Western KY DS riders between the rivers

Any far west KY DS riders out there around Murray, Paducah, Cadiz, Hickman?

I'm thinking about a ride up to Monkey's Eyebrow to see what riding I can find up there along the Ohio. I know lots of good highway from Murray to there but I will be looking for dirt and back roads.

I do some riding in the LBL area, too. Lots in TN counties.

I guess it's true, I live in the land of pirates who ride nothing but Harleys and clones.

I must be the only Dual Sport - Adventure Touring - Sport Touring rider in the area.

Not a problem. I hooked up with the Middle TN bunch again and we rocked 4 local counties with another great ride during the past weekend.

I'm over near Paducah but won't be much help to ya yet; I just got my first DS, a litle XT250. I'm new to offroading, not new to riding.

I was just talking with Slopez today about Pennyrile State Park. We might try to do a run up there sometime in the near future if the weather cooperates and the timing is right. There are a few dirt roads we know of and we should be able to find some new ones.

I'm sure that the 250 will be an excellent choice to get your dirt legs in shape. It's a lot easier to pick up a napping 250 than a napping 650!

Do ya'll do much riding that a n00b could tag along on? What about Turkey Bay? Better yet, is there anyone in your group with the patience of Job who doesn't mind teaching/coaching a n00b?

Wickliffe, KY here. When the refuge is opened up you can ride a lot of gravel, sand and occasional dirt from Monkeys Eyebrow along the ohio and the mississippi rivers all the way to Hickman. The rivers can't be above flood stage, though! A lot of the gravel roads can get pretty rough at times. Able to get in a little offroad riding just south of here if you know where to look. Used to ride 4 wheelers years ago in the carlisle/berkley bottoms.

The best way to learn is in the dirt. Practice as much as you can. When you know you can negotiate corners with ease, then it might be time to start on the back roads.

I think LBL would be a great place to learn. Stick to the dirt roads where the traffic is minimal and a layover is not the end of the world.

As a teacher, I suck because I do everything by instinct. I rarely think about how or what I am doing in order to get it done. I have to think back and analyse what it is I am doing. As far as riding together goes, there is always someone faster and someone slower. The faster guys get to rest while they wait for the slower guys to catch up. No big deal. We all have to learn how to ride if we want to do it. Group rides always have a mix of skill levels.

Get out and ride, somewhere, even if it's the back yard. Time on the bike is the best teacher.

Thanks! My son and I have been hitting LBL - lots of mud, but lots of fun too. My dad used to say that fear is a great motivator.......he was right. I know enough to get into jams then sit and second guess what I'm supposed to do next!! So far so good and I'm having a blast. I just want a couple of dry days to get out in one of my fields to work on a few things!

Thanks for the encouragement!

Let me know if you do head up that way. I've been wanting to check it out myself, and the KY DOT website has county maps that I've checked out. Looks like Northern Christian county has some dirt/gravel, suspect that a halfway decent route could be put together with a minimum amount of effort.

Digging this back up. New rider from Paducah with a couple of other buddies looking for new places and people to ride with.

New to riding completely or just new to dual sport/gravel&dirt? I'm in Paducah too. Whatcha riding? I have a XT250 for dirty stuff and a DR650 for longer trips and gravel.

Welcome to ADV

Had a crotch rocket a couple years ago and a dirt bike when I was a kid (29 now). Mainly been riding quads off road since I was young. So I've been re-acquainting myself with my off-road technique. Had the DRZ for about 3 months now and put about 3000 miles on it already. About 40% dirt/gravel.

Have a couple buddies that have gotten DS's recently as well. One has a WR450 and the other is on a KLR650. Mainly just hitting the LBL roads because we don't really know of anywhere else around here to ride. I usually ride in the Ballard game reserve and the West KY reserve. Getting boring on mostly gravel though.

Well, that about covers it for our area! You're doing the 'good stuff'. Venture over to so. IL too, there are some pretty good gravel roads between Metropolis and Vienna area - got a GPS? I mainly ride with a group from so. IL (and most of us are old enough to be your parent!) and we're heading over to AR for a week of riding in less than 2 weeks. One of the guys is retired so he really logs the miles! The rest of us aren't so lucky!

Here's the link to the KY DOT rural & secondary roads application. You'll need to download a widget from Microsoft to get it to work, but it's worth the minor effort.

http://maps.kytc.ky.gov/ruralandsecondaryroads/

Lot's more gravel & dirt in the eastern part of the state - come on over and take advantage of it.

That sounds cool. Might check out that AR ride. Forgot to mention I ride in the Unionville bottoms a lot as well. I'm originally from Metropolis. I've really been wanting to check out the River to River trail up in the Shawnee Forest.

Lot's more gravel & dirt in the eastern part of the state - come on over and take advantage of it. [/QUOTE]

Is Livingston still open. That is exit 49 off I-75. I haven't been there since probably 2002 and it was being logged and it wasn't quite the same as it was. I have a dr650 now and wonder if it is still there. BTW I'm in Murray.

Paddy's bluff was being logged last time I was there and it was around Eddyville... But, uts been closed for a couple years now.
If your talking about Copperhead Run, which was in Livingston, I read online that it too was closed. Bummer that this end of the state is the way it is.

Have you ever been over to Little Egypt (not sure if it's so IL or so MO)? My son wants to try something different than Turkey Bay!

West Paducah here, I have been looking out for new riding friends. Two of us are going to Smokies next weekend to ride some fire roads, got room for one more in cabin thats already rented.

Little Egypt? sounds like sand. Sorry, never heard of it. Let us know how it is if you go.