Favourite Rides: BlueDog Bakery to Blunk Knob

As our first really nice week of riding weather rolls in, I find myself parked inside due to an achilles tendon injury.  Last season it started nearly at the same time, and I have to attribute it to overuse.  Just a little too much, a little too soon.  So, today instead of leading a ride as planned, I will tell all you souls about it.

Here in the Southern Indiana/Greater Louisville area, we are blessed with loads of rolling hills, twisty roads, and reasonable spring weather.  Since moving down here, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed climbing a particular set of hills called The Knobs.  I’m not certain if the term Knob is used much outside of the Midwest, but basically they range from short, brutally steep hills, to steady, gradual ascents.  If one does a map search for New Albany, IN you’ll see a distinct line of hills, those are The Knobs.  They all reward you with spectacular views of the area, and will make you forget you’re in Southern Indiana.  While they only peak around 1000ft, you feel as though you’re climbing up the side of some mountain with all the exposed rock, switchbacks, and incredible views.  So, today I’ll just take you on one of my best loops. (Click on the link below to get turn-by-turn directions)

Blue Dog Bakery – Budd Knob – Blunk Knob-

This ride begins at the best place for bread in Louisville, The Blue Dog Bakery.  This little gem has been baking the best artisan bread and pastries for years now.  The bread is out of this world good, and if you make it early in the morning, it is still hot from baking.  I prefer the Levain and Pugliese loaves if you’re in the area.  They also serve great coffee, and everyone knows how I feel about that.  The namesake of the place also happens to be a super-friendly Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Healer), hence, Blue Dog.  Once you depart from the Blue Dog, you make your way through the Crescent Hill/Frankfort Ave neighbourhood, and you’ll take in all sorts of other small, locally owned businesses.  It’s quite refreshing compared to the strip malls and chains that are dominating the Midwest landscape.  You’ll ride through a chunk of downtown, and then it’s time to cross over the infamous 2nd Street Bridge to Indiana.  This bridge is infamous for a few reasons, its a bit sketchy to ride on, and also because it was the spot in Stripes where Bill Murray stops his cab and tosses his keys into the Ohio.  It’s yet another stupid fact, but it amuses me every time I ride over the bridge.

You’ll continue rolling along through Clarksville, IN, and then into New Albany, IN.  These are both very old towns, which were settled early on.  Clarksville is in fact the oldest town in the Northwest Territory, settled in 1783.  New Albany is full of old mansions and architecture that has survived the years, and this loop takes you right past the Culbertson Mansion.  Really cool stuff, if you like history.

Now that you’re out of New Albany, you’ll be traveling along SR111.  Your ride has been nearly flat so far, but that is about to change.  As you turn onto Budd Road, you’ll find the road starts to pitch up, levels, and then really pitches up.  It is just a warm-up for what is to come.  Budd Road will twist and descend a bit, and then throws you into another climb.  This one is a bit harder than the first, but it still wears on you a bit.  As Budd continues, you’ll be riding through a beautiful valley, complete with cattle, and pastures.  It’s always refreshing to me to ride through that little section, you feel like you’re worlds away from town.  A few more little hills, followed by a short descent, and now it’s time for Blunk Knob.

Blunk Knob is one of the area’s most painful climbs; it starts out steep, teases you a couple times with some easier sections, and then shoots up again.  It is one of the longest climbs in the area, but it also is one of the steepest.  While others in the area are steeper, the length of Blunk is what gets you.  The road surfs the side of the knob, and has switchbacks reminiscent of Tennessee, and views of other knobs in the distance.  I rather enjoy climbing Blunk Knob, but descending is another story.  Because of the less-than perfect road surface, and blind switchbacks, it is a very technical descent.  Naturally, I love it.  It’s easily in my top 5 descents in the area.

Once you climb up Blunk, you’ll make it to a perfect section of SR11.  Its swooping and rolling, and incredibly fast.  You’ll float along in your biggest gear just cruising on the momentum.  In the summer you’ll go past Polly’s Freeze; it is a must-stop.  The road continues to swoop around, and end up in Edwardsville.  From there, you’ll turn down Corydon Pike, and then quickly down Quarry Road.  Corydon Pike is a fantastic road, but we’ll leave that for another ride.  Quarry Road is another fast, swooping road that basically skirts the edge of The Knobs and has awesome views of Louisville.  Next up is Old Hill road.  Old Hill road descends right into “downtown” Floyds Knobs.  It is a community that has seen huge growth in the past 10 years, but still is quite small.  You’ll head west briefly to make a stop at Hobbknobb Roasting Company.  We’ve talked about it before, but it really needs to be a stop on this trip.  Now for the descending.

Paoli Pike is a very old road that goes from New Albany to Paoli.  It was once a main artery that was vital to transportation in the area.  You’ll make a quick little jaunt from Hobbknobb to the top of Paoli Pike, and then it’s on.  There are numerous old estates, roads, and driveways off of Paoli Pike, or remnants of them, but the best part is a completely uninterrupted view of the entire Louisville valley.  The descent is one of the faster ones, with perfectly banked curves, and good pavement to let it fly.  I’ve seen around 50mph on it, and brakes are completely unnecessary.  It’s definitely a grin-inducing descent, and makes all the climbing worth it.

You’ll retrace the rest of your steps from New Albany on, and return back to Blue Dog.  It’s a blast of a ride, and one where you hit it hard for great training, or take it easy and enjoy the views and delicious treats along the way.  Hopefully next week I’ll get to ride it again, and not sit here and talk about it.

Tags: Blue Dog Bakery, Blunk Knobb, Budd Knob, Climbs, Coffee, Corydon Pike, Descents, Great Rides, Hobbknobb, Knobs, Paoli Pike