Start at Public Parking Lot in Shelbyville on Main Street between the Shelbyville Heritage Center (627 Main St) and VFW Post 1179
Miles- Total Miles
| Left on Washington St | 0 | 0 |
| Right on 7th Street | 0 | 0 |
| Right on Eminence Pike (2268) | .5 | .5 |
| Left on KY 55 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Hammer It!!! on the shoulder until you get to Mulberry Rd just past the entrance to the Eminence Cemetery | 9.5 | 11.2 |
| Turn Around and return on KY 55 Hammer It!!!! | ||
| Right on Eminence Pike (2268) | 9.5 | 20.7 |
| Left on 7thStreet | 1.2 | 21.9 |
| Left on Main Street | .6 | 22.4 |
| Left into the Public Parking Lot | 0 | 22.4 |
Summary: 22.4 miles including a 1.7 mile warmup, 19 miles of hard hammering, and a 1.7 mile cool down. Smooth rollers create Kentucky’s best speed workout. Be careful in the spring when the farmers and plowing. You may encounter some lumps of dirt on the shoulder. Otherwise, the county work crews keep these shoulders free of debris.
The first triathlon in Kentucky was put on in 1975 by the Shelby Parks Department. A former Mayor of Shelbyville relates that the energy drink of choice on the bike was beer. Shelby County support of Triathlon continues to this day with not one, but 3 sprint distance tri’s, put on at Clear Creek Park and managed by Head First Performance. Diehards look forward to the Polar Bear each February which always has a dozen Newbies who want to get their New Year’s resolution out of the way, QUICK!
Need to get a brick in? Rack your bike and head backup 7thStreet on foot. Keep going straight when you get to 2268 instead of turning. You will run right into Clear Creek Park where several trails await.
The Annotated Version
Have a friend who isn’t into Hammering. They can enjoy this ride just as much as you do. Here are some places of note along the way.
Buffalo Trace
Buffalo traces crisscrossed Shelby County which consequently was the hunting ground for tribes living as far away as Cincinnati like the Miami. If you look to the left at mile 1.1 you will pass the entrance to a subdivision. Just .1 miles further on the left you will see a grove a trees. Go very, very slowly and look at the depression about 20 feet wide ground going north between the trees. This is an old buffalo trace. Following a light snow, during the 1950’s pilots flying low over Spencer, Shelby and Henry counties could actually track the trace depressions.
Clear Creek
You will cross Clear Creek at 3.5 miles into your ride. If you were to stop and hike to the left along the creek for about a mile you will come to the location of Squire Boone’s original Painted Stone Station which was settled in the spring of 1780. There is nothing left to mark the settlement, but every farm boy who grew up in this section of the county can tell you about collecting arrowheads in a newly plowed field after a good rain. Yes, you can still find one or two.
Todd House at 5244 Eminence Pike Route 55
Charles Todd and his wife, Letitia, had this built this house on land given to Letitia by her father, Kentucky's first governor, Isaac Shelby. The house has been restored by Frank and Sherry Jelsma. Sherry is President of the Shelby Historical Society and has written a book about Todd who in his distinguished career served a number of US Presidents and including a stint as Ambassador to Russia. You can’t see this house from the road.
Orange Buoys on the Wires
Speaking of pilots, 5.7 miles along the route you will see orange buoys on the wires on the right. Look to the left and you will see a private runway which belongs to a retired UPS pilot. We used to tell Newbies to sprint when they saw the orange buoys.
House of Many Eaves
This house with 13 eaves at mile mark 10.3 sat vacant for many, many years. There was an article in the local paper many years ago that profiled the house and said it set a record for having the most eaves of any house in Kentucky.