So, what's the deal with Portsmouth? Why do so few (read: no) women participate in that ride? Is it just a really conservative city? :confused:

Fango

Portsmouth has struggled to attract anybody except the usual male exhibitionists who turn up at every ride, like the guy with his penis cage. In the past extreme Christian groups have tried to stop the ride and even the threat of violence was made, but never acted upon. The police supported the ride organisers.

Several ladies have ridden fully nude, but seldom more than two or three per year. Some ladies who have ridden naked in other rides had said they were attending, but either failed to show or remained dressed. I think this ride and the other smaller rides in the UK will never grow to London or Brighton size, those two have a very different sort of population to Portsmouth.

I am sure only the weather will ruin the big UK rides and this abboration of a ride is not a portent of WNBR events in 2015!

I share the disappointment of other members about the Portsmouth ride. Let's hope it doesnt grow into an all-male sausage appreciation fest. I carry this concern for all rides in Britain in particular...Let's hope London can set the record straight.

WEATHER!
 

WTF with the British weather right now. IT'S ALMOST 'EFFING JUNE!

I am really hoping Brighton will be an amazing ride in 3 weeks time! The sunshine needs to get a bloody move-on!

That year has gone by quickly. Have been looking at Canterbury and Hastings. Did the latter last year. It was what you'd expect from one of the small rides but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Probably won't do either this time. The weather looks decidedly poor - the minor rides struggle for numbers even under glorious blue skies. Canterbury 2014 was quite odd. There are shots from before the start - looked like a relatively high turnout with a good deal besides the usual 'every ride' participants. But the shots of the riders out there on the road suggested a much smaller number - unless the group got divided, as per London last year.

Thinking of having a different approach to London this time. The start at Hyde Park was absolutely awful last year. Everyone cramped under the trees while a huge mass of tourists elbowed each other for a glimpse of naked flesh. The end was almost as bad. A large number of riders seem to be covered up at the start and finish, and it's kind of understandable. Hoping to do the Lincoln's Inn Fields stop this time round. The riders seem a lot more relaxed away from the madness of Hyde Park and Wellington Arch. Might do the Regent's Park start and then go on to Lincoln's Inn. Not sure.

Brighton is the best UK ride by a massive margin, IMHO. Who can forget the fantastic weather and very large turnout of 2014, particularly the dancing in the fountain. This time I'm hoping to also do the Hove Lawns rest stop - but quite a lot depends on the weather. The warmer and more pleasant it is, the longer the rest stops as people tend to queue for an ice cream etc. A nice day also means a good turnout for the end of ride skinny dip. My 2014 haul from Brighton was the only WNBR set I've got thus far that I wasn't disappointed with. Could have done better, and the harsh midday sun certainly didn't help, but the end result was OK. Got a lot of positive comments from the riders, which is always nice.

Definitely a good plan. As I mentioned earlier in this thread the two rest points are the best photo ops...

If u can squeeze in the waterloo stop as well then you are laughing :)

Regent's park to Waterloo on the tube.
Then jump back on to Holborn and meet the ride at Lincoln fields

Is Westminster Bridge one of those? I took some good pics there last year, thinking of doing that again this year.

We did get stuck on Westminster Bridge for awhile but that was unintentional I think. The planned stop was at the square outside county hall. So just over Westminster Bridge and take a left and it's immediately on your left side.

You can never really tell with the London ride. Last year there were stops all over the place, mostly not planned. The riders got back to Wellington Arch in three distinct groups. The unpredictable nature of this one is why I've stuck with the start and finish in years gone by. But last time it was just awful at both ends.

spots
 

you could always just ride them. that way you'd be with the ride the whole way.

The start and end of the brighton ride are quite special but with london head to lincoln's inn as this is a long(ish) stop most years