2010 Lap of Kentucky

I should probably preface this by pointing out that I bought my first motorcycle, my KLR650, back in February. Since then I’ve been riding as much as I can around town and hitting a lot of the Thursday night rides organized on our KYADVRiders mailing list. By May I was feeling confident enough that I was ready to pull the trigger on a long weekend trip and I signed up for the LoK.

The Lap of Kentucky is a four day, 1400 mile trip around the perimeter of the Commonwealth (not a state, thankyouverymuch) of Kentucky that’s put on by our local BMW Motorcycle dealership. The route follows as closely as possible to the borders of the state using a minimum of highways, opting instead for the two lane, one lane, and sometimes no-lane byways. Lots of last minute preparations to figure out how to secure my $13 Walmart drybag and $18 Tractor Supply saddlebags were sorted out last week in the days leading up to the ride and by Wednesday night, I was as ready as I was gonna be. Thursday morning came and I groggily said goodbye to Laura as she headed off to work and dragged myself out of bed to get head into town to meet up with my riding crew.

The cast of characters for our riding group included two Goldwings (Jim and Jeff), an ST1300 (Dave), a GS1200 (DualHabit/Jerry), an ’08 KLR (mbabc/Mark), an XR650 (woodsrat/Tim) and myself (emohn/Erik). I know that Mark plans to post his updates and photos in this thread, and hopefully Jerry, Tim, and maybe some of the other guys will chime in as well. Introductions were made over coffee and donuts in the air conditioned comfort of BMW/HD of Louisville. The organizer for the event, Jeff Cooke recently sold the BMW franchise to HD of Louisville and remained the planner of the LoK, as well as a consultant to the dealership. Jeff got everyone checked in and we were free to roam the showroom or BS in the parking lot, checking out the ~35 other riders’ bikes.

After some notes from Jeff about the ride, chase vehicle, and possible changes to the route sheets for road construction, we were on our way, heading out into the tail end of rush hour traffic through downtown Louisville.

Day 1 – Thursday: Louisville to Ashland/Catlettsburg along the Ohio River

After breaking free of downtown Louisville’s maze of stoplights and rush hour traffic, we were finally headed east on River Rd along the banks of Ohio River and picked up US 42 northeast at Prospect, KY.

After passing through Bedford, KY on Hwy 42, we picked up 421, 36, and then 42 again riding north and then east along the banks of the Ohio River heading in the direction of Cincinatti. We passed through the towns of Milton, Carrolton, Ghent, and Warsaw.

Veering off of 338 northwest towards the Ohio onto Lower River Rd in Boone County takes you into the tiny burg of Rabbit Hash. A quick debate on whether it was late enough in the day for a lunch break resolved with us pushing on towards Covington/Cincy.

Back on the move out of Rabbit Hash winding through the hills around Big Bone Lick State Park and further up toward the Cincy metro area.

View of downtown Cincinnati from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, riding into Covington

The towns of Covington and Newport, KY are suburbs of Cincinnati and pack a lot of traffic and people into their narrow hillside streets. After quite a few red light stop-starts in the city heat and a brief hiccup with the GPS routing, we were finally back out of the city and moving along the Ohio on State Hwy 8.

I didn’t take a lot of photos for the next bit of riding, but the bulk of it was just following State Hwy 8 through Moscow, Maysville, Vanceburg and eventually picking up 23 in Southport, KY. We stopped at the Greenup County War Memorial just outside of Flatwoods, KY on 23 in order to check our maps for our stopping point for the day, say goodbye to John on the Honda Shadow, who was riding on to Prestonsburg, and check out the tank, Huey, and jet on display. A car full of teenagers pulled up and before we headed out, the mouthy redhead girl made it well known that she was “gonna get a ride on one of those (explitive deleted) bikes!” – much to our shock and amazement. Unfortunately for her, we were heavily loaded and still had a few dozen miles to click off before checking into our hotel just past Ashland.

The sun-faded olive drab of the KLR fits in pretty well, dontcha think?

Day one wrapped up in the industrial sh*thole (sorry, that’s what it is) of Ashland with Mark, Jerry and I checking into our hotel, freshening up, and grabbing dinner and a few Dos Equis at a Mexican restaurant, and hitting the hay.

