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A clothing-optional bike ride through the streets of Edmonton scheduled for Saturday is rankling some people, who argue that the event amounts to indecent exposure.

Those organizing and participating in World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) Edmonton, on the other hand, say that the event is a protest meant to promote both body positivity and the use of bicycles as a sustainable energy transportation choice.

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“The WNBR ride in Edmonton demonstrates that nudity and sexual behaviour are completely separate,” read a statement from event organizers. “No one gets to choose their bodies, and we have to live with them, so to some this ride is a validating form of self-expression.”

Peter Downing, the executive director of the Alberta Fights Back activist group, says public displays like this offend him and other Edmontonians.

“There are lots of private beaches, private trails, private clubs, all that kind of stuff, where if you’re a so-called naturist, you can go and be naked and do your own thing,” he said.