What started as a small birthday bike ride among friends has grown into one of the most exhilarating group bike rides in the city. You can spot the group easily - the riders are all in their undies.
The Underwear Bike Ride is a running series of group bike tours around some of Milwaukee’s lesser known bike routes and most picturesque views of the the city. Local bike advocate and music lover Steve Roche started the ride and is now using it to promote positive self body image and he’s started collecting the unneeded clothes for a local charity.
It also helped kickstart the website MKEBKE - a comprehensive resource for the bicycle community in Milwaukee.
He wants to show people how easy and fun it can be to get around the city by bicycle and hopefullly encourage more people to get on their bikes and out of their cars.
I met up with Steve and about 200 of his friends on a recent Thursday night near the starting point at the empty lot near Warren and Brady St. Listen to the audio story to hear how it came together and get some impressions from a few of these bold bikers.
Steve will be hosting several more Underwear Rides throughout the summer - see dates below.
2012 Milwaukee Underwear Bike Ride dates: July 12th, August 16th, September 13th