The naked cyclists of Amsterdam meet the Bierfiets

The nude cycle tour in the Amsterdam Vondelpark

The inhabitants of Amsterdam are accustomed to weird phenomena. They hardly even frown when confronted by yet another antic from religious sects or youth culture. Whether it's tolerance or plain indifference, anything pretty much goes in our jolly town.

However, on saturday the 6th, there was something to be seen that did raise a few eyebrows here and there. Some members of the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) organized a nude cycle tour through town in order to raise awareness about pollution and accidents caused by cars. The nudity is supposed to accentuate the vulnerability of cyclists and other non-car road users. Right.

Only few members of the public knew about those motives. They saw a some naked old hippies on bikes. Good fun though! Something to tel the folks back home.

Het Fietscafe poses a temporary bottleneck

In the park, the group of about 50 cyclists were briefly halted by another cycle-related spectacle, het Fietscafe, also known as de Bierfiets (the Beerbike). The last couple of years, there has been complaints about how Amsterdam is increasingly getting unattractive for people looking for a good time. I don't know if this machine is an argument pro or contra this opinion. It depends on how one appreciates the spectacle of 10-15 people making their way on an elevated and moving bar through the Amsterdam streets, singing and shouting the songs of Andre Hazes and his heirs.

The vulnerable meet the loaded

Apparently there are already some 40 beerbikes available in Amsterdam. Recently there have been a couple of accidents with them, causing several wounded. The firm that rents these vehicles claim that the drivers always remain sober. It's clear that many of the guests don't.

After fraternising the tour continues

Final destination: Vondel's statue

The end of the tour luckily coincided with the departure of the sun. The nudists dressed up and spread out among the clothed. Maybe not everybody got their message of vulnerability, though one cannot help but thinking about the effects of rough leather saddles on tender buttocks...

Some stretching after the efforts

Many people claim that islamisation is a real threat for Holland. Given the popularity of the beer bike and the the enthusiastic reactions to the nude ride, the jihadi's have a tough job ahead of them in Amsterdam. Their best hope might be that someday they will be paraded through the city on a tea bike accompanied by our mayor, Job Cohen, on their way to the first muslim gay wedding ceremony presided over by Tarek Ramadan. Only in Amsterdam...

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