After a one year hiatus due to COVID restrictions, the organizers have prepared a new staging location and are set to resume the infamous Ride of the Century on Saturday afternoon. This ride has traditionally gone down this section of 270 in the past (with the exception of maybe one or two years) and this year is expected to be no different. At least 1000 motorcycles and even ATVs are expected to partake in the ride that will be getting on 44 near the 55 merge then head towards the McKinley Bridge and Route 3 before the westbound trip on 270 through North County.
Not surprisingly the ride has attracted media attention especially that the riders see strength in numbers. The video below is from the 2019 ride.
The #SLMPD will be monitoring #RideOfTheCentury & want to remind everyone, operating ATVs on City streets/recklessly driving motor vehicles (incl. motorcycles) is against the law. Violators are subject to arrest/the towing of the ATV/motorcycle. #STL More: https://t.co/VJOGAEvQ7fpic.twitter.com/018bZG8edN
Since 2019, there has been major changes on 270 in North County, and approximately 90 to 95 percent of the riders are not from the area and thus not familiar with this section of 270. Anyone that makes normal use of 270 in this area on Saturday afternoon between 2 PM to 5 PM needs to be aware of stopped traffic, sudden traffic pattern changes, and especially poor decisions made by those riders. There has been some spectacular botches in the past years, including the previous four rides all had incidents in the area between the canal bridge and 367, and there has been moments where videos could had easily gone viral for the wrong reasons.
NOTICE: these embedded social media posts may contain profanity and sensitive content.
Admins note: this post may still be updated as more footage surface.
We warned people about being on this section of 270 today between 2 PM and 5 PM – and almost on cue – that was the time the worst delays happened when the Ride of the Century went through. What we did not expect to happen was that the group split into two units with one group staying west on 70 towards 170 then made its way on eastbound 270; and another larger group going across the McKinley Bridge.
It was very clear that the smaller group that ended up going eastbound was the most hardcore stunt motorcyclists that the ride had – complete with the ATVs:
Photo by Danielle de Villiers. Used with permission.
Photo by Danielle de Villiers. Used with permission.
There was a larger group that went the traditional route and opted to livestream which made it much easier for the one admin to watch cameras of the much smaller group.
Almost as soon it hit the canal bridge, there was an incident that was not caught by that livestream that froze westbound traffic for a few moments:
The first rider involved in the crash had shoulder and hand injuries but walked away from the crash. The other two riders later posted social media posts:
One of the riders allegedly involved in the canal bridge incident shared this status update – she walked away as well and appears to be heartbroken. Please remember she was not able to avoid the incident – and admins here run on a no fault system when it comes to incidents.
This was very scary as it understandably caused westbound traffic to go to an halt to make sure everyone was okay:
I’m later learning that the groups may had split because some of the riders went to check out an alleged incident on westbound 70 near the city/county line:
Remember that these riders often see strength in numbers and this is why you often see large groups of them doing wheelies and other stunts – with the ones most likely doing the stuff in the front of the pack. While that canal bridge incident froze westbound traffic – because the ones that botched the stunt was in the front of the pack the rest of the pack was able to see it and freeze all the traffic to make sure they were okay, clean up the wreckage with support vehicles, and get back going again.
What are below are some of the MoDOT traffic camera images. The camera in my own iPhone (which I had for less than a year) recently messed up and I couldn’t livestream as a result. I was in fact supposed to work that day but a looming GM Strike changed that plan (as I work for a supplier).
It sounds like a broken record that has to repeated every September but the dangerous and illegal tradition known as the Ride of the Century makes its infamous return this weekend. With this tradition brings antics that while seen at other times of the year – tends to be at the very peak during this specific event.
There may be large groups of ATVs & motorcycles in #STL this weekend w/the Ride of the Century. REMINDER: operating ATVs on City streets & recklessly driving motor vehicles (incl. motorcycles) is against the law. Violators are subject to arrest & the towing of the ATV/motorcycle. pic.twitter.com/3INkN3hdzb
It will not help that good weather is expected for the weekend AND IDOT and MoDOT have weekend closures on alternate routes, especially the one on 55/70. Although it is eastbound the closure will put more I-70 cross country traffic through this section of 270.
Full closure on EB I55/70 fm IL111 to US40 to begin @ 7P on 9/13 & should reopen by 7A on 9/16 to place a new bituminous surface treatment on the roadway. #ILTrafficpic.twitter.com/uM4ArcqOoD
This weekend (from 8 p.m. 9/13 to 5 a.m.9/16) , crews will close I-44 in each direction near I-270 for Watson bridge work. This should help accelerate the construction to get the bridge open to traffic by the end of September. For details: https://t.co/084XIQiPZypic.twitter.com/rQ0QVPe5TA
But the big story is the Ride itself, and it is not expected that the admins will be at the event due to other commitments that just happened to be on the same date. (One of them has to be at work, and another has to go to work right after the event.)
