s a different story — or no story. “Is it a big deal that’s everyone’s naked when everyone’s naked?” asks Servais.

In Europe, then, clearly neither moral outrage nor public disorder greets nudity. Men don’t go wild, women remain safe and the zero fashion statement remains just that, something with zero impact.

 

 

Taylor, who has fully adapted to Dutch ways, has taken her American sisters to the sauna when they visit and watched their transition from shock to comfort. “They’re both overweight, so at first they were horrified. But one of my sisters quickly got used to being naked and it felt natural. When you see that other people are flabby and kind of falling apart, it’s OK,” she says, laughing. “Listen, you got to check out each other’s parts, but seeing the Cesearean scars, fat rolls, cellulite, eczema and aging bodies of the over 50s crowd puts it all in perspective — you realize how absolutely unique a gorgeous naked body is. Americans might associate nudity with eroticism but here, it’s only associated with nakedness,” she says.

 

 

But there is a glimmer of hope. Sometimes nudity can be a useful, positive statement, even in the States. Like the World Naked Bike Ride, a sort of “Critical Ass” of cyclists organized to protest car culture, promote sustainability practices and celebrate creative expression. Organized by Conrad Schmidt, a South African living in Vancouver, British Columbia, the international event is clothing optional.

 

“It’s a way of challenging the stifling conformity we get here in Vancouver and North America, and certainly nudity laws challenge a system that needs shaking up,” says Schmidt, who has been surprised how trouble-free the rides have been on a whole, though in America, Chicago tried to shut the event down and Los Angeles, never a hotbed of community activism, boasted a larger police-to-participant ratio.

 

“In Portland, people are always riding naked these days, but what’s strange is they’re apparently harassed more by the police when they’re clothed,” he says. “Nudity is tough for law enforcement because it involves the concept of indecent exposure. There’s no good definition of what’s indecent about the human body.”

Via AlterNet

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Pasted from <http://www.impactlab.com/2007/04/20/why-are-americans-afraid-of-being-naked/>

Nudists upset over Ocean Day exclusion

 

peacearchnews.com

part of BClocalnews.com  

 

 Thursday, 6/5/2008 10:34 pm

 

 Nudists upset over Ocean Day exclusion

 

June 05, 2008

 

Controversy is surfacing over World Ocean Day celebrations, slated for Sunday at Blackie Spit in Crescent Beach.

Don Pitcairn, president of Surrey’s United Naturists, is accusing the organizers of the event from shutting his group out because of its clothing-optional lifestyle.

The event – a family focused celebration to raise awareness of the sea and its role in the lives of people in the community – is a joint effort of the Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society and the City of Surrey.

“SUN believes the real reason we were excluded from WOD is because we promote naturism along with the official recognition of Crescent Rock Beach as a clothing-optional shoreline and that FSBS along with the City of Surrey are uncomfortable with this position,” Pitcairn wrote in an e-mail to the World Ocean Day organizing committee.

For their part, the group claims it rejected Pitcairn’s request to participate because SUN doesn’t have a strong environmental record, nor is it a family friendly group.

“At this point, SUN does not meet the key criteria for participant selection. The organization does not have a broad, visible presence in the community as an environmental stewardship group and it is not known as a family focussed service provider,” said E. Kaarsemaker, representing the World Ocean Day Organizing Committee, in an e-mail to Pitcairn.

Hours after Pitcairn denounced the group’s decision and issued a formal news release containing all the correspondence between the organizing committee and him, another local group stepped up to defend him.

“The Fraser River Coalition’s (FRC) decision to formally withdraw in protest  from the World Ocean Day Event at Crescent Beach is due to discrimination against Surrey United Naturists (SUN) based on false assumptions and prejudice toward wholesome family naturism,” wrote Judy E. Williams, co-chair of the organization.

Naturist park going off in NZ tourism awards

 03.06.2008

 

By Graham Skellern

 

A Katikati holiday park is living up to tourism’s 100% Pure New Zealand branding.

The guests, from overseas and around the country, wear no clothes during their stay _ mind you, they will put on a top if they are getting sunburnt or the weather turns chilly.

Katikati Naturist Park in Wharawhara Rd has been named as one of 29 national tourism awards finalists, and will contest the visitor accommodation category along with six other operators.

The naturist park, run by owners Kevin and Joan Sampson, is joined by Waihi Beach Top 10 Holiday Park, boutique operator Stafford Villa in Auckland, budget hotel Nomads Capital in Wellington, and upmarket hotels and resorts Grand Mercure St Moritz in Queenstown, Holiday Inn Wellington and The Langham, Auckland.

 

 

The Sampsons, who opened the 3.5ha park more than 12 years ago, are delighted to be among such distinguished company. “Over the years we’ve had positive feedback from our customers and we’ve tried to run the park in a professional way,” said Mr Sampson, a former Treasury economist.

