Naked for Nature

Cathy had moved down to Sussex after university and had a good job with a local conservation charity. She lived in a shared house with two other twenty something young women, both professionals who were very career focused and earned rather more than she did. They all got on well, despite Cathy thinking that her housemates were a bit shallow and materialistic and them thinking that she was a bit of a tree hugging hippy.

One evening they were having a bit of a girl's night, enjoying a couple of drinks and watching a chick flick. Cathy's face was coated in an organic green face mask that was supposed to be good for her skin, while her housemates were busy painting their toenails and comparing cosmetics. Cathy mentioned a new project at work to make a local nature reserve into a haven for water voles. As ever, funding was a problem, but a grant of several thousand pounds was available if they could match the funds themselves.

'Water voles?'

'The population has declined by 97%. Mink eat them.'

'Are they cute?'

Cathy wondered how it was possible for somebody to be so ignorant of British wildlife, but found some images on her phone.

'How cuddly! I used to have a hamster that looked like that.'

'Why not do do something and get sponsored for it? You could raise quite a bit if you did it right.'

Cathy was never entirely clear as to what marketing actually meant, but thought her housemate who 'did something in marketing' might just be on to something.

'You need something with a high profile that's going to attract the green pound.'

'What about the Naked Bike Ride? They've been doing that every summer for the last few years in Brighton. Aren't they all naturalists?'

Cathy explained the difference between naturists and naturalists, and that the WNBR was about oil dependency and road safety for cyclists. She was a cyclist herself, and didn't even have a driving licence, unlike her housemates who both had cars. She was also well aware of the WNBR, but had never taken part.

'It's not really about conservation', she said, 'And I don't think that people get sponsored to do it.'

'What you need is an angle, something to make it more interesting.'

'You mean like doing it in fancy dress?'

'That wouldn't be naked, would it?'

'So what do people do with their clothes during the ride?'

After a bit of online research, they discovered that people undressed at the starting point, put their clothes in a backpack or saddlebag and got dressed again at the end at the nude beach. A lot of participants would go for a quick skinny dip before they got dressed and made their way home.

'Not everybody goes fully naked...'

'But most do.'

'And it's mainly men.'

'About 60/40, although far more men go fully naked than women.'

'And a lot of them are more interested in each other. This is Brighton, after all.'

'OK, so how about if somebody did it properly naked. Left home without any clothes, did the ride and then went back, all starkers?'

'So they'd be doing the ride as part of a nude-a-thon, right? Instead of being naked just for the ride, they'd be naked for the whole day!'

Cathy wasn't sure about where the conversation was going, but felt she had to inject some reality into the proceedings.

'By "somebody" you mean me, I suppose? How am I going to cycle 12 miles to Brighton on a busy summer Saturday, stark naked, and not get stopped by the police? And even if I manage that, how will I get back?'

'Easy. You don't have to cycle all the way - my brother's got a van. He can take you to the start point and then pick you up from the nude beach. OK, you'll be a bit exposed when he picks you up and drops you off, but with all the other naked bodies around it shouldn't be a problem.'

'Your brother?'

'Yes, the one you met. The one you fancied until you realised he's totally gay. He'll be up for it - he'll think it's a great laugh, and there's a seat in the back of the van so no one will be able to see you once you're inside.'

'Well, I suppose it's possible....'

A couple of days later, her housemates told her that they had run the idea past various people at work and they reckoned that she could get a lot of sponsorship. Cathy told them that she needed to raise £5000, and she doubted that she could raise that much even with her friends' help.

'If we can get £5000 in sponsorship, will you do it?'

'OK, if you can get that much.'

'Brilliant - you'll be like Lady Godiva for the water hamsters!'

'Voles!'

'Whatever.'

