The initial message of the WNBR was a protest against oil dependency. And a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body.
In 2006, there was a message shift that focused on cycling advocacy. And by 2020 the event had become all about climate change and fossil fuel dependency.
The first WNBR had events in 28 cities, in ten countries on four continents. By 2010, WNBR had expanded to stage rides in 74 cities, in 17 countries, from the United States to the United Kingdom and Hungary to Paraguay.
Two male riders were arrested during the 2005 WNBR in North Conway, New Hampshire, and charged with “indecent exposure and lewdness”.
Six male riders were charged with public indecency during the 2005 WNBR Chicago ride and later prosecuted with sentences ranging from fines and non-expugnable conviction to three months of court supervision.
In 2007, during the first World Naked Bike ride in Denver, Colorado police surrounded the bike riders and wrote several people tickets.
During the WNBR held on June 12, 2010, two males were arrested by campus police at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.