Day 2 – Friday: Catlettsburg to Monticello through Coal Country

Friday morning dawned with heavy fog in the Ashland/Catlettsburg valley. Jerry, Mark and I met Tim, Jim and Jeff for a decent continental breakfast around 7am and we headed out to pack up the bikes and hit the road. Cruising along 23 southeast towards Louisa, KY had us more or less following the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy. In Louisa, we turn onto Hwy 3 and continued our ride southeast into increasingly hilly and twisting terrain skirting the Right Fork of Laurel Creek.

I’m still waiting on the GPS tracks from my riding partners to confirm the exact route we took (I’ll correct this paragraph once I have them), but I know that at some point we got on State Rt 292 and crossed over the bridge into West Virginia briefly at Matewan, where we passed by the trailhead to trail 21 on the Hatfield-McCoy system. Following hwy 49, we crossed back into KY at Edgarton, WV and took what was by far the most technical and twisty-fun series of roads from the whole weekend: 194 to 1499 to 460 between Freeburn, KY and Elkhorn City, KY. Amazing.

Weeeeeeee!

At Elkhorn City we took a well deserved break to gas up, choke down some fairly dubious offerings from the Broasted Chicken bar and make our plans for the next leg of the trip. From here we would be heading down 805 from Elkhorn Ciry down through Jenkins and into my dad’s hometown of Whitesburg, KY. In Whitesburg, the Honda crew (XR, ST, and Goldwings) would split off to take what was supposed to be a more street-oriented path, while the GS and the two KLR’s tackled the paved and unpaved sections of the Little Shepherd Trail (which is technically a “road” – Hwy 1679) across the top of Pine Mountain. We planned to meet up with Tim, Jim, Dave and Jeff in Harlan after completing the LST.

Mark at the top of Pine Mtn Road near Whitesburg, ready to tackle the Little Shepherd Trail

Jerry at the start of the paved section of the Little Shepherd Trail

This photo wasn’t staged at all… no… really. (overlook along the LST)

Your humble author, taking it all in.

After about 13 miles of tight twisty paved one lane riding along the ridge of Pine Mountain on the Little Shepherd Trail, you reach Kingdom Come State Park and the trail descends to Hwy 160. At that point you take a left on 160, continue 500 ft or so and make a right turn to continue on 1679/LST on gravel, dirt, mud and rocks. At this point, I’m having a TON of fun, as the trail is technical enough to keep things interesting, but not so rugged that the KLR seems like a pig. At one point, however, a steep uphill righthand switchback has Jerry shifting from 2nd to 1st, but catching neutral instead… momentum gives out and over goes the GS with Jerry spilling off on his back. Thankfully it was a low speed getoff and Jerry and Mark got the bike going again while I played the role of the jerk behind the camera.

No real damage to the bike or Jerry’s pride.

After finishing out the unpaved portion of the LST we headed south on State Hwy 2010 rather than ride the last paved bit of the LST. This was dark, shady tree and moss lined road twisting it’s way back down to 119. Mark’s rear brake cooked and gave out, giving us a bit of a scare for a minute, but by the time we rode into Pineville to meet up with the rest of the crew, it had come back. Apparently the Honda crew had run into some interesting times of their own, opting to take 987 south of Harlan, which apparently was a poorly paved road that gave way to gravel at several points (hopefully woodsrat will fill in the blanks here).
From Pineville, the group was back together again and the roads got a bit less technical. We rode 92 (and possibly some other roads – need to check GPS tracks) across the Daniel Boone National Forest and farther west to Monticello for the night.

After dinner we did a little maintenance and shot the breeze for a bit in the parking lot of the luxurious Tiffany Inn before turning in for the night.

Day 3 – Saturday: Monticello to Paducah

Saturday morning had us waking up around 6am to try and hit the road by 7. But not without first making a stop at McDonalds for some breakfast. Big breakfast w/ pancakes for me – others made do with sausage biscuits or a cup of OJ. From there we headed out of Monticello on Hwy 90, heading west. We soon split off from the official LoK route in order to check out a side diversion that woodsrat had heard about. 1590 to 1351 to 449 to 61 to 214 (got that?) had us traveling down Turkey Neck Bend Rd to the edge of the Cumberland River. Tim had heard about the last remaining 24 hr free ferry still operated by the state.

