War Daddy

It all started when…

John and the Trail Sick crew decided it was time to show off the beautiful and fun bike rides that their hometown in Eastern Kentucky had to offer.

In an effort to make an epic course, War Daddy was born. A grueling, yet very rewarding, 68 mile course that powers over several tough climbs with names like War Baby, War Dwarf, and of course WAR DADDY which gives the racer an overall elevation gain of over 8k feet.

Checkout Trail_Sick on Instagram and Facebook for some helpful advice on racing War Daddy and make sure you watch as many Tips By Trevor videos as possible if you want to truly Hard Charge the course!

Directions

Both the War Daddy and Sandlin’s Shred have the same starting location around 4 miles west of Hyden, Kentucky on highway 421. The race is currently planned to begin at the old Leslie County RV park which is now closed, but we still hope to use that same location. If the race start happens to change, it will still be near this location and we will update the site and also email all the participants the exact location before the race date.

Course Details

War Daddy is a mixed surface race that has a little bit of everything and will challenge you both mentally and physically. This is a race of strength, strategy, skill, and maybe even a little luck.

Let’s jump into some details! The race will begin with a neutral rollout that will take you five super flat miles into and through the city of Hyden. The official starting line will be at the 5 mile marker where you will head up Owl’s Nest. This one lane country road is filled with history and lots of beauty, but don’t get to wrapped up looking around because at mile 7 you will hit the first big climb of the day. This Owl’s Nest climb is about 1.3 miles in length with an average grade of 6.9% on a very nicely paved road. Be prepared for the awesome gravel that starts as soon as you hit the top!

The Owl’s Nest gravel is a blast with a few very long descents that are typically in great shape and allows you to get in the groove and crank out some early watts. Just remember, the race gets much harder near the end. This section of gravel will have a few rollers but nothing to serious. Around mile 12 you will cross a small metal bridge, take a left, and then be on another short section of pavement as you ride along the beautiful Middle Fork of the Kentucky River. Through the next several miles you will transition back and forth between dirt, gravel, and pavement. At about mile 17 you will take a left turn onto a 2 mile gravel section that will continue to parallel the river and guide you to the first aid station.

Time to get rowdy! Once leaving aid station 1 at mile 20 you will then have an easy flat mile to scarf down anything you may have grabbed from the snack table. At roughly mile 21 you are gonna be introduced to War Baby. WB is sweet little taste of what’s to come later in your epic day. This cute little category 3 climb will average 8.4% for 1.2 miles. This climb will start out as pavement and just near the top it turns into that good old Kentucky Chunk with steep pitches in the 20-30% grade range. After dropping the hammer on you competitors up that precious War Baby ascent, be ready to navigate a mud puddle or ten on this short flat section.

Strap those boots up and drop that saddle because it’s time to get gnarly. About mile 22 you will hit (in my opinion) the most technical portion of the course. You will NOT win the race here, but you can definitely lose it! (Ask Brian Schworm) For about 1.5 miles you will descend through large chunky sand stones, cross over slick mountain streams, and even ride down the stream itself for a portion. Keep your eyes peeled for the best line because there might not be one. Once getting to the bottom of this rugged rock fest, you’ll then be faced with some possible deep sand from the lakes early in the year flood waters. Or it could be mud or it could be packed down awesomeness, who knows? Either way, you should have a good glimpse of Buckhorn Lake.

Now it’s time to settle in and enjoy some fantastic gravel. After leaving the lake you will continue to face some dirt roads and pass though a couple creeks. There are some small rollers that leads you to the next category 3 climb of the day. Just before mile 25 you will enter into War Dwarf territory. Some folks say this climb is harder than War Daddy but you’ll have to be the judge of that one. War Darf is a nice little 2 mile kicker with a 6% average but that does also include a short little descent about half way through the climb. Needless to say, it’s a jammer of a good climb. The good news is that the climb is usually in great shape and you can push the pace as hard or as easy as you want. Once topping out you will ride the ridge for about 2 miles on mostly flat gravel roads with some rollers mixed in.

