Texas - 2009 BikeHouston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble

I friend brought this to my attention - 2009 BikeHouston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble. Any other area riders up for this ride?

AG

I've done it the past 4 years or so... but no specific plans yet. Always a blast.

Official info
http://www.bikehouston.org/content/blogcategory/14/40/

Anyone know what the usual registration cost is?

$20-$30ish, packet includes a T-shirt.

I like it, though it is not really your normal organized ride some people really go out on dressing themselves and bikes up. I like to stop at some point of the ride and watch the riders go by.

Rode a couple of these more years ago than I care to admit to. I will probably ride this year.

Maybe if it wasn't Halloween. I don't think I'd wanna be on the roads then.

The whole point is that this ride happens on the sunday morning closest to halloween. When it actually falls on Halloween it's a bonus!

Teeleton

*Sunday morning closest the full moon.

When it happens on halloween is a bonus :D

Its also daylight savings time change, so it will feel like 3am. I wonder how many drunks will show up an hour early?

If you keep a good pace, you can finish before you start :D

I don't know what it'll "feel like", but I've never had a problem with drunks on this ride. Being halloween or not, the closest sat is always "halloween party night"... so I don't see there being much difference with the holiday actually falling on that night.

I have made a mental note of it; thanks for the reminder! I have never ridden this one, but might give it a try this year, if I can keep the calendar clear for it.

Rex , if you are interested in going a non bike friend and I are planning to ride that night. You are welcome to join this small group. Hopefully it will be cooler than our normal rides - definately not as much sunlight. :)

That's the issue I've had with the ramble many years. It's freezing... till about 1/2 way. Hot and steamy after warmed up... strip off jacket/hoodie/pants at rest stop. Next thing you know, you're feezing as you ride down 610 and through memorial because you are out of all the concrete. Then it's nice and toasty as you get back into the concrete jungle.

My wife, some friends, and I have made it a tradition to ride. For one friend it is the only time he can ride, since he works graveyards as a Respiratory Tech.

I've been thinking of dressing as a cyclist riding in the dark with lights on the bike... just in case y'all want to meet me. :p

I love the Moonlight Ramble. It's one of the most laid-back, relaxing rides you can imagine. Lots of people on eclectic custom bikes, people dressed up in costumes, etc.

The vibe is totally different from some organized rides like the MS 150. People aren't going to yell at you if you're going too slow, there are few (if any) full kitted roadies blowing through the course trying to set personal time records, etc. Lots of families and kids out there too.

I've been thinking of dressing as a cyclist riding in the dark with lights on the bike... just in case y'all want to meet me. :p

I'm gonna dress as a full kitted roadie... it should match the overall theme as I blow through the course :D

Temps are looking cool for the Ramble, woohoo. I've been dreading a warm one.

Oh and if y'all have not done it yet. Today might be a good day to dust off your lights and check the batteries.

"Its also daylight savings time change, so it will feel like 3am."

No, it'd feel like 1:00 AM, you get to sleep in an extra hour.

With this event a few days away, how many BFer's are riding Sunday morning? The weather looks cold, so be prepared.

Barring some new shenanigan by my father-in-law, I plan to make it, if it is OK to register on-site.

I would like to do it, but I have already committed to doing the Tour de Donut with another group. Doing both in the same morning is something I might have wanted to try about 10 years ago, but not now.

I'm going to have to sit it out this year due to a fresh knee injury, but I'll be in the parking lot for the pre-ride tailgating.

Teeleton

Rex, it looks like you can register on site or on Sat at iCycle in the heights Sat afternoon. I will pm you my cell phone. I will be riding with a co-worker and old racing buddy. It should be a good event.

AG

Not this year but I will next year. I've done it before and really enjoyed it.

airwulf

Looking forward to riding tonight. My wife and I will be volunteering at the packet pickup table beforehand.

I'm jealous of those of you riding it. Although a little cool, the weather will be awesome. Calm, clear skies. One of these years I have to get the inlaws to visit the weekend of the Ramble to watch the kids so the wife and I can go ride.

Can anyone please advise on what would be a good arrival time at GRB for those wishing to register at GRB?

I did a morning check the bike and cold weather clothes ride with kwrides this morning. I am set for tonight. I will leave from a friends house at midnight and will ride to the GRB expecting to arrive at 1. I hope I can get a catnap before time to leave.

AG

Let's hear the ride report! How was it?

I am just waking up from the ramble. I made it home and in bed by 5:00 am . Pardon any typing or spelling mistakes, I am still half asleep. :)

I drove to my friends apt off Windrock and Westheimer. We left at midnight to get to the GRB. The only incident was my light ( I glued it to the mounting bracket after the Sat morning ride) ejected itself on the road leaving my lightless until I could get a fix at the GRB. We arrived to find my friend unloading his bike - what luck.

The GRB area had all sorts of bikes and charaters riding those bikes. I had planned to take pictures with a digital camera, but let it in the car. It really was a sight to see. I picked up my packet & number. I went to the REI support tent and they gave me some eletrical tape to secure my light to the mount. I left the packet in my friends car and stripped off a long t-shirt that I thought might be needed. It was actually 4 degrees warmer than the Sat morning ride.

Right at 1:59 am the event started. They let chunks of riders out every minute of so it spread the pack out. The problem was there was all sorts of traffic downtown and we hit every light. A big issue is the various speeds, skill level, and attention of some of the riders. i did not like the tight pack that we someitmes had to ride in . Several times I had to move over or make so sort of course corrected because another rider(s) were not paying attention to whatthey were doing. The starts from a light were always interesting. At one point I thought we were going to be delayed by the train in Bellaire, but as we approached the train finished crossing the the riders waiting had time to accelerate through the crossing. The rest stop was at Sports Authority by the Galleria. It took 1 hour 20 minutes to get half way. Between lights and slower riders, and car traffic it was a much slower than expected pace.

