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-   -   My Kentucky trip. (pics) (https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/290987-my-kentucky-trip-pics.html)

John Wilke 04-23-07 07:47 PM

My Kentucky trip. (pics)
 
I'm on a week of vacation and took 3 days with a friend to visit
my sister and discover Kentucky. This is a brief review of what
we rode and saw.


Starting in Milwaukee, WI we drove through Chicago:

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky02.jpg

Stopping in Indiana on the way to Bloomington, this is Brown County State Park.
Highest point in southern Indiana. This shows that not all of Indiana is flat!


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky08.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky12.jpg

Stopping in Bloomington, IN ( is was the weekend of the Little 500 afterall! )
we cruised by the football stadium. I wasn't sure if we should go in, but my friend
said "well, the gate's open ain't it?


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky17.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky19.jpg

From there we spent a half hour looking for the other stadium where the
Little 500 bike race is held. Finally we found it!


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky20.jpg

Again, the gate was open, so .....
(just look like you know what you're doing and that you're supposed to be going in there :p )


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky21.jpg

This was Friday afternoon, so preparations for the weekend were still being made. We
could have ridden right onto the track if there weren't so many folks around.


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky22.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky23.jpg

Continued ...

3MTA3 04-23-07 07:50 PM

ah memories... brown county park is ftw & so is bill armstrong stadium. jealousy.

John Wilke 04-23-07 08:00 PM

From there we drove south to Bowling Green, KY. My sister lives nearby. Early the
next morning I went out for a pre-breakfast ride and found the Corvette factory.
I rode around the plant:


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky34.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky33.jpg

Driving east we made a short visit with my sister and her many cats and dogs.

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky35.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky36.jpg

This is the road she lives on

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky37.jpg

As you enter Tennessee, there aren't any signs, but suddenly a
stripe appears down the center of the road!


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky39.jpg

The roads in Tennessee were great!

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky40.jpg

But we were chased by a lot of dogs. My friend had 6 (SIX!) chasing
him at one time!!


Driving farther east, we went past this road leading up to a radio tower.
I have no idea how you get up THIS one!!


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky48.jpg

Ultimately, we rode around in Harlen County - coal country. The roads
were excellent!


http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky53.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky57.jpg

Continued ...

John Wilke 04-23-07 08:07 PM

More from Harlen County:

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky78.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky81.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky82.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky80.jpg

I will be putting together a page with many more pics - I shot over
450 of them! Plus I have stories to tell about how we got lost on the
way up to Black Mountain - the highest point in Kentucky. I was scared,
it had "Deliverance" written all over it. :p I'll put the link in my sig. file.


We drove 1600 miles in 3 days and was still able to ride 2-3 hours a day.
It was a blast. Hope 'yall enjoyed the pics.


jw

THE END

Phantoj 04-23-07 11:25 PM

I lived in Elizabethown, KY for five years. Wonderful place for road and mountain biking. Tons of smooth roads with nice scenery and little traffic. Flat and hilly options available. The hills were almost as good as up here, likewise the scenery. And the traffic was much, much better!

aikigreg 04-24-07 12:46 PM

I'm from Lexington, and my mom was born and raised in Harlen. I knew the exact roads and curves you were on. Memories! Aren't the roads there just wonderful? Smooth as glass.

scrapmetal 04-24-07 02:20 PM

Thats a beautiful Pyr your sister has.

eatdirt22 04-24-07 02:36 PM

All my old stomping grounds!!! Can't beat watching the Little 5 and IU Soccer at Bill Armstrong....tear


Sorry..I just had a moment, guess I'll have to go back for the Hilly Hundred this year and check everything out!

baj32161 04-24-07 03:04 PM

Thank you for sharing those pics...Oh how I hate Burlington County NJ:D .

mollusk 04-24-07 03:11 PM

Looks like beautiful riding.

My mother-in-law is an IU grad and she was involved with the first Little 500 ride sewing up "kit" for a team.