• Pay close attention after the War Dwarf ridge section!! Just before hitting mile 28 you will start down a super fast and fun descent. It comes to a T at the bottom and you will be hammering. When you see the large painted cliff on the left, brake hard and turn right on to Hell for Certain Road. This too is a very dangerous portion that you need to be super cautious. Hell for Certain is a paved and very small one lane road that you will quickly reach speeds over 30 mph. Remember these roads are OPEN to the public and automobiles will be traveling up that road. Ride smart and make good decisions. The road is probably called Hell for Certain for a reason...a reason that I’m sure is not in any way cycling related.

Moving on. After the Hell for Certain roller coaster you will make a right turn on to a busy road. Please use caution on this section as well and look closely before zipping out into the road. It’s a fast two mile section here that you can utilize to refuel or chase down some teammate that left you hanging on War Dwarf. After two miles you will turn left onto a hard to see road called Twist N’ Sourwood.

You’ll love the stunning Twist N’ Sourwood (TNS) and Granny’s Branch portion of this race and crave more of the awesomeness this area has to offer. TNS is another tough category 3 climb that’s around 2 miles but with an average under 5%. I love taking in the scenery up this climb while trying to ignore how much I'm suffering. When you get near the top you will hit aid station 2 at mile 32. Grab a snack and get to moving, the climb continues for just a little bit and then you will be crushing rollers for about 4 miles on epic gravel and then you’ll get a real treat on the super fun descent around mile 38-40.

Around mile 40, take a right turn onto highway 421 and once again be very cautious on this 2 mile stretch of road way. After those 2 miles you will turn left onto another one lane country road that is usually mixed surface with some dirt and sand as well as pavement. Around mile 44-45 aid station 3 will be set up and stacked with all the goodies you could possibly hope for. Make sure you dive in here and get those bellies full and get some some of that southern hospitality in your system because by the time you reach War Daddy you will probably hate us! But by then you can basically taste the Fireball waiting for you at the last aid station!

Coming out of aid 3, cross over the small low water bridge and turn left onto highway 66. This is my least favorite portion of the course, because every ride has to have a least favorite part, right? Try to embrace this 2.5 mile road section. Eat you aid station food during this portion, drink some fluids, and get yourself mentally prepared for the final 20 miles of all off road riding. Around mile 47-48 you will be in a blind curve and will turn left out of that turn Be cautious crossing that left lane. Cross the bridge and take the next left which will lead you by an old barn and cow pasture. You are now in the Redbird Management Area, also known as the home of War Daddy!

GAME TIME! Can you smell War Daddy yet? You will leave the pavement behind around mile 49 and never look back. In less than a minute you’ll get a quick dip in the creek as you slowly work your way up to the base of War Daddy. At darn near mile marker 50, when the lactic acid has built up to the point you have never felt before, when your brain is trying to bring you down and tell you to quit, and when your belly is full of Brittany’s mind blowing chocolate chip cookies from aid 3, you will begin the infamous, War Daddy. Don’t worry though, of all the category 3 climbs of the day, this one is the shortest. At 0.98 in distance, you will average 10.8% grade on usually loose, mostly chunky, and sometimes sharp rocks and gravel. War Daddy is tough. It’s steep and sometimes hard to find traction on. But, if you listen closely, you can probably hear Busch Latte’s being cracked opened and waiting on you at the last aid station. As you are climbing War Daddy there’s one part that slightly levels out for about 100 yards. At the end of that level area the road forks. Stay to the right!!! It’s an important turn that you do not want to miss. From there you will continue to have a gradual climb and one last little kicker to the top.

Is the climbing done yet? Ummm not even close. But from the top of War Daddy to the last aid station I hope you can enjoy the beauty around you. The gravel is awesome and if you have anything left in the tank you can hold a pretty good pace through this area. There are some quick rollers and at least one more pretty good little climb that will only take you a couple minutes.

The last aid station is around mile markers 55-56. Yes, it’s only like 12 miles to the finish, but I promise you will want to go into that section stocked up, refueled, and ready. It’s one of the more off the grid sections you’ll be riding and not the place you will want to be lying on the side of the trail cramping and locked up like a rusted motor. Eat some cookies, hydrate, slam some latte’s, get some skittles, and go finish strong!

