Last Saturday, a Chevy Bolt with “Charge Kentucky” displayed on the side, quietly entered town and juiced up at the Hampton Inn downtown. While getting a free charge at the hotel, the electric vehicle and its entourage visited the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum (BMHFM) and downtown Riverfront.
The car departed without leaving a footprint of any kind, which is the mission of the Kentucky Touchstone Energy Cooperatives’ first of three Great Electrical Vehicle (EV) Road Trips.
Cory Ramsey of Map Dot Kentucky was part of the team driving the Bolt. Map Dot Kentucky is a group of road-trippers who’ve been to every county in Kentucky twice.
Kevin Osborne with Kentucky Touchstone Energy Cooperatives said that Ramsey is a “celebrity” in Bowling Green with 20,000 social media followers. Osborne said Ramsey enjoys road tripping on weekends and this is how the partnership came about.
Kentucky Living will be sharing Ramsey’s social media posts as he travels to several iconic destinations and will feature a story about the Great EV Road Trip in the October 2019 issue.
The Great EV Road Trip first visited Morgantown to eat at Farm Boy Restaurant and then traveled to Rosine, the birthplace of Bill Monroe.
“As a rural electric co-op, we really appreciate that a whole genre of music came from such humble beginnings,” Osborne said about visiting Rosine.
The team then traveled to Owensboro for a little more Bluegrass at the museum and a charge.
Osborne said that it is becoming more common for cities to have charging stations. Currently, there are 248 public charging stations in Kentucky and the number climbs weekly.
“The era of the electric vehicle is here and will continue to grow,” Osborne said.
While in Owensboro, Ramsey picked up a banjo and played “Blue Moon of Kentucky” along with others, for the BMHFM board members who happened to be at the museum for a meeting.
After leaving Owensboro, they visited Livermore and stopped for lunch at the Dairy Freeze in Island, all the while updating followers on social media.
“We reached over 5,000 followers with the Island post,” Osborne said.
Osborne said that the car ran “beautifully” for the 180-mile trip and that it had great acceleration. Osborne cited several reasons for the campaign, including lower fuel costs, less maintenance, environmental benefits and better mileage.
“We want to help people [interested in cars totally dependent on a battery] make informed decisions,” Osborne said. “We want to improve the quality of life and the environment.”
