Naked cyclists turn heads in Newcastle city centre

Around 50 cyclists set off from Newcastle City Hall on a four-mile route which took them to Gateshead’s Quayside.

The free annual mass ride which takes place in over 50 cities around the planet is aimed at celebrating cycling as an environmentally friendly form of transport, promoting the positive image of bodies and at challenging and the dominance of the streets by cars.

Five minutes before the ride started, the cyclists stripped off. Some went completely nude, others only partially, while the stewards pointed out that people could join and the ride without taking their clothes off, if they preferred.

Along their route they shouted slogans promoting cycling’s health benefits, and called for motorists and city planners to “stop killing cyclists”.

The cyclists posed for a group photograph outside the Baltic before being given 15 minutes to put their clothes on again.

John Cossham, an event steward who took part in the ride himself, said: “People in Newcastle and Gateshead loved what we did. They cheered, people laughed and it got people thinking about cycling safety issues, about reducing the numbers of cars on the road and increasing the number of bicycles.”