Revised on May 5, 2001
Kentucky Festival listing
-- click here for an external website which lists local community festivals in Kentucky
Introduction. Waddy is located on Intersate 64 in eastern Shelby County, Kentucky, between the major metropolitan areas of Louisville and Lexington. The areas north, south, and east of Waddy have many excellent, lightly travelled roads which make for high quality bicycling. The cycling roads are located in Shelby, Anderson, and Franklin County, and have generally good road surfaces. Many of the rides in this area involve tiny country lanes, small rural communities, and good vistas from ridgelines.
How to Get There. Access to rides is easy. Exit 43 from Interstate 64 puts you at the Flying J and the Buzzard Roost truck stops. Try to buy something from either truck stop to show appreciation for the free parking. Waddy also has some churches and a post office where you could also begin rides. Please show courtesy toward the local patrons and churchgoers if you use these facilities.
Terrain. The terrain is rolling to hilly. None of the hills is brutally steep, nor is any especially long. The geography is that of the Outer Bluegrass region. To the west of Waddy is more gently rolling, rich Shelby County farmland. To the north, east, and south are hillier areas, less suitable for crops. There are many dairy operations on the hills and ridges, and plenty of small tobacco plots on the back roads. Many of the roads follow small streams, providing gentle grades, but you will eventually have to climb back to a ridgeline. As you get farther east and approach the Kentucky River Valley, the hills get higher and steeper, and they also get steeper south of the Salt River.
Navigation. Unless you're very familiar with this area, I strongly encourage you to take a map if you're riding on your own. The area is covered well in the DeLorme Kentucky Atlas, which is widely available. Also, the Kentucky county maps, available either individually or in atlas form, are very useful. You'll need Shelby, Anderson, and Franklin counties. If anyone has questions about getting maps, e-mail the website author, at the address at the bottom of the page. If you have the local maps and a compass, navigation is a snap as the roads haven't changed in 100 years.
65 and 40 mile Routes Markings. The 65 mile Ninevah route, and the 40 mile Timber Creek route, both described below, were marked for a Louisville Bicycle Club ride on August 15, 1999. [Note: the current status of the markings is not certain as of May, 2001; do not depend on the markings alone as they may well be scuffed off by motor vehicle tires; take a map -- ed. 5-6-2001.] The 65 mile route was marked with white "65" markings; the 40 mile route was marked with blue "40" markings.
Some Suggested Routes
Timber Creek -- 40 remote miles along two fine creeks
Local Bicycle Links
Here are links to the Louisville and Lexington bicycle clubs. These sites have more comprehensive link collections for Kentucky and general cycling resources.
For further information, or corrections, please e-mail the website author.
