Austin's 29th Annual Moonlight Cruze! THIS WEEKEND! Prepare yourself for Armageddon.

This late late Saturday night/early early Sunday morning (9/11@2AM, NEVER FORGET!), all the proper bikers of Austin, Texas will take to the streets in what is now the 29th edition of the annual Moonlight Cruze!

This massive ride has been going on for nearly 30 years now, and in recent years the origin of the ride had gotten lost in the mists of time and it became known as the "Harvest Moon Ride" among us uninformed plebs for a short bit. Thankfully the artificers and librarians of ye olde order of the cruzer bike have spoken and set the record straight for all us youngsters on the history of this venerable tradition:

History of “The Cruze”

Here's the real deal on the Real Annual Austin Moonlight Cruze:

Back in the day the Cruze got started by Lynn Carter and the old Austin Cruzer Bike Shop on 34th street. It was officially sponsored by the shop, with registration, maps, and everything. The shop stopped sponsoring the ride one year after a rider was hit and killed by a driver on his way home afterwards.

Previous to that, the date was always the Sunday closest to the September full moon. It never had anything to do with the Harvest Moon. The year after the accident, with no official leader or sponsor, we all showed up at the usual spot, at the usual time, and found a pile of route maps waiting for us on the pavement. So we did the ride, and have continued to do so on the same route every year on the Sunday closest to the full moon in September.

If you've cut your teeth on organized rides with a written route, people telling you to STOP, GO, and free kegs at a sponsoring bar at the end, well, this shit is nothing like that. The Moonlight Cruze is a CRUZE which takes you all over Austin, up and down rolling hills, winding trails, tearing through a drunken downtown, up parking garages, several Randall's parking lots, and most awesomely does so entirely by itself, almost if guided by animal instinct. If you've never gone on one of these rides you owe it to yourself and all the friends you tell to check it out.

No joke ya'll, this ride is a bit faster and more hectic than the "social" rides that keep everyone calm and happy for a couple hours before dropping them off at a keg. Not that it'll kill anyone, but be informed that you'll be riding 25+ miles through all manner of terrain. Bring shit to fix your bike, flashy lights, beverages and your riding legs.

You might get lost, you might get ditched, you might crash. But you'll have fun. Yes, this ride happens at 2am, so if you don't work third shift usually you'll probably be exhausted afterward. Grab a coffee, go out Saturday night and have a blast. When the bars shout last call haul ass to the Pfluger Pedestrian bridge and meet up with the crowd. We'll be waiting.