After a friendly chat with the ramp operator and the short ride across, we were back on our way westward. Not long after cresting the hill on the other side of the river, I noticed an ominous looking sky.

Sure enough, rain came pouring down in buckets as we entered the town of Gamaliel.

Tim decided to test out his rain gear by waiting out in the worst of it, while the rest of us hid under the gas station’s awning.

Jeff made an interesting discovery at our pump, but I don’t think they were his size.

After a few minutes of waiting out the worst of the downpour and the gas station getting much more crowded as riders from other groups started trickling in, our group apparently decided to set out into the drizzle to continue on. Problem is, I didn’t know this and still had my gloves and helmet off when I noticed them riding off down the road. I ended up split from the group by a car and two riders from another ride group. I pressed on as fast and as hard as I was comfortable with on very wet roads with my untethered chin strap flapping in the wind. Eventually I passed the other riders and caught up with my group of six.

As we headed farther west in the direction of Hopkinsville, we picked up easily the most beautiful rolling countryside and flowing turns of the trip. The roads heading south out of Franklin and then west toward Adairville were postcard perfect – wheat fields on the left, corn on the right, red painted barns with metal roofs, and turns ranging from 20 mph to 45 mph. Awesome riding, and a welcome change after my stressful bit of wheeling trying to catch up with the guys earlier on the wet, tighter roads.

Coming off of one of these smaller farm roads out onto 41, Mark suddenly makes a beeline into a church parking lot, where a lone motorcyclist is sitting on an XR. I didn’t pay much attention at first, figuring it was just someone who’d gotten split from their LoK group and might need directions. Once Tim pulled alongside the rider as well, I noticed the California plates and the fact that he was packed miiighty heavily for the LoK. Turns out, it was inmate ShooterDave on his Lower 48 States tour. Small world… or as the church sign read, Tiny Town.

I gotta say, seeing Dave out on a ride like that, having been on the road since April 2, while I’m just running around my own state on a weekend trip made me feel kinda silly… and insanely jealous at the same time. I’m realizing now that I’m a bit late getting into this motorcycling game and work life, vacation time, family obligations, and transitioning into the baby-makin’ phase of life will probably keep an adventure like that off my dance card for a long time to come. I’m glad those of you who can, do, so that the rest of us can live through you and if we’re lucky, run into you on the road out there. Rock on, Dave.

Just west of Guthrie, KY we had to dip across the Tennessee border and pick up I24 for a few miles to bring us back across the state line at Ft. Campbell. We decided that was as good a time as any to stop for lunch and gas.

After lunch we continued on westward towards the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. First crossing over Lake Barkley, then getting stuck in traffic on the LBL due to a road project there, and finally crossing Kentucky Lake on the other side.

From there the ride got HOT, and flat, and dare I say a bit boring? We were headed to the extreme southwest corner of the state in Fulton County. As we arrived in Hickman, KY, there was some brief confusion on the route at a Y in the road, so we dipped into a gas station for (I thought) a fill up. The pumps out front filled up quick and being at the back of the group, I rode to the pumps on the opposite side of the building to fill up. About the time I have my gloves and helmet off, gas cap unlock and ready to squeeze the trigger, a girl in the car next to me says “Yo frieends just left.” Shit. Here we go again – they didn’t know I wasn’t with them. Gear on, hose hung up, and I’m speeding away – the gas station attendent probably thought I was skipping out on the tab. Thankfully, Mark realized that I wasn’t with the group and hung back to let me know that they were riding on to find another station with premium gas for the GoldWings . Problem is, Mark and I had no idea where they’d gone and we were pretty low on fuel in the KLRs. So we opt to head back to the station we’d just left, top up, and try and catch up.

A word about this part of Kentucky… I thought I’d been all over this state in my years living here, but I’d have sworn I was in Mississippi and not KY as we rode through the town. It just had a feel like we were driving through the set of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. Ramshackle houses and boarded up buildings. Brokedown porches shading brokedown dogs as the tenants/owners reclined on their front porches. If this had been a cicada summer, I’m positive that the scrub pine and cypress would have been screaming with them in the sweltering heat of the afternoon. I was ready to get the hell out of there, and fast.

