RIDERS are being invited to cycle as bare as they dare when Colchester joins the World Naked Bike Ride next month.

The naked protest – to highlight the risks cyclists run every day on the roads – has been staged in past years in more than 50 towns and cities worldwide, including Clacton and Chelmsford.

Thousands of riders have participated worldwide, including about 3,000 a year in the UK. The organisers say the riders’ nakedness is meant to symbolise the vulnerability of cyclists in traffic, to celebrate the bicycle and the body and protest against the car culture.

Colchester event co-organiser Robert Brown said: “The response this year has been amazing. For every negative comment, we get 100 positive ones.”

Anyone interested in joining in the event, on Saturday, July 11 is asked to meet under the Jumbo water tower next to the Mercury Theatre, at 1pm, ready to pedal off at 2pm.

Riders do not have to be completely nude, though it is encouraged. they are also asked to customise their bikes in colourful ways and attach protest signs to them.