PLANS

This tour will be different from the bike tours that Bob, Bruce, and Tom have led in the past. We offer a highly flexible plan. It's a "Road Trip with Bike Rides" similar to what we have done on the Sequatchie Bike Tour. We have selected the motel and bike rides, and everyone meets in Bentonville and books their own lodging. 

You mostly do your own thing. Bring a friend, bring a camper or a tent, and drive over and join our party in Bentonville. You can even do mountain biking. 

Tom is driving his minivan, which has room for three other cyclists and four bikes. Bruce, Dave, and Phil have space on Tom's minivan. 

Mark will drive his battery car, and his new bike rack can handle two bikes - even e-bikes! He’ll need to stoop twice to charge; it'll take approximately 20 minutes each time. (6/13/25)

REVISED DATES (6/13/25)

1) July 14th: They will depart from Hendersonville at 7:00 AM, 

2) July 15th: They'll ride the Razorback Greenway to Fayetteville

3) July 16th: They'll tour "Walton Town" by bicycle

4) July 17th: They will do a gravel ride (like the GAP) in Bella Vista 

5) July 18th: They will return from Bentonville at 7:00 AM. 

The details are on the SCHEDULE.

If you'd like to join us, please let Tom know so we can coordinate with everyone participating, look out for you in Bentonville, and keep you updated on our planning and on Life360.

PRELIMINARY PLANS

This is primarily a "road trip with bike touring." My bike rides are short and laid-back, and I have time for car-touring and enjoying a few pubs in each town. 

The visit is to Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Bella Vista, Arkansas. I selected an inexpensive LaQuinta on the south side of Bentonville for my lodging. View my preliminary plan with RideWithGPS routes on the SCHEDULE page. I have shared info about the towns in TRAILS.

Bentonville's specialty is mountain biking. Nevertheless, it has a half-dozen greenway trails and bike-friendly roads that I have pieced together for a 17-mile ride in the morning and a 21-mile ride in the afternoon for bike excursions.

Fayetteville is a road-bike town. The city tourism people suggest four bike rides using RideWithGPS routes. I selected their 32-mile ride.

Bella Vista's specialty is gravel biking. I found a scenic 32-mile trail with half gravel (trail similar to the GAP) and half road travel. 

PLANNED DATE (with travel time) - July 13 to 17, 2025

WHILE BENTONVILLE TRY FAYETTEVILLE

 A Rich History of Road Riding Awaits Cyclists in Fayetteville

A Fayetteville tradition, groups of spandex-clad cyclists have been taking to the scenic roads surrounding our community for decades. Low traffic density, high road quality, diverse mountain topography and route accessibility make for an iconic road riding experience. From Fayetteville, one of the largest county road networks in Arkansas offers over 400 miles of picturesque paved roads and the mild fall and winter seasons make the area popular for off-season team training.

Starting from a variety of public parks, the following is a selection of routes that offer a sample of the world-class road riding Fayetteville has become known for.

HOW an ARKANSAS CITY BECAME an EPICENTER of the BIKING WORLD

Bentonville, a city of about 60,000 near the state’s border with Missouri, has dozens of immaculately kept trails for every level of biker.

Bike investments have come largely from the billionaire Walton family and their business, Walmart, which is headquartered in Bentonville.

Over the past decade, Tom and Steuart Walton, grandsons of the Walmart founder, have steered at least $74 million through the family foundation toward the construction of 163 miles of paths and trails for recreation and competition. Those arteries now snake through the city, connecting hundreds of trails in the surrounding mountains.

Biking has always existed in the foothills of the Ozarks in northwest Arkansas; some longtime residents recounted learning to bike on unkempt gravel roads and unsanctioned trails.

However, the new infrastructure is among the cultural amenities the Walton family has championed to attract corporate employees and tourists to a relatively rural, remote region. The Waltons have also poured money into a significant art museum, schools, and a new health institute, among other things.

“Twenty years ago, we were not a leisure destination — we were a business destination,” said Kalene Griffith, the chief executive of Visit Bentonville, who now owns a mountain bike, a gravel bike, and an electric bike. “Cycling and sports are what changed our weekends for us."

The web of connected trails, the construction of which began in earnest around 2012, means smooth rides close enough to downtown that cyclists seeking a longer journey do not need to drive out to a starting point. A regional greenway connects Bentonville to other towns in the region.

Some veteran bikers eyed the city’s offerings skeptically at first. Manufactured elevation, after all, the jumps, twists, and steep curves built into the trail network, may provide less adrenaline than the more dramatic terrain of the Utah desert or the Colorado mountains.

Nor does the lack of extreme elevation bother Tom and Steuart Walton, both dedicated bikers.

There is, at times, an undercurrent of unease about the influence of Walton and Walmart money in Bentonville—and about one billionaire family and one business wielding so much influence there. Descriptions of Bentonville, which has seen an influx of tourist dollars, as a Disneyland or paradise for cyclists can feel dissonant when much of the rest of Arkansas struggles economically.

“You take the bitter with the sweet, for sure, if you’ve been here long enough to see some of the trade-offs,” said Jesse Turner, who builds custom handlebars and bike frames and is a longtime resident of Northwest Arkansas, pointing to the uptick in congestion, the spread of development and increased costs of living.

Last year, more than a third of Bentonville residents reported riding a bike at least once a month. The biking opportunities also draw thousands of tourists, some of whom had never considered visiting the state before hearing its offerings.

Bicycle engineers and manufacturers have flocked to the city, seeking to capitalize on new cyclists and business opportunities. So have serious competitive cyclists: Haley Batten, who had the best performance of any American in mountain biking at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where she won a silver medal, trained in Bentonville with the rest of the U.S. team.

The city has also become a destination for professional cycling events: The Life Time Grand Prix, a series of off-road cycling races that begins this weekend, will conclude in the city later this year.

Bike racks abound along the streets and on the backs of cars. The Ledger, a city co-working space, has six stories of public bike ramps winding around its exterior. There is also now a rebate program for city residents who purchase electric bikes.

The fervor has expanded beyond Bentonville: Plans are underway to build a bike park with a chairlift in Bella Vista, Ark., an enclave outside the city, that would connect to the existing trails.

Cyclists will tell you that the genuine interest of locals in Northwest Arkansas has powered the explosion in biking. Volunteers spend their weekends cleaning up debris along the trails, including after a series of tornadoes swept through the area last year.

For a sport and hobby that has long been expensive and predominantly white and male, Bentonville also presents an opportunity to safely bring more people into the cycling fold. There are trails for all levels, including those learning to ride and people who cannot use a traditional two-wheeled bike.

Stacey Brickson, a Wisconsin resident who scheduled a recent visit around one of the races, marveled at how she could safely leave her bike unlocked while eating in a restaurant downtown — and at the welcome shown to cyclists of all levels.

“Everybody here just wants you on a bike,” she said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/us/how-an-arkansas-city-became-an-epicenter-of-the-biking-world.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap&smid=em-share&unlocked_article_code=1._k4.1rGU.W2e_vNhSDKLJ