Keep your pants on: Surprise is the worst city in the U.S. for naked biking

Who knew?

June 6, 2023

Put some pants on before you take a ride in Arizona. Conal Gallagher/Flickr/CC by 2.0

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LawnStarter, the national yard service website that gets its name out there by conducting studies and sending press releases like "2023’s Best States for Urban Treasure Hunters" and "2023's Best Cities for Remote Workers," is back with a new one.

Tuesday, the company released "2023's Best Cities for Naked Biking," and we regret to say that Arizona is well-represented at the bottom end of the scale.

Surprise is officially the worst city in the country for nude cycling, although Glendale (third-worst) and Chandler (ninth-worst) also made the list.

LawnStarter notes in its report how it arrived at the rankings.

"First, we determined the factors (metrics) that are most relevant to rank the Best Cities for Naked Biking. We then assigned a weight to each factor based on its importance and grouped those factors into five categories: Naked Biking Popularity, Cyclist-Friendliness, Nudist-Friendliness, Safety, and Climate. ... For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we then gathered data on each factor. ... Finally, we calculated scores (out of 100 points) for each city to determine its rank in each factor, each category, and overall. A city’s Overall Score is the average of its scores across all factors and categories."

Arizona cities ranked low in part because of our several penalties under public nudity laws, the report says.

According to LawnStarter's study, Philadelphia is the best city in the U.S. for naked biking, followed by Portland, Ore., Seattle, New York City and Austin, Texas.

The LawnStarter study coincides with the kickoff of the World Naked Bike Ride events, a series of rides that take place now through September. The global movement started in 2003 to protest oil dependency. Today, bikers ride to promote safer cycling infrastructure and body positivity. The website notes that the organization is looking for people to put together a 2023 ride in Phoenix; interested parties can inquire through the World Naked Bike Ride Los Angeles webpage.

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Jennifer Goldberg is the culture editor of Phoenix New Times where she oversees the Best of Phoenix, as well as writes and publishes profiles of both local and regional musicians, previews upcoming performances and provides guides on the best of Phoenix’s entertainment scene. She joined the New Times staff in February 2016. Before that, she worked for Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. During her career, Jennifer has received awards from the Arizona Press Club, the Arizona Newspaper Association and the American Jewish Press Association. She holds a bachelor’s of arts in English from Arizona State University.

Contact: Jennifer Goldberg

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