MTBLover 04-24-07 03:14 PM


Originally Posted by baj32161
Thank you for sharing those pics...Oh how I hate Burlington County NJ:D .

:D I don't know... The county roads there aren't bad (compared to Philly, that is :p). There's some pretty good riding in the Wharton Tract.

deskjockey 04-24-07 04:39 PM

I miss B-ton. :(

shakeNbake 04-24-07 04:43 PM

You didn't ride around the track? :(

GuitarWizard 04-24-07 04:49 PM

I want to climb that radio tower hill.

ILUVUK 04-24-07 06:39 PM

ahhhhh...Kentucky!

John Wilke 04-25-07 12:47 AM


Originally Posted by GuitarWizard
I want to climb that radio tower hill.

I think you need a winch or something, incredibly steep! :p


Originally Posted by shakeNbake
You didn't ride around the track?

That would have been fun, eh? Too many serious looking folk about. Don't they have a celebrity race or something on friday? (that's when we were there).
The parties were just cranking up and the town was really hopping.


Originally Posted by scrapmetal
Thats a beautiful Pyr your sister has.

Hey? They have 3 dogs and 2 cats. It seems that dogs are very popular around
there ... we met quite a few out on the road. :o All friendly though.

The roads were perfectly smooth, but the climbs were STEEP!
I'd bring a triple chainring for sure. I'll have to keep my eye out for any organized
rides around there (Bloomington, IN or anywhere in KY). That will give me something
to train for!

A few more pics from around Harlen, KY:

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky62.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky64.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky74.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky75.jpg

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky76.jpg

We drove up Black Mountain (highest point in KY) just after sunset ... :eek:
That climb has got to rival anything in Europe. Steep? Oh yeah.
We were half way up wondering why there weren't any guard
rails next to the road where you might get killed if you went off.
Higher up, there were guard rails, where you would get
killed if you went off. :D After descending you'd need to replace your
brake shoes, there weren't any long straightaways, just LEFT! RIGHT!
LEFT! RIGHT! ... whew! ....

jw

rha600 04-25-07 07:09 AM

http://members.aol.com/j999w/KY/Ky33.jpg

they were testing the new 2008 vette with the LS3 engine that is being announced this weekend. woooooooo hooooooooo!

G_Sup 04-25-07 08:00 AM

Great Pics with some awesome roads!!!

aikigreg 04-25-07 08:04 AM

guard rails are for wimps and yankees. Kentucky folk don't need 'em!

IUScott 04-25-07 08:10 AM

Ahh Bloomington IN and little 5. I miss it, being a race alumni...racing it in 98 and 99! Great Times. Too bad you couldnt take a spin around the cinder track, its a cool thing to do and any cyclist should make an attempt to see the race in person. Its for sure a great event. Oh and the CUTTERS won this year in a 5 team sprint.

blonduathlongrl 04-25-07 08:20 AM

that's just beautiful, thanks for sharing!

Psimet2001 04-25-07 09:16 AM


Originally Posted by John Wilke
I'll have to keep my eye out for any organized
rides around there (Bloomington, IN or anywhere in KY). That will give me something
to train for!
jw

Hilly Hundred. 2 (official) days of riding in and through Brown County. Beautiful ride. Haven't doen it since 1993, but always put it on the calendar just in case. HUGE ride.

http://www.hillyhundred.org/

kevmetric 04-25-07 01:51 PM

I guess you take what you can get, considering your budget.

Nothing, of course, like a vacation with a planned cycle itinerary in France, Spain, Italy or Monte Carlo
for example, through the routes that professional tours use for competitions.

CrimsonKarter21 04-25-07 02:09 PM

Tour de Kentuckey??? I went there in rural Louisville and the roads were awesome and it was incredibly hilly. I just wish that I was more fit back then (November '06). I was only able to do a 40 mile ride. Who needs family anyways?

wheel 04-25-07 02:14 PM

Nice at first I didn't think you were driving a motor lol then I put two and two together.
That is awesome. thanks for the pics


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