Video: Riding in Arkansas with Jeff Kendall-Weed
Available in 4k here.
Revolution is a strong word. Even so, it feels appropriate to describe how Northwest Arkansas has incorporated a complete mountain bike experience into the region. The ambitious strategy that began in Bentonville, and now expands throughout Northwest Arkansas, paints an exciting new paradigm for what’s possible when developing the sport. These days in northwest Arkansas, mountain biking is molding an entire region into a community of like-minded shredders.
Rather than just ride these trails solo, I wanted to meet some of the folks that have helped grow this scene into what it is today. And it turns out that these guys are rippers!
Like many, I had heard about Bentonville’s significant push for mountain biking. Thanks to the support of my sponsors, including Ibis, Camelbak, Kitsbow, Kali, and the local Best Western locations, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to visit Arkansas to experience the scene for myself. With my own appreciation for how legitimate and mainstream the sport of mountain biking has become in the Pacific Northwest, I figured I could make the most of this visit by meeting and riding with the people responsible for this revolution in the Ozarks. I wanted to learn what they were up to, and perhaps build a new picture in my own mind of how we could bring these strategies to other areas. How can we spread the revolution?
Sampling the trails in Little Rock.
Once I finalized my plans to make a trip, I did what I’ve always done, ever since I was a kid: I asked a fellow rider for some guidance! I shot a quick call to the local bike shop in Bentonville and chatted with long-time local Dave Neal at Mojo Cycling. After explaining what I was up to, it was clear that southern hospitality was alive and well: Dave didn’t hesitate to get me in touch with several key figures in the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) scene. Dave connected me with Gary Vernon, program officer for the Walton Foundation with an emphasis on Arkansas-focused trail and cycling projects, as well as Scott Schroen, director of Oz Trails. Even before I flew in, I already felt like I was going to Arkansas to meet old friends.
Little Rock: A Nascent Destination
Meeting Paul Norris, the president of the Central Arkansas Trail Alliance.
Before diving into what’s specifically happening in Northwest Arkansas, I wanted to better understand what the scene was like before the revolution began. En route to Bentonville, I visited Little Rock, a 3-hour drive southeast in central Arkansas. I first heard about the riding in Little Rock in about 2009. I was working at Ibis, and our company sent a few employees to visit Competitive Cyclist, located in Little Rock at the time. Reports were that there was indeed a riding scene in Little Rock. I’d made a mental note of it, but hadn’t heard much about Little Rock since then. With how much fan fare Bentonville has been receiving, I was eager to visit for myself, and see something perhaps less discovered. And it turns out that it’s still a fairly nascent mountain bike scene, at least in comparison to Bentonville and the Northwest Arkansas region.
Not every rock was little.
Paul Norris, the president of the mountain bike advocacy group Central Arkansas Trails Alliance (CATA), explains, “I’d say we’re about four years behind Bentonville. We’ve been building for quite a while, working with the city, and now we’re seeing the land grants, the highway grants.”
Paul has an extensive trail building pedigree, having spent many years living and building in the Pacific Northwest, as well as riding all over the USA during extensive van life tours. In Little Rock, the trails utilize volunteer build days, and CATA is still a small organization at only 118 members--but it’s growing. In this central part of the USA, mountain biking is still a fairly “fringe” activity. It already has a stronger presence in Little Rock, though, than in many other heartland towns. In fact, Little Rock today feels like it’s on a similar path to that of Bentonville, growing in possibilities and popularity.
No, the trails aren’t jump infested, but if you’re hungry enough, an airtime sandwich can easily be whipped up off some rocks.
Paul and Melanie just completed a massive van life tour of the continental USA, and their bike of choice for riding every type of terrain was actually the fat bike. And the beasts indeed work pretty well through the endless rock chunder that perhaps resulted in the fitting name for the city.
Paul, his wife Melanie, and I rode the Jackfork Mountain Bike trail at Pinnacle State Park, which is still a bit of a marquee trail for Little Rock. We then journeyed to a less affluent neighborhood in the community to ride a Boyd city park. That trail project, one of CATA’s early efforts, reflects its unique strategy of making mountain biking accessible to all.
Having smashed through some proper Arkansas rock for the day, we set our sights on the Northwest corner of the Natural State. The drive from Little Rock to Northwest Arkansas provided a beautiful tour of Arkansas, from the flat lands of the central region to the rolling hills of the Ozarks. And while the Ozarks might not be the tallest mountains in North America, to see the flat lands they rise from puts their elevation into perspective. They might not be massive, but they are mountains, and they are beautiful.
Little Rock, it was fun to visit. You gave me a glimpse as to what American Heartland is actually like, without a massive push for mountain bike development. There is very much potential, but it is a strikingly different environment than the big mountain states. I’m excited to see future developments!
