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Bentonville - Think about it now, you can't ride today


AustinBike

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7 hours ago, endo_ said:

One day is a short time to ride all trails on back forty. I’m wondering if you hit the good stuff. We spent several hours there this year and still only got about 15 miles in. Ledges has very challenging sections. Plus there are some very fast, Flowey and long downhill single tracks that get the blood pumping. I personally cannot see how someone would rather ride walnut. To each his own I guess!


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I went in knowing I would only be able to do one ride and had herd many people talking about The Back 40 so I decided to do the whole loop. Did 22 miles in about 3 hours. Again, not impressed. There were a few fun things but there is maybe 5 miles of good trail on that whole loop IMO. It's totally possible that I just missed the best stuff. I'm actually going back next spring, on my way through, so if you have some suggestions I'll check them out.

6 hours ago, Teamsloan said:

 

When was the last time you were there? 

 

April. It'll be interesting to see what has changed when I go back.

5 hours ago, Anita Handle said:

Tell me more about this El Paso Chunk... and I'm not talkin' 'bout the gorditas...

The quesadillas with backed potato is highly recommended.

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1 hour ago, Big_papa_nuts said:

...so I decided to do the whole loop. Did 22 miles in about 3 hours. Again, not impressed...

Sounds like you did the main loop, which is mainly just plain old school XC trail. It gets you in the middle of the woods without actually being in way out BFE. The mileage is awesome, but its low on tech. The connecting trails throughout is the fun stuff. You pretty much did the equivalent of riding only the the main trail of BCGB.

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30 minutes ago, Teamsloan said:

The connecting trails throughout is the fun stuff. You pretty much did the equivalent of riding only the the main trail of BCGB.

I've been biting my tongue through these last few comments.  While I completely understand "quality" single track can be subjective, Teamsloan's comment is spot on.

-CJB

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25 minutes ago, Anita Handle said:

I think Mr _nuts doesn't dig on machine cut flow stuff. I don't think the inner trails are radically different than the outer loop. The ledges can be done as part of the outer loop and that is something lots of people like. I imagine @Big_pappa_nuts would like Kessler and Slaughter Pen better.

Yeah, I can understand that (even though I loved the inner 40 stuff).  I was pretty underwhelmed with the Slaughter Pen stuff.  But Kessler was great!...and Coler Park too!

-CJB

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Yeah, I can understand that (even though I loved the inner 40 stuff).  I was pretty underwhelmed with the Slaughter Pen stuff.  But Kessler was great!...and Coler Park too!
-CJB

Surprised slaughter was underwhelming for you! We hit some awesome stuff there, big drops, gaps, flow, big berms, wooden features. No chunk but I have had my fill with that in Austin.


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I've known enough Austin riders who have accepted the fact that the riding here is pretty much always going to be a grunt. To the point that they think that any riding that isn't a grunt, isn't riding. Too bad for them.

My experience is that riding the Limestone makes Austin riders better equipped to enjoy less threatening trails. This doesn't make a flowy trail worse, it just means that a rider most familiar with Austin trails can experience the things that MOST OTHER MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDERS enjoy as a matter of course every time they ride. That is the sweet, sugar-coated stuff MTB dreams are made of. Particularly when the trails have been crafted specifically for the mountain biker to make the most of.

This is the biggest reason that I travel to ride in other places. To try out something new and different.

The folks who think they don't like smooth, flowy trail can save their vacation time and disposable income for other things. And, I won't have to listen to them whine while enjoying all the other trails the world has to offer.

I'll be driving to Bentonville on Sunday for a week of exploration that I fully expect to enjoy until I can't enjoy any more of it. HO HO HO

Your Flowage May Vary

Edited by Ridenfool
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7 hours ago, endo_ said:


Surprised slaughter was underwhelming for you! We hit some awesome stuff there, big drops, gaps, flow, big berms, wooden features. No chunk but I have had my fill with that in Austin.


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Yeah, I was maybe a victim of my expectations?  I had heard so much fanfare about Bentonville and their trails that one the first day of exploring (and finding) the Slaughter Pen stuff, I was a bit disappointed.  Sure, the manmade features were a cool novelty, but I was there riding solo, and on day 1 wasn't going to take unnecessary risks.  I found SP1-2-3 to be short, brief, and rather normal except for the manmade stuff.  That first day I road for probably 5-6 hrs and in the end, I'd categorize the SP trails something like a 'pallet cleanser' to sample in-between other trails.  YMMV

-CJB

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20 hours ago, Teamsloan said:

Sounds like you did the main loop, which is mainly just plain old school XC trail. It gets you in the middle of the woods without actually being in way out BFE. The mileage is awesome, but its low on tech. The connecting trails throughout is the fun stuff. You pretty much did the equivalent of riding only the the main trail of BCGB.

Fair. I'll give it another shot this spring. My girlfriend really wants to go and honestly I've been dreading it, but if the other trails have some challenges it might be worth it.

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The trails I mentioned at the back 40 are great. Ledges has some fun tech parts (still not close to our local tough spots but still techy)

Coler has some awesome flow trails. Check out Rock Hard dropping in from the hub. And there’s another trail out at Coler that I can’t remember the name of that reminded me a lot of sections of Washtub/Jedi out at BCGB. It pretty much works it’s way along a steep rocky hillside for what seemed like forever.


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7 hours ago, Teamsloan said:

 And there’s another trail out at Coler that I can’t remember the name of that reminded me a lot of sections of Washtub/Jedi out at BCGB. It pretty much works it’s way along a steep rocky hillside for what seemed like forever.


Here's Johnny, I bet. We rode it while it was quite damp and it was... a lot of fuckery. We all wondered which Austin trail builder made that thing.

