Naked bicyclist, son, 3, arrested

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Naked cyclists converged on Vancouver’s main police station Saturday after a man was arrested with his 3-year-old son during a nude ride earlier in the day.

Naked Bike Ride spokesman Conrad Schmidt said six squad cars and a paddy wagon showed up as the group of about 75 naked cyclists arrived along the city’s English Bay.

Police Constable Jana McGuinness told the Canadian Press that several people called police, concerned about the child’s well-being. Police arrived and reached an agreement with the man that both he and his child would wear underwear during the ride.

But as he left to join the group on the ride, the man stripped off his and his son’s clothes. The father was arrested at the scene of the bike ride under public nudity laws.

Schmidt said the boy was in tears as police took him and his father away, and the arrest prompted the group to cycle through downtown Vancouver to the police station.

But not all the cyclists who made the trip supported the protest.

“The leaders of this event do not support what the guy did,” said one cyclist who declined to give her name. “I think that’s wrong. The kid’s a minor.”

McGuinness said it appeared afterward that the man regretted his actions.

“When they were leaving (the scene) it was under the understanding that perhaps he hadn’t shown the best judgment; there were a number of people that took offense to the child being naked in the group and subjected to people’s scrutiny,” she said.