tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3194710123503308932024-03-13T11:56:22.249-05:00JBar CyclingLocal Arkansas bicycle news, commentary, bike tips, cycling links, road bike, North Little Rock, Argenta, mountain bikeJBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.comBlogger994125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-79403202546557965952019-06-18T17:42:00.004-05:002019-06-18T17:42:54.282-05:00Along The Trail- Openings NLR and Two Rivers BridgeThings are finally starting to get back to normal along the River Trail. There is still a lot to be done but along both sides of the river, but crews were busy with the clean up and some key portions of the trail have re-opened in the last day or two.<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> In North Little Rock, t</span>he flood gates are gone from Riverfront Park and the Broadway Bridge Ramp is now open. The trail is open to Fort Roots, but River Road still had barriers up Tuesday afternoon. I ran into a NLR city official who had just assessed the area, and he said the trail is ridable to Burns Park with only a couple of areas of sand. Hopefully, the barriers will be removed soon.<br />
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On the Little Rock side, The BDB gates are open and Two Rivers Bridge and Park are open!<br />
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The flood gates are gone and the park is open, along with the River Trail Broadway Bridge ramp.<br />
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The Clinton Park Bridge remains inexplicably closed. I've ridden to both ends and have not seen any reason for its continued closure. </div>
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Though River Road is still barricaded, I have a reliable report that the trail is ridable. I know that the parks folks are trying to get the sand off the trail and don't need a lot of traffic interfering with the effort. I talked to some volunteers who were cleaning the skate park earlier in the week, ready to get back on their boards. The bowl was still a mess but the parks folks promised that they would take care of that portion of the clean up.</div>
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The BDB has been open from the Little Rock side for a couple of days. Gates and the park remain closed on the north side. </div>
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There was a lot of activity all along the riverfront. </div>
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This is likely the biggest news. Two Rivers Bridge and Park are open!!</div>
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There were fire hoses and sweepers in use in many areas. I usually see rigs like this employed to settle dust in construction areas and my conclusion is that it was doing little to move the sand off the roads, but good effort. </div>
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The dust and sand is not too bad on the bike, but add water and you've got a mess.</div>
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Everyone is working hard and devoting a lot of resources to recover from the recent flooding. While many people have suffered devastating damage and more inconvenience than what we trail users have experienced, but we're ready to see "normal" along the trail. Thanks to all those who are lending a hand. </div>
JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-84928881864627302302019-03-01T10:07:00.001-06:002019-03-01T10:07:19.603-06:00Mrs. Helton's Martin Box- A StoryThis has nothing to do with cycling, a little to do with boating, and a little more to do with a way of life in the Arkansas Ozarks. This is a true story of the sort that my closest of friends are likely tired of hearing and none of the names have been changed because there are no guilty parties here. I hope you enjoy it.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Mrs. Helton’s Martin Box</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>2/28/19<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>John Ford Barton</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have told this story many times over the years, and I have
set about writing it a time or two without ever getting it right enough to
finish. It is a worthy tale of a simple moment in the life of Mrs. Helton, a familiar
character to all of us who floated Big Piney Creek in Pope County, Arkansas,
back in the day. Opal and Delmar Helton lived on their small farm along the Big
Piney, where, as best I could tell, they scratched out a living from their
garden and raising a few cows to supplement anything they might have gotten in
the way of Social Security or retirement. I likely would never have even heard
of them but for the fact that their place lay on a ford of the Piney that had
become an access point for floating the creek down to Long Pool. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some background on my
history with the Big Piney</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My first trip to the Big Piney took place in about 1977 when
my brother Frank Barton invited me along for a “cleanup float” with a group of folks
that were to become some of the premier players of Arkansas’ growing whitewater
community. Folks like Frank, Mike Beard, Paul Means, Robert and John Booth,
Kenny Holmes, and others had started making epic trips east to the Chattooga,
Ocoee, Tellico and more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beard’s house served as the meeting place and boatyard for
this crew, so we had gathered there. Mike loaded up the absent Terry Keefe’s
black Blue Hole OC canoe for me to use, along with Keefe’s fine wooden Mitchell
paddle. I didn’t know Keefe very well at the time, but I knew how much these
boys valued their boats.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“Will Keefe mind?” I
asked.” “He won’t know,” Mike answered. Enough said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On our way out of town, Mike Galbraith and I stopped by the
Terminal Hotel and Café at the corner of Second and Victory in Little Rock, in
which he was a partner, to load up sufficient beer. He didn’t have his keys, so
we pulled down a fire escape and entered through a second story window. After
rousing his partner, Paul Black, from his bed in one of the rooms, we loaded up
a bunch of longnecks from the bar and hit the road. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Frank had told me that we were headed to Helton’s farm at Treat
to launch, a remote place at a dead end off of the Treat Road. I’ve roamed
those hills quite a bit over the years hence, but at that time it was all
pretty mysterious to me. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>By this time,
Delmar Helton had taken to charging $1.00 per boat to launch from his pasture. As
I recall, he’d started off just letting folks put in for free, but after having
to gather his cattle a few times too many as a result of his gate being left
open, he saw a chance to get paid for his trouble. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It was also to be my
first solo canoe experience, and I soon found myself with a load of litter, a
half of a shattered Budweiser fiberglass canoe tied over the bow, several beers
in my belly, and having a whole lot of fun. I somehow got behind the group, as
we were stopping here and there to gather trash and debris, and at some point I
turned over. By the time I gathered the boat and re-secured the broken canoe
and trash I had spilled, I discovered I had lost the precious borrowed paddle.
I paddled that 16’ 90-pound Blue Hole with my hands through the next few
rapids, wearing my arms raw on the rough gunnels, and hoping for a glimpse of
my companions up ahead, all the while wondering how I was going to come up with
$30.00 to pay Keefe for that paddle. That was a couple of weeks of grocery
money for me at the time. Soon enough, I came to Surfing Rapid, which I managed
to run successfully, to find Frank waiting below in his kayak holding the recovered
paddle. Needless to say, I was really glad to see my brother.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">That trip was my first of many days boating with these
pioneers of the Arkansas paddling scene, and it changed my life. My love for
rivers has led me all over the country and beyond, and the shared passion for
boating forged my most enduring friendships. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the next couple of years, Frank got into the business
of selling whitewater boats, and I saved up for my first canoe, a 16’
Perception Chattooga. The Big Piney became my weekend destination from fall
through spring whenever there was water in the creek, camping at Long Pool and
honing my skills in the canoe before moving to kayaks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At times when the creek was up, the Heltons would sit on
their front porch, rock, and collect those dollars. Floating the Piney was
becoming a pretty big thing, as the paddling community in Arkansas was growing
rapidly and the Big Piney was seen as a step up in difficulty from the popular
Buffalo River. With some supplemental income, Delmar soon replaced the pasture
gate with a cattle guard, and would ride a four-wheeler down to check on his
cows rather than walking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On big weekends, well over a hundred boats would launch, and
area families like that of Bobby Ledford got into the business of running
shuttles. Bobby lived in the first house up the gravel road from Long Pool,
along with a couple of his boys and his father, Andrew Jackson “AJ” Ledford. We
mostly hoped to get Bobby to drive, as his boys were a little wild and, well,
AJ’s nickname among boaters was Stinky. These were hill people and we respected
them, but the fact is, I don’t think AJ was real fond of the bath.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Somewhere in there, Kerry and Debbie Moore
had opened Moore Outdoors, making canoe rentals and commercial shuttles
available, and the Forest Service got involved enforcing vendor rules. The
Forest Service rules effectively put the Ledfords out of the shuttle business,
but there are still some good stories about them told around dying campfires. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As usual, my lead-in is likely longer than my story, but some
things just need to be told in order to set the scene.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to the story….</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m guessing this was sometime in the mid-80’s. I have to
admit that the years and the stories pile up and overlap as time sends them
further back in my memory. In the company of my red-haired galpals Robin Booth
(now-Fuhrman) and Mary Orsini, I had headed out to paddle Richland Creek. These
women were among the badass boaters of the day and a hell of a lot of fun, to
boot. There had been a lot of rain, but it was expected to stop and make for a
good day on the river. As we headed to Richland, one storm after the other
pounded the area, and we started to rethink our plan. We were counting on
meeting other folks at the creek, but the internet was a thing of the future
and that was not assured. We decided that rather than risking being caught on
Richland in a flood, we would head on over to the Big Piney. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The storms just kept coming, with the sky near black and
water running big in the ditches as we drove the Treat Road down to Page Hollow
and turned up over the hill and down to the Helton place. The first thing we
noticed when we pulled in was Mrs. Helton standing in the bed of their pickup
under the martin box on a tall pole in the yard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can still see the
picture in my mind today—the slate dark sky, the boiling clouds, the lighting
flashing like a bad fluorescent light, and the thunder booming like cannon
shots around the valley. “Cataclysmic” is the word that always comes to mind to
describe the scene. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the center of that was Mrs. Helton, grey hair soaked and
streaming across her face, wearing some kind of bright plaid polyester pants
with a mismatched plaid flannel shirt, and in her hand she had a cane pole with
what looked like a Lucky 13 bass bait on a swivel at the end. Delmar was
sitting calmly on the porch, watching the action. Mrs. Helton appeared to be
reaming out that martin box with the Lucky 13 on the end of the cane pole.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think Mary had gotten out of our truck to
pay, joining Delmar on the porch as Robin and I sat enthralled with the scene.
As we tried to figure out what was happening, a big black rat snake started
emerging from the bird box, its head stretched a foot or so out into the air as
Mrs. Helton whacked away with her unwieldy weapon.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It dawned on us-- that snake was eating her
purple martins and she was having no part of it. As we watched the scene
unfold, a shot rang out at about the same moment the snake fell to the ground.
Looking back to the porch, we saw that Delmar had picked up a single-shot .22
and had popped off a round at the snake. As he hustled back into the house for
another cartridge, Mrs. Helton hopped down from the bed of the truck and
started trying to beat that snake into submission with her pole. As this was
going on, their son Glenn was pulling up in his own truck. He quickly assessed
the scene, walked over to the nearby shed and picked up a garden hoe with which
he dispatched the snake. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Farm folks are usually glad to have a big rat snake around,
but even a good snake can wear out his welcome by dining in the chicken house
or the martin box. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I only wish that I could have accompanied this story with
lightening and rolling thunder, but I’ll have to leave that to your
imagination. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The weather did clear and, as best as I remember, we had a
good day on the creek, but what has stuck in my mind over these intervening
years is the story of Mrs. Helton and her martin box. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Delmar Helton died in
1994, and Opal Meadows Helton died in 2012 at the age of 97. After Delmar’s
death, Mrs. Helton continued to sit on the porch in her old chair, greeting
paddlers and collecting the fee of a few dollars. I haven’t been up there in a
few years but I understand Glenn tries to be there when the creek is up. If you
put in at Helton’s be sure and pay what’s due. I’ve been told that you can pay
at Moore Outdoors now. It is hard to scratch a living out of these hills and
the Heltons have managed to do so for several generations. *</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/kaymac/helton.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/kaymac/helton.html</span></a>
*</span></div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span>JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-58398754343161236952019-01-03T14:48:00.002-06:002019-01-03T14:48:53.180-06:00You Can Do It In the Rain-Alternatives<b>Happy New Year! </b><br />
A positive thought that is often followed by grumbling from Arkansas cyclists, especially when the weather forecast looks something like this:<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LWHbCZh2VbU/XC0nc5By7mI/AAAAAAAAI34/ZxwITuvDVIQz8Smr0h1kcJ63EEmOEmRFgCLcBGAs/s1600/ra70.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="86" data-original-width="86" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LWHbCZh2VbU/XC0nc5By7mI/AAAAAAAAI34/ZxwITuvDVIQz8Smr0h1kcJ63EEmOEmRFgCLcBGAs/s320/ra70.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Darkness comes early and winter temperatures are a deal killer for a lot of riders. Add a cold rain and most of us just ain't gonna get on the bike. Bummer.<br />
Many folks find satisfactory respite by droning away on their trainer or by joining a popular local spin class, where they can at least enjoy some company. That just doesn't do it for me. While I value the fitness that comes from hours on the bike, the real draw for me is being outside and the satisfaction of self-propelled motion.<br />
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<b>Alternative Plans- Take A Hike, Climb a Mountain, Play In A Boat. </b><br />
The good news for those of us here in central Arkansas is that there are many things to do that don't require anything more than a pair of hiking shoes or boots, some decent outdoor clothing, and some direction. Most riders have a good collection of synthetic base layers, which is a good start.<br />
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Last summer, I was looking for ways to meet some new people and get out of that old rut in which that many of us find comfort. I had enjoyed a lot of walking the trails at Camp Robinson while rehabbing from shoulder surgery and Cassie Wells of the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/LRHikingAR/" target="_blank">Little Hikers Meetup</a> group did a little presentation at a CATA meeting. I joined them for a couple of hikes up around the Buffalo River and I was reminded of the many wonders found just off the road. There is a reason that Arkansas was known as the <a href="http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=3150" target="_blank">Wonder State</a> from 1923-1953.<br />
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Winter is the best time to hike in Arkansas for the same reasons many of us consider it the best time to <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">mountain bike</span>; the snakes, chiggers and ticks are gone, terrain is more visible with the leaves off the trees, and creeks and waterfalls flow.<br />
