Lose weight, look great, and save the planet while you’re at it. This is, perhaps, the message communicated by the hundreds of people in over 70 cities worldwide who have participated in the World Naked Bike Ride each year since 2004. (For the record, this is the first I have heard of such an event. And most likely the first that any one of us here at Filters Fast has heard of it, because otherwise it would have already been on our blog.)

The WNBR invites people from all backgrounds and of any age, male or female, to join in a non-sexual, fun event that draws attention to the negative impact of harmful greenhouse gas emissions on our environment – often the result of motor vehicle transportation. (Hence, the bike ride theme…). The dress code is “as bare as you dare,” and the event encourages both body paint and bicycle decor as a means of creative self-expression. The WNBR is meant to raise awareness in an attention-grabbing, yet non-threatening way. Since the BP oil spill, many people are becoming more and more conscious of our dependence on oil and the environmental damage it may cause. Cutting down on our use of motor vehicles is just one way to lessen that dependence, and what better way to encourage that than to ride through public streets naked on a bicycle?

Want cleaner air? The World Naked Bike Ride just might be in a city near you.