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Day 1 on the trails was a blast. Chalked up about fifteen miles that included All American, Peak a Boo, Rocking Horse, Tiger, several parts of Black Apple Creek, Tristan (Oz's brother trail to RHR's TrisCross, also named after a Tristan), Red Barn, last part of Ozone, Urban, Seed Tick Shuffle, Tatamagouche (I'm calling it Tendergoochie), Medusa, Armadillo's Last Stand, then Razorback interstate back to downtown. Air conditioned riding all day long with a start at 42F and high of 54F at the end.

Wrapped it up with Green pork curry (excellent) at Thai Cuisine on SE 14th St for Christmas Eve dinner, followed by a Steel Toe Milk Stout I had brought along. Sampled a Coffee Stout at Onyx Coffee Lab yesterday that was pretty tasty as well.

Christmas day will be either Coler or Blowing Springs, probably gonna have to flip a coin. Then the other one on Day 3.

Thanks to people in the area getting lots of bikes and accessories from Santa there is forecast over an inch of rain on Thursday, then the temps head for the basement, so that will probably be all the riding I'll get to do while here.

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8 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Coler over blowing springs, every time.

Well, it isn't an either/or as I plan to ride both. Tomorrow has nicer temps. So, I'm gonna save Coler for Wednesday. That'll give me all the time I need there, I can ride till I can't pedal back up to The Hub for any more. Hoping to sample each route down from The Hub at least once, and maybe pick up some of the other trails in the preserve.

I may have Blowing Springs all to myself today while everyone is tearing into their turkey. Also want to sample the trails by Bella Vista Lake, which are reported to be worth the stop.

Afternoon Edit:

I rode everything Blowing Springs had to offer. It was a lot of fun and in the end felt like there was a lot more downhill than uphill, defying physics. Next, went around the corner to Bella Vista Lake and rode Smugglers, Wonderland, and returned on Sally. These are worth the  stop for what might look like not much trail. Huckers will love Wonderland, I just rolled it and had a good time, except for the grueling climb to get to it. Once there, those so inclined can do repeats easily enough as it is a lollipop.

Only had about 9 miles for the day at that point, so hit the Kum & Go for a chicken and waffle sandwich because Xmas (nothing else open), and somehow came to the brilliant conclusion that I should give Coler a whirl. Oscar's let me know I was done for the day by the time I got to The Hub. Considered Rock Soft, but decided to take Fire Line down, rolling all the tabletops as I'm just not comfortable jumping on flats yet. Then backtracked on Oscar's around to the lot, packed it up and headed for the house.

Day 2 was a success!

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The front finally got to Bentonville late yesterday. The accumulation on the weather.gov site indicates between 2 and 2.5 inches fell overnight in the 72712 area. There must have been a lot of folks getting new bikes here.

In anticipation for this eventuality, I spoke with the people at Phat Tire yesterday about any trails that can be ridden after a rain and they pointed me toward some of the Northernmost trail heads in the Back 40, all the while strongly cautioning about just how slick the embedded rocks will be until they have dried.

Considering it will be overcast with a high of only 61F I think I'll err on the side of caution. There's enough options on things to see and do here other than visiting a local Urgent Care, or taking part in rescue operations, ... as the victim. 😨 Rescue crews are so often less concerned about the bike than the person and I can't take the chance the bike may be left behind. :classic_unsure:

My thanks on this trip go out to Hammer Nutrition for Recoverite and to Floyd's of Leadville for the CBD RecoveryProtein powder. Which, when a scoop of each mixed with water was ingested immediately after a ride, left my legs fairly fresh for the next day.

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2 hours ago, Moc 5 said:

Ridenfool, you might consider checking out Lake Atalanta for an afternoon ride. We have ridden it after rain (not 2.5 inches) and most of it was good in spite of riding on wet leaves.

Can't speak for Lake Atalanta after a rain...but I did ride there on my 1st trip to Bentonville and loved it.  IMHO it had trail like a mini-Back 40.  Some steep climbing followed by some fun ripping descents.  The only "issue" is the you have to go look for the trail(s) because there are 3-4-5 sections of it sprinkled around the lake.  Its not one contiguous trail.

-CJB

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Hobb's State Park is a very solid bet within hours of a hard rain. It's also more normal XC feeling and more remote feeling than the other trails. Decent amount of climbing, very undulating. Underrated trail.

4 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

The front finally got to Bentonville late yesterday. The accumulation on the weather.gov site indicates between 2 and 2.5 inches fell overnight in the 72712 area. There must have been a lot of folks getting new bikes here.

In anticipation for this eventuality, I spoke with the people at Phat Tire yesterday about any trails that can be ridden after a rain and they pointed me toward some of the Northernmost trail heads in the Back 40, all the while strongly cautioning about just how slick the embedded rocks will be until they have dried.

Considering it will be overcast with a high of only 61F I think I'll err on the side of caution. There's enough options on things to see and do here other than visiting a local Urgent Care, or taking part in rescue operations, ... as the victim. 😨 Rescue crews are so often less concerned about the bike than the person and I can't take the chance the bike may be left behind. :classic_unsure:

My thanks on this trip go out to Hammer Nutrition for Recoverite and to Floyd's of Leadville for the CBD RecoveryProtein powder. Which, when a scoop of each mixed with water was ingested immediately after a ride, left my legs fairly fresh for the next day.

 

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Decided to haul the missus around shopping today. Also realized last night that I had only booked 5 nights instead of the 6 intended, which works out well as tomorrow will be verrrrrrrrry cold anyway and I'm happier getting on the road a day early.

Thanks all for the suggestions of Lake Atalanta and Hobbs. Next time!

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