Kentucky Brotherhood Ride stops in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Brotherhood Ride has embarked on an emotional four-day ride to honor first responders who died last year.

The Kentucky Brotherhood Ride stopped in Louisville Thursday. The group is made up of 30 cyclists from 28 different agencies and five different states.

The cyclists began their journey from Lexington Thursday and will ride 400 miles, making various stops to pay their respects to the people who died serving their communities.

When the ride gets hard, they say they just remember that too many families are missing their loved ones.

"Obviously meeting all the families along the way we get to hear all these different stories from police officers, EMS, corrections officers, just learning their story and letting the families know that people are actually here to honor their memory so people don't forget about them," Bejamin Peel, a cyclist with the Georgetown Fire Department, said.

The group will visit the Zonetown Fire Protection District on Friday. Chief Rob Orkies died in December after a dual battle with cancer and COVID-19.

Orkies is one of 12 first responders the Kentucky Brotherhood Ride is honoring this year.