8/22/2005 01:53:00 PM|||James Britton|||

riders at the Moonlight Ramble-Forest Park, St. Louis August 20-21 2005

I "rode the night" this past weekend for the benefit of Hostelling International. 'Ramble' is apparently the first night ride of it's kind, tracing back to the 1960s. In fact my buddy Jim, took part in a similar race in Denver the same evening. He took a nasty spill but is going to be fine thanks to his helmet. The course was about 21 miles from Forest Park in St. Louis, West through Clayton (my city) then back thru the park and east to downtown St. Louis, then back again to the park. It was my first organized long distance ride and it was much easier and fun than I had anticpated. I'm considering purchasing a road bike. There is a great bike shop in University City, MO called Big Shark. I made it through the course safely, although I wasn't so sure at the beginning. There were approximately 15,000 participants which made for an interesting ride for the first 5 miles. I was amazed at the scope of people there; kids on BMX bikes, toddlers in carriers, old men and women, not to mention all of the recumbent bikes, tandems, and home brew bikes. It was a great group of people with which to spend a cool evening in the park. As I came back west from downtown, it was amazing to feel how much the temperature dropped as we approached the park. This ride through St. Louis gave me a greater appreciation for the city, and certainly a greater appreciation of cycling. I think I'm hooked!

|||112473678017239184|||Moonlight Ramble