Smokin’ butts: Annual BBQ Fest bike ride returns Saturday morning
Published 9:44 am Wednesday, September 7, 2016
- Photo by Ruby Cline-Eaton Rick Serres, second from left, wears pig ears during a past Smokin’ Butt Bike Ride.
IF YOU GO
Smokin’ Butt Bikeride
10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at City Hall parking lot
Registration is $30 at www.dbfky.com
This will be the fourth year cyclers get on board for the Smokin’ Butt Bike Ride Saturday morning of BBQ Festival weekend. City Commissioner and biking enthusiast Rick Serres says it’s amazing how many turn out for the 10 a.m., 24-mile ride.
“We have been very consistent, year over year,” Serres says. “It’s always right around 100 — maybe a few less, sometimes a few more, but always right around 100.”
The ride, which Serres emphasizes is not a race, starts at the City Hall Parking lot, near Danville Bike & Footwear. The bike shop will be open for minor tune-ups, he says.
“Then we head out West Main, all 100 of us, from that lot. It’s quite a scene to take in,” he says, adding they are lucky enough to have the Danville Fire Department normally pull out an engine to block off traffic to allow the large group to depart together.
“Then we go to Bluegrass Pike, and through Harrodsburg,” Serres says, adding the view includes a couple of historical points, like Old Mud Meeting House.
“Just for safety, we use the traffic light intersections, but they can go an older route if they wish. We’ll come out on Bellows Mills Road, takes us over to Buster Pike, then work our way back into Danville coming up Third Street,” Serres says. “Riders can go right to go back to their car, or turn left and go enjoy the festival.”
A side vehicle will follow the group, armed with an air pump and other necessities, and it’s usually someone in a pickup truck. “That way, if we need to load a bike in because someone’s not going to make it through, we can,” he says. But normally, that’s not an issue.
“I always ride with the last rider. I want to support them, get them through this. I have some bike buddies I call on who lead the group,” he says. Even though the course is marked well with arrows, volunteers from Centre College fraternities will be onhand at some key points.
“We just want to make sure riders made the best decisions. If for some reason you can’t see the arrows, so you’ll know where to go and not end up down the road in Perryville, for instance.”
There will be two water stops, one in Harrodsburg and another at Faulkner Station Road in a church parking lot.
This year’s T-shirts are the high tech breathable ones, with the Smokin’ Butt logo on the back and the Ky State BBQ Festival logo on the front. “We’ve done orange, yellow, pink … but this year we’re going white. The colors will stand out on them.”
Serres says they encourage people to “dress the part,” too. Pig-inspired attire is highly recommended.
“I’ve completed the race in pig ears many years …” he says.
For registration visit Danville Bike & Footwear’s site at dbfky.com; or the festival’s site at kentuckybbqfestival.com. For questions, call Rick Serres at (859) 533-0862.
