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Bristol Naked Bike Ride rerouted to avoid neo-Nazi & anti-Fascist clash

That Nigel Farage is round the corner, too ...

Bristol had been due to play host tomorrow to one of the more bizarre sights in the city’s rich history with an English Defence League rally on College Green set to be opposed by anti-fascist demonstrators – and the World Naked Bike Ride scheduled to ride through the middle of them at the same time.

It’s the sort of thing that doubtless would have had local TV stations cancelling news staff leave for the day and trying to scrounge extra cameras and other kit from colleagues elsewhere to ensure they gave it full coverage (perhaps not the best phrase in the case of the cyclists).

But on Friday evening, organisers of the bike ride said they would change the route to avoid clashing with the far right group

The EDL, after meeting in a pub – not an Irish one at a wild guess, and it’s unclear whether they’ll have booked the whole venue or just the snug bar – will be protesting about refugees. They are due at College Green between 1.15 and 1.30pm, the vagueness presumably down to whether drinks will take longer to order because they refuse being served by a member of staff who happens not to be British.

From noon, in the centre of the square, anti-fascists will gather to give support to refugees and protest against the presence of the neo-Nazis in the city, with a sizeable police presence expected to ensure order is kept.

According to the Bristol Post, the bike ride will be starting from a pub, too – the Full Moon, if you really had to ask – and the riders, protesting against pollution and climate change while highlighting the fragility of the human body.

It too had been due to hit College Green between 1.15 and 1.30pm before the change of route – although some might be of the opinion that there will still be a few pricks on show there.

And while all this is going on, none other than UKIP leader Nigel Farage will be addressing a United Kingdom Independence Party just down the road.

Co-ordinator Will Bryson said: "The Naked Bike Ride is a fun and friendly protest with the atmosphere of a rolling carnival, and we don't want to be near any unpleasant confrontations.

He added: "It's important the ride goes ahead. Research from last year found that eight in ten Bristol residents want better safety for people riding bikes, and 70 per cent of residents want to see more investment in cycling."

No doubt the World Naked Bike Ride will attract its fair share of curious locals, but at least the football season’s over – otherwise there could have been be way too many Bristol City fans around for comfort.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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brooksby | 8 years ago
1 like

Well, the Bristol Post's below-the-line commenters have surpassed themselves: apparently being nude in public even on something like this is in and of itself the same as becoming a registered sex offender or a facist (sic), and in any case roughly equivalent to the activities of the late Mr Saville.  And apparently even nude cyclists all ride along footpaths, red light jump and scare small children and deserve to be banned or run over or something. Ah, I love my adopted home city  yes

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BSausage | 8 years ago
0 likes

Chapeau sir!

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lushmiester | 8 years ago
0 likes

What can you say?... other than chapeau to the writer and bonne route to the cyclists.

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Fish_n_Chips | 8 years ago
2 likes

EDL members need to grow some I.Q. points.

 

Nazi scum can bugger off.

 

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Scoob_84 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Go nudies!! we salute you!!

 

hopefully some flesh and maybe some nips will sway these bigots to chiled the hell out

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handlebarcam | 8 years ago
1 like

With all this disruption, at least Farage will have a better excuse if he is late than the M4 being busy due to immigrants. And he'll have seen some bendy bananas, or some things that look quite similar, on the way in, so he'll be in a good mood. Then again, multiple different Bristols, all shapes and sized and colours, might offend him.

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Canyon48 | 8 years ago
3 likes

Possibly the most well written article I've ever read on road.cc :')

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Wolfcastle50 | 8 years ago
2 likes

What a beautifully written article!

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MikeOnABike | 8 years ago
4 likes

"and it’s unclear whether they’ll have booked the whole venue or just the snug bar" - made me snort tea out of my nose.

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