Bentonville: The Epicenter
Bentonville needs no formal introduction. It is, at this point, one of the most well-known destinations east of the Rockies.
Today, in fall 2018, we are reaching the point where Bentonville needs no grand introduction. It is among the most popular riding destinations between the Rocky Mountains and the eastern seaboard. But the mountain bike experience isn’t just Bentonville; it’s the entire Northwest Arkansas region. Currently, anywhere from three to as many as five professional trail building companies are continually employed in the region. Yes, this means many people earn a living building trails. This is an important point to remember, as it shows one of the benefits of growing mountain biking as a sport: it creates paying jobs, helping communities in lots of ways at once.
The growth of the sport has been primarily within the last dozen years, with much of the growth only recently. The town of Bentonville only began to build mountain biking trails in 2006:
 | Gary Vernon says, “I moved here in 2003, and really, there was no mountain biking in either Bentonville or Bella Vista. But it wasn’t until 2006 that we heard a rumor about a trail coming to Bentonville, and that’s the trail system that Tom Walton went to the city council and got approval for, to build 5 miles of trail in Bentonville.” |
Vernon now works as a program officer for the Walton foundation focusing on trail and cycling projects. He is also a 30-plus year veteran employee of Walmart.
Gary Vernon keeps a low profile, but the man can ride!
Within Northwest Arkansas, about 150 miles of trail are open to the public. And it’s not just rugged Ozark trails through slick limestone and thick clay-- this includes an astounding number of professionally built trail, much of it with a sinuous flow through tall oaks and pines. And that 150 mile number is actually a low estimate. New trails continue to open weekly.
Bike NWA is the lead advocate for biking in general in North West Arkansas. Bike NWA supports programs and events that foster a thriving, fun cycling culture, and mountain biking is indeed a big part of that. But it’s not the only part. During my visit, I learned that a big part of the leadership and vision for the growth has come from Bike NWA, as well as their bike alliance. The alliance is a consortium of cycling related non-profits that can all benefit through mutual communication and common goals that serve the community. In addition to the trails, Bentonville now has an extensive urban bicycle infrastructure. Greenways and bike lanes crisscross the rolling hills.
| “It’s exploding, and it’s not going to stop,” says Candice Kozark, special programs coordinator for Bike NWA. |
Kozark moved to Bentonville 2.5 years ago, and says she has never once thought about leaving. Working in a career position at Bike NWA, her abilities on the bike are a great work asset.
Gary Vernon leads Jeff Kendall-Weed and Richard Drew through a corner on the All American trail.
One unique aspect of the scene in Northwest Arkansas is the Oz Trails brand. Under the Bike NWA umbrella, Oz Trails has a specific goal of promoting mountain biking in Northwest Arkansas. Oz Trails works on events as well as raising awareness and furthering the stoke for the trails through a content marketing type strategy. Developing the Oz brand for the trails presents a simple, catchy title for businesses to rally behind.
Scott Shroen, director of Oz Trails, explains, “Something I find myself repeating very often to explain what Oz Trails is all about. It is the path that the mountain biker experiences while they are in north west Arkansas. So it’s the breweries, the trails, the bike shops, the rider themselves, all of us together. It’s not me, per say. I might be the one behind the scenes, but it’s not just me. It’s all of us.”
| Scott Shroen, director of Oz Trails, explains, “Something I find myself repeating very often to explain what Oz Trails is all about. It is the path that the mountain biker experiences while they are in north west Arkansas. So it’s the breweries, the trails, the bike shops, the rider themselves, all of us together. It’s not me, per say. I might be the one behind the scenes, but it’s not just me. It’s all of us.” |
Scott Schroen spent many years in Austin, Texas, before making the move to Arkansas. Apparently Scott’s friends attempted to have an intervention with him in 2010 when he told them he’d be moving to Arkansas. Now, no one would doubt that choice. Scott leads Gary and Jeff into one of the rock berms on the All American trail.
Local advocacy groups FAST and OORV both advocate for the growth and maintenance of mountain bike trails. With each group’s mission specifically defined, the groups can then focus on exactly what they need to do. This targeted approach has led the mountain bike scenes’ tremendous growth.
One of the coolest things I noticed about Bentonville is that the accessibility to trails could not be better. Right in the heart of downtown, on Northwest 3rd Street, lies the All-American trail, a pumptrack-esque ribbon of golden brown singletrack painstakingly sculpted to bring riders through three trails networks: Crystal Bridges, Park Spring, and finally, to the Slaughter Pen network.
The All-American trail is particularly visionary. It was designed with a goal of exposing the population to what mountain biking is, intentionally built alongside a multi-use path. Walkers see mountain biking up close and personal.
| We refer to it as the gateway trail because it’s maximum exposure to pedestrian traffic,” says Schroen. “We see it every day when we ride. People look up at us and say, ‘Mom! Mountain biking! I wanna do that!' |
Notice that walking path? The trailbed for the All American trail stays quite close to it.