“We’ve sunk a lot of money in the property, and we wanted to see how we stacked up against other operators,” he said.

The park has chalet and cabin accommodation, and sites available for camping, caravans and motor homes.

In the financial year ending March 31, the Sampsons hosted more than 3000 visitors, representing 13,000 guest nights. They have had visitors from 17 countries, staying an average of four nights, and can accommodate up to 200 people at one time, particularly in the busy January and February summer months.

Mr Sampson said the national judging process was very rigorous. They sent off a six-page expression of interest in February and after being accepted in to the second round, they then had to fill out a 26-page document detailing their business.

The national finalists were named at Tourism Rendezvous New Zealand (Trenz) in Rotorua, and two judges will make a three-hour site visit to Katikati within a fortnight. The winners will be announced at a Tourism Industry Association NZ gala dinner in Christchurch on August 5.

Waihi Beach Top 10 Holiday Park, operated by Ian and Vicki Smith, was last year named the best holiday park in the country _ but this time the Smiths have competition from the naturists just down the road.

Whakatane-based White Island Tours is also a national finalist, for the second year running, in the visitor activities and attractions category.

The coastal Bay of Plenty region has an unprecedented three national finalists, the same as Destination Rotorua.

Tim Burgess, general manager of Tauranga-based Tourism Bay of Plenty, said that having three finalists was “`massive. Those businesses are judged against the very best in New Zealand _ they are not soft awards.”

He said the finalists helped give the region a national profile.

 

 <http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3774474&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=>

NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE UPDATE: California: San Onofre State Beach

NATURIST ACTION COMMITTEE  UPDATE

 http://www.naturistaction.org

 

Copyright 2008 by the Naturist Action Committee, which is responsible

for its content. Permission is granted for the posting, forwarding or

redistribution of this message, provided that it is reproduced in its

entirety and without alteration.

 

DATE   : June 1, 2008

SUBJECT: California: San Onofre State Beach

TO: Naturists and other concerned citizens

 

Dear Naturist,

 

This is an Update from the Naturist Action Committee. NAC is making you aware of recent developments, favorable and unfavorable, that are part of a serious threat in the state of California.

 

A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE SITUATION

 

As detailed in the NAC Action Alert of May 21, 2008, Ruth Coleman, Director of California’s Department of Parks and Recreation, has abruptly terminated the Department’s application of the Cahill Policy to clothing-optional portions of San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County. The Cahill Policy has been used successfully for decades as a management tool for clothing-optional areas within California State Parks.

 

The specious justification being given by CA Parks for the selective revocation of Cahill at San Onofre State Beach is that doing so will eliminate illicit sexual activity that occurs primarily on an adjacent military beach. The recision of the Cahill Policy would pave the way for park rangers to issue citations for simple nudity on the State Beach under Title 14, Section 4322 of the California Code of Regulations.

 

For a more detailed history of the situation and specifics of the Cahill Policy, please refer to the NAC Action Alert of May 21. You will find it on NAC’s Web page: www.naturistaction.org Look under “ALERTS.”

 

NAC THANKS YOU FOR WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING!!

 

In its NAC Action Alert of May 21, the Naturist Action Committee asked for your specific action in sending correspondence to CA Parks Director Ruth Coleman, opposing the revocation of the Cahill Policy at San Onofre. Your response has been overwhelming. Thank you!

 

Many hundreds of you have copied NAC on your correspondence. The quality and thoughtfulness of what you’ve written is gratifying. And the volume has been impressive. Director Coleman’s office in Sacramento reports a significantly “increased work load” as a direct result of your letters, faxes and e-mails.

 

IMPORTANT: CONTINUE CONTACTING THE CA PARKS DIRECTOR

 

If you have not yet contacted the CA Parks Director, it’s not too late. We won’t repeat the full details here, but you can find information on contacting the Director (and suggestions for what to say) in the NAC Action Alert of May 21, 2008. You will find the Alert on NAC’s Web page: www.naturistaction.org. Look under “ALERTS.”

 

 

WHAT HAS NAC BEEN DOING?

 

The Naturist Action Committee took swift action at the onset of this situation and is continuing that action.

 

1)  NAC has submitted to CA Parks a formal request for an

administrative stay on implementation of this abrupt change

in policy.

 

2)  NAC has made multiple Public Records requests for documents

pertaining to this situation and the administrative action

surrounding it.

 

3)  NAC has retained a specialized lobbyist to assist and advise

in the area of regulatory procedure.

 

4)   NAC has retained an attorney specifically for this matter

and has begun the process that will ultimately result in

civil action against the State of California and the

Department of Parks and Recreation.