Cathy didn't think they'd be able to raise that much, but she had to consider the possibility. She wasn't prudish about nudity, and had been known to skinny dip while on holiday, but this was a daunting challenge. The WNBR was intimidating enough, but they were talking about her spending the whole day out with no clothes available at all! That evening, she stood naked in front of her mirror and contemplated herself. She wasn't exactly skinny, but according to her last medical checkup her BMI was exactly what it should be. She had long wavy brown hair, glasses and still looked like a student. She didn't bother much with make up and tended to wear loose, baggy clothes. Her housemates thought she was a bit frumpy, but they went to the other extreme with clothes and make up.

Her figure was pretty good underneath her shapeless clothes. Her boobs were a generous a cup or a stingy b cup, depending on how you looked at it, but were perky, firm and didn't vanish when she lay down. Her nipples were pink and prominent enough that they poked through most of her tops. She owned 3 bras, which she only wore if necessary, and about 2 weeks worth of plain cotton knickers, although in summer time she would sometimes wear a long skirt with nothing underneath. Her housemates had lingerie for every occasion, all bright colours and lace trimmings. She shaved her legs and armpits in summer, but left her bush untrimmed. Her ex boyfriends had all found her attractive, but she knew that she wasn't glamorous and hardly the stuff of adolescent male fantasies. Could she see herself cycling naked through the streets of Brighton? Slightly to her surprise, she could.

A few days later there was another surprise.

'You're a trending hashtag on Twitter,and there's been loads of hits on the Facebook page. We're past £4,000 already!'

'Twitter! Facebook! What are you on about!'

'Relax, we haven't identified you, just put out the word that a beautiful young conservationist will spend the whole Saturday of the WNBR naked in order to raise funds for a conservation project. There'll be a blog, of course, and we'll need some photos as evidence, but this thing is really taking off!'

'Photos?'

'Of course there'll be photos. Loads of people will get snaps of you on the ride - just search WNBR on any photo sharing site. You just need photos to prove you've done the whole day naked - you can easily take a selfie without showing your bits and bobs.'

'Yeah, you need to keep it discreet and tasteful.'

'And of course we'll help with the blog.'

'Why don't you join me on the ride if you like it that much?'

'It wouldn't go down well at work, but in your position you don't have to worry about that!'

They showed her some examples of naked selfies, and by posing carefully she realised that she could get a suitable image that showed she was naked without compromising her modesty. It then occurred to her that she was taking naked selfies and enjoying it, something that would have been unbelievable a few weeks previously. Then there was work to think about...

'Well, Cathy, it's certainly a bold initiative, and it won't count against you in any way. I think it would be better if you didn't display the name of the charity, though. Some of our corporate sponsors are a bit shy of anything that isn't family friendly.'

'How would I display the name of the charity?'

'Lots of people have slogans painted on their bodies. 'One less car', 'can you see me now?', that kind of thing. I assumed you'd have some kind of conservation slogan painted on you, seeing as that's why you're doing it.'

'Oh, I see. Thanks for being so understanding about it. I'll think of a suitable slogan.'

'I had 'burn fat not oil' painted on my back last time I did it.'

'Did you really...'

'Don't look so shocked! Check out the photos from 2 years ago if you don't believe me!'

It looked like she'd have no choice but to go through with it. Her manager was not only supportive, but he'd even done the same thing himself! The sponsorship was almost in place, and it seemed that everyone wanted her to get out there and bare herself to the world (or at least Brighton). She had to admit that she was starting to look forward to it.

On Friday, two weeks before the big day, Cathy got home and as usual had a shower. She didn't get dressed afterwards, but went downstairs to join her housemates.

'Getting in a bit of practice, are we?'

'Well seeing as you two put me up for this stunt, it's only fair that you help me get used to the idea.'

'No problem, sweetie. It's nothing we haven't seen before!'

As is often the case with women sharing accommodation, they regularly saw each other in varying states of undress. This was a little bit different, but Cathy was a bit disappointed that her housemates took it in their stride so easily. Neither of them suggested that they all get naked together, though, which was what she had hoped for. Aside from her fellow riders, everybody she saw on the day would be fully dressed, plus she rather enjoyed being the only one naked. Later on her friends went out, while Cathy stayed in, made a couple of calls and had a bit of me time. Her parents and her brother had been a bit surprised when she told them, but they were pretty laid back about most things and fully supported her commitment to conservation and green causes.

