Naked Bike Ride organiser tells of attack during event

TWO men were attacked at the World Naked Bike Ride in Coventry.

Organiser Joe Swanton-fallowell says he and one of the marshals were ‘kicked by yobs.’

Dozens of activists descended on the city centre for the protest aimed at exposing the climate change conversation.

However, things took a nasty turn at around 2pm when Joe and the marshal were assaulted by two men.

Explaining what happened, Joe said: “We had set off from Earlsdon and had turned down Albany Road.

“As we were heading down the street, two yobs came past on really highpowered electric bikes and as they were coming past they kicked out at one of the marshals and at me as ride leader.

“We both went down, the marshal went down quite heavily, I didn’t, so I escaped fortunately without injury, but the marshal unfortunately broke his elbow as a result of the attack.”

Speaking about how the attack made him feel, Joe said: “You do accept that sometimes you are going to get a little bit of verbal abuse on the ride, which is one thing, but physical abuse is another level.

“I have been doing these rides since 2015 and it is the first time that has ever happened in my experience.

“Ultimately, it is difficult because on one level you are hurt, you are just trying to do your thing, but also you get the feeling that they are trying to stop you from protesting and that someone has a moral objection to you. It is not very pleasant.”

But Joe maintains that the ‘nasty’ incident did not dampen riders’ spirits, saying: “Honestly, the rest of the group ride went very well, and there was generally a very positive response from the people we saw in the city centre. So it didn’t ruin our day really, it just added a slightly negative aspect to it.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “Sadly there are no investigative opportunities at this time that allow us identify the suspect. This will have been a nasty shock for the man who came off his bike and I hope he’s not been deterred from riding.”