The WNBR 2014 season came to a grand finale on Saturday afternoon, as the Philly ride took to the streets right on schedule at 5-pm.
The organizers should be pleased with the turnout. At the start in the park, the group of riders appeared to be larger than last year, and there were additional riders who joined along the route.
Previous rides have been held on Sunday afternoons when the center of the city is relatively empty, but this year the organizers changed to a Saturday, so that out of town riders wouldn't have to rush home for work the next day, and the date was changed from Labor Day weekend, or before, to the week after the holiday, so all the college kids would be back in town and have a chance to ride.
This route took them right through the city center twice, with riders filling the busy narrow shopping streets of Arch and Chestnut, as well as Market, and the surprised shoppers and tourists appeared to get a kick out of it, as they scrambled for their cell phone cameras. And, there were some DSLR guys around too, riding along in a pickup truck, and on bikes along side the group. So, let's hope somebody got some great pictures.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast all week has been for scattered thundershowers, and you have to wonder how many potential riders stayed home because of the weather threat. There was a flash of lightning to the South, and a clap of thunder as the ride was kicking off, but the heavy rain stayed away. Actually, a bit of a shower might have been welcomed to cool things off. The temperature was approaching 9O F, or 32-C, and it was humid, By the half way point many riders had worked up quite a sweat.
When it comes to naked female riders, the number was a bit of a disappointment. There were plenty of females, but nude colored bottom coverings were deceptively intriguing until you got close enough to see clearly what was going on. And there appeared to be more of those "nude" coverings than the genuine article.
Still there were some very attractive, and brave, ladies wearing not much more than some paint and a smile. I only noticed a few repeat riders among the women, and none who usually ride totally in the raw. Saturdays may be good for some people, but others may have other things going, while their Sunday afternoons may be free. You can't please everyone.
As mentioned above, there were several after-parties scheduled, and one venue was allowing the riders to party naked, so there may be some interesting stories, and, possibly, some pictures, from there.
Now, we'll just have to wait for the pictures to start appearing, but I figure some devotees would be interested in hearing how it went as soon as possible.
