Redbud 2012 -- Happily Abused by Gravity

Members of Team Bag Balm first rode the Redbud ride, in London, Kentucky, in 2010.  We were awed by the beautiful scenery, challenged by the hills early in the season, and warmed by the friendliness of the people.  Several of us signed up for 2011, but the weather was genuinely awful, and most stayed home.  A few brave souls, like Jim Whaley, rode the event, and reported hail and having to ford streams with their bikes.  Epic.

In 2012, Redbud added a Friday ride, a 40 miler in the afternoon, starting at Union College in Barbourville, about 25 miles from the London start of Saturday's event.  We had a group of three riders from Louisville, Marty Kinney, Dave Runge, and me, together with Wayne Collier from Lexington and his friend Ken from Chicago.  The weather was perfect for April, with blue skies and temperatures in the mid-70's.

The course was moderate.  There was a climb of about 350 feet at the beginning, with some grades up to 10%, but most of the route was rolling without any other significant climbs.  Knox County is pretty, and less gritty than some of the eastern counties.  Much of the route was in farmland or forest, and it looked as much like the Bluegrass region as the mountains.  Union College was a fine place to start and end the ride, and we added a visit to the Thomas Walker state shrine near the end, the site of the first building in Kentucky constructed by European settlers.

The online map and data from my Garmin 800 are online.

Predictions of rain for Saturday proved correct.  The temperature stayed in a narrow range between 52 and 55 degrees, and was actually a bit cooler at the end.  Five of us rode the 70 mile Green Monster route:  Bob Hower, Marty Kinney, Ernie Patterson, Dave Runge, and myself.  While we had seen a number of Louisville Bicycle Club jerseys on Friday, most of the LBC riders elected to head home when the rain and cold moved in.  We had heavy rain, moderate rain, or light rain for at least 60 of the 70 miles, but the green landscape and friendly rest stops overcame our concerns about the weather.  Best of all was the indoor, heated stop at the Letterbox Church in Jackson County, where we were treated to a hot barbecue lunch.  Mike Davidson and Jim Risch successfully navigated the 40 mile option.

On the 70 mile route, there is one climb, Tussey Hill, which hits 22%.  Dave Runge remarked that we were "abused by gravity."

Here's the Garmin data and map for the Green Monster.

After two years of adverse weather, 2013 is bound to have more sunshine.  This ride is a Kentucky classic and deserves a spot on the calendar of every dedicated recreational cyclist.

I have posted a few more pictures here.