 

5)   NAC continues working closely with Friends of San Onofre

Beach, the local user group. Together, NAC and FOSOB

staged a rally at the beach on May 24. Together, NAC

and FOSOB met face-to-face with CA Parks officials on

May 29.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

 

Rangers had been told to begin “educating” beachgoers, starting June 1. The initiation of that exercise has been delayed by the insignificant period of a day. The issuing of citations for nudity in the traditional clothing-optional area was initially set to follow after 30 days. Now, CA Parks has delayed that action to commence after Labor Day.

 

Of course, neither of these is a meaningful or acceptable response to the concerns of naturists.

 

WHAT IS NAC ASKING YOU TO DO?

 

1)  Stay informed. NAC will continue to issue Action Alerts,

Advisories and Updates on this issue as circumstances

require. Look for them.

 

2)  If you haven’t already done so, write to the Director of

the California Department of Parks & Recreation.

It’s not too late.

 

3)  *THIS IS IMPORTANT!* Keep going to the beach at San Onofre,

and keep using it in the traditional clothing-optional

manner. CA Parks is attempting to intimidate beachgoers

into simply evaporating. We must NOT allow that to happen!

 

4)  If you are approached by a ranger on the beach or in the

parking area, make a detailed note of the encounter,

including the date, the time, the ranger’s name and what

was said. E-mail your account to:

sanonofre@naturistaction.org

Do not be combative or confrontational, but you may make

it quite clear that you are taking notes.

 

MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

 

Additional information and links are available, along with this NAC Update on the web site of the Naturist Action Committee.

 

http://www.naturistaction.org

 

Select “Alerts” and find this NAC Update under Current Updates.

 

 

PLEASE HELP NAC TO CONTINUE HELPING NATURISTS!

 

NAC is committed to the defense of traditional clothing-optional use of public land. Not surprisingly, hiring lawyers and lobbyists is a very expensive part of such a necessary defense. NAC does not have a membership roster on which it can assess dues. NAC relies entirely on the voluntary support of people like YOU.

 

Won’t you please send a generous donation to:

 

NAC

PO Box 132

Oshkosh, WI 54903

 

Or call toll free (800) 886-7230 (8AM-5PM weekdays) to donate by phone using your MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card. Or use your credit card to make a convenient online donation: http://www.naturistaction.org/donate/

 

Thank you for choosing to make a difference.

 

Naturally,

 

Allen Baylis

Board Member

Naturist Action Committee

 

—————————————————————

Naturist Action Committee (NAC) – PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903

Executive Dir. Bob Morton

- execdir@naturistaction.org

Board Member Allen Baylis

- rab@baylislaw.com

Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick  - naturist@sunclad.com

—————————————————————

 

 

 

Thank you for choosing to make a difference.

 

Naturally,

Allen Baylis, Board Member

Naturist Action Committee

—————————————————————

Naturist Action Committee (NAC) – PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903

Executive Dir. Bob Morton – execdir@naturistaction.org

Board Member Allen Baylis – rab@baylislaw.com

Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick – naturist@sunclad.com

—————————————————————

State of California want’s you covered on San Onofre nude beach

NOTHING BUT SHOES: A man from Los Angeles strolls along San Onofre State Beach wearing nothing but running shoes. The California Department of Parks and Recreation decision to step up enforcement against nudity in the area known as San Onofre Trail 6 area has many “naturists” angry.

LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

MORE PHOTOS

MAP

Nudity and the law

Allen Baylis, an attorney, said the naturists have a right to be nude at Trail 6 because of the Cahill Policy, written in 1979. The rule states that “enforcement of nude sunbathing regulations within the state park system shall be made only upon the complaint of a private citizen. Citations or arrests shall be made only after attempts are made to elicit voluntary compliance with the regulations.”

Roy Stearns, State Parks spokesman, said it is up to the state whether to rescind or invoke the Cahill Policy. He also said the naturists have to adhere to a code called “nudity prohibited,” which states that “no person shall appear nude while in any unit except in authorized areas set aside for that purpose by the department.”

And San Onfore – or any other state beach – has never set aside for that purpose, Stearns said.

Nudist beach etiquette

•Don’t go out of established nude areas or wander nude onto a clothed beach or parking lot.

•No overt sexual activity. Nude is not lewd.

•Do not photograph people without their permission. Hidden cameras are especially objectionable.

•Respect others’ privacy. Many are at the beach for quiet and relaxing time. Gawkers and pickup artists are not welcome.

Source: friendsofsanonofre.org

Related sites

• BEACH BLOG: Find out what else is going on along OC’s coast
• POLL: Do you think the nude beach should be shut down, or would you go there?

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Friday, May 30, 2008

State about to crack down on San Onofre nude beach

Trail 6 at San Onofre State Beach has been ‘clothing-optional’ for decades; ONLINE POLL

By LAYLAN CONNELLY and CINDY CARCAMO

The Orange County Register

Comments 90| Recommend 21

SAN ONOFRE STATE BEACH – Nicole Archuletta looked down at her naked body and shrugged.

