Grimes Mill

The last couple of weeks I have been in the Lexington, KY area for work. For those of you who don't know I went to school at the University of Kentucky and spent 6 years in Lexington. Yes, 6 years.!! To my defense my degree was a 5 year program. Anyway, while at UK I was on the cycling team and fell in love with the roads surrounding Lexington. Roads consisted of beautiful rolling terrain that connected and weaved between the horse farms. On the south side of Lexington the roads near the Kentucky River provided the option of riding some tough climbs a couple of miles in length. My plan had been to rent a road bike, but unfortunately I couldn't find a shop with rentals. SO today, I had some time to spare and decided to drive out and check out one of my favorite roads. The road is called Grimes Mill http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2124878 and is a beautifully narrow and tough stretch of asphalt. The road is only about 4.5 miles in length, but has everything a cyclist wants in a route.

Grimes Mills starts off as flat section of road, lined with dry laid stone fences, and beautiful farms.

After crossing McCalls Mill (another great road) the pavement dives down towards Boone Creek. The road is winding, and a the bottom is one of the steepest sections of pavement I have ever ridden.

Once at the bottom, you are in a steep walled valley, formed by Boone Creek. This portion of the route is very dark, and cool due to the minimum sunlight. After crossing the creek on a very old bridge, you approach the climbing section of the road.

The climb starts as you make a right turn on a super steep switchback. The climbs is stair stepper type about 1.5 miles in length. The first section of the climb is very steep, followed by less steep drag leading into a downhill. The downhill then goes directly into a steep kicker climb. I remember always blowing up on this section. I always wanted to ride the entire climb with some of the good climbers on my team, and this section would always do me in. After the steep section the climbs drags on for another half mile.

At the top the road is rolling with a fast downhill section that opens onto a beautiful clearing. At this point Grimes Mill roller coaster is almost over. On a normal training ride back in the day this would just be the start; Grimes Mill intersects with another road, Athens Boonesboro, that hase some tough climbs and connects to even more beautiful riding options. Man, do I miss these roads!!