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Some places are surprisingly easy to get to. <a href="https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/petit-jean-state-park" target="_blank">Petit Jean State Park</a> is an hour away and offers a range of easy to medium difficulty hikes. The Heber Springs area offers several quality, easy-to-get-to destinations. Both are about an hour of easy driving from Little Rock and the Heber Springs sites are only ten minutes from my home on the Little Red.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ILqyq1uo1IY/XC04vXKpvsI/AAAAAAAAI4s/qMyVJQ5gZOQseu_4rG4DSF9VwqXGuwPiwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0692PJ.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ILqyq1uo1IY/XC04vXKpvsI/AAAAAAAAI4s/qMyVJQ5gZOQseu_4rG4DSF9VwqXGuwPiwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0692PJ.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cedar Falls at Petit Jean. The hike is about 2 miles round trip. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FEtni-0oL_E/XC05cmZuRQI/AAAAAAAAI40/-OBZF8BHzAA_iyhP_rp2wdz32PCdi6paACLcBGAs/s1600/PC310984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FEtni-0oL_E/XC05cmZuRQI/AAAAAAAAI40/-OBZF8BHzAA_iyhP_rp2wdz32PCdi6paACLcBGAs/s400/PC310984.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/arkansas/bridal-veil-falls" target="_blank">Bridal Veil Falls </a>at Heber Springs is about 1/2 mile off of Highway 5. The viewing platform is just about 50 yards from parking, but there are trails and another waterfall in the small canyon area. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x33Wn019Az4/XC0_8zsqybI/AAAAAAAAI5E/kEX7srWwt50n82IftyTffmcfdxix3bzDgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-srsREeVi9FE/XC0_82LPtAI/AAAAAAAAI5A/oeLiRr5tQQcBV4JaYYbdLshryFq746ECwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-srsREeVi9FE/XC0_82LPtAI/AAAAAAAAI5A/oeLiRr5tQQcBV4JaYYbdLshryFq746ECwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_1022.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://www.arkansas.com/articles/sugarloaf-mountain-heber-springs" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.arkansas.com/articles/sugarloaf-mountain-heber-springs" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x33Wn019Az4/XC0_8zsqybI/AAAAAAAAI5E/kEX7srWwt50n82IftyTffmcfdxix3bzDgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_1023.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a>Sugarloaf Mountain at <a href="https://www.arkansas.com/articles/sugarloaf-mountain-heber-springs" target="_blank">Heber Springs</a> is a short, fairly steep hike followed by a little chimney climb to reach the top, and the views are outstanding.</div>
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<b>The Ozarks</b></div>
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<b>The Buffalo National River</b> features many popular trails. While often crowded in the spring and fall, winter allows you to enjoy the beauty without feeling like you're on a bus tour. You can be at Ponca in about 2-1/2 hours from Little Rock. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MvJSXlm9Ii0/XC1BPXvNnGI/AAAAAAAAI5U/LmykM1oQlTUmaOdUVCDUK93n3UrSghIOACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="427" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MvJSXlm9Ii0/XC1BPXvNnGI/AAAAAAAAI5U/LmykM1oQlTUmaOdUVCDUK93n3UrSghIOACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0364.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Some Buffalo River trails are overwhelmed during the peak seasons. Winter is a great time to enjoy them. </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">My New Year's Holiday Weekend-No Ride But Plenty Of Outdoors At Richland</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></b><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></i><u style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></u><sub style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11.06px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sub><sup style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 11.06px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></sup><strike style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: line-through; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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Many Central Arkansas cyclists have become familiar with Witts Springs and the Richland Creek Wilderness through their participation in the Pinnacle Rocks 40 and Lick Fork Gravel Grind. Two hours away from Little Rock, the area is rich in natural beauty, and it is where I spent most of the New Year holiday boating and hiking. As a wilderness area, there are no developed marked trails, but the most popular of many horse trails are easy to follow. If you are not following a creek or a clear trail, a GPS is a good idea. Cell service is scant. Camping is primitive but pleasant, though I took advantage of the offer of a friend's remote cabin. The outhouse was chilly, but the wood stove and satellite dish provided warmth and Netflix. </div>
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<b>Richland Creek boating</b><br />
OK, winter whitewater boating isn't accessible for everyone, given the required skill level and specialized gear, but it is part of my lifestyle. Rain, especially in winter, means the creeks are up. Friday was cold and sunny. New Year's Day was just cold, but Richland has magic in the foggy drizzle of these days. When I envision the river it is always a scene of mist and waterfalls.<br />
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Low winter sun is still better than no sun at all.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YGkPc-2bFHE/XC0zLImrikI/AAAAAAAAI4E/YC1sIMMpyQsmXXyKA5UiR3dDuC2tLJy6wCLcBGAs/s1600/PC280962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YGkPc-2bFHE/XC0zLImrikI/AAAAAAAAI4E/YC1sIMMpyQsmXXyKA5UiR3dDuC2tLJy6wCLcBGAs/s400/PC280962.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The high falls above Richland Falls are in the background. I'm guessing it drops over 100' before cascading into the creek. It's just one of many waterfalls in the area. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AmzMCSJun1A/XC0zLM80z-I/AAAAAAAAI4M/1dUWyB4gsLcIvK9rzb7TGVMzD4dCHQQWgCLcBGAs/s1600/PC280972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AmzMCSJun1A/XC0zLM80z-I/AAAAAAAAI4M/1dUWyB4gsLcIvK9rzb7TGVMzD4dCHQQWgCLcBGAs/s400/PC280972.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Richland Falls<b></b></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mDLvJGephwE/XC01Ins3QfI/AAAAAAAAI4g/4Hy1mE7HUGAZmlcLN_IungPvGV-ps2hywCLcBGAs/s1600/P1010993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mDLvJGephwE/XC01Ins3QfI/AAAAAAAAI4g/4Hy1mE7HUGAZmlcLN_IungPvGV-ps2hywCLcBGAs/s400/P1010993.JPG" width="400" /></a><b><br /></b>Steep creeks drop fast but more rain over the weekend meant a return to Richland on New Year's Day. 34 degrees, foggy, and a great day on the river. </div>
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In between boating days, I struck out with adventure dogs Willie and Ivy to find some waterfalls. Tim Ernst has helped make this a popular activity among hikers with his <a href="http://timernst.com/Products/H2O.html" target="_blank">Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook.</a> I had these on my list before I recently bought Tim's book. Now I have about 200 more falls to seek out. </div>
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Lower Horsetail Falls requires about a 2-mile RT hike and some medium bushwhacking. Well worth it. </div>
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Upper Horsetail Falls and my trail team.</div>
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In winter, I always carry a headlamp, an extra layer of clothing, and a way to make a fire. Clothes go on and off with stops and climbs and the rest is insurance against the unforeseen. </div>
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Falling Water Falls is a roadside attraction. </div>
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All of the places mentioned here can be done in day trips from Little Rock, and they are just a handful of the hundreds of similar possible destinations available to us. There are several Meetup Groups in the area if you are interested in trying something new and enjoy starting out with some more experienced folks. Download the app and search by area and interest. </div>
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Another very good hiking site/ app is <a href="https://www.alltrails.com/" target="_blank">Alltrails</a>. It is also free in its basic form and you can find hikes for every area. It provides detailed directions, along with reviews, photos, and insight from folks who have hiked the trails. </div>
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<span style="color: #000120;">Don't let the crappy riding weather lock you in the house. Relief can be as simple as lacing up your boots and heading out the door. </span><br />
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<br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-28202499062476472542019-01-03T14:35:00.000-06:002019-01-03T14:35:00.869-06:00TBT: December 2012 Super-Prestige Cyclocross<br />
Fortunately, it was more muddy than cold for this traditionally cold and muddy event.<br />
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<h2 class="date-header" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #558866; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 43px; margin-right: 28px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">Tuesday, December 11, 2012</span></h2>
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Cyclocross: 2012 Arkansas Super-Prestige
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Cyclocross is a wintertime cycling sport that is closely associated with cold, mud, beer, cowbells, and rowdy crowds. 'Cross is growing in popularity in Arkansas and this season's race series culminated with the Super-Prestige championship races at Burns Park. The promised rains fell Saturday night, but Sunday was rain free, cloudy and still unseasonably warm, making for perfectly atrocious course conditions that delivered a full dose of mud but none of the cold that we might of expected.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
You can find results <a href="http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2012-4034" style="color: #445566;">here</a>, and I will not attempt to provide a narrative of the racing except to say that it was damn fun to watch and the open class was decided at the finish line as Seth Rider of Germantown, TN, threw up his arms to celebrate victory just in time to be pipped by Gerald Drummond of Springdale. Hell, yeah, that's racing!<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LikgnWqADLg/UMfb45SdMcI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/lQoOzfu2YOQ/s1600/December+9+2012+race+leaders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LikgnWqADLg/UMfb45SdMcI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/lQoOzfu2YOQ/s400/December+9+2012+race+leaders.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Staying close. The leaders fought it out until the dramatic finish.As you can see, conditions were textbook cyclocross other than the balmy temperatures.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6MagxCTbbQ/UMfesfUFY1I/AAAAAAAAEO4/rUmUnqegcCU/s1600/December+9+2012+cleaning+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6MagxCTbbQ/UMfesfUFY1I/AAAAAAAAEO4/rUmUnqegcCU/s400/December+9+2012+cleaning+up.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lakefront race village. </div>
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Yes, there was a little mud on the course. Above, participants from the earlier races were embracing conditions as they rinsed the top few layers of grime off of bikes and bodies.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-89-vcdl65MU/UMfdeTh2ICI/AAAAAAAAEOo/YXiy4VD6PQw/s1600/December+9+2012+hopping+barriers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-89-vcdl65MU/UMfdeTh2ICI/AAAAAAAAEOo/YXiy4VD6PQw/s400/December+9+2012+hopping+barriers.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Those with the skills hopped these uphill barriers.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z7CCxSUEUcs/UMff1KLRzDI/AAAAAAAAEPA/8qaaAiJPoqU/s1600/December+9+2012+barrier+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z7CCxSUEUcs/UMff1KLRzDI/AAAAAAAAEPA/8qaaAiJPoqU/s400/December+9+2012+barrier+2.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Maintaining speed and bike control was a challenge and many riders resigned themselves to running this section and others.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tdVt6vXcwrc/UMfgT7KF_ZI/AAAAAAAAEPI/HolMjUJkXGo/s1600/December+9+2012making+a+splash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tdVt6vXcwrc/UMfgT7KF_ZI/AAAAAAAAEPI/HolMjUJkXGo/s400/December+9+2012making+a+splash.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thank goodness for warm weather.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lyc1WE5zvnc/UMfgi3bAMKI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/k535yD-ise8/s1600/December+9+2012+run+for+the+money!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lyc1WE5zvnc/UMfgi3bAMKI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/k535yD-ise8/s400/December+9+2012+run+for+the+money!.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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There were many small rewards for riders. Addie Teo was handing out dollar bills to riders coming out of the pit, though I think she suffered from a few bites.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U3Uzxv_a6Qw/UMfg-WnBwnI/AAAAAAAAEPY/zI5VsRQ2S_8/s1600/December+9+2012+you+bit+my+finger!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U3Uzxv_a6Qw/UMfg-WnBwnI/AAAAAAAAEPY/zI5VsRQ2S_8/s400/December+9+2012+you+bit+my+finger!.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Yes, cyclocross riders are a thoughtful and rational bunch. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ew_cDMOT5Yo/UMfi51V_N6I/AAAAAAAAEPw/lc0IQ-NkwoE/s1600/December+9+2012making+a+splash2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ew_cDMOT5Yo/UMfi51V_N6I/AAAAAAAAEPw/lc0IQ-NkwoE/s400/December+9+2012making+a+splash2.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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There seemed to be no good line in axle deep creek flowing across the course, but it was a wide place and tempted racers to pass. Few riders successfully stayed mounted and most just ran for it!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cyNDdnrCJHM/UMfj1ud7WQI/AAAAAAAAEP4/2M8z-Z8BMFc/s1600/December+9+2012on+the+ribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cyNDdnrCJHM/UMfj1ud7WQI/AAAAAAAAEP4/2M8z-Z8BMFc/s400/December+9+2012on+the+ribbon.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Chad Cragle redefines the line. The few riders who stayed mounted here late in the race did so by hugging the ribbons and staying out of the deepest mud.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5FU0Lnc0mDo/UMfkf0hsuGI/AAAAAAAAEQA/yaHyhTJjOT8/s1600/December+9+2012+Zack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5FU0Lnc0mDo/UMfkf0hsuGI/AAAAAAAAEQA/yaHyhTJjOT8/s400/December+9+2012+Zack.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cowbells clanged and the crowd shouted words of encouragement as local favorite Zack LaVergne gracefully loped by with his shouldered bike. No, Zack, I don't know who yelled, "You run like a girl.", but it made you look!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xPkToaHR1Pk/UMflr5k1UoI/AAAAAAAAEQI/q40uismbFjA/s1600/December+9+2012+Chad+Cragle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xPkToaHR1Pk/UMflr5k1UoI/AAAAAAAAEQI/q40uismbFjA/s400/December+9+2012+Chad+Cragle.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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CHAD CRAGLE! I'm not sure what the top finisher won, but Chad was a big winner in the sock prime category, coming away with three pair. I'm thinking he probably threw away the ones he raced in.</div>
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This kind of racing makes for great photos, and I took a couple of hundred in 45 minutes or so, but this is all that I have the energy to write captions for! This race drew a good crowd, but more is always better. Keep an eye out for 'cross races near you and I'll try to keep you posted here. </div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-44566290214353321292018-12-30T15:19:00.003-06:002018-12-30T15:19:48.964-06:00NLR Parks MTB Project UpdatesJeff Caplinger , NLR Parks and Rec Projects Director, recently sent out a short update on the mountain bike projects underway at Burns Park, the centerpiece of which will ultimately be the <a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2018/09/big-plans-for-big-rock-regional-bike.html" target="_blank">Big Rock Bike Park</a>.<br />
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From Jeff: <br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>Phase One is underway:</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 7pt; margin: 0px;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The new trail north of the Tennis Center has been flagged. CATA
will be clearing a corridor later this month and will schedule a work day in
January* to try to finish it out so it can be open for riders in February.
