{"id":142555,"date":"2025-09-14T04:28:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T04:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/142555\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T04:28:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T04:28:10","slug":"cyclists-ride-naked-in-houston-to-advocate-for-road-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/142555\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclists ride naked in Houston to advocate for road safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/55DE386C4B30389B08E0D97DE32481F4.jpg\" alt=\"Naked cyclists protest Houston bike accommodation\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-7a5d4fdb=\"\"\/>    <\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">HOUSTON &#8211; Cyclists in Houston took to the streets in a bold demonstration, riding naked to raise awareness about road safety and vulnerability.<\/p>\n<p>   Houston naked cyclists <\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">In a striking display of advocacy, participants of the World Naked Bike Ride pedaled through Houston Saturday, aiming to send a message to city leaders, including Mayor John Whitmire.<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">The event, part of a nationwide movement, saw cyclists in various states of undress, highlighting their vulnerability on the roads.<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ftskdfw.slack.com\/archives\/D092219HZMM\/p1757813483922269\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">State data from TX-DOT<\/a> reveals the gravity of the situation: 17 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes across Harris County in 2024, including eight in Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">In 2025, 13 cyclists have already lost their lives, with four fatalities in Houston.<\/p>\n<p> \u2018The city has been ignoring what\u2019s safe\u2019 <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bike-lanes_1523289532326_5307169_ver1.0_640_360.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-v-0dea8073=\"\"\/>  <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KRIV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">Ethan Hail, a cyclist, emphasized the need for change.<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">&#8220;We gotta bring awareness to what\u2019s going on here. The city has been ignoring what\u2019s safe. We gotta rectify that change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">Mike, another cyclist, shared his personal connection to the cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">&#8220;That demonstrates our vulnerability. We\u2019re all naked on the bike. Even with a helmet, you\u2019re not protected by a car,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">Mike recounted his own experience of being hit by a car, resulting in broken bones, and the tragic loss of a friend who died after a collision.<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">The ride also served as a protest against Mayor Whitmire, whom cyclists accuse of hostility towards the cycling community.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">Jay Chowderee, a supporter, criticized Whitmire&#8217;s decision to remove bike lanes on Austin Street without voter approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">&#8220;It was his idea to remove the bike lanes on Austin Street, and he did this without getting voter approval,&#8221; Chowderee said.<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">Ethan Hail added, &#8220;Whitmire has to listen to people instead of ignore us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">Michael Caughey, a partner of the World Naked Bike Ride, called for collaboration.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-6fc2855c=\"\">&#8220;We\u2019re all in this together. We\u2019re not trying to condemn you or the ideas that you have. When you do something, give us a chance to respond. Give us a chance to work together.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"group-source-paragraph\" data-v-4fbf7207=\"\">The Source: FOX 26&#8217;s Jonathan Mejia spoke with cyclists who attended the event.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/tag\/us\/tx\/houston\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-6fc2855c=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Houston<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON &#8211; Cyclists in Houston took to the streets in a bold demonstration, riding naked to raise awareness&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,1443,44,82,1461,182],"class_list":["post-142555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-houston","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-tx","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}