Maybe young kings’ fancies turn to thoughts of war in spring, but mountain bikers think about mud.
Mud and how bad is the mud and will the mud dry out so they can ride the 26th annual Ozark Mountain Bike Festival this weekend.
“Right now it’s moderate,” says Tim Scott, assistant superintendent of Devil’s Den State Park and organizer of Northwest Arkansas’ most relaxed gathering of trail riders, their children and their terrified initiates. “Now, if we get more rain, it’s going to be above moderate.
“It won’t be quite the ‘mudfest’ level, but it will be, hmm, sloppy.”
Well-mannered mountain bikers know better than to slash along sloppy paths, because the gashes left by their fat tires will harden into hazards when the inevitable drying-off occurs; but Scott says most of his park’s trails travel over a bedrock of, well, rock.
Only a few places would need repair after being plowed while wet.
“We’ll just get out and fix them pretty fast,” he says.
Nonriders and newbies shouldn’t confuse the festival with the other big bicycling weekend at Devil’s Den, the highly competitive Northwest Arkansas Mountain Bike Championships. Set for Sept.
13 and 14, that event’s about racing.
“This is the fun one,” Scott says.
There’s a ride Friday afternoon and then the schedule for Saturday is a long list of guided pedaling followed in the afternoon and evening by games and socializing, complete with homemade - make that camper-made - ice cream. (Pack a bowl and a spoon.)
“We’re going to have again the bike toss,” Scott says, referring to the peculiar bicycle game better known as Huffy tossing. Participants line up to take turns flinging a clunky bicycle, seeing who can hurl it the farthest.
Theories vary as to the best technique for tossing so large and asymmetrically weighted an object without ripping up one’s back muscles in the attempt, and the whole enterprise is wide open for mathematically minded kinesiologists or practical-minded physicists keen to do a bit of field testing. Come on out.
“Probably somebody will read that and then come and try it,” Scott says. “Yeah, thatwill be great. … Last year it was a real heavy bike. This year it’s a little bit smaller bike. They ought to be able to launch this one.”
The kiddie bike in question was donated by Highroller Cyclery in Fayetteville, and Scott says it’s cute, with a rack and little fenders, more sacrificial lamb than hunk of junk. “I almost feel a little bad tossing it,” he says.
Rides include:
2:30 p.m. Friday, early arrivals can join Scott and Park Interpreter Adam Leslie for a ride on the Fossil Flats Trail beginning at the trailhead near campsite 15. The length and pace of the outing depend on who shows up.
9 a.m. Saturday, Bob Cable and Flip Putthoff plan a 3-mile novice-speed ride for beginners and children on the same trail, which has rolling, rocky terrain with creek crossings; meet near campsite 15.
10 a.m., Pat Zimmerman and Chuck Maxwell will meet intermediate-level riders near campsite 15 for a somewhat more challenging 6-miler on the Fossil Flats Trail.
10:30 a.m., Misty Murphy, Kathy Stafford and Dorothea Justice will lead a 5 ½ -mile “ladies-only” ride at a gentle pace beginning near campsite 15.
1 p.m., Steve Schneider, South Central regional director for the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), will instruct beginners on a 4-mile outing designed to help them learn to pedal more efficiently and negotiate rugged terrain. Meet him near campsite 15.
1:30 p.m., Steve Shepherd will meet experienced cyclists at the amphitheater near Area E for a 25-mile “gravel grinder” course through the Ozarks that was used by the bicycle championships in 1989.
2 p.m., intermediate riders can follow David Justice from Holt Road at the top of Arkansas 74 for a 6-mile descent followed by a 6-mile ascent on the Butterfield and Fossil Flats trails.
Here come the fun and the games …
2:30 p.m. Saturday, the children’s course opens in Area A behind campsite 14 with a chance to play on a skinny rail, a bicycle teeter-totter, a cone course and limbo.
4:30 p.m., all ages can try their hand in the Poker Run ride on the Fossil Flats Trail. Ride to the five stations to collect a playing card; take your cards to the pavilion during the cook-off to collect your reward.
6 p.m., old-school bike games for grownups begin in the playground area, with the bike toss, a slow race, limbo and bunny hop contests.
7 p.m., campers can contribute sides to the potluck supper as Darrell Cox grills burgers. Help crank the ice cream as Emma provides live music.
8:30 p.m., John “Big John” Sandy leads cyclists - each must carry two sources of light - on a 5 ½ -mile trail ride beginning in Area A.
At 10 a.m. Sunday come two options: 5 miles for beginners who can follow David and Dorothea Justice along the Fossil Flats Trail or 15 miles of challenging terrain with Chris Crone of Progressive Trail Design.
Helmets are required on all rides.
Scott expects campsites will be available this week. For more information call (479) 761-3325 or e-mail tim.scott@arkansas.gov.
ActiveStyle, Pages 23 on 03/31/2014