There seems to a recent trend of naked hikers and bikers making it into the news. Apparently, last Sunday (which was also Father’s day) was “Naked Hiking Day”. Here’s an online article from an Indian website if you’d like to learn a little more about Naked hiking day.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Nude-hikers-set-to-celebrate-Naked-Hiking-Day-tomorrow/479190

Ironically, it was on Naked Hiking day, that Governor Sanford of South Carolina was alone hiking on the Appalachian trial.  Or maybe he was in Argentina, and there isn’t really anything that ironic. But hey, I’m not here to judge…

Up in Boulder they have been doing this sort of thing for years, but recently here in Colorado Springs some brave young naturalists have gotten into the act.  See the Gazette article here about the atrocities to which my family was subjected:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/naked-56988-riders-ride.html

I mention they were wearing underwear, because they had apparently been warned by the City Attorney’s Office: “‘They said we could end up on the sex offender registry,’ said John, who, like the other riders in the event, declined to give his last name after hearing warnings that naked riders could be ticketed for indecent exposure. ”

And it’s a good thing they were wearing underwear, too. There is an old proverb that goes something like,”It’s a bad idea to go out for a bike ride and come home on a registry.”  Words to live by.

So yes, it is true, if you plan on hiking or biking or playing Ultimate Frisbee in the nude in public you probably shouldn’t do it. But what about other states of undress? What do you need to cover up and be safe? There are two Colorado State Statutues of which you should be mindful when planning your biking attire. The first is C.R.S. 18-7-302, Indecent Exposure. It reads, “A person commits indecent exposure if he knowingly exposes his genitals to the view of any person under circumstances in which such conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm to the other person.”

Indecent Exposure is a class 1 misdemeanor and can land you in the clink for up to 18 months. But it can also land you on thesex offender registry.  But we’re talking about genitals here. You might ask, what about other body parts? Like the breasts or buttocks?  Let’s keep looking at the law. State law also prohibits what it calls “public indecency.” It is a Class One Petty Offense. C.R.S. 18-7-301 states, ” Any person who performs any of the following in a public place or where the conduct may reasonably be expected to be viewed by members of the public commits public indecency:…
(c) a lewd exposure of the body done with intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desire of any person.”
So under this statute, any lewd exposure of the body could be illegal, it really depends on your intent.

If you’re planning on doing any sort of nude activities within city limits you should be mindful of the city code as well. In Colorado Springs, the pertinent City Ordinance is 9.4.103: PUBLIC INDECENCY:

It is unlawful for any person to knowingly perform any of the following acts in a publicplace or a place within public view:

A.An Act Involving Sexual Conduct Or Activity: For the purposes of this section, the termsexual conduct or activity” shall mean any act involving contact between the genitals ofone person and the mouth, hand, anus or genitals of either that person or anotherperson, including genital intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation or analintercourse. ”

B.A Lewd Act: For the purposes of this section, any of the following constitutes a lewd act:

1. Exposure of the breasts of the female or the pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals orbuttocks of either sex, done with intent to arouse or to satisfy the sexual desire of eitherthe person committing the act or any other person.

2. Caressing or fondling of the breasts of the female or the pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals or buttocks of either sex, either on the person of that person performing the actor on the person of another, whether or not the person being caressed or fondled isclothed.

C.An Act Involving Public Nudity: For the purposes of this section, the term “public nudity” shall mean knowingly appearing in any public place in a nude state or state of undresssuch that the genitals or buttocks of either sex or the breast or breasts of a female areexposed. Exposure of the female breast or breasts for purposes of breastfeeding shallnot be a violation of this section. (Ord. 4517; 1968 Code �8-31; Ord. 81-61; Ord. 83-257; Ord. 01-42; Ord. 02-213)

As you would imagine, the city of Colorado Springs takes it a step further than the State Statute, and says you can’t engage in a public act of nudity that exposes your breasts (Only for the ladies. Fellas, feel free to doff that top) or buttocks.  But what about duct tape? Or paint? Is this still considering “exposing” the area? We might have to try and convince a jury it’s not, and that might get costly. So keep your tops on, unless you’re breatsfeeding (see above). But most of all, don’t bike and breastfeed at the same time. That’s just dangerous, and no one wants to see that.