Mark and I looked over the map and he consulted his GPS for what we thought was the best way out of town and to meet up with the riding group. Heading out on 94 eastbound, we picked up 239 northward towards Clinton and then spotted signs for the Great River Road of KY (123), which is apparently part of a bicycle trail running the length of the Mississippi River. Sounded promising and hopefully entertaining, so on we rode – through soybean and corn fields, past swampland, farmland, and river bottomland, ’til we finally picked up Hwy 51 towards a spot we knew would be on the route – the confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers at Wickliffe. And a giant cross. THE Giant Cross at Fort Jefferson.

Ahhh yes, THE Big Cross. 90 feet tall and situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in Wickliffe. I’m a big fan of this picture… If I’m allowed a moment to dip my quill in the inkpot of hyperbole, I’d suggest that in moden times, Jesus would have ridden down from the Mount of Olives into the town of Jerusalem aboard a KLR650. Yes, the ugly, humble, utilitarian KLR – a donkey fit for a King of Kings.

The confluence (probably the only occasion I’ll ever have to use that word) of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Wickliffe, KY. Cairo, IL and it’s bridges can barely be seen in the distance.

KLR Fashion Shoot

Not longer after the KLRs’ fashion shoot, I heard the rumble of motorcycles in the distance. Sure enough, the other five bikes of our group round the corner and head down the highway. I honk my horn and see brakelights light up. The group reunites at the base of the cross. Shame they wanted to ruin a perfectly good ride by talking politics. Thankfully, we were back on the road soon enough. Heading on to Paducah for much needed air conditioning, food, and rest.

With the group now reunited we rode north out of Wickliffe on US 60, which eventually took us eastward to our destination for the night, Paducah, KY. It was around 6pm as we rode into Paducah and it was swelteringly hot. We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express, showered and walked across the parking lot for dinner and several rounds of adult beverages before retiring to the hotel parking lot for a proper days-end BS session.

The BS would be short-lived, however, because Tim remembered one key benefit of Holiday Inn Express – free warm cookies, coffee, and cocoa before bed. Hey, what can I say… the life of an adventurer is a tough one, but it’s got its perks.

After stacking cookies on top of stomachs that were already full of steak and beer, the only thing left to do was to collapse in bed. I’m told that of the three nights we spent together, I *might* have snored a bit more this particular night. Gee, ya think?

Day 4 – Sunday: Paducah to Louisville

Sunday morning came early and I was definitely much more tired and sore than all the previous days combined. Still, Holiday Inn Express came through with a great continental breakfast and then outdid themselves again. As we got to our bikes to load up that morning, we found that a zip lock bag had been left on the seat of each one, containing a “Biker Dew Rag” (washcloth) and an Armor-All wipe or two. The washcloth came in handy wiping down the bike and cleaning off my helmet visor. Unfortunately, Jerry mistook the Armor-All for glass cleaner and I think he slimed his visor pretty good. Still, it was a very nice touch and I’m sure it keeps the pirate biker crown from using the good towels from their rooms to polish up their chrome each morning. Kudos to the folks at the hotel.

Gassing up in Paducah before heading out of town, I think *all* of use were jealous of this guy’s ride. Vintage touring on a Bavarian bomber. Too cool. If you’re on here, speak up so I can drool some more. I think an airhead BMW is definitely on my bucket list.

We continued east out of Paducah on US 60.

The north-western part of the state is a good mix of flat fields of soybean and occasional swampy forests.

We spent most of Sunday morning on one and two lane roads through the flat shores and farmland on the banks of the Ohio. We had a brief bit of gravel here… it wouldn’t be the last we’d see that morning.

One of many little river/port towns along the Ohio between Paducah and Owensboro.

We turned off the paved road for a bit and gave the Goldwing guys a workout on gravel heading up to the top of a bluff.

We can’t stop here… this is Amish Country!

Just past Uniontown, Tim again makes a beeline for the shoulder… this time, for a bee. Apparently the little bugger flew down his shirt and got him at least once before he stripped off his jacket and shirt. By the time he recovered, I *ahem* checked my zipper along the ditchline, and the others started wondering about the next gas stop. Jerry decided not to wait any longer and took off down the road in search of a fill up and an emptying out. The rest of us eventually did likewise, but after a couple botched starts off in one direction or another, we ride into Henderson, KY.

