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Elk Creek Winery, It had been a while.
A great crowd gathered for the anticipated ride to Elk Creek Winery. Rod, Kathy, Chuck, Chris, Kyle, and Jeff all met at Thornton’s on a beautiful day with expectations of a nice ride. It had been a while since so many had gathered and while everyone was anxious to get rolling it was hard to limit the catch-up conversations. After more than a few minutes of chatting the group headed out on what turned out to be a spectacular day.
The ride east on highway 22 was nice as always – a great warm up for things to come. Crestwood, Ballardsville, Eminence, and the other small towns came and went quickly. The group stopped at Pleasureville for a short break, along with a dozen or so other bikers who were out enjoying the day. The group saddled up and headed east on 22 for the ride to Owenton.
Twenty-two east of Pleasureville is just such a great road. The first 5 or so miles are rolling hills, soft curves, and lots of beautiful scenery. You could see everyone looking from side-to-side, trying to take it all in all while staying on the road. Everyone succeeded.
The next 15 or so miles were a blast. Twenty-two changed from gently rolling to a twisting and turning up and down pay attention road as it dipped down to the Kentucky River and then back up again as it headed to Owenton. The group clearly enjoyed the ride -- it was a nice pace, a great road, some moments of scenery, and hardly any other traffic. The group made it to Owenton and finally to the winery for lunch.
Rod, Kathy, Chuck, and Jeff had been to the winery a few times. But even their eyes were taking it all in as the place is always so beautiful. Kyle and Chris were, as all first timers, overwhelmed with the overall setting. The winery was a little more crowded than in the past, yet the Kathy found a group of tables to commandeer and arrange for maximum pleasure. The group enjoyed a variety of sandwiches and there were all kinds of different conversations about the ride, the view, and life in general. One of Kyle’s friends, Aaron, caught up to the group and joined for lunch and the ride home.
After a long, relaxing, and stimulating lunch the group was ready and anxious for the trek down to Stomping Grounds on 227. Heading out of the winery and making the left you could tell everyone was eager for the upcoming ride.
The group made the left on to 227 and the fun began. Two-twenty-seven has to be one of, if not the, most curvy roads in the state of Kentucky. Except for a mile or so toward the end, 227 winds along the ridges for about 20 miles from Owenton to Stomping Ground. The group headed down the ridge, leaning left and right constantly, focused on the curves while enjoying 227. Traffic was light and the group had the road pretty much to themselves except for a few last miles.
When the group arrived at the stop sign at 460 everyone was smiling and bantering, clearly having just had a ball for 45 or so minutes.
The ride to Frankfort on 460 was beautiful as always and a nice “cool down” after having ridden 227. After stopping for gas, the group continued into Frankfort, toward 1005 for the final legs home.
Along the way to 1005, the group found a beautiful little shortcut from downtown to the “start” of 1005. Devil’s Hollow Road is a short little thing, about 3 miles, at most, that twists and turns up the hill from the Kentucky River to 127 at 1005. It was a great little find, you could hear the engines revving as the group pushed up the empty, twisty road.
Devil’s Hollow emptied right into 1005 for the anticipated final leg to Shelbyville. One-thousand-five and 1779 lived up to their reputations, providing 20 or so miles of twists, turns, dips, and climbs as the group made it back to Shelbyville.
The group stopped at an unfinished turn-off along Freedom’s Way in Shelbyville, all executing high quality U-turns to get into position to park and chat about the ride. The excitement level was high; more than one rider mentioned that the group had found just the right combination of roads for a great day of riding.
All-in-all it was just a perfect day. The conversations were stimulating, the roads were excellent, and the weather was perfect. It might be a hard day to surpass.
August 7, 2023