Date to be announced by CATA.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 7pt; margin: 0px;"> <i>
</i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>The downhill portion of the green trail leading toward Arlene Laman
Drive is complete. The new section that will parallel Arlene Laman Drive
has been flagged.</i></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I was only superficially familiar with the woods north of the tennis center so I decided to walk the area and follow the flagging. The new trail will start at the Hospitality House and parallel the road for about 3/4 mile to a point near the softball fields to the west. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w21bWmzjzoI/XCkwdEfFAEI/AAAAAAAAI2o/vkusInugYsUgfJQo7V9Rkjv86IJq3cFlACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2271%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w21bWmzjzoI/XCkwdEfFAEI/AAAAAAAAI2o/vkusInugYsUgfJQo7V9Rkjv86IJq3cFlACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2271%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The trailhead at the Hospitality House</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyzqXSs5Wpk/XCkwdefUP9I/AAAAAAAAI2s/qFEJv_m-3E0rfiN-xbNkjiGPoQxsfIp4wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2264%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xyzqXSs5Wpk/XCkwdefUP9I/AAAAAAAAI2s/qFEJv_m-3E0rfiN-xbNkjiGPoQxsfIp4wCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2264%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The trail runs along a fairly level line paralleling the adjacent road and a ridge</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WZrQxI-URZA/XCkwdEqHlVI/AAAAAAAAI2k/dwS9UBYEL0oiSVbOFVPDJEsFGXP3HOg6gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2268%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WZrQxI-URZA/XCkwdEqHlVI/AAAAAAAAI2k/dwS9UBYEL0oiSVbOFVPDJEsFGXP3HOg6gCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2268%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The hill visible in the background is the site of the Overlook Pavilion. There are also plans for trail development in that area. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DitWp9DuL8E/XCkwdrzz55I/AAAAAAAAI2w/9jpGb8Y1UzQgYU-rOfMRYak10KEeMCmyQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2273%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DitWp9DuL8E/XCkwdrzz55I/AAAAAAAAI2w/9jpGb8Y1UzQgYU-rOfMRYak10KEeMCmyQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2273%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The new trail is on the shoulder of a ridge which is topped by a remarkably clear old road bed. There is also potential for more trails on the north side of the ridge, making for a nice little complex of a few miles, easily linked to many more nearby. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pNvCARHyr7o/XCkwd1aFsvI/AAAAAAAAI20/1Xi-zvi-i08B2zk7IKO3dWrW1td4zt6zwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2286%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pNvCARHyr7o/XCkwd1aFsvI/AAAAAAAAI20/1Xi-zvi-i08B2zk7IKO3dWrW1td4zt6zwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2286%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The road is visible from the trail for most of the way, at least in winter. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4nfsTtlTEg/XCkwfVToTHI/AAAAAAAAI3A/ERTWtEVuHykuC5CPHAXzryMSEbDbnmdyACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2292%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4nfsTtlTEg/XCkwfVToTHI/AAAAAAAAI3A/ERTWtEVuHykuC5CPHAXzryMSEbDbnmdyACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_2292%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">End of the line. It is just a short hop from here to the Boy Scout trailhead across the I-30 overpass and the existing red and green trails. </span></span></div>
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* The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/308032563154663/" target="_blank">work day has been set for noon, January 20</a>, meeting at the Burns Bark Hospitality House. </div>
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I did not go over to check out the work on the downhill section of the green trail but will do so soon. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>Phase Two:</i></span></div>
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<i style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">-</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 9.33px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Architect has finished new renderings for pavilion and will have an
estimated cost later this week.</span></i></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Engineering cost estimate to come next week.</span></i></div>
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</span></span><div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The pavilion mentioned would be the main building at the Big Rock complex. The first pass was had a modern look and I think it was thrown out there to elicit feedback from the committee. The consensus was that the buildings should be consistent with the rustic look of the existing Burns Park pavilions with a nod to the industrial vibe of the old quarry structures. It will be interesting to see how that has evolved. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<u5:p></u5:p>JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-62361128904113373852018-12-21T12:34:00.001-06:002018-12-21T12:34:09.310-06:00Winter Solstice: Longer Days Start Now, But In The Meantime...I always welcome the winter solstice, as it is the tipping point at which the ever shorter days of fall make their turn and begin to share more sunshine each day until June. At first the longer days are barely noticeable, with daylight hours increasing by less than a minute each day. By the end of January, the increase is 2 minutes per day, and then daylight savings time returns on March 10, opening up the after-work ride opportunities for the gainfully employed.<br />
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Time marches on and those days will be here soon enough. In the meantime, there are many folks who don't like to ride in the dark or the cold, and who find the prospect of trainer time and spin classes to be downright depressing.<br />
<br />
<b>Some changes in my cycling life</b><br />
I'll confess that after quite a few years of compulsive year 'round riding, I've lost a bit of that drive. Even though I've retired and have much more available time, some extended time off the bike due to injury, a return to some previous passions, and the development of new interests have all added up to mean less riding for me. Of course, less riding has also meant less fitness and different kinds of rides than the big miles and hammer fests I so enjoyed. I've got mixed emotions about my more balanced life, but it has its rewards.<br />
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<b>Alternatives</b><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
As a longtime kayaker, I'm no longer torn between missing a Saturday ride and going to the creek. If it rains in the right places, I'm back to loading boats. There are a lot more days available for riding than for boating.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPU4tSXEg1c/XB0i62Lll5I/AAAAAAAAIzY/yEiMVngtXzojCptO7SKFNNqLOU6-lKI2ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="960" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sPU4tSXEg1c/XB0i62Lll5I/AAAAAAAAIzY/yEiMVngtXzojCptO7SKFNNqLOU6-lKI2ACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0360.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fall and winter mean good boating in Arkansas. Richland Creek. </div>
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I'm getting more pleasure from my river house because I'm not anxious about missing a day on the bike. I'm cultivating mushrooms, fishing more, reading more, and learning more.<br />
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Probably my biggest revelation has been a love of hiking. When I was injured and recuperating from shoulder surgery last year, I took to walking the trails at Camp Robinson and elsewhere. The miles rolled by and I really enjoyed seeing the woods at a walking pace. That led me to start exploring some park trails and then some wilderness areas.<br />
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<b>Take a Hike</b><br />
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Now is one of the best times of the year to hike in Arkansas. The color of fall is long past, but with the leaves off of the trees, the woods are open and many hidden features are revealed. Water flows more freely so our many waterfalls and creeks show their stuff. Here are a few places I've visited in recent months.<br />
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<b>Camp Robinson, Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Burns Park, Allsopp Park</b><br />
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You could add any number of other local parks to this list, but I know that these have miles of good trail. A couple of hours covering 5-6 miles on foot is always a rewarding experience and can be done in any weather with a minimum of equipment--good shoes and weather-appropriate clothing. Having a dog or two along adds a lot to just about any adventure.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tAhqr9AV3gY/XB0mZpDuL7I/AAAAAAAAI0E/qk3JckdRe8k1MR9ZHYyCk44ALKOvq0sJgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tAhqr9AV3gY/XB0mZpDuL7I/AAAAAAAAI0E/qk3JckdRe8k1MR9ZHYyCk44ALKOvq0sJgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0362.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Burns and Emerald Parks in NLR offer good local hiking options.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BHz4CtvHjQM/XB0lAjGeIcI/AAAAAAAAIzs/Q8LfJpQo1pUyzINbkNte2vqM0PMaU4k0ACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_0222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="426" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BHz4CtvHjQM/XB0lAjGeIcI/AAAAAAAAIzs/Q8LfJpQo1pUyzINbkNte2vqM0PMaU4k0ACEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_0222.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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Pinnacle Mountain Base Trail with Little Rock Hikers Meetup Group</div>
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<b>Petit Jean State Park</b></div>
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I had not hiked the trails of Petit Jean S.P. since childhood until one rainy day this fall. I decided it would be a good day to hike to Cedar Falls and I was rewarded for my small effort.</div>
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Cedar Falls. Petit Jean is an hour away and offers a number of trails. </div>
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<b>Buffalo National River</b></div>
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I first floated the Buffalo River in the 70s as a poor student (both financially and in terms of academic interest) at the U of A in Fayetteville. We floated from Ponca to Pruitt, freezing our asses off at night and finishing our overnight trip famished as we didn't take nearly enough food. It could have been a miserable experience but it cemented my lifelong love of rivers. </div>
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One of the memories that stood out was the sight of hikers 300 feet above the river on the narrow ledge of the Goat Trail at Big Bluff. I wanted to be up there. I made it this fall, twice in fact, several decades after that first sight. </div>
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<img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dg5FKbgTKN0/XB0rdYDH1yI/AAAAAAAAI0k/Wtl4kronfpwclPoKWbxz84FRjPjiFxYVACLcBGAs/s400/PB170784.JPG" width="400" /></div>
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The Goat Trail</div>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XCu8y-3q2WM/XB0rdU0xS2I/AAAAAAAAI0g/cDV4h0yeEWQjivrhckwFvJi7RTkuEI1ogCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="426" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XCu8y-3q2WM/XB0rdU0xS2I/AAAAAAAAI0g/cDV4h0yeEWQjivrhckwFvJi7RTkuEI1ogCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0363.jpg" width="266" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dg5FKbgTKN0/XB0rdYDH1yI/AAAAAAAAI0k/Wtl4kronfpwclPoKWbxz84FRjPjiFxYVACLcBGAs/s1600/PB170784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_AJPwRW1Xo/XB0rdb6X2SI/AAAAAAAAI0o/cV6Lv5Dp_OE3s71EcLvqy2kzA5H4kAz9QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z_AJPwRW1Xo/XB0rdb6X2SI/AAAAAAAAI0o/cV6Lv5Dp_OE3s71EcLvqy2kzA5H4kAz9QCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0369.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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Whitaker Point/ Hawksbill Crag</div>
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There are many great hikes around the Buffalo. The problem in spring and fall is that there are so many people that the majesty of nature is overwhelmed by the masses, especially in the Ponca area. Hikes like Big Bluff, Hemmed-In-Hollow, and Whitaker Point get so crowded that traffic control is a problem. A winter trip avoids the crowds, along with the chiggers and ticks. Make a weekend plan or get an early start on a day trip to enjoy the Buffalo River country in the winter. </div>
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<b>More and more....</b></div>
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Some other very cool established hikes are available at Pedestal Rocks, DeGray State Park, etc. If you are a little more adventurous and want to get of the more heavily used trails, The Richland Creek Wilderness, the Buffalo River Trail, and sections of the Ozarks Highland Trails, etc, offer great day trips with a little planning. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-areC5ylNDU4/XB0wSFWPSZI/AAAAAAAAI1A/XN-paYVaLPslFDKWAVRC7OQCuWo1rZRagCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-areC5ylNDU4/XB0wSFWPSZI/AAAAAAAAI1A/XN-paYVaLPslFDKWAVRC7OQCuWo1rZRagCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0329.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kings Bluff and Caves at Pedestal Rocks</div>
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As is often the case, I bit off more than I can write about here, so I will stop now and end with the suggestion that you take a hike over the holidays. I'll be surprised if one hike doesn't lead to another. There are more amazing places to see in Arkansas than any of us are likely to cover in a lifetime.</div>
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I always felt that as a kayaker I was seeing places inaccessible to anyone not in a boat. I also realize now that there were wondrous things just beyond the tree line that can only be seen from a good pair of hiking shoes. </div>
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A good tool for finding trails nearby is the <a href="https://www.alltrails.com/" target="_blank">Alltrails App</a>. You'll find concise directions, reviews, photos, and detailed descriptions to help to pick your next adventure. </div>
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<b></b><b></b><b></b><a href="https://www.alltrails.com/" target="_blank"> </a></div>
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<b></b><b></b><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-48797397609981033582018-11-27T12:05:00.004-06:002018-11-27T12:06:24.201-06:00You Have An Urgent Call: Take This 10-Minute SurveyThere is significant momentum for the development of more bike/pedestrian infrastructure in central Arkansas. The entities, governmental and others, need information from potential users and the users of current facilities in order to shape their proposals and determine the level of community support for such.<br />
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HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO INFLUENCE SOME FUTURE PROJECTS!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">The Ci<span style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">ty of Morrilton, the head ranger at Petit Jean, Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism, Metroplan, a couple local
cyclists, and the Department of Geography at UCA are the organizers. UCA
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It took me right at 10-minutes to complete the survey. It needs to be completed by the end of the month. Please feel free to share it within your contacts, as more participation is a positive thing.<br />
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Follow this <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UCACyclingSurvey" target="_blank">link to the survey</a>.<br />
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<br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-19675049367181376402018-11-19T12:40:00.000-06:002018-11-19T15:53:48.588-06:00Southwest Trail Update<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There are many trail projects at some stage of development in the State of Arkansas, but perhaps none have more potential than the proposed Southwest Trail. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The trail will connect the Little Rock Central High School Historic Site with Hot Springs National Park, and will appeal to hikers, cyclists, birders, and just about anyone who enjoys the outdoors. The preliminary engineering and environmental study began in April of 2018 and should be complete by fall of 2019. It was funded by the three counties involved and by a federal transportation grant . The contract for the study was awarded to Garver, the North Little Rock based regional engineering firm.</span><br />
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Last week, public information meetings were held in each of the three counties through which the Southwest Trail will pass, Garland, Saline, and Pulaski. The purpose of the meetings was to inform the public of the proposed route, along with alternatives, and to seek comments and concerns from those along the routes. The meetings were each held from 4:00 to 7:00PM and were of an open house style. There was a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation that gave a broad overview of project, and large scale photographic maps were laid out on a number of tables. In addition, several members of the Garver team were on hand and available to address specific questions using laptop computers with detailed maps and more detailed information.<br />
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Dan Lysk getting a word from Lynn Bell of Metroplan. Jon Hetzel of Garver looks on as participants check out the proposed routes. </div>
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I attended the Pulaski County meeting, which was the last of the three. I took the opportunity to speak with Jon Hetzel, communications manager for <a href="https://garverusa.com/" target="_blank">Garver</a>, and to ask him about the feedback he had received thus far in the process. Jon stated that most of the attendees at the Garland and Pulaski County meetings were potential trail users, while the Saline County event drew a larger number of land owners concerned about the potential impact of the trail on their property. I had heard that there was some significant pushback at that meeting but Jon didn't see it that way. "People got a mailed notice of a meeting about a trail right-of-way that might cross their land so they were understandably concerned." </div>
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The intent of the routing is to minimize negative impact on the environment and on private landowners so it will largely follow existing right-of-ways. Hetzel said most seemed satisfied when they saw the plans. Of course, there will be more direct discussions as the plans become more firm, and, as with any large scale project, funding for engineering, land acquisition, and construction will be key. This is a years long project that will have multiple phases but it got a good start when the three counties approved the initial funding for the environmental plan. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dpam2PsgTR0/W_LvQ7zWq0I/AAAAAAAAIxo/PPoCGmrxCqQ1nMZq-jgp_Q-K3LGAJfw_wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dpam2PsgTR0/W_LvQ7zWq0I/AAAAAAAAIxo/PPoCGmrxCqQ1nMZq-jgp_Q-K3LGAJfw_wCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1598.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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A Garver representative discusses the plans with the aid of large scale, detailed maps.</div>
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I showed up as the meeting opened at 4 o'clock and there were already a number of interested people on hand.</div>
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The maps of were laid out in a linear manner and divided by county, making it easy to locate specific points. </div>
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The maps and supporting documents are available from <a href="http://www.ardot.gov/public_meetings/2018/061562/061562.aspx" target="_blank">ARDOT</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ardot.gov/public_meetings/2018/061562/061562.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.ardot.gov/public_meetings/2018/061562/061562.aspx</a></div>
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The Southwest Trail will build on out state's already impressive portfolio of cycling and trail resources. One needs only to look north to the <a href="https://bikekatytrail.com/" target="_blank">Katy Trail</a> in Missouri to see how a point-to-point route for cyclists and hikers can become a regional magnet for tourists. Local economies all along such route benefit as BNB's, hotels, restaurants, gas stations and other retailers grow their businesses on the influx of new visitors. The proximity to the Arkansas River Trail, the new <a href="https://www.hotsprings.org/events/event/3501/" target="_blank">Northwoods Mountain Bike Trail</a>, the <a href="https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/836866/iron-mountain-mountain-bike-trails" target="_blank">Iron Mountain Bike Trails</a> at Arkadelphia, and the proposed<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2018/09/big-plans-for-big-rock-regional-bike.html" target="_blank"> Big Rock</a> Bike Park in North Little Rock would make central Arkansas a destination for cyclists of many disciplines.</div>
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This kind of growth is good for our economy, good for our image, and good for the health of the citizens of a state where <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/profiles/arkansas.html" target="_blank">35.9% of adults are obese</a>. For our youth to have a chance to break this cycle, we need to continue to provide more opportunities for healthy activities. My personal experience is that better nutrition follows regular exercise. Put that fast food burger down and give peas a chance. </div>
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IF YOU ENJOYED THIS POST, SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS.<br />
I don't sell anything or don't have a clue on how to collect data.</div>
<br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-69388394306366882032018-11-07T10:29:00.001-06:002018-11-07T10:29:09.644-06:00Back To Camp Robinson-Getting A New Pass, Upcoming Closures and More.<b>A Rite Of Fall</b><br />