I will not go into specifics on this post except that between 2 PM and 4 PM on Saturday there could be at least 2000 motorcycles and even ATVs on the public highways – causing traffic delays and other headaches. Most of the participants will be having GoPro cameras mounted and some will even live stream the event. Instead, you can go back to these links from previous years. This is a very dangerous tradition that dates from 2000 and this group loves to make its way down this section of 270 (they have virtually done it every year except for 2013). (Note they did in 2014 but the event was so low profile there is not a lot of footage thus there was no post – and it happened while North County was already heated from the Ferguson protests.)
They do all the stupid stuff including alleged instances of nudity (notable incident from 2010 on the canal bridge is not being posted due to the NSFW and suggestive content), wheelies, burnouts, blocking all traffic, and other dangerous stuff.
At least 2000 bikes took part in the infamous tradition that takes place every September in this area and made its way down 270 across the bridges again, but unlike the past three years it did not appear that any mainline incidents happened in the area. (Note that incidents may have happened elsewhere along the ride but there was nothing between Route 3 and Lilac.)
There may have been an alleged fight that happened further into North County
But when one of the admins checked on the 270 mainline after the ride came through there were no obvious signs of any other incident of note:
What did show was westbound hosed up from Route 3 all the way to Lindbergh, even after the last bike had taken the ramp to southbound 170.
When it came to the stunt show, while there were ATV and wheelies, there was nothing outrageous or shocking.
UPDATE 9/25/18 at 02:51 – there was additional news media coverage on all three TV stations on Monday and all were mentioning incidents in the downtown area.
UPDATE 9/25/18 at 14:10 – Starting to see more videos surface on social media. I’m also starting to see media from across the country make posts about the ride, but the only portion of the ride that is making the headlines is what happened near downtown St. Louis.
Just like every September, we have to warn everyone of an infamous tradition that tends to go down this section of 270. I much rather not to make a post about it, but as long as the tradition continues, this topic is still necessary to bring up on a annual basis. This ride has been going on for almost 20 years now and it is expected to bring at least 1500 to 2000 motorcyclists. Some of them will be making poor decisions during the ride.
What is shown below are some of the antics they pulled last year. I personally drove through 3 accident scenes on 270 last year during the event. If you must use westbound 270 from Route 3 into North County on Saturday afternoon, I suggest you do it at your own risk and expect delays.
That is just what happened on the canal bridge.
Nothing from last year that popped up on social media went viral, but it only takes one epic fail caught on video or one sinister stunt for that to occur.
On the afternoon of 9/16, expect at least 1000 motorcycles to make their way on WB 270 from Route 3 through North County as the infamous annual ride known as Ride of the Century makes its return. The organizers keep the exact route details under wraps but almost every year that this event is run they have used this section of 270. (2013 was an exception due to the weather.)
If you are wondering why this post has to be made every year, it is not about giving these people attention – its about warning the people that use this section of 270 about the illegal acts that they may engage. We have not seen any sideshows or rolling freeway shutdowns up here in the past years, but we have seen incidents and a lot of wheelies.
Speaking of incidents, this one last year still grinds the gears a bit:
This video is from two years ago
What you should expect:
Rolling mainline closures anytime between 13:00 to 17:00 on Saturday. The exact time they cross will be random but in past years it was between 14:30 to 15:30.
People involved in the ride will be making poor decisions. With at least 1000 motorcycles involved there will always be “that guy” moments.
Professional stunt bike riders will likely be in the front of the pack.
Heavier than normal police enforcement – Saturday has been a major speed trap enforcement day on 270 in recent weeks – don’t be surprised to see bears in the air.
If you get caught up, give these riders the right of way but do not pull over. Most of these riders will be making use of the shoulders.
NOTE: some of the incidents that will be mentioned actually happened LAST WEEK but with two of the admins being out of the area for most of that week the focus was on Ride of the Century related stuff.
First here is the video relating to the Ride of the Century that has pissed off the admins so much that it is worth posting it again:
Warning: video contains a lot of profanities. Please watch with caution. If you been wondering why Ride of the Century related stuff have to be posted every year, this video is a good reason why. It is not about giving those crazies the attention: its about warning the truckers that are not familiar with this section of 270 about the stupidity that comes with this event. One of the incidents that happened on 270 further into North County narrowly missed a tractor-trailer.
Ever since last week started, the evening peak has been anything but smooth sailing. Last Monday one of the admins stumbled upon this incident on the way home from a work-related function:
It caused the eastbound lanes to back up to 367 and takes nearly 45 minutes to clear. It was just the beginning of a long night despite the fact one of the admins had a very early bedtime due to work:
Ramp from WB 270 to Riverview is blocked. @STLFireDept is on the scene at this time. No mainline lanes are closed but crews are present. pic.twitter.com/P3jpwMhsAq
While this incident did not impact the mainline, it caused ramp closures at Riverview and it was not until midnight before it cleared.
Two days later another eastbound peak hour incident took part near the canal bridge, and around the same time an westbound incident allegedly happened:
The traffic delays went back to 367 on the incident near the canal bridge, and it appeared that the live feed camera at Lilac was suggesting an alleged secondary incident that went unconfirmed.
The admins missed this one due to work related reasons but this one was westbound.