Tim and I debate grabbing lunch here (Henderson, KY) versus heading on to Owensboro for lunch. Jim opts for icecream and Jeff doles out a ration of chicken nuggets to boost morale.

We leave Henderson heading east-north-east, looping out into the soybean fields and flatland that border the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.

Passing through Cloverport… or was it Lewisport… all these little river towns blur together after a while.

We eventually wind our way out of the soybean fields past oil derricks, silos, and through an industrial park, we’re suddenly thrust into the surprisingly busy city of Owensboro. At this point, Mark takes the lead of the group and I know he’s on a mission to find us a local BBQ joint – a mission I fully support him in. After a chance wiff of hickory smoke leads near miss with an irritated Jeep Wrangler driver, we follow Mark into a shopping center, where he ducks into a McDonalds. A McDonalds? Really?!? I’m sure Tim didn’t risk getting flattened by a Wrangler for a quarter pounder with cheese! Thankfully, Mark emerges seconds later with directions to the Old Hickory Pit BBQ. Apparently Moonlight BBQ “is for tourists, but locals eat at Hickory Pit.” Local endorsement notwithstanding, the Old Hickory Pit served up a passable, but certainly not excellent (merely my opinion, some may differ), plate of chopped pork and sides. At this point, the opportunity to sit in the A/C and drink unlimited refills of Sprite would have talked me into eating shoe leather, so the BBQ was more than adequate. We fought our way through the post-church Fathers’ Day rush at the carry-out lines to pay for our food and be on our way eastward.

Crossing into Meade County, we rode through the Yellowbank Wildlife Management Area – Federal land that despite having worked practically next door to it for several years at Ft Knox, I never knew existed. The winding, tree-lined deserted roads of the park were a nice refuge from the oppressive heat.

Occassionally catching glimpses of the Ohio River through the trees kept me fairly sure of our progress and I could sense that we were into the final stretch of the ride. Unfortunately, the ride wasn’t through with us yet. Just after crossing Wolf Creek on 228 (Cedar Flat Rd), Tim jerked his XR to the shoulder and hops off the bike to start looking it over. Turns out, his XR threw its chain thanks (pressumably) to a missing master link clip.

Tim soon had the front sprocket cover pulled off to check the splines (which he originally suspected may be at fault) and got to work repairing the chain. It was HOT out and we were just 50 miles shy of Louisville, but Tim made quick work of the repairs and we were back underway.

Cresting the hill in Brandenburg marked a return to familiar territory for me… and the final leg of the ride.

Coming back down Muldraugh Hill past Ft. Knox towards Louisville

Crossing the Salt River through West Point, KY officially brings you into the Jefferson County / Louisville Metro area.

It’s a shame to have to finish the Lap with a series of traffic heavy, slab riding on Dixie Highway -> 265 -> I65 North, but that’s really the only way to route it that doesn’t have you wasting a lot of time and trapped at endless stoplights. Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too bad and at 5:01pm on Sunday, Tim leads us back into the parking lot at HD/BMW Motorcycles of Louisville. Our Lap of Kentucky is complete.

Mark poses for a photo for Jeff Cooke

Yours truly, doing likewise.

And the surprise of the day for me on Sunday was my wife (Laura) and our dog (Molly) showing up at the dealership to greet me with a hug and a kiss (and lots of doghair), just minutes after I arrived. She’s been amazingly supportive of my new hobby and having her show up to welcome me home was a real treat. From there I rode out to my parents for a much needed shower, a cold Gatorage, and Fathers Day dinner with my folks.

In the end the KLR performed flawlessly, I didn’t have too many ‘oh $#@’ moments, and I arrived safely home – tired, hot, but grinning ear to ear. Thanks again to Jeff Cooke and the folks at BMW/Harley of Louisville for organizing the ride, to my riding partners for putting up with a snoring, giddy, novice rider like me, and to my wife for indulging me on “this motorcycle stuff.” Mark and I are already talking about a NC/TN/GA mountains ride sometime soon… but maybe not too soon – I’d like for the feeling to return to my throttle hand.

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