Thong-clad biker has some eyes sore - San Antonio man get complaints, says he has rights

San Antonio Express News ^ | May 5, 2003 | By Jesse Bogan / San Antonio Express-News

[MeekOneGOP]

Thong-clad biker has some eyes sore

By Jesse Bogan

San Antonio Express-News

Web Posted : 05/05/2003 12:00 AM

Though he appears nearly naked from time to time, Joseph Gottschalk is legally covered.

Joseph Gottschalk causes controversy by choosing to wear the minimum amount of clothing required by law while bicycling. The thong-clad Gottschalk was riding in his neighborhood near Southside Lions Park on Saturday. Bob Owen/Express-News
React What do you think of thong-clad cyclist?

"Don't they call that a thong? I think it's disgusting," said Norm Sutton, 66, of the undressed man who rides his bike around Southside Lions Park.

San Antonio Park Police have received several complaints over the past month about a man who cruises on a bicycle wearing only shoes and a thong — a swimsuit or undergarment that doesn't cover the buttocks.

"This is unique, let me tell you. Normal general public doesn't do that," said Park Police Capt. Raymond Castro. "But he's within his civil rights and legal rights to wear his thong."

According to state law, no offense is committed if the man has "his anus and genitals" covered, Castro said. Which the thong does, if nothing else.

Gottschalk, 52, an unemployed truck driver who dabbles in carpentry, is aware of his rights and compares riding nearly naked to driving the maximum legal speed limit.

"It doesn't take much clothing to take care of the requirement," he said. "I call it exhibitionism.

"We all claim to believe in the value of personal liberty, but we don't," he said. "No one person has the right to outrank the law and tell me what to wear."

Ed Mitchell, 63, a retired Bexar County deputy who frequents the park, shook his head at the fine line that keeps Gottschalk from going to jail for indecent exposure or disorderly conduct.

"That little bit he's got on, a fig leaf would probably cover more than that," he said.

Ivonne Castoreno, 33, said Gottschalk keeps to himself, but she changed her walking schedule after seeing him a couple of times. Her 13-year-old son was with her.

"What disturbs me is that he's doing this by a public park around small children," she said. "Look at this guy — you know, he's not hiding much. Keep it in the bedroom."

Gottschalk has been contacted by police at least 20 times in the past four years regarding his lack of attire.

When asked about the criticism, he raised his arms high and averred that seeing the human body is not traumatic.

"I am a person. How could it possibly harm anyone — child or not —— to see a person? It can't," he said.

Gottschalk, who is divorced, has four sons, ages 14 to 25.

"They consider me to be a mild embarrassment, but they love me," he said.

Some at the park near Hiawatha and Pecan Valley streets just smiled.

"He comes here often wearing the same black thong," said Marisa Ayala, 26, who like many others in the area enjoys walking in the park before the heat of the day sets in. "He doesn't look like he bothers anybody. He's just riding around."

Betty Seibold, 57, who lives down the street from Gottschalk, said she's seen him mow his lawn and wash his truck in the skimpy attire.

"From an artistic perspective, he's attractive looking," said Seibold, a retired schoolteacher of 32 years. "He's in good shape. His behavior may seem strange to us, but we are all a little strange in different ways. We are all eccentric."

Just before getting back on his bicycle, Gottschalk clipped on his cell phone.

"I am sane," he said. "Heck, I am better than sane. I basically love life. ... You gotta find some humor in life."

---

jbogan@express-news.net

[MeekOneGOP]

What a role model/parent he is/has been for his kids.

Gottschalk, who is divorced, has four sons, ages 14 to 25.

"They consider me to be a mild embarrassment, but they love me," he said.

Bob Owen/Express-News

Joseph Gottschalk, 52, an unemployed truck driver who dabbles in carpentry, compares bicycling nearly naked to driving the maximum legal speed limit.

[r9etb]

Not that I'd do it anyway -- but I don't think I want my nose anywhere near this guy's bike seat....

[MeekOneGOP]

Just for exposure (hehe!) here is the DMN A/P version . . .

Bicyclist wearing only thong draws range of comments

05/05/2003

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO - A 52-year-old man who regularly rides his bike in a city park wearing only a black thong has received dozens of complaints but says he'll keep on pedaling because it's his legal right.

