MOONLIGHT RAMBLE 2020 SCAVENGER HUNT GUIDE

This year’s Ramble route weaves through downtown along , with an additional leg through the heart of the Heights and along White Oak Bayou. How long you make the ride is up to you: ride just the initial 12 miles through downtown (this portion begins and ends at Stude park, and includes the bulk of sites along the scavenger hunt), or continue on through the Heights and to White Oak Bayou to complete the 23 mile loop. Consider this Scavenger Hunt a highlight reel of sites to look out for along your ride. If you take pictures, be sure to tag them with #Ramble2020 and post them to the Facebook event page! Most importantly, have fun and stay safe!

BCycle Sites: If you will be utilizing the BCycle 30-minute discount included in your ride packet, take note of the cycle sharing stations along the route. You’ll find them at Stude Park, Sabine Bridge, Jackson Hill Street, Onion Creek, Yale and 7th, West 7th and North Shepherd. 1. “Houston” sculpture by Mat Whitney, .16 miles and 11.2 miles. You’ll pass this vivid red sculpture as you begin your ride out of Stude park, heading towards downtown. It was commissioned in 1979 by the City of Houston and installed along the bayou in 1982.

2. Box Culvert, 1.22 miles and 10.16 miles. As the past few years have shown, keeping Houston’s infrastructure up to the task of supporting a city built along bayous and prone to hurricanes is a perpetual challenge. This is a box culvert, a concrete structure that helps prevent drainage issues by conveying the flow of water underneath the roadway.

3. Downtown skyline, approximately 1.8 miles. Take in your first great view of the downtown skyline while cruising along White Oak Bayou.

4. SnoopyMural, 2.34 miles, 9.04 miles. The Houston Arts Alliance brought the Peanut Global Artist Collective to Houston to install this mural on the side of a , Downtown building. The mural debuted in March and is the creation of the Brazilian artist AVAF (Assume Vivid Astro Focus). 5. Allen’s Landing, 2.5 miles, 8.9 miles. Immediately after the Snoopy Mural you’ll round a bend where White Oak and Buffalo Bayou meet: this is Allen’s Landing, site of Houston’s founding and the city’s first port. It was at this confluence of waters that in 1836 August and John Allen decided to break ground on a new city.

6. Tolerance statues, 5.25 miles. The Houston Parks Department installed these aluminum statues in 2011. The seven sculptures (representative of the seven continents) are the creations of Spanish artist Jaume Plensa. Plensa molded the body of each latticed figure from letters and symbols of the world’s languages. Take a moment to stop and see if you recognize any—the symbols seem to shift and recede the longer you look.

7. Waugh Bat Colony, 6.2 miles. If you’re interested in checking out the plaque and bat colony viewing platform, cross under Waugh street and then take the ramp up to street level (a quick detour off the Ramble route). The Mexican free-tailed bats usually emerge shortly after dusk each night (so time your ride accordingly!). 8. DuckPond, 7.6 miles on the right side of the trail. Another nature pit-stop, this one right along the trail. Don’t feed the birds!

9. George H.W. Bush statue, 8.5 miles. Another landmark that requires a short detour off the Ramble trail. Exit the trail to the left to go up to street level. The statue is in Sesquicentennial Park—a small garden at the corner of Bagby and Franklin Streets. The bronze sculpture is by artist Chas Fagan, with the surrounding reliefs by Houston artist Wei-li Wang. See if you can make out the scenes: Bush as a World War II Navy pilot, as a member of Congress, heralding the end of the Cold War with Mikhail Gorbachev, and with his wife Barbara attending the presidential inauguration of his son.

10. Blue Line Bike Lab Mural, 12 miles. Find this mural at the turn onto the Heights Hike and Bike Trail. Cycle on!

11. Cykl Bike Shop, 12.5 miles. Bike nerds encouraged to make a pit stop just past Donovan park to check out Cykl, a Ramble sponsor and new bike shop and hub for cyclists in the Heights. 12. Downtown view, 13.4 miles. If you’re riding the long route, you’ve officially rounded the halfway mark. Stop for a well-deserved break and take in the view. An uninterrupted stretch of trail along the bayou comes next.

13. Giant Rooster, 20.6 miles. Find it presiding over a cornfield between 15th and 14th streets.

14. Donovan Park, 22 miles. Your final landmark, found at 6th Street and Heights Boulevard. Refurbished by Heights residents in 1996, and still a gathering spot for the community today. Just a few blocks from Stude Park, your finish line!

Whether you stopped by two landmarks or all fourteen, congrats on a Ramble well- done! We encourage you tag us in your photos on Facebook and Instagram. Bike safely BikeHouston!