Qualifier for these routes!

The following routes were developed over years of biking in Indiana and now Kentucky. The majority of the routes are on rural paved roads with minimal secondary highways to connect the county roads. Using these routes you'll almost always find that the distances between two points is more than taking a highway however the scenery is almost always better as well as lower traffic. Hopefully you'll enjoy the great cycling in Indiana or Kentucky and if possible provide feedback on your trip.
I am not making any recommendations nor can I say that these routes are free from road hazards or dangers from traffic. Users of these routes will find them scenic and remote however only the user can assure they are safe on any public road.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Ralf's Five Day Rides Kentucky

Since 1994 I've dragged friends with me on remote road bike rides always throwing in interesting sites along the way. They have rarely if ever been disappointed. After relocating from Indiana to Northern Kentucky in 2010 I had a whole new state of backroads to take them on. Each of the following Google maps consists of five routes linked at overnight locations with lodging. They are intended as five day rides with a total mileage of around 300 to 350 miles. While they aren't extremely long rides favored by many riders the terrain can at times be challenging with plenty of hills and not many straight roads. Since the routes are in remote Kentucky it's good to carry plenty of snacks and water. Oh, the RRRiK stands for Ralf's Rural Rides in Kentucky!

RRRiK 2011 Leaves from Crittenden Kentucky just South of the Greater Cincinnati area on Interstate 75 at exit 166. The ride passes through Frankfort on the way to Bardstown then back overnighting at the Shaker Village near Harrodsburg. Lots of scenic backroads and consistent rolling terrain.

View RRRiK 2011 in a larger map

RRRiK 2012 again leaves from the Crittenden area but heads East overnighting in Maysville the first and fourth nights, Carter Caves State Park night two and Greenbo Lake State Park night three.

View RRRiK 2012 in a larger map

RRRiK 2013 will start in SE Kentucky at Grayson then heads to Louisa and into West Virginia to Chief Logan State Park. From there we'll head back toward Kentucky but spend the night in Matewan West Virginia Virginia on the border of Kentucky where the Hatfield and McCoy feud took place, well some of it. The last night will be at Jenny Wiley State Park in Kentucky and from there we'll head back to Grayson. In the backcountry of West Virginia and SE Kentucky you could run into Mountain Talk which originated from the Scotts/Irish when they imigrated to America! Also some additional history of the area can be seen at "Hillbillies: The Real Story" which is a 90 minute History Channel presentation.

View RRRiK 2013 in a larger map
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)