Yes, Bentonville really doesn’t need much of an introduction to any mountain biker who stays current with the scene in the central USA, but it’s worth noticing all the great things happening there, just as the kids along the All-American trail notice. The All-American trail is a great marquee piece for the town, and as we pedaled from a trendy downtown coffee shop, we passed a public bicycle maintenance station. As the locals told me about their growing enduro race series, as well as about the IMBA world summit, we also waved at droves of Sprinter vans heading into town for Outerbike. Already strong, the scene grows and grows.
On the west coast, wet rocks are generally safe to ride. Sure, they can be unpredictable, but they don’t hold a candle to wet limestone. Here I try to keep the front wheel light to avoid any unexpected washouts.
Many of the trails sport substantial rock armoring.
A Mountain Bike Community: Portraits of the People
Visiting Northwest Arkansas, I didn’t just want to ride the trails; I wanted to meet the folks whose lives have been positively changed by the growth of mountain biking in this town of 35,000 people. In about 15 short years, the sport went from an insignificant blip on the radar to a mainstream activity, and this has directly shaped many local lives. Southern hospitality is alive here in many ways. Arkansas blends the best of southern culture with heartland Americana, welcoming cyclists who bring even more positive energy to the region.
But the business opportunities aren’t limited to the service industry; the mountain bike culture here is growing some rather unique opportunities.
| “We were welcomed here with open arms” says Bea Apple, a local entrepreneur. “This community is very supportive.” |
Bea Apple opened a successful restaurant, the Pressroom, in downtown Bentonville, and recently launched another new venture, Hillfolk, a textile boutique. She shares this bike with her oldest of her three children.
The town is aware that the community needs more than just trails, such as great places to eat, micro-breweries, and an art museum. Bentonville is developing a metropolitan experience with a small-town vibe. We were able to enjoy food all the way from typical American breakfasts to gourmet brewery style dinners, and even had some traditional and warm Vietnamese pho on a cold evening.
Eric Smith, member of the Gravitas race team, is a life long Arkansan. Call me old school, but when riders are really good at jumping, I tend to just assume they are ex-BMXers. Turns out Eric has no such BMX background, he’s simply been enjoying these trails, and the riding community, for many years.
While there is no single person in charge of and pushing the movement in NWA, the local mountain bike community’s positive vibe very much stems from the fact that there are many different key players putting in energy to develop the scene. That said, I was lucky enough to spend some time with a guy who has indeed been hands on involved with the mountain bike growth in Bentonville since the very beginning- Gary Vernon. Vernon has an important position as a program officer for the Walton foundation, with an emphasis on Arkansas focused trail and cycling opportunities, and he has held a key role in the local development. And the guy rips.
With an acumen of decades of riding experience, as well as BMX, moto trials and motocross influences, Vernon and I hit jumps together, rode wheelies for entire city blocks, and generally shredded the daylights outta the trails.
| A key point that Vernon drove home was, “It’s not just the trails, the town needs the full experience. Trails need to be accessible right from downtown, and not just that, mountain bikers need to feel welcome here.” |
Denis Kremenetskiy moved to Rogers, AR, in 2004 to attend high school. He left in 2007 to pursue his dream of racing downhill and working within the cycling industry. After 10 years with top cycling companies all located in California, Kremenetskiy returned to Arkansas to open his mobile bicycle repair business.
| “I wanted to bring my expertise and knowledge of the bike industry back to Arkansas, where the bike industry is growing and developing every day,” says Kremenetskiy. “There is much more opportunity to start a new business here than in California, where the market is already saturated,” Kremenetskiy explains. |
Richard Drew has been teaching mountain bike skills clinics for years, and decided that Bentonville had sufficient mountain bike opportunities that he could actually leave his traditional 9-to-5 job and instead earn a living through skills clinics. There are only a handful of places in North America where that wouldn’t be considered financial suicide--and Bentonville is now on the safe list.
| “I wanted to work around mountain bikes, my passion, and this is the land of mountain bike opportunity,” says Drew. He adds with enthusiasm, “The people behind everything that’s happening have such incredible vision, and to see a whole community rally behind it, and to be able to be a part of that, there was no I way couldn’t take up that opportunity.” |
Pro enduro racer Rich Drew felt so confident about Bentonville that he quit his steady, 9-5 job, and moved his family to the budding hotspot. He teaches skills classes, and coaches a NICA team at Thaden school.
Arkansas NICA league director Kyla Templeton. Kyla had much more of a road background before her tenure with NICA, but now she loves riding her mountain bike.