She had a bit of a lie in on Saturday morning, but was still the first to surface. She slept naked, and didn't bother to put on her dressing gown when she got up - in fact, it didn't even occur to her. She was having coffee, checking emails and half watching Saturday Kitchen when the first of her housemates surfaced.

'Still going for it then?'

'What? Oh yeah, hope you don't mind.'

'Don't worry, neither of us brought back any strange men last night!'

On Saturday the girls usually did a few household chores, and this week the other two went off to the supermarket while Cathy, still naked, did a bit of tidying up. They had lunch together, and it was looking like a lovely day.

'Let's get some rays in the garden this afternoon.'

'Good idea - Cathy needs to work on her all over tan.'

'What about the neighbours?'

'Don't worry, I don't think they can see into the garden, and anyway, it's none of their business.'

Cathy wasn't so sure that the garden wasn't overlooked, but the fence was high enough that anybody in the next house would only be able to see over from the bedroom, and even then would only be able to see part of the garden. It felt quite naughty to be sunbathing naked out there, especially with her housemates in their designer bikinis. They had a pleasant couple of hours before going back in.

'Cathy, you sleep naked don't you?'

'Yes, why?'

'Do you realise that you've now been naked for nearly 24 hours?'

'I suppose I have, but I'll have to get dressed to go out tonight.'

'Even so, that's pretty good going.'

The next morning Cathy nipped out to the village shop and bumped into the woman who lived next door, one half of a slightly bohemian couple who had something to do with the university.

'How's the all over tan coming on?'

'Oops! Sorry, I didn't think anybody could see into the garden.'

'Don't worry about it - we do the same thing ourselves. I was more shocked that your housemates kept their bikinis on than I was by your bare bum.'

'What about your husband?'

'He wasn't there, but it wouldn't faze him in the slightest, the old hippy reprobate!'

So Cathy wound up explaining about the dare, and her neighbour promised that she and her husband would sponsor her and give her their full support, whatever that meant. Neither of them had been on a naked bike ride, but her neighbour seemed quite taken with the idea, although it wouldn't be possible for them to participate this time.

A pleasant spring looked like turning in to a lovely summer, and it had quickly become normal for Cathy to be naked at home most of the time. A couple of evenings after she had bumped into her neighbour there was a knock at the door, and one of her housemates answered and came back into,the living room with their neighbours.

'Maybe I should put something on.'

'It's OK, unless you really want to. After all, half of Brighton will be seeing you starkers soon!'

So Cathy stayed as she was. The woman explained that she and her husband were interested in the conservation project, and her husband wanted to find out a bit more about it. He sat down opposite her, and she saw a middle aged man with long grey hair and the slightly glazed expression of the habitual stoner, an impression made stronger by the unmistakeable aroma of hash emanating from him. In the next 30 minutes he grilled her about the conservation project, and she was impressed by how focused and knowledgable he was. She quickly forgot that she was naked in front of a man she had barely spoken to before and a vigorous discussion ensued.

'And the sponsorship form is online?'

'Yes.'

'I know a lot of people who will be right behind this- email the link and I'll spread the word. Unfortunately we've got a wedding to go to that afternoon, but we'll be there to give you a bit of a send off.'

'I'll just be getting into a van on the front drive.'

'Well, my wife has been chatting to the other people who live along this lane, and most of them respect what you are doing and won't mind you starting your ride here. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to cycle all the way in to Brighton, but it's almost a mile until you hit the main road, so you could get into the van just before that. There's parking outside the shop.'

'You said most people along this lane.'

'Yes, there is one house where they weren't so impressed, but they're flying out to Spain for two weeks so they won't be around to be offended by it.'

Yet again the dare had escalated, yet again matters had been taken out of her hands and yet again she was secretly pleased about it.