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I'm primarily a road rider. I enjoy mountain biking mostly as a chance to get out of the cold wind in the woods and to let my trail dogs enjoy the freedom of running unfettered for miles. Camp Robinson is my preferred locale for doing that--it is just a few minutes from the house and is a perfect place for Willie and Ivy to do their thing. I also prefer to get out on the dirt after most of the snakes, ticks, and chiggers have hunkered down for the winter.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EGcdKkYfIKg/W-L4XT2qa0I/AAAAAAAAIwQ/9SA7ow3RBk0fc4NjdLA2CbuixBNYLkZLwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EGcdKkYfIKg/W-L4XT2qa0I/AAAAAAAAIwQ/9SA7ow3RBk0fc4NjdLA2CbuixBNYLkZLwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1400.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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There were a few puddles after recent rains but the upper trails are hard packed and hold up well. The pups like to cool their paws when they get a chance. </div>
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There are about 40 miles of well maintained single track in TA 2, the mountain bike area. Frequent community work days complemented by the regular efforts of folks like Basil Hicks, Jr and 3, and Scott and Sharon Saunders mean that the trails at Camp Robinson are always in top shape. </div>
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The leaves are falling fast but there is still plenty of color and the trails are still clearly visible. </div>
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There seems to be an annual debate as to how much leaf clearing is appropriate. I come in somewhere in the middle on this discussion. The most frequently ridden trails may benefit from some protection afforded by fallen leaves, while trails like Merlin's and Shipwreck can be rendered invisible when buried under the thick cover. I've found myself off trail on more than one occasion and rocks and roots can become hidden mines. That said, this is a quiet debate that resolves itself.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Trail Dog Training</b></span><br />
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I've been asked several times how I trained the pups to be such good trail dogs. I can't take any credit. Willie and Ivy, like their predecessors Zuli and Josie, take to the trail naturally. They go where I go, whether that be hiking or riding, and they love having the freedom to run, something I can't afford them on leash. The dogs seem to instinctively want to take the lead and I take great pleasure in being able to witness their sheer joy of running.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x7stR25_8Xk/W-L4XcCVUVI/AAAAAAAAIwM/Ukcmd1VsmbAB1fxx29vSN4H3c_XEm-YRwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x7stR25_8Xk/W-L4XcCVUVI/AAAAAAAAIwM/Ukcmd1VsmbAB1fxx29vSN4H3c_XEm-YRwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1409.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Willie and Ivy always lead the way. I do my best to keep the pace and distance low on fall rides but they are not real patient. Willie is the most senior athlete and, like me, he needs more conditioning and recovery these days. Ivy's bandana makes her more visible in the woods.</div>
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If you trust your dog to stay with you, and most will, Camp Robinson is a good place to take a well behaved dog for some mutual exercise. Keep aggressive dogs at home. </div>
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<b>Fungus </b></div>
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This wet fall has created a perfect environment for mushrooms. Like many other folks, this has spurred my interest in learning more about them.<br />
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Coral mushrooms like these are everywhere at Camp. They are edible but I've refrained from trying them without some expert confirmation.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EAVAqm5i6F4/W-L_cm34S3I/AAAAAAAAIww/lPYn1fgk27gYx2ElmGDXk8vRRbMw_DdeACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EAVAqm5i6F4/W-L_cm34S3I/AAAAAAAAIww/lPYn1fgk27gYx2ElmGDXk8vRRbMw_DdeACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1408.JPG" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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These caught my eye due to their size-they were 9-10" across</div>
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I'm just trying to learn some basics of mushroom identification and have not eaten any wild finds. The variety of types is almost overwhelming but very interesting. </div>
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<b>Current Sportsman Pass Procedure</b></div>
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Access to Camp Robinson for riders requires a Sportsman Pass. The procedure has been slightly different each year since the system used for hunters and fishermen was made to include cyclists.</div>
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I renewed my pass yesterday and the current process is below, <i>subject to change</i>:</div>
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<b>1-</b> At the visitor center, where riders normally check in, present your <b>driver's license</b>, along with current <b>auto registration</b> and <b>proof-of-insurance</b>. </div>
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<i>This step is required even if you have a current pass, as they run the required new background check at this point.</i></div>
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You will be issued a temporary pass that confirms the background check. </div>
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<b>2-</b> After entering the gate with your pass and photo ID, proceed to Building 4201, where you pay $30.00 in cash or check (no credit cards) for the annual pass and will get a receipt. <i><b>This is a new step from last year's procedure. </b></i></div>
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<b>3-</b>After getting a receipt for your payment, go to the nearby HQ building where signs will direct you to the office where passes are issued. They will want to see your pass, receipt, and photo ID. They'll take your picture and issue a new pass and dashboard card. </div>
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The process is only slightly tedious, and I would suggest allowing about 30 minutes and a little patience. </div>
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Current hours for obtaining passes are Monday-Friday 8:00AM-3:00PM, closed from 11:00-12:00 for lunch. </div>
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The most common hang-up is lack of current proof-of-insurance. Check your documents before heading out to avoid delays. </div>
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This was mentioned to me by the security guard because mine had just expired and my new proof of insurance was laying on my desk at home. I had to call my agent and have it e-mailed to my phone as I waited. </div>
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<b>Upcoming Closure Dates</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">TA 2 is closed from time to time for hunting and for military operations.</span></div>
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Note the closure dates shown above.</div>
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I'm looking forward to my annual re-learning-to-mountain-bike experience. I love being in the woods and I also get reacquainted with my dedicated dirt riding friends. Wednesday evenings are regular ride nights at Camp for many folks, often including a post ride social hour.</div>
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JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-87349541297026622352018-10-26T09:28:00.001-05:002018-10-26T09:28:19.611-05:00The Best Little Ride In The Ozarks: Pedestal Rocks Road Ride and Lick Fork Gravel Grind<b>Saturday, October 20</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";">What began a few years ago as the Pedestal Rocks 40 road
ride from Witts Springs to Pedestal Rocks has expanded and evolved to include multiple road distances and several
challenging gravel routes. Starting last Friday afternoon, riders from around the region gathered at the Witts Springs Community Center to pick up packets or register for this unique cycling experience. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "consolas";">At 9:00 Saturday morning,<span style="font-family: "consolas";"> all riders shared the same start at the Witts Springs
Fire Department, with road riders turning right and gravel riders turning left
at the intersection with Highway 16 a few yards away. It was apparent at the
split that the gravel ride has outgrown the road aspect of the event. Even though last year's ride was held in a foggy drizzle there seemed to have been more road riders then.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";">Saturday was perfect for a ride, with many of us scurrying back and forth from the start to dump unneeded layers as the sun warmed things up from the morning chill. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";"> Riders gather under blue skies for the start at the Witts Springs Fire Department.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";">Gravel and road riders all roll out together. The vibe is mellow so the groups sort themselves out easily. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";">I'll state right here that I chose the 40-mile road ride which, even with its 3600 feet of climbing is one of the easier options available. I'm a roadie at heart and this little-traveled stretch of Highway 16 is a fine place to ride in the fall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";">There were relatively few of us and there were no really large groups, so I was happy just rolling along at my own pace, stopping from time to time to get a photo. Though there were no road closures or traffic control, I was probably passed by no more than a dozen cars and a couple of small packs of motorcyclists over the course of forty miles. Some of the road riders elected to ride the 50 or 68 mile course, further thinning out the riders along the road. </span></div>
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The open road was almost all ours.</div>
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There was virtually no traffic on the Hwy 16. The only time I was startled was when a couple of tandems blew past me on a downhill. </div>
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The gravel (respectfully poached from Missy Vail's Facebook post). </div>
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<span style="font-family: "consolas";">I can’t speak directly to the gravel experience but it
gets 100% positive feedback from every rider that I heard from. It’s not
easy—the popular 40 mile option has about 4600’ for climbing, while the 68
miler has a whopping 7400 feet—but the scenery is remarkable and the support
is outstanding.<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> </span>It seems that the entire
Searcy County community turns out to play some role, whether that means making
food for the rest stops and post-ride potluck or running the roads in pickups
and ATVs in support of the riders. </span></div>
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<b>Friday Rain</b></div>
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Rain all day on Friday may have put a damper on the plans of some riders who had planned to camp overnight, but our hosts make it easy for everyone to sleep in the dry. The community center was open to those who wanted warmth and a roof overhead.</div>
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The weather for my drive up on Friday was less than ideal, but the Ozarks' beauty comes through in all conditions.</div>
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I chose my usual GMC Portable Ghetto mode of camping and I was quite cozy.</div>
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Several folks decided against trying to set up their tent in the steady rain. There was plenty of room in the Community Center gym for everyone to have their own space.</div>
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<b>The Community</b></div>
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Witts Springs' proximity to Richland Creek means that it is a familiar place to many of us who are boaters. I am dating myself, but when I first started kayaking Richland Creek back in the early 80's, a stretch of Highway 16 between Witts Springs and Ben Hur was still unpaved, and I've dealt with road blockages due to washouts and fallen trees way back in the day. I've driven from the creek to what is now Cindy's store to use a pay phone or to supplement camp chow and get warm. I always felt like a bit of a foreigner, but no more.</div>
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After all of those years, I now feel like I have a connection to this small mountain community and, according to feedback from event organizer Dirk Merle, that feeling goes both ways. The folks around Witts Springs love having cyclists come up and we have gained a great appreciation for the unfettered hospitality offered by them. On top of the ride support and the big ol' post-ride potluck, individuals reached out to make sure everyone had what they needed. As some late arrivals set up their tent in the rain on Friday, a family pulled up to offer their nearby barn as a camping alternative. "We're right over there and you're more than welcome...".</div>
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<b>The Swag</b></div>
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The swag bag<b> </b>is itself cool, and it comes stuffed with actual useful stuff like a T-shirt, sunscreen, Biofreeze, a coupon for a free frozen pizza, a home baked chocolate bar that is worth trading for, and a lot more. </div>
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Better than the average rider bag.</div>
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I'm not sure where they come up with all of the sponsors, and I regret that I didn't get photos of the potluck and the door prize tables. EVERY RIDER is a winner. Really. They had tables covered with cool stuff and all you had to do is match your bib number to a prize to claim it. Last year, I got a cool coffee cup and a flat kit. This year, I scored big with a $79.00 Patagonia shirt. It's really pretty amazing. I found myself throwing money in the Community Center fundraising jar multiple times to assuage my slight pangs of guilt for getting so much <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">more value than my $40.00 entry fee. The desserts I ate were probably worth half the fee. </span></div>
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<b>Next Year- October 19, 2019</b></div>
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Put it on your calendar now so that you don't have to make excuses. And don't feel like you have to wait until then to visit Searcy County and its surrounds.<br />
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It is worth the two hour drive to see nearby Falling Water Falls after a rain or to take a hike at Pedestal Rocks. </div>
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<b><u>Side Trails</u></b></div>
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I've become, for better or worse, less obsessed with riding over the last couple of years. 2017 included retirement, a mountain bike injury, surgery and long rehab, and a divorce, all of which likely contributed to a shift in my focus to a broader range of activities. While I was off the bike with the shoulder injury, I would gather the dogs for long walks in the woods. Those miles helped me maintain some of my fitness and peace of mind while renewing my love for the pace of walking and the observations that such a pace allows. </div>
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I took advantage of my weekend in the area to do a couple of hikes at the Pedestal Rocks area. The King's Bluff and Pedestal Rocks loops share the same trailhead.</div>
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<b>King's Bluff</b></div>
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The parking lot was empty and I had the King's Bluff Loop to myself on Friday. The steady rain was not much of a bother and it fed the waterfall.</div>
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<b>Pedestal Rocks</b></div>
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I've been wanting to check this out for years, and might have been a bit disappointed in the tree-obscured view of Pedestal Rock were it not for a chance meeting with friend Tina Chwalinski on the hike in. She advised me not to miss the caves present below the bluff line. Wow! She was right.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W6Kv0BuyJQA/W9I5F2H3kVI/AAAAAAAAIvI/lTi-iUBFK-E5WNUlApqrOCQhlKlKPqqzQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W6Kv0BuyJQA/W9I5F2H3kVI/AAAAAAAAIvI/lTi-iUBFK-E5WNUlApqrOCQhlKlKPqqzQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1097.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Happy trails. I love walking in the woods, especially now that the chiggers are somewhat subdued. </div>
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When I encounter folks with dogs, I tend to focus on the dogs rather than the people they are walking. I was surprised to look up and see Tina attached to these leashes. She turned me on to the caves that were the best part of this short 2-3 mile hike.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YLxhnKQUA8E/W9I5Gg_0JiI/AAAAAAAAIvQ/bKxH_S3n5p4QARcg86CqFbuZFfG4fGvFACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YLxhnKQUA8E/W9I5Gg_0JiI/AAAAAAAAIvQ/bKxH_S3n5p4QARcg86CqFbuZFfG4fGvFACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fall color is just starting to show. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Is2cJd9XdL4/W9I5GQ7qPtI/AAAAAAAAIvM/6cjNsOHp-_UPyOHqenfOUR9_RQerKEw9ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Is2cJd9XdL4/W9I5GQ7qPtI/AAAAAAAAIvM/6cjNsOHp-_UPyOHqenfOUR9_RQerKEw9ACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_1125.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">There is an extensive system of bluff shelters and shallow caves at Pedestal Rocks. I doubt that I found them all--I went in half a dozen or so-- but I'll explore more on my next trip.</span></div>
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Get out. Ride your bike. Walk Your dogs. Put on your hiking shoes and head for the woods. It looks to be an outstanding fall in Arkansas.</div>
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JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-8502073867697566692018-10-18T13:36:00.000-05:002018-10-18T13:36:25.488-05:00Throwback Thursday--The Latest Word In Sports Nutrition: SPAMé Gel Dec. 6, 2012<br />
In seeking an article for throwback Thursday, I ran across this gem. Much credit goes to Jason Warren for introducing Spam to the conversation. I've got to admit that this article gave me a chuckle. Laughing at one's own humor may be a fault but I couldn't help it.<br />
This is also perhaps the only post in which I included original art. Likely a good thing given my limited talents.<br />
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The Latest Word In Sports Nutrition: SPAMé Gel
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If you spend many long hours on the road bike in the company of like-minded friends, then you know that conversations can take some unusual turns. Much like the conversations shared on monotonous 20-hour drives with my paddling buddies, riders end up hashing out the same old political questions, sharing some of their deepest secrets, and telling all of their most tasteless jokes. You know, the ones that are not fit for mixed company or, really, any company for that matter, but, you still laugh your ass off and vow to yourself that you're going to remember it. <br />
It's kind of an unwritten rule that the secrets are forgotten at the end of the ride and that the bad jokes are stashed away only to be shared under some similar circumstances in the future; however, these hours can also be times of revelation and creativity! Jason Warren and I recently shared such a <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Eureka!</em> moment. Well, maybe it wasn't quite the lightning strike kind of <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Eureka!</em> moment. It came upon us like the rolling thunder before a spring storm, or perhaps like the sound of the approaching Waste Management truck in the moments before the inevitable crash of the dumpster being emptied below your hotel room window at 6:00AM.<br />
In this case, we were considering the possibilities of melding a popular food item into the over-crowded and over-priced realm of sports nutrition. Let's face facts-- most of us have very little real understanding of long-chain amino acids and the like, but we spend big bucks to support marketing schemes that promise results based on sketchy science and flavored sugar. Let's get real. Get real with SPAMé!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9nnMTb1_Vgs/UME5UzJXO9I/AAAAAAAAEJw/2WhZ-bJOswo/s1600/SPAM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9nnMTb1_Vgs/UME5UzJXO9I/AAAAAAAAEJw/2WhZ-bJOswo/s320/SPAM.JPG" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="239" /></a></div>
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SPAMé Gel: The é gives it an air of sophistication that goes beyond any real science!</div>
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The result of our revelation promises to be a popular breakthrough as we shatter the paradigm of sucrose, fructose, and maltodextrin blends by packaging a gelatinous energy food derived from genuine miscellaneous meat products, juiced with caffiene and naturally high in sodium.<br />
We promise results with SPAMé! Look for it in your favorite local bike shop or convenience store soon. <br />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
Coming soon from the same folks that will bring you SPAMé: <strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Gravy Blocks </em></strong><br />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"></em></strong><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Note to Jason: consider name change to</strong> Grav</em>ée<em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"> Blocks</em><br />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"></em></strong>
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2 comments:</h4>
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<dt class="comment-author " id="c7494705470330888927" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/rounders3/icon_comment_left.gif); background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 2px; background-position-y: 0.3em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 6.46px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 6.46px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="c7494705470330888927" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></a>
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<span dir="ltr" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a class="avatar-hovercard" href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/09750660134190129516" id="av-7494705470330888927-09750660134190129516" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;" target=""><img alt="" height="35" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zFdxGE77vvD2w5xHy6jkVuElKv-U9_9qLkRYK8OnbDeJPtjSZ82UPq5w6hJ-SA=s35" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; max-width: 36px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;" title="Bryan" width="35" />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/09750660134190129516" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;">Bryan</a>
said...