"We all claim to believe in the value of personal liberty, but we don't," Joseph Gottschalk said in Monday's editions of the San Antonio Express-News. "No one person has the right to outrank the law and tell me what to wear."

By law, Gottschalk is allowed to wear the thong as long as it covers the appropriate parts. "It doesn't take much clothing to take care of the requirement," he said.

San Antonio Park Police said they've received several complaints about Gottschalk in the past month. In the past four years, police have contacted Gottschalk about his skimpy attire at least 20 times.

"This is unique, let me tell you. Normal general public doesn't do that," Park Police Capt. Raymond Castro said. "But he's within his civil rights and legal rights to wear his thong."

The sight of Gottschalk pedaling around Southside Lions Park disturbed Ivonne Castoreno so much that she changed her walking schedule after she and her 13-year-old son saw him a few times.

"Look at this guy - you know, he's not hiding much," said Castoreno, 33. "Keep it in the bedroom."

Gottschalk's neighbor, 57-year-old Betty Seibold, said she's seen him mowing his lawn and washing his truck in the same thong. "His behavior may seem strange to us, but we are all a little strange in different ways," she said. "We are all eccentric."

---

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/050503dntexbikethong.24850540.html

[MeekOneGOP]

ROFL ! :O)

[areafiftyone]

ROFLMAO - And how many bike seats have you been sniffing? ;-)

[martin_fierro]

This man is clearly unable to distinguish between right and thong. <|:/~

[Redcloak]

It could be worse. He could have been a Teddy Kennedy look-a-like.

[toast]

"Look at this guy - you know, he's not hiding much,"

That one had to hurt.

[AppyPappy]

He's lucky he hasn't been beaned with a bottle.

[r9etb]

And how many bike seats have you been sniffing? ;-)

Not even my own, A51.

OTOH, I think it'd be pretty funny to watch the reaction of the thief who hoists the thing onto his shoulder....

Then again, you have to wonder whether a guy who rides in a thong even uses a seat....

[Living Free in NH]

Holy cow! She could hide a 6-man tent in that thing.

[weegee]

He's no "biker", he's a bicyclist.

[talleyman]

This man is clearly unable to distinguish between right and thong.

Groan! We have a winner!

[Helix]

That reminds me of our old neighbor. He used to wear one of these while mowing his grass. He wasn't in good shape and as God is my witness, he resembled two rubber bands encircling a golf ball.

[ikka]

Just before getting back on his bicycle, Gottschalk clipped on his cell phone.

How and WHERE?

[FrogFish]

I have seen a "biker" in a thong too! He was sitting on his "hog" in Sturgis, SD. I almost fell over. Asked him if I could take his picture...told him that no one in Arizona would believe me if I told them about it.

Takes all kinds to make this crazy world go round!

[weegee]

Looks like Monica's found a new gig.

[VRWC_minion]

Those crazy libertarians certainly know how to win over the public, don't they ?

[Feiny]

No one would be complaining if this was a woman wearing a thong while biking.....well maybe some fat old hags would complain.

[martin_fierro]

Don't any of YOU get any ideas, now!

	FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan
Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list

[martin_fierro]

"Nothing you can sing that can't be sung, nothing you can thong that can't be thung..."

Now, that was just cruel AND unusual PUNishment. <|:)~

[talleyman]

I forgot - two thongs don't make a right. (but three lefts do.)

But enough of this foolishness - he should be hung! ( )( )

[dead]

Oh, I do believe Mr. Gottschalk's got you smitten! 8-)

[prairiebreeze]

I keep seeing this guy hitting a pot-hole with the bike, and wiping out. Pavement burns on the toushie and upper thigh, anyone??

Prairie

[Joe Hadenuf]

Who gets to sit on the park bench after is sweaty butt was stuck to it?

[lawdude]

I saw a similarly clad jerk peddling his bare ass down a main street in Phoenix a few years ago. I am glad to know we don't hold a monopoly on 'jerkism'.

[goldstategop]

I think modesty is in important public, especially out of consideration for women and children. Any one who tests the limits on streaking should get time in the joint, whether its a he or she. While I am an open minded person and certainly no prude, I expect that on the job and while about in public, people follow a dress code that at a minimum keeps their private body parts from being left up to others' imagination.

