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TNT!MENSpike's Journal of TNT!MEN Events |
It wasn't the most organised ride in the world; most of the decisions were made at the last minute in a fairly arbitrary way, and no-one appeared to be prepared with signs or literature, but we did have a lot of fun, and received some very positive responses from the many people we encountered on the streets.
I took a lot of pictures of the nude ride with my spanking new digital camera, and I'm quite pleased with my new toy. Having 5 megapixels means that even badly-framed pictures that are completely askew and pointing in the wrong direction can often be salvaged and made into something quite pleasing and web-worthy. As a result, I've put together a fairly large collection of images from this year's ride. There are no captions or descriptions; I can't remember most people's names in the photos, but I suspect that won't matter too much.
Here are a couple of descriptions of the ride lifted from the Yahoo group WorldNakedRideToronto:
| From:
Leif
Harmsen Date: Sat Jun 11, 2005 5:46pm Subject: Woooo Hooooo! |
From:
John Baird
of MacIntosh Date: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:57pm Subject: WNBRT05 |
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Wow that was one great ride, and it all went off from start
to finish without a hitch. Worst thing was me almost
running someone over when my brakes got wet in Dundas
Square, but it was just close! I should be more careful. We
heard a lot of very vocal support and encouragement from
bystanders, of which there were thousands. I think we got
our message out and I hope we helped people to consider for
a moment how dirty, disrespectful and dangerous their fuel
emissions are and on the other hand, how important
everyone's bodies are. The smog was very bad today - which
is never a good thing - but I'd like to think it at least
helped people who burn fuel reconsider their transportation
strategy.
After the event was all over a bunch of us took a table at a cafe. A police officer arrived to deal wtih something unrelated to the ride but figured out who we were and tried to advise us on the law, but it is unlikely he is an expert and I think his restrictive interpretation is very different from that which prevails. He postulated that people on the ride had been 'obscene', which I know for a fact is not true having witnessed the entire ride myself. The participants were all very polite during the ride. He said there had been complaints, but when I asked how many, he said "too many", when I pressed him, he refused to divulge any number. His use of plural implies two, but when I asked him if it was more than two, he declined to answer, he just repeated that it was "too many". He then stated that police resources shouldn't be wasted, to which I offered without hesitation my full agreement. The officer implied that they'd been trying to find us all day - which makes me think - how hard were we to find? Perhaps when asked bystanders were unable to remember which way we had gone, or maybe people got confused and accidentally gave wrong directions. It is possible that the police hadn't actually done anything at all which would make sense given that we didn't need them for anything. It might have been nice to have a police escort, but the traffic was manageable and the public was fantastic. Bring on the pictures!
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Well, guys, the ride today was an overwhelming success. The gathering park was remote; beautiful with a lake breeze and was tree shaded. The route was great, the weather was hot and the audience appreciative. It was nice to hear the applause, the shouts of support and honking horns. The only negative comment I heard was from a man carrying his child and with a woman. His obscenities were directed toward sexual orientation and couldn't be repeated any where in public. I feel sorry for his wife and child. It was great to have car passengers chatting with us on the ride and taking photographs. At stop lights, even drivers were snapping photos of the event. In some cases, it may have been a feeling of disbelief, and one person shouted, "Only in Toronto!" but we informed him that the rides were happening all over the world. It would be nice if people who took photos of the event found this yahoo group and added their photos to the website. People shouted support from balconies. Thanks to all who had input as to route and start location. From here on, it can only get better. See you next year, Saturday, same place, same route, 11:00 gathering with a 12:30 start time. Flyers to follow. Scout |
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| From:
John Baird
of MacIntosh Date: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:27pm Subject: Re: Woooo Hooooo! |
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What was strange with the police looking for us was that we had a police cruiser as "sweep" for a while, and also, we stopped at one light where there was a Constable on foot Patrol (COP). I made it clear to him who we were and what we were doing, and he did nothing. If they were really looking for us, don't you think he'd have radioed our location to dispatch? Scout |
As for police, we encountered a fair number during the ride, including cops on foot, cops on bikes, and at least 4 different patrol cars, two of which followed us for several blocks until we rounded a corner. Not a single cop had anything to say, which is exactly what one would hope from our sworn Peace Officers. That's what they are, after all, and their primary duty is to protect the public peace. Our ride was very peaceful, caused no public disturbance, and broke no laws or bylaws, so they all did exactly what they were supposed to: made sure everything was going smoothly, and then let us continue on our way without incident.
The vast majority of spectators simply stood and watched. Many smiled, but not all. A fair number grabbed cameras and took pictures. (I had no idea so many people carried cameras!) Some cheered and clapped, particularly as we passed restaurants with crowded outdoor eating spaces, especially those in the Kensington Market area. Only three people, all young men with obvious body and sexuality issues (and too much testosterone), expressed their disapproval to us directly. The most positive responses came from the many women we passed, especially the younger ones. I only wish we had more women riding with us!
Actually, I suspect that the three Angry Young Men would have found something quite different to say had any women been naked with us. :-)
Our route was a fairly long one. We started at Coronation Park (west of Bathurst, on the shore of Lake Ontario) at 13:02, and cycled east along the bike path to Queens Quay West, and continue eastbound to York St. We went north on York to Front St, and then cycled east on Front past Union Station. At Yonge St, the longest street in the world, we headed northbound, passing the Eaton Centre, Dundas Square, at least one bike cop, and the Ryerson University campus, to College St. We went further east along Carlton St one block to Church St, and then cycled north through the gay village (which becomes very nudist friendly on Pride Day) to Bloor St. We turned left and cycled west along Bloor St, past the expensive stores, past a police car driving in the opposite direction, past the ROM, to St. George St. We turned left again and went south through the University of Toronto campus, which was very quiet, given that it was a weekend. At College St we went west again, and then south along Spadina (which was very busy) to Baldwin St, where we turned right and entered the Kensington Market area, a crowded and busy area with a very youthful and multicultural energy. We went south on Kensington to Dundas, then north on Augusta because we enjoyed our first pass through the market so much. We then went west on Oxford and made our way to Bathurst St, then south to Queen St West, and finally east a couple of blocks to Augusta. At around 14:20 we settled in for well-deserved meals and libation at a great little place called Java House, which serves good food at great prices, offers breakfast all day, and has deep fried tofu on the menu! A great place for watching the Queen St crowds, and very popular with the Goth and punk inclined. (Can you tell I eat there a lot? :-)
Anyway, it was a great day. Click on the picture below to see the gallery of pictures. (The gallery will open in a new full-screen window. If you prefer, you can also open the gallery in this window.)
I had owned the camera for less than a day and hadn't quite figured it out, but I was still able to make a few pretty terrible little movie clips of the ride. These are included here. They are in Quicktime .mov format, so you may need to download the free Quicktime software from Apple to view them.
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NakedPlanet-NudeRide2005-Movie1-NorthOnYorkSt |
NakedPlanet-NudeRide2005-Movie2-NorthOnYorkSt 5.9 MB, 320x240 Quicktime format |
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NakedPlanet-NudeRide2005-Movie3-NorthOnYongeAtGerrard.mov |
NakedPlanet-NudeRide2005-Movie4-NorthOnYongeAtGerrard.mov 9.0 MB, 320x240 Quicktime format |