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<dd class="comment-body" id="Blog1_cmt-7494705470330888927" style="margin-bottom: 16.16px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 6.46px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I think I just threw up a little bit in the back of my throat. :p
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<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-latest-word-in-sports-nutrition.html?showComment=1354889517598#c7494705470330888927" style="color: #333333;" title="comment permalink">
December 7, 2012 at 8:11 AM
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<span dir="ltr" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a class="avatar-hovercard" href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894" id="av-4936389909494572918-10612290032138592894" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;" target=""><img alt="" class="delayLoad" height="35" longdesc="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/SahmKKeVKoI/AAAAAAAAAAk/x-Xuiip0lrQ/S45-s35/Scott%2Bride%2Bpic%2B200kb.jpg" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/SahmKKeVKoI/AAAAAAAAAAk/x-Xuiip0lrQ/S45-s35/Scott%2Bride%2Bpic%2B200kb.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; display: block; float: right; max-width: 36px;" title="JBar" width="35" />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;">JBar</a>
said...
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Like I said, "We promise results!"
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December 7, 2012 at 8:34 AM
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
NOTE TO READERS:<br />
<b>Facebook group posts</b>--I'm still kind of a Facebook goob, so I could probably share better than I do. I've never paid to boost a post, for instance. While I'd love for all of you guys to follow the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JBar-Cycling-152255761464527/" target="_blank">JBarCycling </a>Facebook page, I post to several groups. I get mostly positive feedback but also respect when a group has rules prohibiting off-topic posts. Please let me know if I step on any administrative toes.<br />
<b>Share If you Like</b>--Other than new friends, positive comments, and the very rare cold IPA, I don't get anything tangible from JBarCycling. I write because I enjoy it and feel good about making a small contribution to my community. If you enjoy reading a post, share it. I'll confess that my ego is given a boost when an article gets a few thousand reads.<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/JBar-Cycling-152255761464527/" target="_blank"> </a>JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-52793736035219583592018-10-11T10:49:00.000-05:002018-10-11T10:49:34.684-05:00Throwback Thursday: Putting on the Bitz from October 2013I'd say that my timing is perfect for recycling this 5-year-old article as we enjoy our first really cool morning of the fall. Just a few days ago, we were still sweating out temperatures in the 90s and I was still clawing at the worst bunch of chigger bites I have endured since childhood.<br />
<br />
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<h2 class="date-header" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #558866; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 43px; margin-right: 28px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">Saturday, October 19, 2013</span></h2>
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</span><br />
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<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2013/10/puttin-on-bitz-accessorizing-for-season.html" style="color: #333333; text-decoration: none;">Puttin' On The Bitz: Accessorizing For The Season</a>
</h3>
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As I write this on a cool, bleak Saturday morning, I'm trying not to give in and declare myself to be tired of winter already. OK, I give up. I'm tired of winter already.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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There's always some semblance of relief in the arrival of fall, in that many of us are feeling the fatigue that comes with riding almost every day, the big event rides are behind us, and the first cool mornings refresh the soul. For me, that lasts at least a couple of days until I realize that it is getting dark at 6:30, it gets cold when it gets dark, and I'm already missing the sweat soaked bibs, salt encrusted helmet straps, and nightly rides with my friends.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
I'll tell readers the same thing that I have to tell myself: HTFU*<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<a href="http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/" style="color: #445566;">* From The Rules. See rule #5</a>.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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When following this edict, it is helpful to have a good collection of what I call bits. Those small cycling accessories that allow you to stay warm in the wide range of conditions that are typical of Arkansas winter riding. They add little soft and fuzzy barriers between you and weather related harshness where you need them the most. <br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Clockwise from bottom left: arm warmers, knee warmers, longer knee warmers, shoe covers, ear band, and toe covers.</div>
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<strong>Dress for flexibility</strong></div>
It is not unusual to start a winter ride in cold conditions, only to be riding in sunshine and glorious warmth within a couple of hours. Arm warmers, knee warmers, and an ear band can keep you comfortable early in the ride and can be easily stashed in a jersey pocket as the temperatures rise. Add a vest to the mix and you can easily leave home equipped for everything from the 40's to the 70's; not an unusual fall or early spring temperature range in our home state. <br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
Full on frigid conditions call for tights and more robust layers, but a base layer and bits can get you through most of an Arkansas winter.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Veteran riders will have a drawer full of the stretchy, fleecy accessories. If you don't have a collection of bits, go visit your local bike shop and spend a few bucks to get started. Retail therapy is good for you and specialty retailers love folks who shop local. It's also not too early to start that Christmas wish list. If you're like most of us, you're damn hard to buy for, so do your family a favor and conveniently leave a list of your needs lying around so that they can surprise you with exactly what you want. </div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-87878784302177323112018-10-10T11:44:00.000-05:002018-10-10T11:44:23.569-05:00Along The Trail--Nuts and BerriesSummer has endured long into October, making for hot rides, a bumper crop of mosquitos, and chigger infested hikes. It appears that we are finally turning the corner into fall, though <a href="http://www.longrangeweather.com/Weather-Forecasts.htm#" target="_blank">long-range forecasts </a>do call for a wetter and milder than normal winter. Warm winters are becoming the new normal which, though representing an existential threat to humanity, has some benefits for the fair weather riding community and for the mosquitos. Chiggers die out at about 40 degrees so they'll still be just a seasonal menace for the time being.<br />
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In the meantime, get ready for fall riding by rounding up your long-fingered gloves, knee and arm warmers, and other cool weather bits.<br />
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<b>Seasonal Hazards-The Second Most Dangerous Nuts on The Trail</b><br />
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<span style="color: #000120;"></span><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-21QzFCJ2EAE/W74hwVhBUsI/AAAAAAAAIsA/T9XcbVwdwBs0clFY1lfA0HhSNpVlKIW9gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-21QzFCJ2EAE/W74hwVhBUsI/AAAAAAAAIsA/T9XcbVwdwBs0clFY1lfA0HhSNpVlKIW9gCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0941.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last night's rain and wind are sure to have added to the leaves on the trail. Caution is required this time of year as the leaves can hide many hazards. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bHCdIwqeWBk/W74hwJOXxUI/AAAAAAAAIr8/BpaKL6M8PE4b1DR2ymQTCLLWpQHhhSH6gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bHCdIwqeWBk/W74hwJOXxUI/AAAAAAAAIr8/BpaKL6M8PE4b1DR2ymQTCLLWpQHhhSH6gCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0931.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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While acorns and hickory nuts are the most common, black walnuts are far more dangerous due to their size and hardness. They are the second most dangerous nut on our trails.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxc2uq81-0s/W74hwC3ChLI/AAAAAAAAIr4/0vJgSOpurSQrBEfEsrL3ZQIZRkKOaXIEgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="234" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxc2uq81-0s/W74hwC3ChLI/AAAAAAAAIr4/0vJgSOpurSQrBEfEsrL3ZQIZRkKOaXIEgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0313.JPG" width="312" /></a><br />
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The most dangerous nut on the trail.</div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;">Fortunately for other trail users, the <i>ski pole wielding
inline skater</i> is relatively rare on the Arkansas River Trail; however, their
rarity does not render them to be without hazard. <i>Approach with
caution!! </i>As is the case with the common inline skater, this bird is
usually equipped with headphones or earbuds blasting dance music, making
audible warnings useless, and an enthusiastic skating style that takes the
entire trail. Add ski poles and it takes the danger to a whole new level as the follow through leaves the tips at eye level to anyone overtaking them. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b>The Berries</b><br />
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I have been writing for many years about the <a href="https://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2009/06/trail-snacks.html" target="_blank">foraging opportunities</a> along the trail. Mulberries, blackberries, and plums are among the most commonly found; however, my favorite is the muscadine.<br />
This comment was posted <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">by CTYankee </span>to a recent article concerning the Big Rock Bike Park:<br />
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<i>Try to incorporate the planting of fruits & berries along the trail wherever possible. I recently participated in the bicycle/pedestrian survey as a volunteer and one of the regular riders mentioned his favorite secret muscadine patch along the river trail in Burns Park and would like to see more of the same.</i></div>
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<i>September 21, 2018 at 8:09 AM</i></div>
<span style="font-family: arial,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><span style="color: #000114;"></span><span style="color: #000020; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I appreciate both CTYankee's service to the community and his respect for my anonymity. Now that the berry picking season is past, I'll own up to being </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the picker of muscadines.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dizdfoExOzM/W74k02PgwUI/AAAAAAAAIsc/U10EtfdhsDMd2MUNzaQlkcHIVxd5heBBACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dizdfoExOzM/W74k02PgwUI/AAAAAAAAIsc/U10EtfdhsDMd2MUNzaQlkcHIVxd5heBBACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0519.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I had been watching these muscadines for weeks, awaiting their ripening. As soon as the first ripe berries appeared, so did the deer. They will visit the vines regularly, picking off the best of the crop as they ripen. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_KL4_73SG8/W74k0wRS53I/AAAAAAAAIsU/5qkapv5T1xMueiZV-xhvOP4bo84ozDj-gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_KL4_73SG8/W74k0wRS53I/AAAAAAAAIsU/5qkapv5T1xMueiZV-xhvOP4bo84ozDj-gCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0624.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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While the deer are expert foragers, I managed to claim these beauties for myself.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XeAW1BFryRE/W74k0z5_ZnI/AAAAAAAAIsY/hXkcPNTqvGYPZhfUpM3T3VS1uBKAkpO2wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XeAW1BFryRE/W74k0z5_ZnI/AAAAAAAAIsY/hXkcPNTqvGYPZhfUpM3T3VS1uBKAkpO2wCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0653.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My grandmother, Mabel White, taught me to make muscadine jelly and it is a staple at my house. </div>
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I don't feel bad about competing with Bambi for food. While my impact on the local crop is relatively small, the deer at my Heber Springs property eat virtually <i>all</i> of my cultivated muscadines and most of my blueberries. I set up a game camera years ago to see where my berries were going and found that I was feeding a group of deer every morning and evening, along with various birds, rabbits, and even a coyote. </div>
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<b>Be Polite With Your Light</b></div>
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I won't repeat the entirety of my bright light sermonette. Please be aware that your high-lumen light has an impact on others, just as an oncoming car with its brights on will blind you on a dark country road. Look at your light from the perspective of an oncoming rider and be polite. Try partially shading your light with your hand when approaching other riders and walkers.</div>
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<span style="color: #000114; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-39875985905808459432018-10-04T12:51:00.001-05:002018-10-04T18:50:32.306-05:00City of LIttle Rock: Bike Friendly? Making Progress?<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">When I posted a few weeks ago about the proposed Big Rock Bike Park in NLR, several folks opined that Little Rock was missing out again. While Little Rock has not had any recent landmark projects, there is steady progress south of the river. </span><br />
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<b>A Word On How Things Happen and Some History</b><br />
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Now that I'm back at the keyboard here in the JBar Bunker, I'm also finding myself sitting in various meeting rooms. It is almost a certainty that I will be seeing the same reliable cycling advocates in meeting after meeting, folks like Brett Budolfson, Coreen Frasier, Stacey Tierney and others are steadily plugging away to represent our community in the halls of government or wherever our voice needs to be heard.<br />
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These efforts of these volunteers are, in large part, how we came to have the Arkansas River Trail, the Big Dam Bridge, Two Rivers Bridge, and on and on. The roots go back decades with folks like Gene Pfiefer, Ken Gould and Judy Lansky, and many others. In 1992, citizens banded together and campaigned to block the extension of Rebsamen Park Road to Highway 10. If not for those efforts, instead of a chain of parks, bridges, and bike/ped paths we have now, we would have another high speed east-west highway along the river.<br />
<a href="https://cals.org/event/save-the-river-parks-a-25-year-anniversary-retrospective-and-celebration-of-the-landmark-1992-campaign/" target="_blank">On October 10, CALS and the Clinton School of Public Service will host a discussion</a> as to how this "Save The Parks" movement came about 25 years ago.<br />
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<b>Little Rock Bike Friendly Community Committee</b><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zd4-QBAOSys/W7ZGFpKM3oI/AAAAAAAAIrg/q5Wf-EJy6nI3oYzNULWpErrUzBUptZEIQCLcBGAs/s1600/LR%2BBFCC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zd4-QBAOSys/W7ZGFpKM3oI/AAAAAAAAIrg/q5Wf-EJy6nI3oYzNULWpErrUzBUptZEIQCLcBGAs/s320/LR%2BBFCC.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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LRBFCC board members Coreen Frasier, Michael Sprague and Dave Roberts</div>
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This committee was initially formed to apply for Bike Friendly Community status with the <a href="https://www.bikeleague.org/content/about-league" target="_blank">League of American Bicyclists</a>. North Little Rock had successfully applied and the NLR designation made many of us on the north side of the river quite proud while Little Rock seemed to languish in a lack of interest.<br />
Mayor Pat Hays kept North Little Rock engaged and moving forward, while in Little Rock, volunteers were frustrated by a lack of buy-in by the City and unclear goals. Things have evolved over time. The North Little Rock BFCC faded and disappeared as folks in Little Rock kept plugging along. City staff got involved and a BikePed coordinator was hired. That post is now held by John Landosky.<br />
Little Rock achieved its primary goal with a Bronze Bike Friendly Community designation several years ago, and the committee continues to champion efforts like<a href="https://smartgrowthamerica.org/program/national-complete-streets-coalition/" target="_blank"> Complete Streets</a>, a comprehensive streets plan that requires consideration of bike and pedestrian needs for new and resurfaced streets.<br />
These efforts often take years of discussion, bureaucratic tedium, and small gains, but that is how things get done.<br />
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<b>Committees Can Only Do So Much-- Community Buy-In Required</b><br />
In Little Rock, a recent example of a missed opportunity is the upcoming resurfacing of Pleasant Forest Drive. City staff had recommended the <a href="https://www.littlerock.gov/for-residents/bikeped-little-rock/projects/pleasant-forest/" target="_blank">inclusion of bike lanes</a>; however, a few neighborhood residents were vehemently against it and mobilized opposition in the form of public comments. As is often the case, the " 'aginners" were very vocal, while supporters were relatively quiet and assumed that somebody else would carry the ball. The result is that this designated bike route will not have bike lanes.<br />
<span style="color: #000120;">A similar revolt by a few well-heeled and well connected residents of the Canal Pointe subdivision <a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2015/05/city-of-lr-bike-ped-initiatives-get-up.html" target="_blank">killed a well-thought and long discussed traffic calming proposal</a> for Riverfront Road. A few loud voices convinced City Hall that they would be grossly inconvenienced by being restricted to only two traffic lanes for 6/10ths of a mile. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #000120;">My point here is that when you see those social media calls for public comment for things that you support within your community, please let yourself be heard. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #000120;"><b>Little Rock Is Still Building Bike Infrastructure</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Largely as a result of the LRBFCC, Little Rock has completed or has planned a number of projects to better serve cyclists and pedestrians.</span><br />
Check the link below to view them.<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<a href="https://www.littlerock.gov/for-residents/bikeped-little-rock/projects/" target="_blank">Little Rock projects </a><br />
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In addition, there have been major improvements and expansions to mountain bike and hiking trails in various city parks. I'll try to catch up on some of those soon with an overview of projects from Central Arkansas Trail Alliance (CATA).JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-29382532539164475542018-10-04T11:52:00.002-05:002018-10-04T11:52:27.090-05:00Throwback Thursday- September 2010 post about 1991 Natural States Road Race and Crit<br />
This was high level racing with what was then big prize money. Riders like Lance Armstrong and Davis Phinney managed podium finishes in the crit but were not the best riders on the day.<br />
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The Races: 1991 Natural State Stage Race
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJQnUowYr7I/AAAAAAAABnY/nR5icbANFDM/s1600/1991+Natural+State+Stage+Race+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="640" qx="true" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJQnUowYr7I/AAAAAAAABnY/nR5icbANFDM/s640/1991+Natural+State+Stage+Race+001.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="404" /></a></div>
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This advertisement ran in the Arkansas Gazette, March 22, 1991</div>
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The Natural States Stage Race series was arguably the biggest in terms of scale and star power. Andy's, a local restaurant chain put up $30,000.00 in prize money at a time when, like now, most bike racers were poor but the average price of a new car was around $16,000. Some of the notable names included Lance Armstrong, still an up-and -comer, Davis Phinney, Scott Moninger, Bob Mionske (the attorney and "<a href="http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2010/09/10/listen-obey%E2%80%94and-then-act/" style="color: #445566;">Road Rights</a>" columnist of today), Bobby Julich, and Olympic gold medalist Alexi Grewal. Coors Light was the powerhouse team. The 1991 Natural State race consisted of these stages:<br />
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Friday, March 22 1991</strong><br />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Stage One-</strong> A downtown criterium. The course consisted of a loop of Main and Scott Streets between Second and Eighth Streets. The crits ran between 11a.m. and 1:30p.m. on Friday and the streets were closed except for a brief window at noon. The Men's Pro 1/2 category was won by Dave Mann of IME Bolla Wines, with second going to Brian McDonough of Gotham Cyclists. The two went away early and maintained a gap for over half of the race, with Mann outkicking McDonough for the win. Mann had won the Tour of New Zealand in 1987 and had 14 career wins to his credit at this time.<br />
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Saturday, March 23</strong><br />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Stage Two: Time Trial from Murray Park II to the top of Overlook Hill.</strong> <br />
This had to be a great way to start the day for the racers. Here are the top three finishers:<br />
1) Mike Engleman, Coors Light 4:22<br />
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2) Shaun Wallace, Great Britain 4:30<br />
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3) Steve Tillford, unattached 4:30<br />
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Ok, I’ll include 4th place just for entertainment:<br />
4) Lance Armstrong, Subaru-Montgomery 4:44<br />
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Photo from: <a href="http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/" style="color: #445566;">http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/</a></div>
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Engleman, riding for Wheaties/Schwinn, was pipped at the line by Coors Light's Greg Oravetz in the 1989 USPro National Championship. Future teammate Greg LeMond was 10th. </div>
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The only local name that I recognized was that of my old friend Robert Orr, who finished 9th in the Masters class at 5:20. Robert is also the only person I know who has raced a double Iron Man (he came in second). I'm sure the folks who were riding at the time would recognize more of the competitors. <br />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Stage 3: Road Race around Lake Maumelle, beginning and ending at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. </strong>This stage saw action from all of the big boys and was won out of a nine man break by Rich McClung of the Shaklee team, with Dave Mann in second and Graemme Miller in third. Lance Armstrong had taken a flyer for a few miles, only to be reeled in and finish with the break.<br />
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<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Sunday, March 23</strong><br />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Natural State Capitol Criterium</strong><br />
80 Laps around the Capitol course saw Davis Phinney take the win, followed by Coors Light mate Greg Oravetz, with Lance Armstrong taking third.<br />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Dave Mann took the GC win for a whopping $2700, followed 27 seconds back by Armstrong for second place, which paid $1450. Davis Phinney pocketed $955 for third overall. There was payout through fifth place and for stage placings, etc, so the prize money was spread around.<br />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
This was a stellar field of riders. This kind of event requires an amazing amount of work and a chunk of money to pull off, but over the years a few folks have put together some really big bike races. I wish that I had been interested!