From the last aid station you can relax for a minute or two as you descend for about a mile. You will pick up speed quickly and then have a hard right turn as the gravel road kicks up a bit. Here you will have a climb a little under a mile but its fairly easy until the last two tenths of a mile. Shortly after this this climb you will take a left turn onto a dirt road that typically has large mud holes that you can easily find a line around. After zigging and zagging for a couple minutes you will start a climb called Qwiff Hanga. This is a pretty tough section as you ascend up a chunky loose rocky climb that also has some large sand stone boulder type rocks for you to pedal over. Just take it easy, look for the best line, and mash those pedals! As this climb stair steps up a few times you will think you have it over with because eventually you will hit a quick little descent. However, at the bottom of this super short descent you will head straight into a 4 mile trail section. As soon as you get on the trail it will gradually keep climbing and after about three tenths of a mile you will have a hard switchback to the left that turns the trail up one more super steep pitch that is usually pretty rutted out and can turn into a hike a bike section. From here the trail is rolling up and down the ridge line with some steep punchy climbs and will require you to navigate some more mud holes. Please take note that the rest of the race is heavily ridden by Motos and ATVs and they love playing in the mud and therefore these holes can be pretty deep. We highly suggest trying to pick a line around the edges and not barreling through the middle because you may be up to your knees in mud before you know it! 2 miles into the trail you will need to take a right turn up another steep grade that is sometimes not rideable especially when you have 60 miles under your belt. Once you make this turn the terrain will continue to be similar until you reach the end of the atv trail in approximately 2 more miles.

Finally, you have made it to the ending stretch! In 2019 this final 6 miles was found to be very difficult as this old strip mining site was left abandoned, eroded, and was down right treacherous in places. Luckily in 2020 a crew came in and reclaimed that area and fixed it up nicely. Now we can only hope to navigate truck sized mud puddles instead of bus size holes. Kinda joking, kinda not. Either way this final 6 miles will begin with one quick descent and one more tough climb. Then you will basically just hammer down the rest of the way across the mined mountain tops and take in some beautiful views. The scenery here is usually amazing and can also be a great place to see an abundance of wildlife so keep your eyes peeled for elk, deer, black bears, turkey, and maybe even Sasquatch. Oh and let’s also mention that of that final 6 mile stretch, you will bomb down a wicked fast and fun descent at the end of this stretch that’s about 1.5 miles and this leads you directly to the finish line!

Aid Stations

Rider Perks

All racers that toe the line at War Daddy and Sandlin’s Shred will get a swag bag at registration that will include a t-shirt and a few other goodies that change each year. All the race finishers will also be given a finishers award that will be custom made for this year’s event. All of the War Daddy and Sandlin’s Shred podium finishers will take home custom made prizes that will showcase your hard efforts. We are working on getting a payout prize for this years open category winners and we will be sure to announce that as soon as it’s confirmed.

Lodging

Our favorite lodging option is the Mary Breckinridge's Wendover which is where we typically have an after party. During covid Wendover went through a difficult time and is no longer operating as a bed and breakfast but still offer a great place to stay during your trip to Hyden. You can also find some places on AirBnb but those usually book up pretty quick.

If you are seeking the camping option, well, we can guide you to some places for that also. The Red Bird Management Area which is fairly close to the start finish line has lots of first come first serve primitive camping spots. Trace Branch campground is around 12 miles from Hyden near the 1st aid station of the race and they have tent and full hook up RV spots. We are also discussing a camping option with the Wendover BnB crew and we are in hopes that we can make the happen as well.

Finally, if you just want to crash in a hotel you have very few options. The closest option is Heritage Inn & Suites in Manchester, Kentucky. The next option we recommend is Hampton Inn & Suite or Holiday Inn Express which are both in Hazard, Ky. and will provide you will more dining options than the Manchester area.

If you have any questions about lodging please don’t hesitate to ask! Our goal is to welcome you to Eastern Kentucky and provide you with the best experience possible.