Naked Protest

Yesterday as I was standing in front of the Palacio Real, symbol of Bourbon opulence and the largest royal palace in Western Europe, swearing at my over-large map, the kind the tourist office ensures is large enough to identify you as a tourist, so the people with clipboards can attack you for money.

    A din arose as hundreds of people rode by on bicycles… naked. What they wanted was not clear immediately. Some chanted “Gasolina es asesina” while others sported paint jobs reading “Coches = mierda” (cars are shit). I thought it might have been some modern day anti-technology protest, or maybe an environmentalist rally. Alter speaking to several members of the protest, I discovered they were riding in solidarity to protest the danger of riding a bicycle in Madrid because of the scary driving, and the lack of respect paid to cyclists. Some rode one-handed to take pictures, or to down their beers (Let’s Go does not recommend this). Some brought their children (fully clothed).

    They were given an official police escort, of course, to block traffic. Policemen in cars, preventing cars from blocking a group of cyclists protesting cars… I don’t know if anyone else enjoyed the poetry of the situation… but judging from all the pictures taken, they were enjoying the nudity of it.