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2 comments:</h4>
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Charlie
said...
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Very Cool, I was riding back then.
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<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2010/09/races-1991-natural-state-stage-race.html?showComment=1284783314091#c2923156876559230728" style="color: #333333;" title="comment permalink">
September 17, 2010 at 11:15 PM
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/03365524072685329886" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;">Scott</a>
said...
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Any chance you remember the Talimena / Winding Stair stage race from the 80's? Started in Heavener, OK.
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October 13, 2010 at 12:41 AM
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-70196025901791110362018-09-27T17:19:00.000-05:002018-09-27T17:19:12.878-05:00Throwback Thursday- Natural States Criterium March 1990 from September 2010 ArticleI've had a busy week or two and obviously haven't devoted time to writing new material, but you may find this interesting.<br />
In 1990, I had no interest in cycling but had many friends who rode and raced locally. I had vague recollections of some big races taking place back in the day, so I went to work researching them.<br />
The good thing was that the Democrat and the Gazette were battling it out for newspaper market share so there were entire sections devoted to outdoor and recreational activities. The bad news was that my only access to the articles contained in those fat newspapers was to figure out an approximate date and scroll through microfilm at the local library.<br />
Lance Armstrong was an aspiring 18 year old kid from Plano.<br />
Relatively big prize money made these races a draw for top talent. .<br />
<br />
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<h2 class="date-header" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #558866; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 43px; margin-right: 28px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">Tuesday, September 7, 2010</span></h2>
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<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2010/09/1990-natural-state-capitol-criterium.html" style="color: #333333; text-decoration: none;">1990: Natural State Capitol Criterium</a>
</h3>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This Arkansas Gazette article laid out the weekend events surrounding the Natural States Capitol Criterum</div>
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<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Lance Armstrong manages 13th, goes home $110.00 richer...</strong><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Little Rock is becoming a bike town. We owe much of that to a nucleus of folks who have supported and helped grow the sport over the years. This is the first in a series of articles about the Central Arkansas bike scene which will focus on the teams and some of the notable events of the past.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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In the spring of 1990, Greg LeMond was the reigning Tour de France champion and the USA was actually kind of interested in road bike racing. About 500 people turned out on a cold March 25th morning to watch the 1990 Natural State Capitol Criterium, which was won by Wisconsin's Tom Schuler of the powerful 7-Eleven professional team. Schuler was the 1987 USPRO national road champion and the 1981 US Pro criterium champion and, more recently, the director of Team Type 1. The 1990 event, held on the State Capitol grounds, naturally, had the 62 riders in the senior 1/2 division, 28 of whom finished. According to the <em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Gazette</em>, "One of the most promising young racers in the country traveled from Plano, Texas, to compete". Eighteen year-old Lance Armstrong , racing for Team Montgomery, came in 13th* and collected $110.00 for his efforts. After the event, he commented on the tough race, the good organization, and the high level of competition.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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...and the winner is Tom Schuler. At the time, he was a much bigger name in cycling than teenaged Lance Armstrong</div>
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The event was sponsored by Colonial Bread and others. With prize money of $10,000.00, this was a rich race and the pros showed up along with all the regional hot-shots. There were several classifications with payouts, along with a Citizen's Race division that was made up of 33 mostly local riders. <br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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The winner of the women's division was Juli Furtado, a former US National team skier who had won the National Road Championship in 1989 and who went on to win the first World Mountain Bike Championship cross country title. She followed that with a string of World Cup wins. You know the Lance story, of course. He was, indeed, a promising talent! <br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let me note here that searching newspaper archives at the library is much harder than Google! You actually have to <em>search for whatever it is you're looking for</em>! Much of this information came from the <em>Gazette</em> archives along with helpful direction from Steve Shepherd and John Kelly.</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<span style="font-family: Times;"> If any readers can make this story more complete, feel free to comment!</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<em style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">(*In researching this article, I found a statements in a 1991 Arkansas Gazette article twice referring to Armstrong as "last year's winner", and elsewhere in the 1990 article, he was said to have come in 14th. Confirming obscure information from before the information age is difficult!)</em><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Next up....1991 Natural States Stage Race</span>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-32603972590436630442018-09-20T11:40:00.002-05:002018-09-25T10:26:32.485-05:00Throwback Thursday- Two Rivers Bridge Center Span Assembly and Lift from October 2010<strong>Two, Two, Two Posts in One!!</strong><br />
I decided not to string you along for another week on the erection of the center span on the Two Rivers Park Bridge so I've included two posts from the time. I followed this project closely and on several levels. I had regular contact with the Pulaski County construction supervisor, a representative of the steel supplier, and the project engineer among others. One thing I was NOT going to miss was the lift of the massive center span assembly. It did not disappoint. It was an awesome morning for any boy who likes big toys.<br />
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010</h2>
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Two Rivers Bridge News! </h3>
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Work continues at a brisk pace on the Two Rivers Bridge, with the final piers being poured and the steel truss sections arriving over the last couple of days.<br />
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The truss sections were shipped in on trucks, assembled on barges and moved out into the river.<br />
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The entire span will be assembled and then lifted in one piece.</div>
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These trailers carrying the two halves of the next section arrived on Wednesday. The last two trailers were on the road and expected to arrive Wednesday night.</div>
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There is no set schedule for the lift, but I hope that I get some notice so that I can be there! Everything will be done and ready before the lift starts, because once it is in the air, they don't want to put it back down anywhere but in its place on the piers. The rest of the horizontal structure is also moving right along. I was told that within the next couple of weeks, "people looking at it from I-430 will see a bridge".</div>
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010</span></h2>
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Two Rivers Bridge: We Have Lift Off </span></h3>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">After a few delays, the steel center span of the Two Rivers Bridge was lifted into place on Wednesday morning. Everything was ready to go on Tuesday morning, but the first rain we've in over a month came sauntering in and set things back a day.</span><br />
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<span class="share-button-link-text">As seen beyond I-430 from the BDB on Sunday evening, the 210 foot truss span had been assembled on barges and moved into place. The cranes were rigged and at the ready.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">After a wet, foggy daybreak on Tuesday, the skies rapidly cleared and the lift was underway. As the cranes took on the weight of the 208,000 pound span, their barges got low in the water. </span><br />
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<span class="share-button-link-text">The crane booms were kept pretty much vertical due to the big load. Adjustments in position were in the most part accomplished by moving the barges on which the cranes were mounted. </span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">Crews were busily readying the supports on the pier tops in the final stages of preparation for the lift.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">Here it comes, boys!</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">Almost there.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">I've done some construction, but I prefer working at ground level. This is higher than it looks.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text"> The precision of this operation was pretty impressive.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">The dance was done.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">I watched the lift alongside folks from Pulaski County, from the steel fabricator, Contech, from the designer, Garver, and from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. There was a little anxiety in the air (Will this thing fit??), but it was an experienced team and everyone was very confident in the bridge contractor, Jensen Construction. Nonetheless, everyone was a little relieved when the span was resting on the piers.</span><br />
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<span class="share-button-link-text">Even as the span was being lifted, county officials and representative of the highway department were looking forward to the completion of the Two Rivers project and beyond.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">John Ruddell is the project manager for Garver, and he seemed pleased with the way the project is shaping up. Garver also designed the Big Dam Bridge.</span></div>
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<span class="share-button-link-text">As many of you have, I've been keeping up with this project closely since I ride by it many times per week. I appreciated the opportunity to have been on hand with many of the professionals involved in the job when the lift was done. Today marked a milestone in a years-long development and it is always interesting to be able to share the perspectives of the people who make such things happen.</span></div>
<span class="share-button-link-text">In visiting with Sherman Smith, Pulaski County Public Works director, I found that bids had been let for building a bike path to Maumelle Park from the corner of County Farm Road and Pinnacle Valley Road. This stretch of bike path will be "behind the power lines" so that cyclists will not have interact with vehicular traffic. This will mean a continuous bike route from the River Trail to the Corps of Engineers Maumelle Park. From there, the plan includes bike lanes on Pinnacle Valley Road and Highway 300 to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. This will be a remarkable accomplishment and most of the credit seems to go to Judge Buddy Villines. Along with North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays, Villines' vision and persistence has helped to create a bike infrastructure that will continue to enhance Central Arkansas's growing reputation as a cycling destination.</span><br />
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JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-87699971878750011772018-09-17T16:12:00.000-05:002018-10-11T13:16:45.167-05:00Big Plans For Big Rock Regional Bike ParkOkay, I'll confess to adding the term "Regional" in the title of this article because that is the kind of vision I was hearing about at a meeting I attended last week at the North Little Rock Community Center.<br />
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<b> A Visionary Plan </b><br />
For several months now, North Little Rock Parks officials, along with local bike advocates from Central Arkansas Trail Alliance (CATA), and others, have been working on a far-reaching plan for a mountain bike trails and skills complex on the north side of the river. At the heart of this broad plan is the development of a bike park at the Big Rock Quarry. The working name for the project is Big Rock Bike Park.<br />
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<b>Some Recent History</b><br />
Big Rock Quarry has seen a couple of
other development plans rise and fade in the last few years. The first,
and most ill-conceived, plan was the sale of the quarry for a real
estate project consisting of a couple of apartment towers and a couple
of hundred town homes. When this plan was exposed, <a href="https://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2012/08/north-little-rock-selling-quarry-land.html" target="_blank">initially here at JBarCycling</a>, the public was outraged and rapidly responded. That project was <a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2012/08/quarry-sale-proposal-withdrawn.html" target="_blank">quashed</a> by the waves of protest and bad publicity that followed. The property was eventually integrated into the parks system.<br />
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<b>The Future</b><br />
Initially, the existing mountain bike trails at Burns Park and the adjoining Emerald Park would be improved and extended. The work will make the riding experience on the existing trails better and will enhance the connections to Big Rock.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-deQ2azIsV5M/W6EaCA-hP6I/AAAAAAAAIrI/LX9ZSiY7wWgMoYz5PKmD2MZxs0R1IUhcQCLcBGAs/s1600/Emerald%2BPark%2BTrail%2B-%2BProposed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1600" height="258" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-deQ2azIsV5M/W6EaCA-hP6I/AAAAAAAAIrI/LX9ZSiY7wWgMoYz5PKmD2MZxs0R1IUhcQCLcBGAs/s400/Emerald%2BPark%2BTrail%2B-%2BProposed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The yellow lines represent existing trails. The proposed Bike Park drawing is overlaid in the center. The switchbacks near the left side are on the old road bed that climbs to Emerald Park from the River Trail. Current talk is that it will be rebuilt to facilitate climbing to the top of the bluffs. Multiple downhill routes are planned to rejoin the trail near Paul Duke Drive. </div>
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<b>Setting The Stage</b></div>
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The other older Burns Park "Boy Scout" trails (Red, Yellow, etc) will be improved or rebuilt as needed, and a large parcel of previously unused park land off of Overlook Dr. will see new trails and the restoration of the existing pavilions. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDBwsRSAwog/W6AKBmE-LPI/AAAAAAAAIqc/GtM60mlUQVcCIyghl-eLr61WfT7WquregCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0597.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDBwsRSAwog/W6AKBmE-LPI/AAAAAAAAIqc/GtM60mlUQVcCIyghl-eLr61WfT7WquregCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0597.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Lookout Dr. near the I-40 entrance to Burns Park has long been gated due to "inappropriate activity" at the isolated pavilions at the top of the hill. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BDoeI3RJp04/W6AJ6hemvzI/AAAAAAAAIqM/JIDyOGOTlr40TneUNWHrrtrSD4y1I3wxQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BDoeI3RJp04/W6AJ6hemvzI/AAAAAAAAIqM/JIDyOGOTlr40TneUNWHrrtrSD4y1I3wxQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0613.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Overlook Drive- There is plenty of elevation on this large island of park land. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9O_oAYAh2s0/W6AJ_Mc6ShI/AAAAAAAAIqU/5z_9LlQY0vQy6arGkPbIQ2VdtEAYAd-xACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9O_oAYAh2s0/W6AJ_Mc6ShI/AAAAAAAAIqU/5z_9LlQY0vQy6arGkPbIQ2VdtEAYAd-xACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0607.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The roof is in disrepair but the rock, steel, and concrete bones of the Overlook Pavilion are stout. <br />
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Secondary, smaller pavilion nearby.</div>
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The Overlook was a favorite spot in Burns Park for many folks, but, over the years, vandalism and misbehavior led it to be closed. Trees will need to be cut to restore the vista, and there is plenty of other work to be done, but this will be a valuable "re-addition" to the park.</div>
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<b>Center Stage</b></div>
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At the heart of all of this will be the Big Rock Bike Park<b>. I was </b>blown away by the scope of this plan. Though the designer with whom I spoke at Progressive Trail Design described this as a very preliminary "cartoon drawing", you can get an idea of the direction of this development. </div>
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Get ready for some mountain bike action!<br />
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<b>This Is For Real</b><br />
Obviously, an endeavor of this scope will take time and money, but what I saw at the recent meeting told me that this is not a pipe dream. I have questioned the commitment of the current NLR city government to cycling infrastructure, as neither Mayor Joe Smith nor Parks Director Terry Hartwick have many ties to cycling. The mayor was NLR's director of development and Terry comes from the Chamber of Commerce. Ultimately, those leaders understand that the strength of this project will be its contribution, not only to quality of life for us locals, but to the economic growth that will follow. Visits to Northwest Arkansas provided a close look at the kind of dollars that follow the introduction of first-rate outdoor lifestyle amenities. <br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRailyardAR/" target="_blank">The Railyard</a> at Rogers serves as a bit of a model, but the quarry offers several times the area of that park.<br />
