Naked In San Francisco

San Francisco has to be one of the more liberal cities in the US. The city allows public nudity during certain events. One of these events is the Bay to Breakers road race in mid-May. It runs from the Embarcadero, which is the bay side of the city, to Ocean Beach on the Pacific side. Hence Bay to Breakers http://baytobreakers.com/

For some, the race is serious with elites racing for prize and glory and others for a personal effort. For most though it is one long party that is 12K or 7.9 miles to be exact. Runners and participants dress is costume and spectators have festivities going on along the route. Then there are the few who choose to do it sans clothing. Some will do it solo but there is a group that calls themselves Bare to Breaker who are easily identifiable on course by their fluorescent green caps as well as being naked.

Imagine walking almost 8 miles completely nude through one of the biggest, most well-known cities in the world. This was on my bucket list of things to do for a long time. Note that I said “was”. That’s because last year I took an opportunity to do the race while visiting SF.

One thing that worried me was the weather. SF is known to be cold and cloudy. The days leading up to the race was just that plus some rain. On the morning of the race the clouds parted and the sun shone bright. I met the B2Ber’s at a predesignated spot near the start. Since this was my first time I wanted some company. We walked to the corrals to wait and the party started. Those I were with got naked right away. It was cold in the shadows of the buildings so I stayed dressed.

Who thought of tossing tortillas like Frisbees? We may never find out but it is a great way to pass time till the start. As soon as the coral in front of us started is when I finally bared myself. I was nervous as hell being surrounded by clothed and costumed runners but no one really seemed to pay much attention. Let me say that my anxiety level was maxing out. When we finally got into the sun I felt better. Still, walking naked in the middle of a crowd, with thousands of spectators lining the street was an experience of a lifetime.

The Greek Olympians had it right, do it naked. But, physical activity does tend to tighten the guy parts up. Still, I had 2 ass slaps from women running past as well as numerous photo requests. People I met along the way were great and very open to my being nude. There were even nuns from Game of Thrones walking behind me ringing their bells chanting “Shame”. Some of the other nudies were in some sort of costume but I wanted to be au natural except for my hat and shoes.

The event was well run and when we got to Golden Gate Park the course felt a lot different. There were picnickers and people having fun, bands playing and a few weird nudies. One guy had a hard on and was pointing it towards the finish as if to say “go that way”. Another guy looked like Jesus and laid in the middle of the roadway so people had to go around him. After 3 ½ hours we finally got to the end. I really didn’t want to get dressed but put on my clothes to walk over to Bakers Beach. I’ll write about that another time.

Admittingly I am a bit of an exhibitionist. Not the trench coat perverted kind but I feel good when people see me as nature made me. I’m not ashamed of myself and prefer to be nude. I wanted to go again this year but plans didn’t allow it. If you as I do then you have to do this. I guaranty it’ll be an experience you’ll enjoy.

A hui hoe