New Zealander asks court to approve nude cycling ,judge rules nude cyclist not offensive

Wellington - A New Zealand High Court judge Tuesday quashed the conviction of a 40-year-old man for riding a bicycle naked on a public road, ruling that his action was not offensive. Nick Lowe, a Wellington builder, was fined 200 New Zealand dollars (140 US dollars) by a lower court that found him guilty of offensive behaviour when he rode his bike on a quiet rural road in Upper Hutt, 32 kilometres north of Wellington, on last year's World Nude Bike Day.

He was charged after a passing motorist objected and called police.

Lowe took his case to the High Court last month, arguing that New Zealanders had become more tolerant towards nudity.

He cited nudity in street parades, National Nude Day, Naked Wedding Day and a recent naked cycle on the Central Otago Rail Trail as proof that "we are not as puritan as we used to be."

"It's a lifestyle thing," Lowe told the Dominion Post newspaper at the time. "To put clothes on is uncomfortable. It's not about exhibitionism, I'm just uncomfortable in clothes.

"I walk around the house naked, I mow the lawns naked, I'll do the garden naked. A lot of smelly, sweaty clothes - why do that when you don't need to?"

[link to www.earthtimes.org]