Professional digital storyteller Garrett Hubbard didn’t solely move to the region in pursuit of a bicycle industry gig. He came for the family-friendly culture, but the quality riding nearby only helped with that decision.
| In a pleasant twist, Hubbard found the growing sport actually imbued his work world as well. “My business has now shifted, and 25% of what I do is actually work within the bicycle segment. That’s a dream come true, and one that would have never happened should we have remained in Washington DC.” |
Garrett Hubbard is the CEO of the Gravitas enduro race team, and lives only minutes from quality trail.
Historically, to work within the bike industry requires living in the industry hot spots-- California, Utah, Colorado--states known for big mountains. But with the massive growth of the mountain bike scene, many new opportunities exist in NWA. The costs of living and doing business are relatively low in Arkansas, and for anyone looking to set a stake in the MTB industry, Bentonville is now officially on the map.
I’ve seen these uphill lilli-pad things on Slopestyle courses over the years, but never on a legal, public trail. The flow of this feature was super fun, and sending it into the tight, right hand berm was a highlight of the trip.
The Takeaway
As mountain biking’s popularity grows, it makes sense to (literally) spread the love. I was very attracted to visiting Arkansas because I wanted to learn how they have gotten to where they are. And you know what? I would love to apply this model elsewhere. It’s time to think bigger. Currently, many trails in the most popular hotspots are crowded. We clearly need more places to ride, and we do ultimately need a bigger presence of the sport as a whole. I was excited to see firsthand what an innovative community can develop to enhance mountain biking and all that goes with it.
The Arkansas state motto is Regnat Populus: the people rule. And they do.
Denis Kremenetskiy, our photographer for this trip, has a really cool story. Born in Russian Siberia, Denis moved to Arkansas to attend high school. Then he quickly left Arkansas in 2007 to pursue the mountain bike dream, which meant a move to Colorado, followed by another move to California. Denis worked at many top companies in California before deciding that a return to Arkansas would have even more opportunities. Photo by Gordon F. Dooley.
Riding with the faces behind the Arkansas MTB Scene
Produced, written, and edited by: Jeff Kendall-Weed @jeffweed.
Filming: Logan Patrick Nelson@loganpnelson.
Photography: Denis Kremenetskiy @denismrkt22.
Supported by:
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Camelbak
Ibis Cycles
Kali Protectives
Kitsbow Cycling Apparel
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As for the bigger lessons - as small towns in beautiful surroundings grow, they have to manage their growth in a way that keeps and enhances what's special about them. Here in Bellingham, our trail systems are a little bit outside of town, and while we're far from Pugetropolis-levels of congestion, that sort of car-dependence doesn't bode well. I'm stoked about the parking lot project at Galbraith - but it would be awesome if there were more/better bus service, or some sort of shuttle, as well as a better bike path connection between neighborhoods and trails.
Or how about schools - we have all these great neighborhood schools. It would be great if it were easier for kids to get to them by bike in a fun way, like they do in Bentonville. Build a few fun trail features along the multi-use bike trails (and vastly expand the multi-use trails so you can navigate the whole town without having to ride in traffic), and you reduce traffic and get kids out moving their bodies before and after school. Same for commuting - we need more buses, with more bike racks, and lots more bike paths away from roads.
I fully realize that coughing up $70M is no small task, and I also acknowledge that land managers are not always as embracing as ours locally. When you look at what has happened here, it's astonishing, and it's just within the last 3 years.
167966 hours or 19 years ?!?!? lol
Now to decide where to ride today . . .
I can't emphasize how much it's blowing up all over the state though. Between JKW filming this, and the release of the video, an outstanding new trail system called Northwoods opened in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which is about 45 minutes south of Little Rock. In addition, they have over 100 miles of IMBA Epic XC trails in the Hot Springs area. Iron Mountain is close by in Arkadelphia, and there's another EPIC about 90 miles north of Little Rock near Mountain View, called Syllamo.
There are multiple systems being built, and many more already planned and funded. It's a great place to be a MTB'er!
I did one of his (Richard Drew) clinics back in North Texas. Met him racing the Dino Enduro in Glen Rose Tx. as part of the Southern Enduro Tour. Talented rider for sure!! Didn't realize he had moved to Arkansas... My wife and I just visited Mountainburg, Arkansas south of Fayetteville for some trail riding at Lake Fort Smith State Park and Devil's Den State Park. Can't wait to go back soon!
I also wanted to clarify one thing. Gary recently reported in Seth's video that the Walton Foundation has invested $70M. Last year, they hired an outside group who conducted a study to try to quantify the impact, and last year it was $139M in returns to the local area. So...as you were highlighting, they went big, but the reward has been big. I think most of us felt like this was a passion of Tom and Steuart Walton, who are both accomplished riders as well, and that this was more about improving our area to entice better talent to come work for Walmart. The bonus is to see how much impact it has had on local businesses in the form of tourism dollars. Now that the ROI has been established, my guess it it will be full steam ahead on continuing expand.
Not me. But now I think...