On November 2, the second Naked Bike Ride in Kansas City drew more than three dozen cyclists willing to bare their bods — and risk arrest — in the name of a little two-wheeled liberation. Claus Wawrzinek, a Kansas City resident, says shedding his clothes and braving a cold bike seat was a chance to show off the cycling community and catch the eye of metro motorists.
At least 10 men were completely commando, Wawrzinek says. Others wore a sock, Red Hot Chili Peppers-style. None of the women, he adds, were showing all their skin, but certainly some were in a state of undress sufficient to attract attention.
As Wawrzinek recalls, the risqué parade had traveled about two miles from its Westport starting point when cyclists encountered police in the Crossroads. Several sources tell the Department of Burnt Ends that the cops wanted the nude cyclists out of the heavily trafficked art district as quickly as possible. Wawrzinek was near the back of the pack when he saw "a bike in the middle of the street and some policemen dragging someone to the side of the road."
The scantily clad biker was Joey Grimm. The 19-year-old Kansas City Art Institute student was wearing nothing but a tube sock. That is, until he was arrested by Kansas City police officers.
His alleged crime, according to a ticket issued by KCPD: "Did knowingly expose his genitals under circumstances in which he knows that his conduct is likely to cause affront or harm by riding his bicycle on the city street and through large crowds with a tube sock over his penis and no other clothing."
Capt. Rich Lockhart, spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, says he's not sure why Grimm was singled out in a sea of near nudists. It was probably just a matter of not responding promptly to commands, he says.
Nancy Woodfill, a friend of Grimm's family who rushed to the scene to bring the tube-sock cyclist some clothes, found the exposed arrestee hidden between two parked cars in a lot at 20th Street and Main. Grimm told her that he was ahead of the pack and, because of traffic, couldn't pull off the road as fast as the police demanded. "So basically, he was knocked off his bike," Woodfill says.
Grimm, who didn't return calls from Burnt Ends, has made headlines for showing off his physical attributes in the past. As a sophomore at De Soto High School, he won an award from Kansas U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore in 2004 for his painting "Sexy Self Portrait." The skillful piece with a tongue-in-cheek title was even exhibited in the U.S. Capitol.
This time, though, Grimm's daring display landed him in the city clink for several hours. And, come January, the artist will have to win over a municipal judge, or his sexy cycling could cost him $600 in city fines.
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Well,
What a load of rubbish.
A couple of weeks ago there were 2000 naked cyclists riding through the middle of London. They had a cycle police escort and everybody, including the police and the bystanders, had a really great time. Kansas Police should lighten up. Just what is wrong with the body God made. We are ALL naked under our clothes. Don't knock it until you've tried it yourself. Paul
Well, What a load of rubbish. A couple of weeks ago there were 2000 naked cyclists riding through the middle of London. They had a cycle police escort and everybody, including the police and the bystanders, had a really great time. Kansas Police should lighten up. Just what is wrong with the body God made. We are ALL naked under our clothes. Don't knock it until you've tried it yourself. Paul
Hey TOTO this is not Kansas , sounds more like Serbia or Iran, see details of nude cyclist in Serbia july 2007 and nudity in public in Islamic nations . Are there similarities to these cases?
Hey TOTO this is not Kansas , sounds more like Serbia or Iran, see details of nude cyclist in Serbia july 2007 and nudity in public in Islamic nations . Are there similarities to these cases?
What is wrong with sunbathing, swimming or gardening with no clothes on if you want to. You are after all not showing anything which could not be imagined or is not natural. Being without clothes is relaxing, liberating and only offensive if overtly sexual. There is a growing point of view that people should be allowed to clothes free on the beaches, in the pool, their own gardens and in secluded areas within parks and the countryside. In more open societies where nudity is regarded simply as an alternative mode of dress there are fewer sexual problems and far fwer unwanted pregnancies.
If you find nudity offensive for its own sake ask yourself WHY. Those of us who happen to enjoy being clothes free accept that others prefer to be clothed. In the UK you are expected to wear a swimsuit in the Sauna or Steamroom, a ridiculous idea to many other Europeans. The Scandinavians have been open minded and civilised for years.
Most people these days are surprisingly unfazed by public nudity, even if they're not naturists themselves. I've been actively campaigning for an officially approved naturist beach in the area where I live (Margate in Kent), and the press/council have been finding it difficult to find people who are against us (and even then they're generally supportive of a private naturist area). Some of the press regarding this campaign can be seen here: http://www.naturistspace.org.
What is wrong with sunbathing, swimming or gardening with no clothes on if you want to. You are after all not showing anything which could not be imagined or is not natural. Being without clothes is relaxing, liberating and only offensive if overtly sexual. There is a growing point of view that people should be allowed to clothes free on the beaches, in the pool, their own gardens and in secluded areas within parks and the countryside. In more open societies where nudity is regarded simply as an alternative mode of dress there are fewer sexual problems and far fwer unwanted pregnancies. If you find nudity offensive for its own sake ask yourself WHY. Those of us who happen to enjoy being clothes free accept that others prefer to be clothed. In the UK you are expected to wear a swimsuit in the Sauna or Steamroom, a ridiculous idea to many other Europeans. The Scandinavians have been open minded and civilised for years. Most people these days are surprisingly unfazed by public nudity, even if they're not naturists themselves. I've been actively campaigning for an officially approved naturist beach in the area where I live (Margate in Kent), and the press/council have been finding it difficult to find people who are against us (and even then they're generally supportive of a private naturist area). Some of the press regarding this campaign can be seen here: http://www.naturistspace.org.
I'm not a lawyer, but how was Mr. Grimm exposing his genitals if he was wearing a tube sock over them? Sounds like a case of overzealous cops to me. If nudity was the issue, then ALL the riders should have been arrested, or cited. It was the World Naked Bike Ride, after all.
I'm not a lawyer, but how was Mr. Grimm exposing his genitals if he was wearing a tube sock over them? Sounds like a case of overzealous cops to me. If nudity was the issue, then ALL the riders should have been arrested, or cited. It was the World Naked Bike Ride, after all.
It is pretty pathetic when police knock a guy off a bicycle for no other reason than the fact that he is nude, or nearly so. This is a classic example of a victimless crime. It is also, unfortunately, an example of what happens when someone tries to cater to the neurotic idea that there is something wrong with nudity: A tube sock? Gad, that's not even sexy; that's just obscene.
This is supposed to be a free country, and in a free country one cannot be prosecuted for the choices of another. Sure, many people who have something better to do than think are offended by nudity. Many others are not. Clearly, being offended is a personal choice, and people have a right to make that choice, but no one should be required to cater to that choice as a matter of law.
Nudity is not obscene and should not be offensive. A six hundred dollar fine for being nude as an exercise of freedom of expression is obscene and offends every standard of liberty our nation was founded to protect.
It is pretty pathetic when police knock a guy off a bicycle for no other reason than the fact that he is nude, or nearly so. This is a classic example of a victimless crime. It is also, unfortunately, an example of what happens when someone tries to cater to the neurotic idea that there is something wrong with nudity: A tube sock? Gad, that's not even sexy; that's just obscene. This is supposed to be a free country, and in a free country one cannot be prosecuted for the choices of another. Sure, many people who have something better to do than think are offended by nudity. Many others are not. Clearly, being offended is a personal choice, and people have a right to make that choice, but no one should be required to cater to that choice as a matter of law. Nudity is not obscene and should not be offensive. A six hundred dollar fine for being nude as an exercise of freedom of expression is obscene and offends every standard of liberty our nation was founded to protect.
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