With a heat index well over 100 degrees, I wondered down to downtown Lawrenceburg for an event that attracts DOZENS of people from around the area. No, it’s not the Tour de France, it’s the Whisky City Twilight Challenge.

Big deal, I know.

The cyclists had to do lap after lap in scorching heat while cruising around downtown Lawrenceburg. This event was only halted by one distraction the unbearable heat.

The Annual Whisky City Twilight is in its third year, held in downtown Lawrenceburg. This year it is getting a face lift with new sponsors and a new venue. The new venue enhances the new Civic Park that opened in Lawrenceburg earlier in the summer.

The Civic Park has a stage for bands and plenty of water features. Now some locals use the water feature to take a shower, but those folks weren’t an issue during the event. The goal of the day for the riders was not to finish, but to not pass out while riding and dealing with the heat.

During the races you had roughly two minutes of time after seeing the riders go past. During that “downtime” you will hear the voices of these two stereotypical biker dudes giving an inside look to what the riders are doing. Groundbreaking stuff. Who would have thought they are trying to stay with the lead and not use all of their energy until the last couple of laps? I know I was as surprised as you.

The marquee event started at 8 pm with the Men’s Pro. This consisted of 60 laps; about .46 miles each. The winner would win $1,000 and three bottles of whiskey. (Peep the name Whisky City Twilight Challenge) This was really exciting with the spotlights focused only on the course. The fans that were still there got really into it as the cyclists came around turn four and turn one. The laps in this final race got to around 1:30 around the .46 mile course.

Most of the fans that were hanging around really knew what they were talking about saying things like, “Dig deep; Use your inner legs,” whatever the heck that means. The guys talking on the speakers were really getting into it hyping up the crowd as the cyclists came around each turn. As the night wore on the fans were anticipating who would be in the lead at each different turn.

They had a band playing the whole time on the stage at the Civic Park, so it wasn’t just an awkward silence. The music they were playing sort of tied into what was going on. A physical grind. Each turn had a bunch of hay bales “just in case”. Nothing happened, but you never know.

The day was oppressively hot, but in the end was worth it. The races were awesome and the atmosphere was even better. A great event every year in Downtown Lawrenceburg. It’s one of those odd events but that’s what makes the city unique.