Louisville Bicycle Club - LAB National Rally '99

• LAB
• Welcome
• Rally Info
• Local Info
• Post-Rally

Welcome to Louisville, Kentucky, home of the world-famous Kentucky Derby and some of the finest cycling in the country. The city was founded in 1768 as a staging area for boats that were halted from proceeding further south on the river by the Falls of the Ohio, a natural barrier to navigation. The city’s location on the river, which also separates the North from the South, is a key ingredient in forming Louisville’s wonderful mix of contrasts — Southern gentility bolstered by Midwest pragmatism.

Not so much a city as a collection of neighborhoods, Louisville’s characters range from the Victorian splendor of Old Louisville to the grittiness of Butchertown stockyards to the hip Highlands entertainment district, the blue-collar South End, and the row houses of Portland. Riding your bike here redefines urban cycling. The neighborhoods are united by parkways designed by Frederic Law Olmsted and all feature beautiful urban parklands.

Louisville is also a hub city. From the small central business core extend roads that evoke memories of the past — Bardstown Road, Lexington Road, Taylorsville Road, Shelbyville Road, Brownsboro Road — leading out into the countryside to the small towns that gave them their names. And along those roads, and the myriad of small, winding black topped country lanes that connect them, one finds the surrounding farm lands. Horse farms, dairies, tobacco plots and corn fields alternate across the landscape, bounded by stone walls, painted board fences, creek beds, sycamore trees and oaks. Best of all, you’re surrounded by Kentuckians. Hard-working, hard-playing folks with a basketball goal in their driveway and a bike in their garage. They’re some of the nicest people you’ll meet.

The Louisville Bicycle Club

The Louisville Bicycle Club is proud to be your host. The Club’s connections to the League are ancient. It was founded as the Louisville Wheelmen, and traces its beginnings to 1896 when the League held a rally in connection with the Great Southern Exposition held in town that year. The Club, with over 700 members, sponsors a USCF-sanctioned racing team and operates education and advocacy programs.

Sleeping Awheel

During the season our ride schedule features rides seven days a week, including more than 30 centuries. Our community outreach programs include cycling for women and weekly getting-started classes open to the public where Effective Cycling principles are taught to new riders. We actively participate in the Louisville-Jefferson County community planning process and are a founding sponsor of the newly-formed Kentucky Bicycle Coalition. Our annual invitational ride is the Old Kentucky Home Tour, a two-day ride from Louisville to Bardstown, KY, and back, will be held on September 11 and 12. Y’all come back and see us then!

Accommodations

Rally headquarters will be at the Galt House East located right on the river. The hotel affords great views of the river and, although in the downtown district, easy access to the surrounding countryside by River Road, one of Kentucky’s Scenic Byways. The hotel is also a stone’s throw from the RiverWalk, a 6-mile trail along the Ohio River that offers great views of the river and takes cyclists to two of the city’s parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the great 19th century landscape architect who also designed New York City’s Central Park.

Hotel accommodations consist entirely of suites, each featuring a living room, dining area, wet bar and refrigerator and bedroom with two full size beds. (Plenty of room to park your bikes!) Rates are: single/double, $59; triple, $69; quad, $79 (all plus tax). You must make your own reservations by calling the hotel at (800) 843-4258 and stating that you are attending the League’s Rally. If you’re coming with a group have a representative call the hotel and reserve for all. But remember to get a rooming list to the hotel by April 24. (Note that these rates and availability are guaranteed only until May 4, 1999.)

You can get the registration form for the rally from the LAB’s web site.

Routes

Route structure will be different from past League events. In order to provide a greater sense of camaraderie and level of support, each day’s main rides will start from the same point and proceed in the same general direction with longer mileage options going farther from the starting point. These rides will not have ride leaders but will be sagged or swept. Most of the specialty or theme rides (these rides are generally short mileage) will be escorted.

Cycling in Owen County

The main rides will head in the direction of Northern Kentucky and toward Central Kentucky. Prime riding territory will take you along two-lane black top roads through small towns, wide places in the road, horse farms and rural farmland. With the exception of roads along the river and the specialty rides through town, most rides are characterized by rolling hills. These are true rollers where the downhill momentum will often almost take you up the next hill. We promise you that looking out over the fields of corn and tobacco as you ride the ridges will be especially memorable.

All routes can be reached from the hotel. Riders taking some of the shorter mileage options and riders who prefer not to ride the 6-mile arterial road can easily go on up the road to a remote start location.

Detailed descriptions of the various rides