Day 12: Lexington, KY to Bardstown, KY
210 Miles | 4:17 Riding Time
It’s Monday, April 22, 2024, and it’s day 12 of my cross country motorcycle trip.
Today was one of the best days so far! I was planning to head down to the Red River Gorge, ride around for a while, then back through Lexington to Bardstown, KY—The Bourbon capital of the world.
There was a friendly young woman working the breakfast shift at the hotel. She overheard me mention to the folks next to me that I was planning to go to Red River Gorge, and as she walked by, she said, “bring water!” I asked her if she was familiar with that area, because I heard it was beautiful, but I didn’t really have a plan. ]
She told me to go to Natural Bridge State Park, and take the Sky Lift to the top. Then, to have Pizza at Miguel’s. Voila! I now had a plan. Thank you very much, Tabitha. Your suggestions were great, and I had an absolutely amazing day.
On the ride down to Natural Bridge State Park, I took 1927 to Winchester, then 15, then 11 to the park, which took a little over an hour. The SkyLift was $17 round trip, and you can spend as much time as you want at the top. I chose to walk 0.1 Miles (super-easy) over the Natural Bridge, which you can walk across. After you cross, go down the stairs, through a very tight squeeze, and stand under the arch—very cool.
The, I went over the overlook (another 0.3 super-flat Miles), where you can see the arch that you were just standing on. Back to the SkyLift for the 20 minute trip back down. Bought some souvenir stickers (I’m only getting souvenirs that are small and pack flat).
Over to Miguel’s for Pizza. The place is really big, and you can order 2, 4 or 8 slices with whatever you want on them. I opted for pepperoni, mushroom and banana peppers, which was what the person at the counter said was their favorite. I found a seat, and met my new friend, Chapo, who you’ll see in the pictures. He was very interested in trying to get all the kids that were nearby to share their pizzas.
Back on the road, I meandered clockwise around the gorge for about an hour. Starting at Nada Tunnel, pictured above. It’s a one-lane tunnel just carved out of the rock. The tunnel is totally straight, which is the exact opposite of every other road around the gorge.
It was time to head toward Bardstown. So, I got back on the Mountain Parkway back toward Lexington. Then, picked up the Bluegrass parkway to Bardstown. It was a pretty, but uneventful two-hour ride to the hotel.
Bardstown, KY is adorable. I stayed at the Bardstown Motor Lodge—a classic motel that’s been redone with a very 70’s vibe. It’s very cute and very simple. I walked over to the center of town for dinner. Warning…most of the restaurants are closed on Monday and Tuesday nights, and the ones that are open, the kitchen closes at 8pm.
I learned this, when I got to Old Talbott Inn, and sat down at the bar at 8:03. The bartender took pity on me and said she’d check in the kitchen to see if anything was available. She came out with that bowl of pot roast, potatoes and a biscuit. It was really quite good, and paired well with some of the local spirits (Maker’s).
It was a long, but great day…off to bed.
The Route
Elevation Profile