Underground Mountain Biking

While spending New Years weekend with Kentucky friends we decided to visit the Louisville Mega Cavern office hoping for a sneak peak of the planned bike park. What we got was Tom Tyler, co-owner, who provided us with a VIP level tour of the entire facility. It was quick to see that Tom and his partners know every inch of the cave and run a tight ship.

What began as a man made 100 acre limestone cavern in the 1930's has become an underground playground, PODS unit center, state of Kentucky road salt storage site, RV parking lot, and private high security area. In the 60's it was slated to house 50,000 people during the Cuban missile crisis as it was a natural bomb shelter capable of surviving a nuclear holocaust.

Tom was in waste management before purchasing the cavern back in the 80's. Most of the cavern has been filled from 30' to 60' with topsoil, rock, concrete, brick, and other solids which people have paid to dispose of. Organics, bio-waste, plastics, household materials, liquids, tires, etc. or other non-compatibles are not allowed by the Company or the City of Louisville.

With an average temperature of 58 degrees and 50% humidity it is ideal for storage, preservation, and of course physical activities. On a rainy sub-freezing winter day or a sultry hot summer day you can be inside the cavern appreciating the perfect environment. Natural barometric pressure creates air flow throughout, but they also utilize large fans to move air during events where vehicular traffic is higher.

Currently the activities include guided zipline tours over 90' crevasses, an indoor cabled ropes course, and the annual Lights under Louisville driving tour. Later in the year a Via ferrata (iron road) is planned where one can climb the cavern wall, zipline to another stone column, and then continue to traverse the rock face – all via safety harness of course. At the center of all this activity is a full service snack bar with casual seating and restrooms. If planning a birthday party you can rent half a day of ropes course complete with pizza, drinks, and cake. The kids need to be 6+ years old

to reach all the hand holds, but a dual clip harness system is used so you are always clipped into the safety points and cannot unclip both at once. As an adult I hope my kids want to go some day so I can climb the cargo netting, walk the rope bridges, and try the balance beam. There are about 3 dozen “challenges” in the course.

Should public electrical service discontinue the property has diesel generators on stand-by which can provide full power 5 seconds from failure. The staff all carry headlamps and radios as well. Of course if you have just committed to a large technical jump on your bike then 5 seconds can be a very very long time. . . . . .

As cyclists our interest was in the planned 9 mile bike park due to open sometime in late February, 2015. 320,000 sf of space has been set aside for the ribbon of bike trails currently in development. Right now the system is mostly complete with just the pump track and minor details to finalize. The routes are rated by difficulty with green, blue, and black trail markers. The green route would be ideal for a beginning cyclist, a cyclocrosser, or younger riders. The blue was only slightly more difficult and recommended for a true mountain bike, but both trails are parallel with options to move from one to the other. The black route brought to mind emergency room visits, Red Bull events, and Danny MacAskill (look him up on YouTube). I would consider the black route a BMX style track where you should be familiar with terms like Can-Can, Alligator Pit, and Half Pipe. If your teen knows what those mean then budget for a really nice helmet and pads before turning them loose on the black.

When not riding there is a porta-potty, picnic table seating, and drinking water. Currently there is no spectator viewing area, but the staff is open minded to whatever needs may be required by the patrons.

While walking through the park Tom would casually announce “Now we are under the Zoo elephant house”, “This is where the K-Mart shoe department is”, or “You're standing under the Wendy's drive-thru”. With a solid 25' thick limestone

ceiling at 65,000 psi strength (the concrete in your house is about 3,000 psi), it is the safest place in Kentucky according to geologists. Feeling claustrophobic would be tough with the ceiling ranging from 30'-90' above and the interconnected rooms even wider. The bike park is well lit with 140 LED's providing nice even task lighting without heavy shadows. It's much better than fluorescent, or incandescent, and at only 24 watts per fixture it has low electrical use. When open there will be 24 cameras, course marshals, and access via vehicle to all parts of the course. With such low humidity a water mist truck will be used to control dust between sessions.

Right now a half day pass is expected to run $20-$25 with a combo pass planned so one can try the zipline, ropes course, and then ride. Bike rentals, with helmets, will be available along with possible electric assist mountain bikes for the green trail. Louisville Mega Cavern is located at 1841 Taylor Avenue, Louisville, KY 40213. The number is 877-614-6342. From Nashville the drive is about 3 hours.

Now off road riding a bike with ideal conditions is a realization at any time of the year regardless of the weather outside. So if you have cabin fever call your buddies because it's time for a road trip.

Article by Robert B. Wray.Photos provided courtesy of LMC.