If three days of cycling through the rolling hills of Kentucky—pedaling past horses grazing in idyllic pastures, with stops along the way at various distilleries—sounds appealing to you, you’re a prime candidate to participate in the Bourbon Country Burn.
Now in its fourth year, The Burn will hit Kentucky’s scenic byways Sept. 24-26. The event’s base, called Bourbon Base Camp, is at the Kentucky Horse Park campground. Each day, riders will head out from the site, whether they are going 20 miles or 100. Upon their return each evening, participants will be treated to live music, food, bourbon tastings and the camaraderie of fellow cyclers.
The weekend was created by friends and experienced riders Austin Render and Mollie Hanrahan, who have ridden their bicycles all over the world. The two came up with the concept while biking in another country and asked themselves: Why don’t we bring an event like this to Kentucky?
“We set out from the beginning to create something that was wholly Kentucky and something that was more than just a bike ride that ended when riders crossed the finish line,” Render said. “It is really the experiential nature of the event that sets us apart from other bike events out there.”
The experience involves three days of cycling, camping and learning about bourbon at many levels. There are options for preferences of cycling distances and accommodations. In addition to routes of different lengths, the sleep situations range from a simple tent, to glamping, to RV rental, to a shuttle bus that delivers participants to a local hotel. The choices continue each evening when distillery representatives offer samples at the base camp.
“We invite distilleries that are on the route, and those who are just a bit too far to pedal to, into our bourbon base camp evening festivities,” Development Manager Phil Kollin said. “We try to have a nice mix of small craft distilleries along with those that have been around for 120 years.”
He explained that the registration includes a punch card for every evening of base camp, allowing each cyclist four samples of spirits per night. “People have to make some tough choices each night,” he said.
Kentucky Artisan Distillery has participated in Bourbon Country Burn the last few years with a booth at base camp, as its Crestwood location is too far off the bike route for Burners to visit. KAD personnel offer samples of the distillery’s brands—Jefferson’s Bourbon, Whiskey Row and Billy Goat Strut North American Whiskey.
KAD Visitor Center Supervisor Liz Ratliff said that the event is a great experience for people who are interested in bourbon but might be from out of state and are not familiar with the distillery’s brands. “The riders really want to talk about the product, not just shoot it and leave,” she said. “It is a great way to talk to a large number of people in a short period of time.”
When the riders converge at base camp after being on the road all day, they find a festive atmosphere. “Our goal is to hit all those senses. You have great food, you have the smell of the bourbon, and you get to listen to great music,” Hanrahan said. “It is just a nice sensory experience that we like to give people at the end of the day. Then they just wake up and do it all again.”
The ride itself is just that—a ride, not a race. It is not timed, other than that cyclists can begin between 7 and 9 a.m., and they can decide which route they will take each morning or even while they’re pedaling along. Breakfast is available at onsite food trucks, but the riders are encouraged to have lunch in the communities they ride through. “Our riders will be passing through towns like Midway, Versailles and Frankfort. So many restaurants offer combo lunch options,” Hanrahan said. “It is quick but also delicious. It doesn’t take them long to stop and eat.”
The 400 miles of roads that make up the routes are not closed to cars, but Render explained that Bourbon Country Burn works with local law enforcement to help out with potential traffic situations.
“We also place signage along the route alerting drivers to the presence of bikes on the road,” he said. “We humanize the bikes on the road with signs that say, ‘Humans on Bikes,’ just to try to make people think differently. We created this, and it is a trend that is catching on at other bike events, too.”
The organizers of The Burn stress that safety is the most important aspect of the weekend. “People tend to think that the event is about getting people drunk and putting them on a bike,” Render said. “We are absolutely not a booze cruise. Our No. 1 rule is there is no drinking on the course.”
Drinking and tastings are saved for the evening back at base camp.
Render pointed out, “You can, in fact, get a DUI on a bike in Kentucky.”
A fun and helpful feature of the event is its Bottle Sherpa Service. The distilleries along the routes offer riders discounts, limited-release bourbons, and, sometimes, autographed bottles. The Burn has staff at each location to bag and tag each purchase and take it back to base camp.
The Burn has seen exponential growth in its few years, starting with just 220 riders in 2017, with this year’s participants capped at 1,500. It has welcomed riders from ages 21 to 82 and from every state, Canada and several European countries. Render explained that the demographic is generally age 40 and up, but this year, the organizers are seeing more younger participants, which they link to the popularity of bourbon.
Event officials do not specify what type of bicycle can be used. “There’s a ride for everyone,” Kollin said. “All bikes are welcome—electric, tandem, whatever you want. We say, if you can pedal it, you can ride in The Burn.”
This year’s Burn is sold out, but if you got shut out, you can get on a waitlist or take advantage of numerous opportunities to volunteer. The Burn has an exchange program in which volunteers can work a few hours in exchange for a day of riding or admission to the end-of-day festivities, which allows people to “earn the burn,” as they say.
“We travel across the country to cycling events to promote The Burn,” Render said. “In the beginning, it was kind of a hard sell, but we lead with bourbon. It is the first word in our name, and it is a hook. It piques people’s interest.
“We have ridden all over the world, and we can honestly say that Kentucky has world-class riding. It’s a two-for-one: You get incredible bourbon, and the riding is spectacular.”