ST. LOUIS — The 2023 Moonlight Ramble was canceled Saturday night after issues with a third-party security company and rider safety, organizers said.
This year's Moonlight Ramble was originally scheduled for Aug. 26 but was later rescheduled due to severe storms in the St. Louis area. The event was rescheduled for Sept. 16.
According to organizers, the ride was canceled Saturday night due to issues with a third-party security company who were responsible for closing down intersections to keep the route free from cars. A release shared with riders stated that during the final route check, intersections were not secured due to "absent personnel and considerable traffic continuing to stream onto the course, many drivers moving barricades themselves that were in place."
Moonlight Ramble organizers said rider safety is their top priority and any traffic on the route was not safe.
Read the full release:
"Moonlight Ramble Participants,
"Needless to say, it has been a challenging few weeks with unpredictable weather forecasts, rescheduling logistics, and the disappointment of last night’s late cancellation of the event. Rider safety is the number one priority for our team and we had to make a difficult decision last night. In an effort to be transparent, the third-party security company that we’ve worked with for years to close down intersections to keep the route free from cars assured us that they had the personnel in place to fulfill our requirements, continuing their assurances up until 10:30 the night of the event. As we prepared for the final route check, it became apparent that the intersections were not secured due to absent personnel and considerable traffic continuing to stream onto the course, with many drivers moving barricades themselves that were in place.
"Any traffic is not safe and the volume of traffic and our inability to remedy the situation in a timely manner, even doing all we could during the start delay, led us to the difficult decision to cancel.
"As cyclists and St. Louisans, it was truly heartbreaking. We never want to inconvenience or disappoint the Moonlight Ramblers, and we know that’s what happened last night.
"As we were not able to provide you with a safe ride experience, we will be working through the next steps in regards to refunds over the next few days.
We will honor the donations made to Trailnet. We’ve seen some negative comments aimed at Trailnet and we want to be clear that Trailnet’s involvement in Moonlight Ramble is as a charity beneficiary solely and they are not involved in the operations of the event. We proudly support the important work they do in St. Louis."
The Moonlight Ramble is the longest-running nighttime bike ride in the United States and began with a single rider in October 1964. The event has grown throughout the years and has since become a tradition in the St. Louis area.
Find more information about the event here.