Dicks Spotted

I was somewhat light-headed anyway as I hurried from Selfridges to Jermyn Street in search of the coveted dress. If I had bought it in Selfridges, it would have counted as an impulse buy but the very fact that I was walking--well, skipping--down through Mayfair in the sunshine meant I had plenty of time to change my mind and to do the right thing. But no, this crime was definitely premeditated. As such, my heart was skipping pretty fast.

Just south of Grosvenor Square, though, the south-bound traffic in the leafy Mayfair Streets had come to a standstill while a whole load of cyclists made their way west. There were hundreds of them and it was only when I came closer that I realised that most people were topless...and bottomless. It turned out, of course, that it was the World Naked Bike Ride, an event that has had over 1000 participants for the past couple of years. Indeed, it was a good five minutes before the group had thinned enough for me to cross the road and proceed towards my crime against my bank account. I can safely say that I've never seen so many penises and breasts in one place, although I suppose this wouldn't be a hard feat to beat.

The riders were all pretty loud and enthusiastic and would wave to the gathering crowd and say, "hello," as though it was perfectly normal for them to be cycling through Mayfair completely naked (or, in some cases, just covered in face paint, or wearing a thong or a helmet (geddit?). Some of the crowd, however, were a little coy. An older couple standing next to me waiting to cross the road were looking decidedly unimpressed but most people were amused and everyone was taking photos. A rather large naked couple cycled past on their tandem and two people were showing off by unicycling along (but they were the organisers). They were all chaperoned by a policeman who was--rather unsportingly--fully clothed.

Ah, London; you just never know what quirky happening you will come across next...