[spodefly]

He is making an ass of himself.

[George W. Bush]

Well, he's not a complete physical slob.

Probably just a nudist type with a point to make. He probably gets some action from the ladies too because of it. On the sly, of course. That would be offset by being pursued on his bicycle by cars filled with drooling sodomites.

Much ado about nothing. He's within his rights.

[fivecatsandadog]

Just before getting back on his bicycle, Gottschalk clipped on his cell phone

I'm afraid to ask....

His behavior may seem strange to us, but we are all a little strange

A man does this, he's eccentric or nuts. A woman does it, she's a whore.

[finnman69]

If this was a 22 year old woman commuting to Hooters in the same fashion less people would complain.

[George W. Bush]

Who gets to sit on the park bench after is sweaty butt was stuck to it?

If you think about it, on the average day in most parts of America, he would be less likely to leave sweat on a bench than a more modestly clothed person would be. The clothing becomes soaked with sweat and retains it and, due to lack of ventilation, cause even more perspiration to accumulate. The nature-boy attire allows the perspiration to evaporate more freely and less heat is retained to begin with.

Besides, the hygiene issue is pretty much moot if you ever use a public swimming pool that allows small children to use it.

[Tennessee_Bob]

I didn't know Tex lived in San Antonio...

[Joe Hadenuf]

he would be less likely to leave sweat on a bench than a more modestly clothed person would be.

Huh? LOL!

Is the damn humidity that bad in Texas where people that just sit on a park benches sweat through their pants? LOL!

Thanks for the laugh!

[Lockbar]

I've done nude beach stuff, so being naked or near naked around other like minded people dosen't bother me. But a decent person dosen't put the general public in a situation where everybody else is embarrassed. This guy is a self-centered jerk.


P.S. I can also guess that this guys package isn't hugh!!

[George W. Bush]

Re: the fat lady thong picture.

Are you aware of those cases in other states where fat men walk down the steet entirely nude and get away with it because they are so fat that nothing illegal can be seen on them? One assumes they can't sit or bend over but they are legal while standing or walking.

You hear about a case like this every couple of years.

[MeekOneGOP]

ROFL !

[raybbr]

As long as it rained the day before?????

[Force12]

"Those crazy libertarians certainly know how to win over the public, don't they?"

How exactly do you win over the public -- by conforming to what everyone else does? This guy is my kind of iconoclast.

[martin_fierro]

Dear God in Heaven, whatever you do, do NOT tell JoeSixPack1!!!!

<|:)~

[George W. Bush]

I'm simply saying that, as far as leaving sweat behind on a park bench, a biker in shorts would be likely to leave more sweat than this guy does. Think about it. I'm right.

But I don't lay awake at night worrying about park bench sweat.

[Lockbar]

Oh yeah, I forgot this. How much you want to bet 3 years ago this jerk didn't have a "Gore/Lieberman" sticker on his ass while cycling?

[sirshackleton]

"Look at this guy — you know, he's not hiding much. Keep it in the bedroom."

LOL...keep his bike riding in the bedroom?

[NYCVirago]

This clown's a prime candidate for that TV show "What Not to Wear."

[Charles Martel]

I hope someone exercises their civil rights to beat the sh!t out of this weirdo.

To a dozen teenagers with paintball guns, this guy could be high sport. 'Specially when you *freeze* the paintballs. No splat, huge bruise!

[Joe Hadenuf]

I'm simply saying that, as far as leaving sweat behind on a park bench, a biker in shorts would be likely to leave more sweat than this guy does. Think about it. I'm right.

Look George Bush, your wrong, as this leftist wack job would be more likely to leave more than just sweat behind......LOL! Where do you live where people that sit on park benches sweat through their pants? Hahaha......

Again, thanks for the belly laugh....

[Pearls Before Swine]

Two words--or maybe a single compound word--come to mind... road rash! And, he isn't wearing a helmet, either. What ever happened to "safe cycling?"

[weegee]

Nudists carry a towel for themselves to sit on so as not to put their bare butts down where other people will later be sitting. Doesn't sound like they sweat less than us in the pants wearing public.