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The Mayor is all in, saying, "We don't want to do this on the cheap. We want a Taj Mahal." That's the right way to do it, Mayor.<br />
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The vision is long range, and will require several phases and budget cycles. With eyes wide open, the group is already discussing financial and operational plans for maintenance and sustainability of the trails system and supporting facilities. The Parks Department included money in this year's budget for preliminary engineering, and I was very impressed at how far along the project concept has come.<br />
North Little Rock's commitment, along with CATA, of land and labor to
the overall plan represents substantial local investment as the City
seeks grants from entities such as the Walton Family Foundation and the
Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) recreation trails program <a href="http://www.arkansashighways.com/recreational_trails.aspx" target="_blank">(RTP). </a><br />
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It looks like I've resurrected JBarCycling just in time to follow the next very big step in making Central Arkansas a major cycling destination. Watch your mail box for notices of programs at CATA meetings and elsewhere.<br />
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It's hard to even define the scope of all of this in one article, so I think I'll be writing about Rig Rock for several years to come. I'm excited. <br />
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<br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-54064680874753577262018-09-13T19:53:00.000-05:002018-09-13T19:53:13.009-05:00Throwback Thursday:Willie's Pedigree October 7, 2010<h2 class="date-header" style="background-color: transparent; color: #558866; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 28px 0px 43px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.4px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"> This is a tale of Willie dating back to 2010. My dogs, Willie and Ivy, frequently show up in my social media posts. The simple reason for that is that they go with me damn near everywhere I go and they are always ready for action, whether it be running as I mountain bike at Camp Robinson, fishing on the Little Red, canoeing the Buffalo, paddle boarding on the river or the lake, or just wandering the woods. </span></span></h2>
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Willie is one handsome dude and he takes naturally to modeling.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Wy4eYGDxZA/W5sE-Hkw4LI/AAAAAAAAIpY/zfPAwGL1-modj23RUTIjAGCtj7vJgKFHwCLcBGAs/s1600/Willie%2Btroutmaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1584" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Wy4eYGDxZA/W5sE-Hkw4LI/AAAAAAAAIpY/zfPAwGL1-modj23RUTIjAGCtj7vJgKFHwCLcBGAs/s400/Willie%2Btroutmaster.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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He is a competitive trout fisherman but struggles to tie his own flies. He chases MY fish without shame. That's right, Willie, mine!</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IypVzh8dQsg/W5sFsNxzpPI/AAAAAAAAIpo/zvjsMCn9LcwJCmvzGXKO3Fm7MgUNJCAWACLcBGAs/s1600/Flatboat%2BWillie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IypVzh8dQsg/W5sFsNxzpPI/AAAAAAAAIpo/zvjsMCn9LcwJCmvzGXKO3Fm7MgUNJCAWACLcBGAs/s400/Flatboat%2BWillie.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Flatboat Willie. He's better at wade/swim fishing but is always up for any kind of boat ride. </div>
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<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.4px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b01600; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></b><br /></div>
<h2 class="date-header" style="background-color: transparent; color: #558866; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 28px 0px 43px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.4px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">At the time of this post, Willie had been in the family for almost a year, and the best guess is that he was about three years old. He is now over eleven years old and not slowing down. I think he's actually doing this senior athlete thing better than I am, as he is still good for running 10-12 miles of trail out at Camp, while my road mileage has dropped significantly over the last few years. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #001000; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "trebuchet ms","verdana","arial",sans-serif; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I had Willie's DNA tested for breed and, as you can read, he's a fine blend. </span><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span></h2>
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<h2 class="date-header" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #558866; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 43px; margin-right: 28px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #558866; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 2.2px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">Thursday, October 7, 2010</span></h2>
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<div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: dotted; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: dotted; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 25px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 3.88px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 13px; padding-right: 13px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/null" name="8598293200534318056" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"></a>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(https://resources.blogblog.com/blogblog/data/rounders3/icon_arrow.gif); background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 10px; background-position-y: 0.5em; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: dotted; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: dotted; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 17.46px; font-stretch: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 29px; padding-right: 14px; padding-top: 2px;">
Another Dog Tale (No Biting!)
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8598293200534318056" itemprop="description articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 204); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: dotted; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: dotted; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: dotted; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 9.7px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 29px; padding-right: 14px; padding-top: 10px;">
<strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">Pop Quiz: What do these dog breeds have in common?</strong><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0WFDCA23I/AAAAAAAABqI/_jYd9XJMyTA/s1600/Golden_retriever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="350" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0WFDCA23I/AAAAAAAABqI/_jYd9XJMyTA/s400/Golden_retriever.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong>Golden Retriever</strong></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0V250002I/AAAAAAAABp8/2mXc7Oc29UQ/s1600/Beagle-4-picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="284" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0V250002I/AAAAAAAABp8/2mXc7Oc29UQ/s400/Beagle-4-picture.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong>Beagle</strong></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0WKfHM6tI/AAAAAAAABqM/qrzLTTxeloc/s1600/Maltese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0WKfHM6tI/AAAAAAAABqM/qrzLTTxeloc/s400/Maltese.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong>Maltese</strong></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0WVn26qzI/AAAAAAAABqQ/IGGqQpnYPsM/s1600/poodle_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="366" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0WVn26qzI/AAAAAAAABqQ/IGGqQpnYPsM/s400/poodle_.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong>Poodle</strong></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0XROWAuWI/AAAAAAAABqU/wnsLpud3XVU/s1600/Chihuahua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0XROWAuWI/AAAAAAAABqU/wnsLpud3XVU/s400/Chihuahua.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong>Chihuahua</strong></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0XbSumMHI/AAAAAAAABqY/BXg41Ox_Lyk/s1600/dachshund.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0XbSumMHI/AAAAAAAABqY/BXg41Ox_Lyk/s400/dachshund.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<strong>Dachshund</strong></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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<strong>Have you given up, yet? Think about it...it's coming to you....</strong></div>
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The correct answer is: <em><strong>Willie</strong></em></div>
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<img border="0" ex="true" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TK0ZJXTwzGI/AAAAAAAABqc/y-R1sL2q9Nw/s400/May+7,+8+2010+009.JPG" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></div>
My man, Willie, shown here cooling off in a creek at Camp Robinson during a mountain bike escort run. He loves to run the trails, but at home, he's a Mama's boy.<br />
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Last Thanksgiving, we adopted Willie, a rescue dog that was purported to be Border Collie and who was still recovering from a badly shattered leg that he had suffered six months prior. We'd lost Diane's beloved Josie a few months earlier and we decided it was time for another dog. Our little Aussie mix Zuli also needed a pal, so Willie came into our lives. We speculated at length on his ancestry and my opinion was that he was most likely a cattle dog/terrier blend. We continued to speculate until one day Diane read an article about DNA testing to determine the genetic make-up of mutts. The subject came up a few more times, so I dropped by the <a href="http://www.careforanimals.org/" style="color: #445566;">CARE </a> office one day and picked up the testing kit. We swabbed Willie and sent his sample off to the lab. Two weeks later, we got Willie's report. While chatting with the volunteer at C.A.R.E. as I purchased the kit, she had mentioned that one dog tested had been the product of <em>seven different breeds.</em> Willie came up one short of the local record with six. Yes, we are the proud owners of a purebred Golden Retriever-Beagle-Chihuahua-Dachshund-Maltese-Poodle, and we have the papers to prove it.</div>
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Willie is the product of several generations of artfully indiscriminate breeding and we couldn't be prouder! He is one very fine dog.</div>
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<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/profile/16342812781389492782" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;">Jo</a>
said...
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There has GOT to be some border collie in that dog- I think your sample got switched!!
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<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2010/10/another-dog-tale-no-biting.html?showComment=1286890409250#c8222889937050174716" style="color: #333333;" title="comment permalink">
October 12, 2010 at 8:33 AM
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<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894" rel="nofollow" style="color: #445566;">JBar</a>
said...
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If I was willing to throw another 60.00 at it, I'd send in another sample. It's been fun, though, and I've been calling Willie "Poodle" just to piss him off. He does have giant chihuahua ears!
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October 12, 2010 at 3:51 PM
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-35341776519503357002018-09-07T14:30:00.001-05:002018-09-07T14:30:16.086-05:00Pedestal Rocks 40 and Lick Fork Gravel Grind- Choose Your Weapon October 20, 2018
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">A few years back, I noticed a table among the vendors at
the BDB100 Expo. The gentleman manning the table turned out to be Dirk Merle,
and he was promoting a ride called the <a href="http://www.pedestalrock40ride.com/" target="_blank">Pedestal Rocks 40</a> at Witts Springs. Few
folks were familiar with the tiny burg of Witts Springs, but it is on the
highland near Richland Creek, a whitewater gem in the heart of the Ozarks, and
for many years a destination for me and other serious paddlers who watch the
river gauges like investors watch the market. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">What Dirk and the community had planned was a forty mile
road ride along Highway 16 from Witts Springs to Pedestal Rocks, twenty miles to the
west, and back. For those unfamiliar with the area, there are few, if any, flat
stretches. The ride was being held in conjunction with a community fundraiser
and potluck. I <a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2015/10/pedestal-rock-40-buffalo-river-country.html" target="_blank">posted</a> about it at the time but did not ride.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5Hyi6O-Ftdc/W5LJQMvboOI/AAAAAAAAIo4/x3CTqR6Y-a4HNo79JyOGu7zKfhJUdE0oQCLcBGAs/s1600/PR%2B40%2Broad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1102" height="391" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5Hyi6O-Ftdc/W5LJQMvboOI/AAAAAAAAIo4/x3CTqR6Y-a4HNo79JyOGu7zKfhJUdE0oQCLcBGAs/s400/PR%2B40%2Broad.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The start of last year's road ride. The scenery is spectacular when the fog clears. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">That first year, 35 riders showed up, and the ride was
declared a success. Word spread that the ride was excellent and that the
hospitality was unbeatable.<span style="margin: 0px;"> For year 2, the Lick Fork gravel ride was added and 65 riders participated.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jfGo24yly3Y/W5LJ4WWzNgI/AAAAAAAAIpA/-alnDAtmgfMvjgK_DB4C7fU46usXhYUTQCLcBGAs/s1600/PR%2Bgravel%2Bride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jfGo24yly3Y/W5LJ4WWzNgI/AAAAAAAAIpA/-alnDAtmgfMvjgK_DB4C7fU46usXhYUTQCLcBGAs/s400/PR%2Bgravel%2Bride.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;">Gravel rides are of 15, 30, 45, and 62 miles. There are hills!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;">By year 3, word was getting out and there were 135 riders, though the weather was cool, drizzly and foggy. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;">This is year 4 and there is already a big buzz as riders share their experiences and recruit their friends to join them for this unique ride. Lodging is available in the area, though it is scattered. Camping is available at the Witts Springs Community Center, with access to bathrooms and hot showers. There is also primitive camping a few miles away at <a href="http://www.exploretheozarksonline.com/activities/parksnature/nationalforests/ozark/bigpiney/richlandcamp.html" target="_blank">Richland Creek</a>.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;">I know that a group has rented a large nearby lodge and there may still be an opportunity to get in on that. PM me if interested and I'll put you in touch with the queen of that operation. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><u><span style="color: #000120;"></span></u><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">While the road ride is hilly, don't let that intimidate you. Most of the ramps are of moderate grade as Highway 16 follows a ridge line and few riders seem interested in a "race pace" experience. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">There are road rides of 10, 20, 40, 50, and 62-miles, so everybody can play!</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">The gravel riders reported a slightly different experience. The 62-mile route goes down to Richland Creek and includes some 7000 feet of climbing. Most riders chose the 30-mile course last year and I would guess that most rode mountain bikes, so don't let lack of a gravel-specific bike be an impediment. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">The folks of Witts Springs host a community potluck Saturday evening and it is amazing!! I think most people were really surprised and the warmth and the extent of the hospitality. The locals are genuinely glad to have us visit and it shows. </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Consolas;"></span><br />
Unlike last year, this fall is promising to be a colorful one, and there is no better way to see it than from your bike on the Ozark Plateau. I just hope we have clear weather so that we can truly enjoy the rare scenery.<br />
In addition to the ride, you are in the heart of Buffalo River Country, so there are opportunities to hike, float, or paddle whitewater. Richland Creek requires advanced boating skills, but hiking along Richland and Falling Water Creeks is outstanding.<br />
<br />
Check out the <a href="http://www.pedestalrock40ride.com/" target="_blank">website link</a> for more details.<br />
<br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-66430602132744648842018-09-06T09:59:00.000-05:002018-09-06T09:59:35.513-05:00Throwback Thursday: September 20, 2012 BDB Ride PrepI saw an inquiry on the Mello Velo page yesterday asking for information on preparing for the MS150 this weekend. While this weekend may require rain gear and possibly a flotation device, the following post from 2012 may be helpful to some folks. It also contains a little insight into the earliest BDB100 rides.<br />
It also reflects my tedious attention to detail at the time. You can always just hop on your bike and ride, and likely be fine, but I was always more comfortable knowing that I was self-sufficient for nutrition and minor mechanicals. <br />
<br />
<br />
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Big Dam Bridge 100: Ready To Ride? September 20, 2012</h3>
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The BDB100 is expected to grow to over 2500 riders in 2012, its seventh year. The inaugural ride on October 1, 2006, hosted ~1200 against a declared limit of 1000, as I recall, after all of the entries were tallied. The roll-out for that ride began near the Burns Park soccer fields and made an immediate hard right turn onto the River Trail as riders streamed excitedly toward the newly opened Big Dam Bridge for a loop around the city. After heading back downtown and crossing the river again, we headed west up the River Trail toward Maumelle and the open road. Riders showed remarkable composure in those early giddy miles of the ride, as we were all aware of the dangers of over 1000 cyclists crossing the narrow wooden bridge in Burns Parks and the other sharp curves of the trail virtually <i style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">en masse</i>. I know that I breathed a sigh of relief when we all got safely past that bridge!<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Fall of 2006 was an exciting time for cyclists in Central Arkansas.</div>