Over the next week or so Cathy's housemates set up the blog and helped her put together the first few entries. There were no photos or details to identify her, but even so it generated an impressive amount of traffic. The blog was written so that it appeared that Cathy was reluctantly overcoming her inhibitions. This may have been true to start with, but she was now spending most of her time away from work naked and was looking forward to it like a child looking forward to Christmas.

Finally, the big day arrived. It had been agreed that Cathy would take nothing with her but a small pouch which would contain her keys, mobile phone and a bit of cash. She would be wearing nothing but her glasses and a pair of sandals when she left the house, and would be naked from Friday evening until at least Sunday morning. She had a decent sized water bottle on her bike, and would also have a bit of fruit in her front basket. The idea was to arrive at the start point about an hour before the ride started, so she could get something painted on her back.

Her housemates were going to be waiting for her with the van, so Cathy left the house alone. She decided to put her sandals in the front basket; she might need them at some point, but felt that being properly naked meant bare feet as well. She had already taken a few selfies as she had breakfast and got ready, which basically consisted of brushing her teeth and combing her hair, and she took another couple outside the front door. Then she got on her bike, took a deep breath and headed out onto the road.

There was nobody around. They lived down a narrow lane which petered out a few hundred yards beyond their house, so she didn't expect much traffic, but apparently everybody who lived down there knew what she was doing today and wanted to give her a good send off. It was a fine morning in early summer, and she found it quite exhilarating, riding down a country lane without a stitch of clothing on her and without a care in the world, but she did wonder where everybody was.

A couple of minutes later she went round the final bend and saw the van with a knot of about 20 people standing around. As she pulled up there was a cheer and people suddenly started taking pictures and video, most on phones but one or two with professional looking equipment. Pretty much everybody who lived along the lane had come along to see her set off and show their support. She spent several minutes posing for pictures with those who wanted them (everyone) and then it was time to set off. She spent a bit longer than was strictly necessary getting first her bike and then herself into the van, and cheekily waggled her pert derrière as she finally climbed in.

The drive to the Levels was uneventful, and when Cathy got out of the van she could see that there were already a few people around, although none were fully undressed yet. She had to get out on the road, but there wasn't much traffic and she quickly made her way onto the grassy area where the riders were assembling. A young policeman expressed his surprise that she was undressed already, and she said that she had left her clothes in her friend's van. As she wanted to get body painted immediately, there didn't seem to be any point in carrying her clothes around with her. The policeman didn't seem concerned, directed her to the body painting tent and said he hoped she had a nice day.

The body painting tent wasn't too busy, but she had to wait for a few minutes. She got chatting to a couple of other people who were surprised that it was her first time, as most first timers waited until the last minute to disrobe. She explained a bit about why she was doing it, and again got a very positive response. Then it was her turn to get painted, and she asked for 'save the water vole' to be painted on her back.

'So you're the conservationist who's doing it for our furry friends! A few people have been talking about you - and I'm looking forward to your blog about the day.'

'Thanks, I've done really well for sponsorship.'

'As well as the slogan on your back, I could do a couple of water vole faces on your boobs if you like. Your nipple can be the nose and I'll do the rest of the face around that. If you don't like it, it can easily be washed off.'

So, as well as having a slogan painted on her back, she spent a few minutes having paint applied round her nipples, which quickly stood to attention. She wasn't sure if the body painter was straight or gay, but he was totally focussed on his work and apparently unaware that it was also getting her mildly aroused. The little cartoon faces looked really good, and she took a quick snap of each of them.

'Is that OK?'

'That's excellent, thanks so much!'

'My pleasure. I'd appreciate a mention in your blog, though.'

When she headed back out a number of riders were assembled and in various stages of undress, although she was still the only fully naked woman. Her housemates had gone off in the van, as there was no safe parking near the start point. The plan was that they would park somewhere in town and then make their way to one or two places along the route to cheer her on. The ride was 8 miles, which normally wouldn't take that long, but with such a large number of riders it would proceed at little more than walking pace and would take a couple of hours from start to finish. She would then call them after the ride was over and they would take her home.