The Houston Moonlight Bicycle Ramble is the longest running bicycle ride in the Houston*. It all started in 1973, when Joy Boone observed the St. Louis, Missouri ramble, an event ten-thousand riders strong. Joy, J. McSpadden, Tex Allen, and the executive director of Citizens for Hike & Bike worked together and six weeks later, 368 people left from the then-new City Hall Annex on essentially the same route as today.

Riding that night was John Howard, a local racer who was later inducted into the Bicycling Hall of Fame, winner of the 1981 Ironman and holder of the 1985 world land bicycle speed record; June & Greg Siple, who were in the middle of the Alaska to Argentina Hemistour; and many others who adopted bicycling as a way of life. Joy was last to finish that night to a cheering crowd. :-) It was an event that all organizers and volunteers rode. Today the annual 2am ride features thousands of riders from all over the world.

Another key figure in the history of the Ramble is David Huffman, founder of the Two Wheel Transit Authority (TWTA). After organizing TWTA in 1977, David and his wife, Debbie, ran the Ramble from the late '70s all the way through 1990 or '91 -- longer than anyone else has.

Still other key figures emerged next. When the Houston Area Bicyclist Alliance (HABA) was founded in 1991, the Huffmans decided to "retire" from running the Ramble, so they handed over the reins of TWTA to the original leaders of HABA. Now that BikeHouston has replaced HABA, BikeHouston volunteers keep the tradition going.

Thanks to Daniel Boone Bicycles and Justin McMurtry for help in compiling this history.

* If you know of a ride that started earlier, let us know.