The Naked Truth

How could I highlight a day which began with a flight to Seattle and ended with a glass of white wine at the Marriott while meeting Annie's colleagues? In between, the hours were filled with planned geocaching trips around Seattle, a visit with some old friends and my first trip to Safeco Field to see the Mariners win over the New York Mets.

Well, there was one other event inserted into the busy day: the Fremont Fair Parade and several dozen naked bodies. I've coined the phrase "Pedal Pushing for Panty Waists" to fit my style of bike riding on back roads during road trips.

This morning I'm searching my brain for a way to describe what I saw yesterday as I stretched my neck to see the action in front of crowds six deep along Fremont's streets. Some were painted red, white and blue. Some were sparkled with gold or silver body paint. One looked like a bumble bee.

They included adults of all ages and genders. The gender of each participant was more than obvious in this crowd of merrymakers as they pedaled up and down the cement to seductive music and cheering onlookers. This country bumpkin from the farm saw more raw life of the human form in 30 minutes yesterday than I've ever seen on TV or in Playboy magazine. It certainly surpassed anything I'd ever witnessed in the barnyard.

Annie saw it, and so did Bill. We joined thousands of parade goers who stood in amazement as the proud, painted naked bodies on bikes zipped up and down the street and darted in and out of other parade participants, including the 60-plus belly dancers, dressed in red.

Of course, strange thoughts went through my head while witnessing such an event---what must it feel like on a hot afternoon sitting on that bicycle seat with no protection between your underside and that sweaty leather or vinyl. I don't really want to think that thought, but it's possible some of the participants could have some gory details to share after yesterday's performance.

It was also strange later when Annie and I both remarked at the same time, upon seeing a biker wearing shorts and T-shirt that he seemed over-dressed. I do know after that experience that I'll never think of biking in quite the same way, and I also know that yesterday's experience did not tempt me in the least to ever consider taking up "Pedal Pushing in the Raw."

Our Saturday was a great day, filled with many other memorable moments. It was great to see my old friend Merriam Merriman, her hubby, Larry, their daughter Megan and hubby Rob and the delight of all their lives, Tyler, a son and grandson who's obviously loved and adored.

We had a great time at the game where everyone was wearing clothes---lots of Mariner garb but plenty of Mets hats and jackets. When it was over, World Series phenom Pedro Martinez had lost his second game for the year, and the Mariners crowd was ecstatic with the 4-1 win.

We watched a Mariners star, Sexson thrown out of the game and marveled at a Met who dived into the crowd and suffered an injury while catching a foul ball for a third out. We also agree now that Safeco Field is a fun place to spend a few hours, eating, watching people and enjoying baseball.

Today, it's on to Rainier. The Seattle skies are cloudless and blue this morning, so we're planning to see some wonderful sights of the naked outdoors. I'm hoping all the bikers are wearing more clothes than I saw yesterday.