Bye (for now) Bentonville
Wow! What an epic few weeks. Never in a million years did I think Bentonville would be this effing cool.
During my time here, I rode 189.4 miles of singletrack. (Had I known then that it was that close, clearly I would have done .6 miles of circles in the last parking lot to make it a nice even 190.) Not all of those trails were necessarily my jam, but the fact that I could ride that many miles over the course of three and a half weeks is a testament to how easy it is to rack up miles here.
The riding community here is pretty freaking amazing, too. It was so easy for me to connect with the women's ride group, and I quickly made friends there that led to more riding outside of the official group rides. By the end of my time here, I was running into people on the trails that I knew. That's pretty special.
All smiles during a Tuesday afternoon women's ride.
Riding jump lines all afternoon made us goofy AF!
I am going to miss riding with these ladies SO MUCH!!
I gotta tell ya, my riding also improved a lot in those weeks. While nothing was that technical or challenging, the trails were all short enough (and close enough to civilization) that I had the confidence to ride things I wouldn't otherwise try. Like jump lines and drops and long rickety bridges.
Air!
Of course, it also gave me the confidence to go faster than usual on downhills, which resulted in some letting of blood on a few occasions. That Arkansas limestone is no joke. I think little gnomes go out in the middle of the night with metal files and sharpen all the rocks.
Pro Tip: Buy stock in Walgreens (nasdaq: WBA) now because I think I'll be buying a lot of first aid supplies this summer.
One of the funniest things I encountered in Bentonville was the Urgent Care late on a Saturday afternoon. When my own first-aid skills proved inadequate, I finally decided to go get stitches (after two more rides, a beer, and a shower - this ain't my first rodeo, folks). Everyone in the waiting room was bloody and muddy, and in wet, smelly riding clothes (apparently it was their first rodeo). MY PEOPLE!!! The stories going around were hilarious: "dude that's nasty!" and "whoa glad I didn't ride there today".
FWIW, I wasn't able to get said stitches because apparently you have to get stitches within the first 24-hours of slicing open an appendage. Who knew? Props to the doc, who handed me a pile of butterfly strips and tincture of benzoin vials and said “here - you look like you know what you’re doing”.
As if all the great riding and people weren't enough, Bentonville is flush with great breweries and restaurants. My favorite brewery was Bike Rack Brewing. It was trailside, dog-friendly, and had the best beer by far. My fave: Slaughter Pen IPA. There were also a few food places in the same little complex that made it easy to grab dinner and bring it over to the brewery. (Recommend: the noodle/ramen place. Do not recommend: the "Alaskan Dumpling" food truck)
Bike Rack may have been my favorite watering hole in Bentonville, but, purely as a service to you, dear reader, I sampled several others. Evidence-based research is the foundation of good science!
A few other shoutouts in Bentonville:
Best bike shop: Mojo Cycling
Best food: Pizza at Pedaler's Pub
Best camp: Camp Bentonville (available on Hipcamp)
A few of my favorite scenes from camp -
Next up for me: visiting friends in Kansas, and then over to Colorado Springs. Jeremy is heading north to Badlands National Park and then Glacier National Park. We'll connect back up this summer in Canada. For the next two months, its just me and the fluffbutts and lots and lots of singletrack.
Bentonville, I'll be back.