Moc 5

Fire ants. After big rains they pop up everywhere--especially in open fields like one might find on the Southie Trails (or cow pastures). Growing up on the coast as a kid, when it would flood the fire ants would build new mounds on top of their dead compatriots and float in the ditches.

It is Bella Vista which sits just north of Bentonville--they are pretty much connected. Hoss and I have a lot on the Little Sugar Trail very close to the Tanyard Creek Falls. I can't wait to build and retire there!

That was my guess as well. I figure it is getting too close to someone's "home".

Choo choo does have a substance on the berms that feels paved. It's pretty nice because it doesn't have loose dirt. Leopard Loop is a much smaller trail with treated berms (hell, the whole trail may be treated.) It's super fun and non-intimidating. Your son would probably like it. It's located at the corners of Tiger Blvd, NW A street, and NW Leopard Lane. We use it as a connector to get to Tristan's Trail--which s also super fun.

On the up side, Grelle is right next to Krause Springs.

We rode it a couple of years ago. It is no way a smooth trail (or at least it wasn't at the time). I did not enjoy the trail, but at the time it was "brand new." I believe it was originally a horse trail. CX Agent would know as he had a hand in its opening to mtb.

We use the trails you mentioned as a connector from the Crystal Bridges area over to Leopard Loop and Tristan's trail. They are pretty awesome with the creek running through them. I believe the light display will already be going when you are up there Teamsloan. Definitely worth getting tickets and taking the family. Cafeend, other than hiking, there is the world class Crystal Bridges Museum with a Frank Lloyd Wright house tour. The Momentary may be of interest, and I think there is a children's museum around there, too. Teamssloan is quite correct about riding in the rain there--a lot the Little Sugar trail on the west side of Bella Vista is quite rideable in the rain (we got rained on while riding there last Thanksgiving.) I can't wait to get back on the bike and make it back up there.

Check out Little Sugar on the west side of Bella Vista. If you want more technical trail, you can find it at Mt. Kessler in Fayetteville. They are also opening a new trail in Bentonville soon--it's called Flowzone and is next to Ozone. It looks to be pretty fun. You definitely want to check out ALL of Slaughter Pen. Places to eat/drink: Bike Rack Brewing, The Peddler (next to Bike Rack), Meteor, Table Mesa, Bentonville Brewing. Rogers has several brew pubs as well. That's where The Rail Yard is--it's a fun bike playground.

So, over the last couple of months I've been having chest pain when my heart rate stays over 150 for too long. I've also been getting dizzy after punchy climbs. I decided to go to the Dr. to get it checked out. I was scheduled to go in for a chest xray (because I've also had a chronic cough) and a stress test. Those were supposed to happen last week. But then, Wednesday happened. I was out riding the Southies with a few friends. We were transitioning between Valero an Whirlpool, heading for the veloway stuff. We were on the sidewalk on Brush Country when my front tire slipped off of the edge. I heard a zipping sound and down I went--totally body slammed the concrete and completely dislocated my elbow. Thankfully, I was with a firefighter (Karen) and two guys who have had wilderness first aid training (Tony and Hoss). Karen tended to me while the guys went back for our car. At the hospital, they tried to reset the elbow, but it wouldn't stay in. Turns out part of the humerus has chipped off and was in the way. They had to operate to remove the bone chips and repair the tendons around the joint. I'll be off the bike for at least 3 months and I may never be able to completely straighten my arm again. It really sucks dirty balls. On the upside, I know I don't have the Covid. Pinche sidewalks. (Oh, and I'll be going for that chest xray in the next couple of weeks.)

Flat Creek near Johnson City closed. Flat Rock in Comfort is open.

We just got back from a week in Bentonville. It was a blast. There have been a lot of changes since we were there in November. All American now extends all the way to Slaughter Pen Phase 1. A couple of downhill flow trails have been added to Phase 1--Jessie's Last Stand was our personal favorite--we rode it multiple times as the climb to the start was super easy and no one else was using it (everyone else was riding a longer flow trail that I think was a part of All American). The black diamond flow section at the top of Phase 1 has been coated with something that looks like asphalt but isn't. I didn't go up there because I'm a big chicken. Leopard Loop has the same stuff on the downhill portion. I did ride that--pretty fun little trail. We use Leopard as a connector to get to Tristan's Trail, btw. Choo choo has some new surface on it as well--it was nice not having a lot of loose rock in the switchbacks coming down. Little Sugar over on the east side of Bella Vista is fully open as well. I rode Tweety Bird and Down Under. Tweety Bird is a super fun, easy trail with lots of rewards for climbing. Down Under was a beat down for me. Lots of steep climbs in there and the switchbacks were to sketchy for my taste--lots of loose rock in them. That being said, the downhill sections were pretty fun. Hoss rode more than I did in the Little Sugar--he reported that Tunnel Vision was better than Down Under. Having ridden parts of Tunnel Vision over Thanksgiving, I can say that it is climbier than the Back 40. One of the upsides to Little Sugar is that it can be ridden in the rain or right after a rain. It really is a great trail system. We rode Hobbs State Park for the first time this trip. We did the Karst Loop and absolutely loved it. Like many of the trails in the area, it is very well designed and even when we were climbing, it didn't seem bad at all. Of course, all climbs were rewarded with really long, fun downhill. Coler has a lot of new stuff as well. The Hub was an absolute cluster--lots of large groups of annoying people. We went down Fireline, which was a lot of fun until we got to the trail closed sign in the middle of it. Due to the number of annoying people, we decided to go check out Esther's Family Flow. It was really fun. Downtown Bentonville is pretty much shut down--which we really didn't mind. I felt safer there than in Austin. Just a couple of restaurants are open for dining-in, and they are very diligent about masks and spacing. The Bentonville Taproom is open but they seem to not care about spacing or masks. Fortunately, it was pretty empty most of the times we went in. At any rate, if you haven't been there, or you haven't been in a while, now is an excellent time to go. We really didn't want to come home.

I got a solid 20+ solo miles on the Southie Trails yesterday. Came across less than 10 other riders and just a few walkers. Everything was beautiful and green. After a fairly rough week (for me personally), it was good for my soul.

When I first started riding, I rode Muleshoe every Monday. It was a great place to learn (also the first place I received a real injury.) Also, tell your wife to be on the lookout for Ride Like a Girl. It should be starting some time this Spring. It is a great program for women who want to learn to mountain bike or to improve their skills.

The park really has improved over the last couple of years. I don't know that I will ever be able to remember the new loop names--they'll always be A-E and that other trail with the labyrinth in my mind.

The time change along with awesome weather merit a trip up north for me this week. Who all is in?