The drive from Memphis Tennessee into Arkansas took me across the Mississippi River and into a storm front. The original plan was to stop and kill a few days in Dardanelle or Russellville and ride Mount Nebo – I was told it was riding incredibly well and that it was a whole lot of fun.
The weather had other plans.
I found myself hunkering down in my hotel room in Russellville editing videos and waiting out the tornado sirens. A big one touched down about 2 miles from my location and it scared the bejeezus out of me. I’ve never dealt with tornado warnings before!
The inclement weather drove me north to Bentonville two days early. I grabbed a hotel and the weather cleared a bit as I traveled north. I wouldn’t say it was “dry”, but there were breaks in the rain that allowed for some riding.
After a quick unintentional solo ride at The Mad Hatter, I met the guys at the brand new YT Mill where we enjoyed a respite from the weather and an early bird tour of the facilities before they opened to the public.
Mark, Scott, Josh, Brett, Johnnie U, Eric, Mia, and the rest of the gang were in town to ride and play.
The first full day of riding brought Josh and me out to Coler Preserve. Located just west of town, these city-maintained trails are easy to ride to and contain some amazing tech and fast flow. There’s a surprise around every turn!
Riding the trails at Coler Preserve was challenging and fun. Having an e-bike made all the difference. We were able to ride more of the park, were able to conquer some pretty challenging technical trails, and we were a lot more fresh when the day came to its end, which made for a much safer day on the trails.
There are a few laps that I left out of this video. I rode other areas and with other people who may or may not make it into part II of this stop on the road trip. Tune in next week when we attack the Slaughter Pen trails and ride Black Apple, Tatamagouche, and play around on The Castle.
Thanks for coming along, and I’ll see you when I see you!
