Welcome to Running: A FEVER. My name is Michael Davis, and this is a show about fitness, diet, and medicine. My goal is to live a long, healthy, happy, active life, right up to the very end, livin’ long and lovin’ life.
I have an apology to make. To the cycling community. I have neglected you! And I have badmouthed cyclists while walking the trails of Northwest Arkansas. It’s not fair. It’s just not fair. But all that’s going to change. I’m embracing cycling, even if I don’t do it myself. I still have my reservations, but I recognize that cycling in general is a healthy activity, and probably lots of fun, too.
You may not know this, but I live near one of the world’s cycling meccas. Bentonville, Arkansas, has earned the title “Mountain Bike Capital of the World.” It has also been called the “Disneyland of Mountain Biking.” It features nearly seventy miles of trails in town and connects to 400+ miles of award-winning systems in Northwest Arkansas. It includes world-class trails like Slaughter Pen, Coler Preserve, and Back 40. It hosts major MTB events and has a vibrant biking community.
How the heck did that happen? Bentonville is a relatively small town of 61,000 people on the border between the American Midwest and South. Its claim to fame is that it is the headquarters of one of the world’s largest corporations, Walmart. And that’s an important point. Because it was the home of Tom and Steuart Walton, grandsons of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. The Walton family is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Key Factors in Bentonville’s Rise
Walton Family Funding. Tom and Steuart are avid cyclists. They funded the construction of over 500 miles of trails through the Walton Family Foundation, starting with the Slaughter Pen network around 2007-2012.
Bentonville now has a world-class trail system. Trails are built with modern techniques, featuring diverse terrain from flowy paths to technical features, connecting directly to downtown and integrating art installations.
Strategic Vision and Partnerships. A community-wide vision, led by leaders and groups like RUNWAY Group, focused on creating a holistic biking ecosystem, not just trails, involving city, county, and private entities.
Integrated Downtown. Trails lead right to downtown shops, restaurants, and hotels, creating a vibrant biking culture where riders can easily transition from trail to town.
Industry Magnet. The city became the home of the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team and hosts numerous races, attracting bike manufacturers, engineers, and cyclists from around the world, according to a Travel & Leisure article and an Ozark Cycling article.
Community & Inclusivity. The focus is on building trails for all skill levels, fostering a supportive environment, and making biking accessible, notes a People for Bikes article.
Bentonville offers a unique, accessible mountain biking experience often called the “Disneyland of mountain biking,” combining world-class trails with cultural amenities and establishing itself as a global hub for the sport, according to Mountain Life Media and Garden & Gun.
A number of cycling events are held each year in Northwest Arkansas. Some of the major ones are
– Bentonville Bike Fest in June. A large festival with races (Gravelicious, CX), demos, clinics, and expos.
– Life Time Big Sugar Classic (October). Features the Big Sugar Gravel race and Little Sugar MTB, part of the Grand Prix series.
– Square to Square Bike Ride (Spring & Fall). A popular 30-mile ride on the Razorback Greenway between Fayetteville and Bentonville.
– Joe Martin Stage Race (May). A significant professional and amateur road cycling stage race in Fayetteville.
– Highlands Gravel Classic (April). A challenging gravel event near Fayetteville/Goshen.
Some of the major mountain biking events include:
– OZ Trails Events. Regular MTB races, workshops, and group rides, including Women of OZ rides.
– Kessler Mountain Jam (Fayetteville). An Enduro event. Enduro is a popular discipline combining the endurance of cross-country with the technical downhill skills of downhill racing. It features multiple timed downhill stages linked by untimed uphill “transfer stages, where riders pedal themselves or use lifts, with the lowest cumulative time winning.
– Battle for Townsend’s Ridge (Rogers). A cross-country mountain bike race.
Road and Gravel Events (gravel is a blend of road and mountain biking):
– Natural State Criterium Series. A series of road races in Springdale.
– Hazel Valley Rally (Fayetteville/Springdale). A popular gravel event.
– Bike City Fondo (Fayetteville). A road/gravel event.
With all the infrastructure attracting these national and local events, you can easily see why Northwest Arkansas has become a hub of cycling activity. In this series, we’ll talk about some of the organizations that have made biking here what it is today, and maybe have an interview or two along the way.
So if you have the fever, keep it burning, and if you don’t, catch the fever, and I’ll see you next time on Running: A FEVER.