By wa_dok in November, 2011
This ride has its beauty and its lesser moments. The river is always an eye catcher, and especially at certain times of the day, but there are places on this trail that one might not want to have a flat tire or be a stranded target. When we went over this trail, we encountered a lot of glass (beer bottle type glass), and we were very glad we had purchased a very high grade of tire that was less susceptible to puncture than regular tires. In the past we have ridden some high end bikes along this trail before it was finished, and racing tires are not a good idea along this trail. Even with the greatest care and slowest of speeds, it is hard to keep from getting something bad punturing your tire. We carry little brooms and try to contribute to the safe pathway that we all desire, but it really does seem to be a losing battle. That said, and knowing the city budget is what it is, we should pitch in order to keep all of our inner city trails passable and less hazardous. Our most wonderful ride was in Bethpage Park on Long Island. Don't know how they keep this thing so beautiful and well lit and swept, but it was a real wonderful experience we ought to try and mimic NYC here in Louisville.
Wa Dok
By galesof in September, 2010
We believe in giving everything a second chance so tried this trail again. Started at the riverfront near Joe's Crab Shack and rode west. Much of the graffiti we had seen in the spring had been cleaned up. Less trash along path but could be better. Please, Louisvillians, stop throwing your garbage down where ever you happen to be, this makes our city look terrible. The tent camp of homeless people had moved elsewhere. Vegetation had grown up alot and covered up some of the areas of abandoned and run down buildings. In all, some improvement was noted. I believe our mayor gets this cleaned up right about the time of the Kentucky Derby. The trail itself was in mostly acceptable condition with only a few areas of pavement fractures and holes. The views of the river and the bridges was very nice. Also there are a few areas of tree canopy providing some shady relief from the sun.
By galesof in March, 2010
We did this trail on a quiet Saturday morning. The surrounding area was full of trash, debris, graffiti etc. One person had sprayed "ugly" on the concrete posts under the interstate overpass. This area was often dark, and went by many abandoned and run down buildings. I kept thinking we had to be in the wrong place but was assured by other riders that this was the right place. The whole area had a very unpleasant smell as well as garbage and trash everywhere. We turned around after about 3 miles when we came upon tents and a "camp" of homeless people. We rode in the other direction from Joe's Crab Shack and to the east around the park, river, and ballfield area. This area was much cleaner and out in the open. While there is no defined trail, there is plenty of room to ride here.