Route recommendations - Indy to Lexington, KY

[dropstharockalot]

I may be headed to Lexington, Kentucky in early June to meet up with some friends at a concert, and I'm thinking of riding there - it looks like a good opportunity to meander my way through the Hoosier National Forest and the Southern Indiana area down by the river.  I'm thinking of taking my time and making a weekend of it, so I'd appreciate any recommendations or suggestions as to roads to not miss, good places to eat, and areas to avoid, etc..

I'd be especially greatful for any advice about routing on the Kentucky side of things... the sum of my experience in that state consists of one time hauling ass through to get to Tennessee, and one time getting arrested for unlawful relations with a farm animal.

I swear she looked 18.

If you don't want to give away your super-secret weekend ride route I understand.  Any general advice is appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance!

[GRUBBY]

I'd talk to Desmocrat. He lives in Louisville, but he knows a bunch of roads down there.

[dropstharockalot]

I think I found his forum and route maps through some links on the DMF... commonwealth d.o.c. and the kentucky page on mortocycleroutes.com or something similar... but I would definitely be interested in hearing whatever else he has to say on the subject.

Thanks again!

[sTD]

Pretty hard to find crap roads in Kentucky... remember this: the more digits a road has, the better it is for riding.

Near the HNF, 58 is good, 135 is overrated and heavily patrolled.  There are a bunch of small, go-nowhere highways around there... and a lot of fun dirt, if you're man enough

[GRUBBY]

www.thoroughbreddoc.org is his site.

[dropstharockalot]

Pretty hard to find crap roads in Kentucky... remember this: the more digits a road has, the better it is for riding.

Near the HNF, 58 is good, 135 is overrated and heavily patrolled.  There are a bunch of small, go-nowhere highways around there... and a lot of fun dirt, if you're man enough

I've done 135, and it's nice.  I'll have to hit up 58 when I get the chance.

As for dirt, I'm leaving that to you Multi types.  I seem to get horizontal plenty on blacktop... no need to try my luck on something unpaved.





////quote fixed

[sTD]

LOL 

Maybe you need a Multi.... only then will you "know" what we "know"

[Desmocrat]

Best thing to do is call us when you are coming through...we'll be glad to show you around.  If you want to ride solo or at a calm pace, we can certainly make suggestions.  A lot of it is according to how much time you have.  Also, you should determine if you are just touring and taking in some sites, or if your sights are just set on the twistiest shit the state has to offer.
Most of my personal favorites are located within the Louisville/Cincinnati/Lexington triangle.  There are a great many roads along the Route 22 corridor from Louisville east to Willow (a little country store on Rt10 past Falmouth).  All the roads in the section where 22 crosses the Kentucky River in Gratz are worth mention and in Owenton,  Rt 227 breaks off of 22 and goes south for about 25 miles with not a single straight area to pass.  We call this section of 227 "The Tail of the Thoroughbred".  Unlike the Tail of the Dragon, I have never seen a cop on this road, but be careful, the road is tricky and we don't want the cops to start coming there (scraping up dead hooligans might draw attention).  Lots of great roads around Lexington if "scenic shit" is your thing. Horse farms, stone walls and huge tree tunnels that give the feel of an English country road.  More likely to see an occasional cop around here.
There are some good routes along the river on the Indiana side as well, and unlike the majority of Indiana, these roads are laden with up and down stuff.  The one thing to watch out for in this area is the gravel strip Indiana Dept. of Hwys lays down along the edge of the roads.  This gravel gets pulled into the road at intersections and driveways (usually on curves).  Most of the guys that have gone down on our group rides have done so here.
We extend our offer to show any of you guys the good stuff to ride down here.  And if you want to make a weekend of it, we can get you housed if you need to do the overnight thing, get you fed or hopped up on local micro-brews or Kentucky Bourbon, let you use the toolbox if you are in need of some adjustment, show you some history (covered bridges - we have 13 of them that can all be seen in a long days ride, Daniel Boone's grave, Lincoln's birthplace, meteor craters, Red River Gorge, natural bridges, bourbon distillery tours, horse racing industry, Corvette Museum, Perryville Battlefield and more), and like sTD said, tons of roads with long numbers.  Just be careful as Kentuckians don't really know roads by their number designation, but rather by landmarks, e.g. right by the old white church, left at Mr. Lucky's tobacco patch, over the top of Poor Bottom Hill., etc.
No need to go all the way to West Virginia or North Carolina for good riding.  But if you want to go a little further than Brown County...Come on down!
on the web:  www.thoroughbreddoc.org
on Facebook: Thoroughbred Ducati Club of Kentucky

[Desmocrat]

I have to admit it, following that long diatribe about not going all the way down to NC to ride, that I did just get back from a few day long solo road trip down to Asheville, NC and then some riding up into Virginia on the Blue Ridge Pkwy.  Coming home from Wytheville, VA to Louisville on secondary roads, over the mountains in downpours (same front that produced killer tornados in TX and Mississippi this weekend) surrounded by coal trucks for 300 miles (highlighted in yellow on map), was not so much fun though.  Still had a good time at a bike night at the Wedge Micro-brewery in Asheville with my old roomie from Atlanta and riding the Blue Ridge Parkway in the spring while everything is blooming is just gorgeous.  I went to the top of Mt. Mitchell (highest point in the eastern U.S.), something I haven't done in 41 years.  It's still high and getting there is much more fun on a Duc.
I still maintain that if you go to NC, don't waste your time on the Tail of the Dragon.  Instead, the Cherohalla Skyway or the Blue Ridge parkway offer better riding and the speed limits are 45 & 55 mph, instead of the 35mph w/ a cop per every 1.375 miles, as is the case on The Dragon.  the Dragon is only famous because dipshits crash their bikes and hang it on a tree next to the t-shirt store.  You can be equally challenged by taking a MSF refresher course.

[sTD]

Sounds like a good time.... didums stay out of trouble?

Agreed on the Dragon... it was fun before the internet made it infamous

[dropstharockalot]

on the web:  www.thoroughbreddoc.org

Thanks much for taking the time to post...

I chanced across the website from a post on the DMF, and that let me to a bunch of route maps your Thoroughbred cohorts posted. Using that and Google maps, if figured out a way to meander south from the Colombus, IN area to Madison, IN... which will then allow me to pick up KY 421 to Lexington.  By all accounts, KY 421 looks like a great stretch of road.  Given the amount of time that I'll have on this trip, extensive touring east of Lexington is probably out.  I could maybe divert an hour east, tops, if there was something closeby that you recommend taking in.

At this point, it would be most helpful if you or your guys could recommend dining and hotel accomodations near Buster's in Lexington (899 Manchester St).  Some place with covered or monitored parking would be tops, but a place with first-floor units that I could roll the bike into wouldn't be bad either!

[Desmocrat]

421 into Frankfort is a great road once you are close to Frankfort.  If you can find a way to fit 227 from Owneton to Stamping Ground into your plans, you will not be disappointed.
I lived in Lexington when I was going to school but that was 30 years ago.  I barely know where Main Street is anymore.  Get in touch with Bill reynolds (I think he is a member here or on Facebook), he can give your the scoop on Lex.

[BryanS]

you will also find that we have a link directly to many of the other regional clubs in the area, including Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, in addition to Kentucky.... just click the "links" link at the top of the page