361 Adventures » Breakdown

Distance: 331 Mi. | Days: 3-7 | Unpaved: 35%

Singletrack: 5% | Difficulty: Hard | Rideable: 95%

Total Ascent: 43,118’ | High Point: 3144’

THE BREAKDOWN BIKEPACKING ROUTE

This route explores the vastness of the Pine Mountain region starting at Breaks Interstate Park and heading off west towards the sunset and the infamous Wardaddy Loop. Traversing the Grand Canyon of the South, it is a showcase of the best these rugged and historic Appalachian Mountains has to offer. Superb mountain-line scenery tracing the Kentucky/Virginia border and a tradition of pure, hard adventure – this course is truly breathtaking (literally and metaphorically).

“Totally ridiculously steep KYgravel climb. I have no words.”

The backbone of this trip links up sections of the Pine Mountain Trail, the Little Shepherd Trail, and several back roads to join two local races into a monumental bike loop starting and ending at Breaks Interstate Park. The east end of the loop utilizes years of race routes from the Breakdown Adventure Race that started back in 2013. The west end of the ride ties in sections of “The Hardest Race in Kentucky”, the WarDaddy.

Depending on what makes you happy, this could be a fun week-long trip, or you could ride it hard in under 3 days.

Either way, you’ll be rewarded with endless dirt tracks, winding back roads, crazy climbs, and the knowledge that you’re biking through the same mountains that Daniel Boone struggled to find a passage through.

ROUTE

Here is the official Breakdown Bikepacking Route on RideWithGPS!

“Gas Station with Hot Food. Very hospitable.”

We also made this handy Resupply Cheatsheet, that you can download here. All the distances are based off of the RideWithGPS route above.

* A note about elevation: RideWithGPS spit out 43,118′ of total gain. We recorded our ride on four different devices with slightly varying gains, ranging from 37,584′ with an iPhone/Strava, to what you see above using a Garmin Edge. You’ll be somewhere in the ballpark of 40K though. So, enjoy.

“Monumental climb.”

HIGHLIGHTS

The country folk will surprise you. While you may only see a couple of people out in the woods, when you roll through town expect lots of questions and genuine hospitality.
Breaks Interstate Park is a rugged and beautiful place. You’ll be deep in “The Grand Canyon of the South”.
Climb to the top of Birch Knob Tower for an absolutely incredible view. On a clear day you’ll be able to see Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio!
Experience Kentucky’s windiest road, the Little Shepherd Trail, it’s 350 turns of unforgettable, picturesque riding.
The WarDaddy race route is a beast on its own. Enjoy this section of mixed singletrack and hardness.
More than just pedaling, there’s a rich heritage in these mountains. Take it in – it’s a truly unique place.

MUST KNOW

It’s free.
This can be ridden year around, but is best tackled in the Spring or Fall. Spring brings about an abundance of water, redbuds, and nicer weather. Fall shows off the spectacular color change and cooler temperatures. Summer can be brutally hot and humid, while winter can dump snow and harshness along the mountains.
Parking: Leave your vehicle at the Lodge at Breaks Park. Just leave a note in the window saying, “Gone Bikepacking”.
Think rural. There is no local bike shop or airports or mega stores. This is a good thing, but come prepared. IF you do need to ship your bike however, hit up Breaks Park and tell them what you’re doing – they’ll likely accommodate.

“Fun paved section of short steep punchy climbs and short fast curvy downhills. ”

CAMPING

Enjoy dispersed camping anywhere there’s a flat spot while along the Pine Mountain Trail, National Forest or Red Bird Crest WMA. Keep it pretty and low-impact. We’ve marked several options on the route map.
The Wendover Bed & Breakfast is an excellent place to reset if you’re more on a touring pace. This historic landmark is where Mary Breckenridge started America’s first Frontier Nursing Service. RN’s from all over the country have gone to school at this small and beautiful retreat! It’s a little over halfway into the route, only 2 miles off the route. Showers are a wonderful thing; so are home-cooked country meals!
For a unique overnight stay, check out the Haysi Caboose Inn. It’s a tiny house caboose near the end of the route. That’s correct, bike across the state, stay in a caboose, make some memories.
Before and After we’d highly recommend staying at Breaks Park; there’s several options from the campground to the Lodge, along with posh cabins or cottages and accommodating parking.