Today’s livechat on STLToday brought yet another question regarding the ramp from 270 to Riverview. That ramp from Riverview to EB 270 is very dangerous and one of the admins knows that ramp very well. Our pro tip is to come to a stop at the very top of the hill (but still on land, do not stop on the bridge) and wait for an opening and get on the mainline as quickly as possible. Any countermeasure for this ramp is years away and probably will not occur before IDOT doing something about the river bridge. However, developers have upped the ante in recent months, MoDOT resumed their North County study, and IDOT started their own study earlier this year.
Regarding the recent trend of crunch time starting as early as 06:30 up in North County, one of the admins have confirmed that. The reason why it slows down at 367 is that the ramps between Old Halls Ferry and West Florissant is poorly designed and any incident at that time of the morning can back up traffic to the canal bridge. 270 up in North County is also hilly, so sight lines do have a role in the problems. 367 is also when all the Clark Bridge regulars get on 270. There are Facebook groups out there that check traffic status on 367 and 270, so please make use of those groups.
As of 9/22, the admins are still camping social media for footage of alleged incidents that happened.
The footage posted on YouTube is not very long, but highlights a danger that the admins feared could happen for a long time.
You may want to go through the video from the 1:56 to the 2:05 mark over and over, it is that short. The person operating that motorcycle was a very lucky person. We wished there was a better video of this incident out there.
This subsequent video showed an possible impact that it allegedly caused, and possibly hinted there was more than one incident:
This footage goes from 26:40 to the 33:00 mark. Around the 31:10 mark you will notice the riders coming to the stop, and it happens a second time around 32:45 before they get off the bridge. In between the two moments is a dangerous wheelie being performed by another rider.
UPDATE 9/26/2016 at 19:22 – This video has since been uploaded to YouTube and it confirms 2 incidents on the river bridge from the event. The shocking part: both incidents happened within minutes of each other. (The admins could not believe the footage even after seeing it.)
Below are images and videos of other footage found on social media.
A photo posted by Guru Khalsa (@gurustunts) on Aug 23, 2016 at 12:53pm PDT
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It was announced last month that the date of the infamous tradition called Ride of the Century has been set at 9/17 during the afternoon hours. While some of the details of the ride is kept secret it has been known that this event has utilized this section of 270 between 170 and Route 3 in recent years. This is an annual ride that has gone on for the past sixteen years and is always held in the month of September. The most likely timeframe of the ride itself is between 13:00 to 17:00. If you use this section of 270 on Saturday, please make wise decisions and be prepared to encounter delays.
The weather for the event on Saturday is not expected to be favorable, as there is a chance of scattered storms in the picture. The reason why we are adding the weather forecast is simple: there has been past rides that the weather forced them to change their route or push back the start, and the 2013 ride was affected by the weather (severe storms in North County pushed the riders to stay in South County and away from this section of 270).
The intent of the post is meant to warn the truckers and the normal people that would not suspect a large group of motorcyclists on a normal basis. The group that takes part in the Ride of the Century is not your run of the mill motorcycle club event, and they are not escort riders that take part in the Patriot Guard. (Similar to what you saw on 162 and Maryville Road in Granite City last month.) The group that does this event are professional stunt bike riders and they almost always film their rides for the purpose of making viral videos. This ride has drawn at least 1000 bikers every year for the past several years and has drawn media coverage in the past.
Below are videos of what happened last year that we didn’t post after the ride. Please note that all these acts on public highways are considered illegal and should never be attempted.
DISCLAIMER: Ride of the Century is an annual event done in September – the actions that some of the riders do are illegal and should never be attempted. This ride even draws the professional stunt bike riders to take part. This post was made to warn the truckers and normal people about this event and the potential dangers.
To start, we will show the video one of the admins shot with the cell phone of the MoDOT live feed camera as the ride made the way across the bridge around 14:35 on September 5:
While this video does not do justice, there are riders popping wheelies and other showboating actions, especially from the ones at the front of the pack. Despite the quality of the camera, this has been a popular post with over 200 shares. After spending two days camping social media for videos and photos along with the other admin, the videos will be shared below. (The other admin is going through his own footage from the ride and has not released anything at this time.)
Most of the videos currently out there right now are either poor quality or where shot from the rear of the pack.
This video skip to the 7:30 mark, as the riders begin to make their way on 270 from Route 3. There is a blue minivan taking photos with all the side door and rear trunk door open at some point in this video, which is a very unsafe practice.
This one is not a good quality, and it appears that the riders were at the rear of the pack of approximately 1000 bikes.
Instagram, however, had a couple good photos of the showboating going on:
The last one was disturbing, with an incident at Lilac involving a botched wheelie. This just underscores on how dangerous the ride is, given the large number of tractor-trailers that use this section of 270. While there is no other large scale stuntbike ride that use this section of 270 like the Ride of the Century, it is possible for the rest of the motorcycle season to encounter small groups of 2-10 riders pulling off dangerous tricks. (Last year one of the admins caught two bikers in the act of pulling off wheelies but was not able to get photo proof.)
Update 20:14, 9/9/15: Additional footage is now coming in and it is very shocking. (Also corrected embedding errors with Instagram posts, it should view properly now.)
Chain of Rocks/I-270 