General Cycling Discussion - moonlight ramble saturday night

just thought i would pass on the info , its time for the 41 st moonlight ramble in stlouis .starts at midnight in the upper muny parking lot in forest park on sat night aug 20 at midnight . there is a 10 mile route and a 20 mile route. expect up to 15,000 cyclist. its the oldest night ride in the country.always a good time.

I'll be there, but I'm a bit disapointed that it isn't starting downtown like it has been. If anyone in the area hasn't been to one, it's great fun. Oh yeah, and I expect getting out of the park to go home to be a nightmare.

They started the 1990 ramble at the top of the Muny and it was a nightmare! Too many people on not enough road....

They moved it back downtown in 1991.... that was my last ramble....

They started the 1990 ramble at the top of the Muny and it was a nightmare! Too many people on not enough road....

They moved it back downtown in 1991.... that was my last ramble....

I'm thinking the only way this is going to work is if it rains, a lot. Maybe that will thin the crowd out a bit.

I did the Ramble a couple of years ago. It had a downtown start. I can't imagine starting in the Muny lot. I predict mass chaos. There is enough difficulty getting out of that lot following a performance! But with crowds as large as expected!?! :eek:

That said...The Ramble is an experience. Everyone ought to try it just once. I've tried it that once...and most likely will not do it again. From my experience....if you go with a group, you can expect to get separated. So bring your cell phones. Make sure that you have a really good light on your bike. There were sections of the ride that the streetlights did not illuminate very well. Bring your beater bike. You've got a lot a people of varying skill levels and awareness levels...not to mention the drunks who stop at every pub along the route!

I'll be there with my two oldest kids (13 & 16). I've never done the Ramble before but have always wanted to. But lights... uh... gotta figure something out. I guess I was expecting the route to cover well-lit streets.

I'm doing it on my fixie. It'll be a good time, I expect, since I love chaos. I was going to ride my tall bike, but it is already en route to nevada for burning man on my friend's trailer. :(

It should be fun. see you all there!

peace,
sam

ill be there in a renault gitane jersey sportin the retro look lol.ill prob park away then ride to my car after its over. its fun though.

But lights... uh... gotta figure something out. I guess I was expecting the route to cover well-lit streets. dont worry to bad bransom, i never had a prob seeing and i dont have a light but definately make sure you have a helmet.remember its a ride and enjoy the atmosphere , bikes bikes bikes everywhere.

Yeah, there is normally no need for lighting systems, the organizers take that into account when choosing the route. I'll look like I do in my avatar if anyone cares to say hello, this is our yearly beer and bike ride :)

Helmets -- oh, definitely. I thought this would be a cool way to see some of the city, minus the traffic. Glad to hear that not having lights shouldn't be too big a deal.

See you all down there tonight...

Man, that sucked in a serious way. I have never walked away from a ramble disappointed before, but this wasn't even fun. The route was a joke, the start in the park was annoying, ALL of the good sponsors bailed, the end was lame, the DJ was a giant ******bag, and NO BAGELS.

I wonder what happened with all the sponsors (Bread Company, New Belgium, etc), maybe the people in charger changed, and started being jerks to the sponsors. At any rate, I was very let down.

I found some contact information for the organizers:

phone: 314-644-4660
email: clerk@moonlightramble.com

I encourage everyone who went to let them know if you didn't like it. I know my experience wasn't worth $25.

I had a great time, but not really because of how the organizers handled it... The park start was insane, it was probably a mile before people stopped walking their bikes because of the crowd.

I like riding my bike, so I had a good time, but things definately weren't handled well... For 20-25$ a person they really should have gotten a sound system that everyone could hear, for example.

The lack of sponsors was annoying too. I was under the impression that there would be food afterwards (even food to buy), but the only option was giant tubs of prezels, which was OK, but not really what I had in mind. You could also get a tiny paper cup of beer.

The ride itself was amusing. I enjoyed hitting the hills and hearing thousands of inexperienced cyclists furiously clacking their poorly adjusted derailleurs in a vain attempt to jockey the chain into a suitable hill climbing gear. Meanwhile the few experienced cyclists are shouting advice to their friends/family members, "Down shift, down shift! No, your other down! Use the right hand shifter!" It was something else...

After the ride split and I started the 'long' route, things got a lot better, it was more open, there was more room to ride, and the scariest wobbling cyclists who hadn't been on a bike since last year at this time had already pulled off to head home.

But anyway, it was a good time, but not really worth the 20$... If it was 10$, no tshirt, I would have been happy. Maybe next year I'll just ride my bike into the park, hang around the entrance, and then join the ride once it starts. ;)

peace,
sam

This wasn't a good example of what the ramble is normally like. The atmosphere at the end is one of the great parts of it, and it just wasn't there this time. It used to be $15 with the option of purchasing a shirt, maybe they should go back to that model if this is going to become the norm for rambles in the future.

Maybe next year I'll just ride my bike into the park, hang around the entrance, and then join the ride once it starts. ;)peace,
sam
thats what i do unless the tshirt is real cool .the way they had everybody corraled in the fenced in area all i could think was cattle call i said no way and joined in after the start banner. i seen two peeps fall when they forgot to unclip.both older folks who were riding clipless for the first time. it was a hilly route this year for sure.

I couldn't go because my father in law is very sick. Now I don't feel I missed much. I have been contemplating this for several years but I never got to go, always something else going on. If you get any response from the organizers about possible improvements, please post them. Thanks!

I enjoyed the ride but...

The start was awful. Too many people funneling out the narrow streets of Forest Park. We hung back, hoping to let the crowd clear a bit, not realizing just how many slow riders there would be (this was our first Ramble). Wow. LOTs of really slow, wobbly folks that haven't ridden much.

By the time we passed the Galleria, the crowd wasn't so much thinning as the roads were getting wider, making passing possible. It became much more enjoyable then.

All in all, I'm glad we went and I'll probably go back next year. But I may try to get near the front of the start to get ahead of the wobblers.