We left the rest stop before most of the pack left. We arrived very quickly at the GRB at 3:00 am. We finished the 2nd half of the course in less than 30 minutes. Since eveyone else was still at the rest stop and not many lights down Memorial and Allen Parkway, the pace was much faster. We stopped to rest after the ride, filled up with food and needed liquids. My friend loaded up his car and I left headed back to my other friends apt.

This return trip was at a much faster pace because I wanted to get home and I now had a functioning light. I made it to my friends apt by 4:20. With no traffic the pace was quick. I wasamazed to still see riders from the event heading to the GBR. By memorial park I saw the last of the Ramble riders trying to finish the event. I made it home unloaded the truck, changed and was in bed before 5. It was a long day, as I had gotten up at 6:00am Sat for my original ride.

Over all it was a very enjoyable event and I will do it again. The only negitive is long day it makes Saturday.

Sounds like a good story to tell the kids someday!

How many riders were there? Sounds like a lot.

Good ride got separated pretty early from half the group I rode with. Only issue this year I had was a sag/ride marshal chewed me out and belittled me it was really over the top. Somebody was in a mood.

The only negitive is long day it makes Saturday.

The year I rode I had a friend tell me she goes to bed for a few hours, then gets up, rides, comes home and back to bed. I tried that and didn't sleep real well the period before the ride, as you might imagine.


Only issue this year I had was a sag/ride marshal chewed me out and belittled me it was really over the top. Somebody was in a mood.

What did he chew you out over?

I passed a group taking up the entire right lane got back in the right lane as soon as I could but the guy just went bezerk yelling at me not sure what his deal was even after I got in the right lane he still went off on me for like another minute. No biggie pretty used to having people yell at me from cars ignoring his rude comments was a natural. Won't keep me from riding the ramble next year.

I overheard someone by the registration table mention 3K riders, but i have no idea is that is correct or not.

A lot of the rider issues were related to the crowd this draws. A lot of riders have never ridden an organized ride before and it showed. It payed to ride defensively.

The course marshalls and law enforecment personal were all polite. I also thanked them for their work atthe event. This event took a lot of manpower and planning to make it happen. It was a very well run event.

I never had anyone yell at me or any yelling occur around me, so from that aspect that was not a problem. I was toward the front half of the ride and tried to stay ahead of the pack as best I could. I did not like to ride close quarters for too long because of the inexperience of most of the riders. I tried to ride fast enough to keep some distance around me.

Ditto on great conditions. For me at least, the start through downtown was much better this time than years past. My only issue, I need to figure out a better way of hauling my wife's 20 year old boombox.

Almost forgot Belly dancers were at the half way point as usual, one of my personal favorites of the ride.

Had a blast as usual.
Showed up at 8:30 (parking was horrible because of Discovery Green event... $10 event parking). Found free spot, unloaded bike, tooled around the Discovery Green thing, watched Ghostbusters on the big screen, people watched etc. About 9:30-10ish friends started showing up. Hung out with friends tailgating till 2am ride time. They were all injured... so I rode solo.

Got a nice "warm-up" sprinting light to light to make the green lights, and get in front of slow riders taking up 4 lanes. I'm SURE a ride marshal would've said something... but it's just too easy to duck and dive through a line of cruisers when on a track bike. And track standing at lights means I have a much quicker start than the group. Once it cleared I paced a group of 10ish doing ~16.5mph, but felt it was a little slow, so I stepped it up to 18. 5 of them jumped in behind me. Once in my own wind, I ended up slowing to about 17 for the rest of the first 1/2. I did find out I really shouldn't follow Mountain Bikes, even if not very close. He swerved/hopped and yelled "hole". I swerved (can't hop very far riding fixed gear) to the right (rider to my left) around the crater, ended up on the very tilted gutter concrete of a driveway, and then way closer to the curb than I would have liked. Kinda tilted the bike away from the curb to keep balance and avoid pedal strike. Definitely gave the nerves a jump start. Mostly, the roads were GREAT!

As I went past the rest stop, i noticed there were only THREE bikes there. I almost stopped just so they could see someone, but kept on riding. The trip back saw a pace not dropping below 17 at all. I was all warmed up, barely any stops. Also saw several groups taking up WAY too many lanes on Allen Parkway. :mad: Good thing I don't mind getting into the left-most lane :rolleyes: I THINK I had caught the short route group.

I made one wrong turn... kinda. Some guy on a corner waving me left. I hesitated, then went left. Oh... wait, he was just flagging a taxi. :roflmao2: Streets were empty, made a loop in the 4 lanes, and back on track right away. The only turn NOT marked well enough for me was the turn off for the short route. They didn't say a word till I was passing them, and the signs were in the dark.... but I was going straight anyways. A small light aimed at the signs would be golden... but then I'm just being picky, and watching out for others. ;)

Rolled up to my truck, checked clock... 2:15am. I did the route in ~15min ;) . Mid 15 avg and 1h 10m pedal time according to computer.

I did see all the crazies on the drive home... much rather that than on the ride. I had no vehicle problems on the ride at all. :thumb:

I was one of the injured that chevy42083 was referring to. Sucks that I didn't get to ride this year, but I'll be out next year for sure.

Teeleton

I was one of the injured that chevy42083 was referring to. Sucks that I didn't get to ride this year, but I'll be out next year for sure.

Teeleton

As was I and will I respectively.

-Nate