FOOD/H2O

Treatable water can be found throughout the route depending on time of year. Plus, the route passes through several small towns, parks and gas stations so fill up along the way when the opportunity arises. Several of the more reliable spots are called out on the map/cheatsheet.
Resupply along the route. Check out the map/cheatsheet above for all the options and planning.
You’ll enjoy several small towns along the way, including Haysi Virginia – a cool little town just before the finish. Stop through for pizza to finish it off right – they’re used to us racer-types as they’ve hosted our adventure races for years.
The Rhododendron Restaurant at Breaks Park serves up some serious southern cooking. Have a wonderful supper before AND after your ride.

“Dogs!”

TRAIL NOTES

There’s a slap-in-the-face hike-A-bike right out of the gate. Gaining the Pine Mountain Trail (PMT) to Birch Knob Tower is no joke. Seriously. Embrace it.
No lack of dogs will come out to cheer you along the course. Dozens. They range from petters to growlers… but no biters that we encountered. Practice your Dog Whispering as part of your prep work.
This is a SELF SUPPORTED route. We’re not reinventing the wheel with this concept – it shares the same rules and principles of all of these wonderful routes. Check out the Smoke N Fire Rules if you’re unfamiliar with this type of ride – they sum it up quite nicely.
Not sure what you’re getting into? We’d suggest doing the WarDaddy Race, and then imagine adding a couple hundred more miles. This is one of those routes that’s actually harder in real-life than on paper.
A fair amount of “road” riding is required to make this route possible, especially as a logistically easy loop. You’ll likely appreciate the fast rolling scenery on these 1.5-lane holler backroads. A short snippet even overlaps the Trans Am Bike Race. IF you hate pavement though – this route isn’t for you.
What bike? A hardtail is probably your “best” bet. Since there’s lots of road, a full suspension is an overkill. Since there’s chunky gravel and rough backroads a rigid fork or gravel bike is pretty jarring.

CONNECTING

Like the Breakdown Facebook Page to follow along with what’s happening. Feel free to post photos and updates to the page of your ride.
Do some #breakdowning. We’re @361adventures on Instagram.
To get stoked about tackling this check out the Kentucky Cycling Channel’s interview with the route creators and the first two riders to complete the full route.

For even more Breakdowning, check out the Louisville Cycling Podcast where we talk about the route, adventuring and wearing the same pair of bike shorts for 2 weeks.

“Gravel downhill. Some sections have big rocks and are really challenging. ”

Who painted that incredible Breakdown Rig?? None other than Gosia Black! If you haven’t heard of Gosia, she’s been featured in bikepacking.com articles (a few times) and makes lovely illustrations to help fund her mother-daughter bikepacking trips. How cool is that! She created the Breakdown Bike and was absolutely fantastic to work with. We couldn’t be more grateful for her support of this route, so check out what she has going on.
This is a collaboration between the guys behind Trail_Sick and 361° Adventures. We’ve been putting on races since 2013 and have tackled some tough bikepacking routes before, including the Colorado Trail and Stagecoach 400. We’d like to think we know what we’re doing – but don’t hold us accountable, for anything.
You’re likely familiar with bikepacking.com if you’ve made it this far. If not, they’re the definitive source for all things bikepacking – routes, gear, news, how to, events, inspiration, community…

“I honestly don’t remember much about this section, I was tired, fell asleep riding, and hallucinating.”

This adventure comes with a 100% Money Back Guarantee! If for any reason, your are not completely satisfied with your ride, give the 24/7 Complaint Hotline a call at ‪859-488-1250‬. For real though, leave us a message during or after your ride. 2AM mountaintop clarity is usually entertaining. We’ll use it in our content, social media, or at the very least get a kick out of hearing from you.

“The view is amazing. This section is mostly hike-a-bike and HARD and SLOW.”

FINISH

IF you manage to finish this thing, stop in at the front desk of the Park and get your well-earned sticker.

IF you finish this thing really fast send us your gpx file/strava link if you’d like to be a legend. We’ll verify that your route matches and see if you make the Top 10 of Fastest Known Times. This is super unofficial, so no arguing.