“No tan lines,” said Archuletta, 25, sitting in a beach chair on the sand next to her husband, Kevin. “It’s just natural.”

On a recent weekday, Archuletta was just one of a handful of beach-goers who stripped down to nothing but sunglasses at Trail 6 at San Onofre State Beach, a small stretch of sand encased by 50-foot-tall, rocky cliffs, reachable by a short stroll down a curvy dirt path.

Trail 6 is a secluded area abutting Camp Pendleton property where beach–goers can let it all hang out – literally. The 1,000-foot beach, one of few “clothing-optional” beaches – with a lax approach to nudity, has been a safe haven for “naturists” for decades.

That might change in the next month, as the state sets out to crack down on nudity at the beach, in a move that has some longtime locals fuming and worrying about where they’ll go. State Parks will start an educational period Monday, warning beach-goers of the change, and start citing after Labor Day, officials said. They will not be asked to put their clothes on until enforcement starts.

State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns said the decision comes after an increase in complaints about the influx of people to the area in recent years. The number of people who go to San Onofre, in San Diego County, increased to about 2.5 million last year, from about 1.7 million people in 2000, officials said.

“It’s no longer one of those remote beaches that is out of sight and out of mind, that few people go to,” Stearns said.

Some in the naturist community, however, believe it could be the beginning of a trend to strip away other known clothing-optional areas under state jurisdiction.

“We have people who have been going there for more than 30 years,” said Allen Baylis, a Huntington Beach naturist and attorney who has frequented the beach since the ’70s. “This is like driving a stake through their heart. This is where they go to relax. This is their life.”

Stearns said some rangers who work at the beach have complained recently about being exposed to a “sexually charged” environment. The state needs to be mindful or may face lawsuits, he said.

Staff members also have complained about “trash such as used condoms, pornographic material and adult sex toys, which has to be cleaned up by our people,” Stearns said.

In the past five years, officials have handed out 83 citations for lewd behavior and 35 tickets for indecent exposure in the area, Stearns said. A 35-year-old man was arrested late last year on suspicion of molesting a 12-year-old in the area, Stearns said.

Baylis, director of Naturist Action Committee and president of the Friends of San Onofre Beach, said naturists abide by strict guidelines and keep an eye out for lewd conduct. Labeling them as the ones engaging in sexual or illegal activity is unfair, he said.

“We absolutely stand up and oppose any kind of lewd activity on that beach or any other beach,” Baylis said. “We’ve always opposed allowing any sort of illicit activity. It’s probably the friendliest and cleanest beach you’ll find.”

The beach can draw hundreds of naked people on any given warm weekend. Beach-goers battle on the volleyball courts. Surfers take the waves without a wetsuit – weather permitting, of course. Some simply go there to tan, bare backside to the sky.

Stearns said the move in San Onofre is not part of a trend to crack down on “clothing-optional” areas within the State Parks system.

“It doesn’t mean they’ll be closed down, unless there are problems that have developed that force us to focus attention on it,” he said.

When Kevin Archuletta was asked whether enforcement would stop him from hanging out naked, he asked, “How much would the ticket be? If it cost $50, I’ll still come.”

Gary, who declined to give his last name, said he’s been going to another popular nude beach in San Diego called “Black’s” since the ’70s, but enjoys the smaller crowds and seclusion at Trail 6.

“People want to feel free,” he said, sitting naked with his legs crossed, sand covering his back. “We were born this way, weren’t we?”

He said he hopes state officials change their mind, but added that he knew this day would come.

“The Europeans are so much more mature about nudity,” he said. “I need to move to Australia or somewhere.”

Say hello to tan lines — San Onofre’s nude beach is about to be busted

L.A. Now

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Southern California — this just in

3:11 PM, May 30, 2008

Clothing-optional for decades, the nude beach at San Onofre is about to get a visit from the (fully-dressed, we’re betting) law. The O.C. Register has the skinny:

Trail 6 is a secluded area abutting Camp Pendleton property where beachgoers can let it all hang out – literally. The 1,000-foot beach, one of few “clothing-optional” beaches – with a lax approach to nudity, has been a safe haven for “naturists” for decades.

That might change in the next month, as the state sets out to crack down on nudity at the beach, in a move that has some longtime locals fuming and worrying about where they’ll go. State Parks will start an educational period Sunday, warning beachgoers of the change, and start citing July 1, officials said.

What’s a nudist to do? Some answers here. (And yes, there’s a naked derriere on the site.) And the photo? It’s of Peter J. McConville, au natural in the 1940s, as befitting the founder of SoCal’s first nudist resort near Lake Elsinore.

– Veronique de Turenne

Archival photo: Los Angeles Times