Day 7 – Rider Spoke - really a bike ride

After midnight when we were sent off around Brighton on our bikes with headphones a small mike and a wireless Nokia GPS device.

What a place
Brighton after midnight is as lively as other towns at 8 pm. I saw a full football match between, what sounded like, Spanish or South American boys, a basketball game on the floodlit seafront court, dozens of small groups with fires on the beach, clubbers, lovers, the homeless, Frisbee throwers, other cyclists and even a couple dancing a waltz to their own music. It was great to just cycle around, sober, and just watch.

Techo disappointment
What was disappointing was the technology and its use. We were instructed to stop and record our answers to questions that appeared on the screens. There were pseudo-psychological, confessional questions, such as ‘Tell us about your father’. I soon lost interest in this. This type of technology is about groups, social activity and communication, not some Baby Boomer's Freudian obsessions. They missed the point. As for the claim that it combines 'theatre with gameplay' - no way. There's no game element in the experience at all.

Great fun anyway. The World naked Bike Ride is on Sat 7 June at 11am on The Level - be there and be bare.