Yesterday’s bike riding adventure was more like a dark comedy. I decided we would try the trails in the Jefferson Memorial Forest, down along the Bullitt County line. Looked great online, and they listed biking as one of the many options for their park.

We drove down there and learned that biking is specifically NOT allowed in their parks. Bummer. The park looked beautiful, but we were there to bike, not hike. We asked the person at the welcome center for the closest park where biking is allowed, and she came up with Waverly Park, about 10 miles away. So we trundled off to Waverly Park in search of a new adventure.

It looked great at first glance. Scenic, kinda remote, and a nice lake with folks fishing at the center of things. So we unloaded the bikes and set off. Just a few yards into the first trail I realized this was NOT a repeat of the idyllic ride at Floyd’s Fork. The trail was narrow, windy and slippery dirt, mostly clay. Then we encountered the first of many death trap root systems on the trail. Huge roots, one after another for a few yards, slick with mud and anywhere from 1-6 inches above ground. Even with the big trail tires and shock absorbers on the bike, these were un-navigable. I almost face planted a few times and decided nope, this isn’t fun. So we carefully retraced our path and gave up on Waverly Park.

Tired, frustrated and irritable (speaking for myself), we set off for a place we knew would be good riding, Iroquois Park. I don’t know the roads in southwestern Louisville, so we got lost a couple of times, each time ending up in shitty parts of Shively (is there a good part?). I was in too bad a mood to laugh about it, and we finally made it to the park. Unloaded the bikes and tried to burn off calories and frustration. Mostly successful.

Lessons learned from the day: (1) Don’t go somewhere unknown on a day when you’re setting out fatigued from a crummy night’s sleep. (2) Don’t try biking in southwestern Jefferson County unless you have a death wish. (3) Don’t believe the website.