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Since that time, the popularity of cycling has grown in Central Arkansas along with the ride. The route of the BDB100 has evolved with the opening of Two Rivers Bridge, making it practical to send riders over the Arkansas River at Toadsuck near Conway and to add the pain of a climb up Wye Mountain at about the 60 mile mark. All of that makes for a challenging ride, though as I was told early in my still-short riding career, any time that you ride 100 miles on a bicycle, you've done something pretty hard.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<b style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">So, how do you approach a 100 mile ride? </b><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
Most of my readers have done at least as many centuries as I have, so I'm not breaking any news to most of you. In my first few years of riding, long rides were the norm, either on some event ride or just heading out on the road with my neighbor Darwin who just had a penchant for riding long. Event rides are different than just heading out with your buddies, and some have more of a race feel than others. For many riders in the BDB, specific time goals have been set and plans are being made, and even the most casual rider will be looking for the clock as they approach the finish line on NLR's Main Street.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
Here are a few simple things that might help you cut a few minutes off of your time:<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<b style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">- Before the ride</b>- clean and lube your bike. Check that all bolts are tight. Look your tires over carefully and replace any that look questionable. Check the contents of your flat bag. I know I'm not the first rider to stop to fix a flat, only to remember that I had used a CO2 to help somebody out months earlier. My little bag will contain two tubes, powdered in talc for ease of mounting and wrapped in plastic wrap, three CO2 cartridges, inflator, tire levers, 4,5,and 6 mm hex wrenches, and the universal fixit, money.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmy8MtO0DTQ/UFvbuO78w8I/AAAAAAAADkE/jX4sR2gCzPA/s1600/bag.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmy8MtO0DTQ/UFvbuO78w8I/AAAAAAAADkE/jX4sR2gCzPA/s400/bag.JPG" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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The contents of your seat bag should be carefully selected and thoughtfully packed. </div>
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
- <b style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">If you're riding with a club or a group of friends, know the capabilities of the group and be realistic.</b> If you're a 6 hour century rider, don't expect your faster buddies to hang around. If you expect to ride a 5-hour pace, don't promise your slower friends that "we'll stick together". It just won't happen. A canny rider trying to make good time shouldn't be expected to drop off of a fast pack to hang with somebody who is flagging 20 miles into the ride unless a blood oath has been sworn. The same often goes for early flats or mechanicals. If it's you that breaks down, just fix your stuff and adopt another pack. <br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<b style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">-Get out of town!</b> The power of a large peloton is amazing. Take advantage of the big early packs to make miles early in the ride by going out as fast as you can without compromising the rest of your ride. It doesn't do much good to rock through the first 20 miles only to blow up at mile 40.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
<b style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">-Skip the early rest stops</b>. This ties into the "Get Out of Town" advice above in that you want as many riders as possible/practical <i style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">behind</i> you. By getting out ahead of a large number of riders, you increase your
chances of catching an optimum group coming by as you make stops or fade
later in the ride.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
You should have started the ride well-fueled and hydrated, so there's usually no reason to even consider a stop before 30 miles. Exceptions to this rule can include, "I've absolutely got to pee" and "I know this stop has really good cookies", but make all stops short. Fill bottles, grab some easily digestible solid food, and get moving. You don't really get any rest at these stops, you just get stiff legs to suffer through when you get back on the road. I seem to have fallen into a bit of a pattern of making two stops, the first at around mile 50 and another at mile 80. A good stop is less than 5 minutes if you're serious about making time.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GLHbkg7Y6U0/UFvUQVmypHI/AAAAAAAADiw/ydTSL-mHPlQ/s1600/Food+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GLHbkg7Y6U0/UFvUQVmypHI/AAAAAAAADiw/ydTSL-mHPlQ/s400/Food+003.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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A big event is not the time to experiment with food. Stick with what is proven to work for you.</div>
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<b style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;">-Carry most of the nutrition that you expect to need.</b> This usually includes includes drink mix for me. I carry at least one single-serving Gatorade packet with me if I'm unsure what's going to be available on the route. You can pack your own in a snack-size Ziploc. Most of the stops at the recent Ride MS event were stocked with blue Powerade, which rates just this side of warm piss in my book. The BDB stops are usually well-stocked, but it pays to be prepared to take care of yourself. I also carry a couple of bars and a handful of gel packs or a flask. A gel flask makes it much easier to get some food down in a pace line. This strategy allows you to choose your stops based on the wishes of your group. It sucks to be rolling along in just the right bunch, only to have to make a forced stop for food. If you're serious about making time, a third water bottle in a jersey pocket can extend your early ride range. I sometimes take a bottle that is about to go to the recycle bin, anyway, and toss it at that 50-mile stop.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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The fast riders that really race the course and chase a 4-hour time won't stop at all, usually arranging some kind of support to at least hand up water bottles. A few guys do it on what they can carry, but most folks will need more hydration than can be carried.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Whether you're trying to make your first sub 5-hour century or just want to take a few minute off of last year's time, a little strategy can help you avoid some common time killers for any pace. It's frustrating to come in at 5:10 while thinking back on that 15 minutes that you spent milling around at mile 30. Some folks enjoy a casual ride and a pause at every aid station, but I'd rather get it done, get out of my sweaty bibs, and then enjoy a cold IPA on Main Street as later riders stream in.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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Get ready and then enjoy the ride. I'll see you out on the road.<br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: padding-box; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; color: #333333; float: none; font-size: 12.93px; line-height: 19.4px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;" />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-90254367917317287052018-08-30T01:00:00.000-05:002018-08-30T08:40:13.167-05:00JBar's Throwback Thursday Septmber 23, 2010 Two Rivers Bridge Progress ReportMany current riders wouldn't recognize the River Trail experience without Two Rivers Bridge. Back in the day....said the geezer. Until the bridge opened, a lake loop, a ride to Roland, and the popular Barrett-Garrison rides all started with a climb of River Mountain Road and a mad dash out Cantrell to Pinnacle Valley Road. The return trip usually involved riding back in on Highway 10 to Taylor Loop and then punishing your legs a bit more climbing Pleasant Forest Drive. There was no easy way home.<br />
In 2010, we greedily followed the bridge construction.<br />
Class, your history lesson is below:<br />
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Two Rivers Bridge: Progress
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJp6cgth-dI/AAAAAAAABno/zZoBf4Hpj74/s1600/Sept+7+2010+Cycling+Gazette+articles+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="225" px="true" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJp6cgth-dI/AAAAAAAABno/zZoBf4Hpj74/s400/Sept+7+2010+Cycling+Gazette+articles+017.JPG" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Two Rivers Bridge project is moving right along. A steel arch span will bridge the 210-foot gap between the piers in the left-center of this photo. Quite a bit has been accomplished since this was taken in early September.</div>
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The steel span over the navigation channel of the bridge has proven to be a design and fabrication challenge. I have been aware of some delays, but it appears now that a schedule is in place and there will be no delays in the completion of the project. My information has come from a number of sources, but the general consensus is that the bridge construction is ahead of schedule and that Jensen Construction is doing a fine job. I'm anxious to see the span in place, as it will do much to define the appearance of the bridge, and I hope to be on site to see it lifted into place. Here are a few things of interest that I will loosely call "facts" in that I don't have the engineering or contractual data:</div>
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The span will be shipped to the site in eight sections. A truck will be required for each of the eight pieces. Those pieces will be spliced at the floor beams into four truss sections before the final assembly. I was able to obtain some fabrication shop photos of the work-in-progress:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJqA3SsJFOI/AAAAAAAABnw/DyZrf2xNN8w/s1600/Shop+Photo+Two+Rivers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJqA3SsJFOI/AAAAAAAABnw/DyZrf2xNN8w/s400/Shop+Photo+Two+Rivers+1.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a></div>
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The truss sections will be disassembled at the center joint and placed on their sides for transportation, as the assembly would otherwise be too tall for highway transport. Spanning the 210 feet required a truss over 14' deep.</div>
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The entire span will then be assembled on site. There will be some large scale <a href="http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/schylling/erector_set_special_edition_set.cfm" style="color: #445566;">Erector Set </a>action to get this accomplished. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJqCxhuI12I/AAAAAAAABoA/mogyTyGlWSc/s1600/Shop+Photos+Two+Rivers+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #445566; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wmGrz65Nydw/TJqCxhuI12I/AAAAAAAABoA/mogyTyGlWSc/s400/Shop+Photos+Two+Rivers+3.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px;" width="400" /></a><br />
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The camber of the arched span is apparent from this perspective.</div>
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The steel is designed to develop a patina of rust that will prevent further oxidation and eliminate the need to paint. Even with the box beam construction, plate has been added to enhance the stiffness of the structure, more for the comfort of possibly queasy bridge users than due to a need for additional strength. </div>
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The steel is scheduled to ship in mid-October and, once assembled, the span will be lifted to its final location by a crane that I have got to see, though in checking around, 100-ton cranes are not that uncommon. The weight of the assembly is slightly over 200,000 pounds. These are bridge-building professionals, but I will bet that there will be a collective sigh of relief from all involved when the span is safely resting on the piers.</div>
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Folks, the cycling life in Central Arkansas just keeps getting better!</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-27850369468171845422018-08-29T15:02:00.003-05:002018-08-29T15:02:40.529-05:00Fort Roots Land Sale, Revisiting NLR's Highland and Emerald Park Trails, Random Scenes<b>Fort Roots Land Sale</b><br />
A recent news item concerning the sale of a piece of North Little Rock city-owned land to the US Department of Veterans Affairs caught my attention and caused me a little concern.<br />
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Why I worry.....<br />
While over the years North Little Rock has created and supported an enviable inventory of cycling and pedestrian trails, the current administration sometimes seems more than willing to allow encroachment on these trails. One example is the narrowing of the trail at the Rockwater development to create a "buffer" between the River Trail and the new homes constructed adjacent to it. What resulted was not a so much a buffer as a city financed free lawn extension to the homeowners.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AfFlYEcweOY/W4bCmMLg_EI/AAAAAAAAIm4/gBl3-yVvsqw5IiW0GDyLdQbVJxqerO1NACLcBGAs/s1600/Rockwater.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AfFlYEcweOY/W4bCmMLg_EI/AAAAAAAAIm4/gBl3-yVvsqw5IiW0GDyLdQbVJxqerO1NACLcBGAs/s400/Rockwater.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The stylish light posts sit well into the River Trail right-of-way. Every home has a private walk on the right-of-way, along with landscaping, sprinkler systems, etc. </div>
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I have no beef with the homeowners that have taken advantage of this virtual gift from the City. The City spent $96,000.00 to narrow the pavement and install underground wiring and decorative lighting along the trail. The money came from the sale of land to the AG&FC for a new boat launch ramp slightly upstream. Some time back, I got the plat from the County Clerk's office and estimated that, in addition to the cost of the improvements, several hundred thousand dollars worth of land was effectively given to the homeowners. Since the property is still legally city-owned right-of-way, real estate taxes on that value are not collected from the homeowners.</div>
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Additionally, the City has removed striping of "designated shoulders" which served as de facto bike lanes along Rockwater Drive. They were not officially designated as bike lanes because parking along the street was allowed as needed, so I don't understand why we went to the expense of removing the striping. It gave riders and drivers at least the implication of protected space.<br />
Parking places with signs have also been designated where parking was previously prohibited at the Rockwater Marina. There have been instances in which the River Trail was completely blocked by illegal parking on the trail at this location. These 2 spaces are, in and of themselves, unlikely to cause problems so long as everyone is attentive, but when a couple of cars are parked there it is likely to encourage others to think it is OK to park on the trail.</div>
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I mention these things because they kind of stuck in my craw and raised my suspicions where the City's actions around the trail system are concerned. I covet our River Trail system and know that once even a small piece of it is gone that it is likely gone forever. </div>
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That said, the Fort Roots land sale does not seem to affect the integrity of the adjacent Highland Trail. The NLR Mayor's office provided the photo below showing the location of the land to be sold.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DivfnM6yJG4/W4bF8eYG8AI/AAAAAAAAInE/fDadDx3Uy9AgfEky5QGvyDBdNWvQfHCEgCLcBGAs/s1600/Ft%2BRoots%2BMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="640" height="292" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DivfnM6yJG4/W4bF8eYG8AI/AAAAAAAAInE/fDadDx3Uy9AgfEky5QGvyDBdNWvQfHCEgCLcBGAs/s400/Ft%2BRoots%2BMap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is the plot of land being sold to the VA. The numbers coincide with the views in the photos below. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XNkk1lOXnnc/W4bHxnI40wI/AAAAAAAAInU/W-hL0vTYsg8oSu21O2xtxsInmwjrOoj2ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XNkk1lOXnnc/W4bHxnI40wI/AAAAAAAAInU/W-hL0vTYsg8oSu21O2xtxsInmwjrOoj2ACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0355.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a lovely park-like green space. I hope the development doesn't start with the usual dozing of every tree.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLgqC7TBEMM/W4bHxmywA2I/AAAAAAAAInY/NOZw7m3bzSMRZLknsdGBk1I6pW0xlfyMwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLgqC7TBEMM/W4bHxmywA2I/AAAAAAAAInY/NOZw7m3bzSMRZLknsdGBk1I6pW0xlfyMwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0356.jpg" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uenTOlbqbU0/W4bHxtJx4KI/AAAAAAAAInQ/SFkxJhk3pq0R-FCmTVQ_3DtZRgdPXltZgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uenTOlbqbU0/W4bHxtJx4KI/AAAAAAAAInQ/SFkxJhk3pq0R-FCmTVQ_3DtZRgdPXltZgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0353.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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The <a href="http://nlr.ar.gov/userfiles/Servers/Server_63092/file/City%20Clerk/Council%20Agendas/8-13-18/R-18-150.pdf" target="_blank">2.32 acres is being sold for $90,000.00</a> to allow for the expansion of a law enforcement training facility currently being operated on the Fort Roots campus. Judging by the large numbers of officers seen coming and going, the operation is well-used and will likely make good use of the expansion. </div>
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This project is obviously in its early stages and I will try to follow it as building plans emerge.</div>
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<b>Good news on the horizon</b></div>
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I don't want to paint the City of North Little Rock with too broad a brush, as there are some very exciting developments coming to the north side of the river. I will report those when more details are available. </div>
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<b>The Highland Trail</b></div>
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The Highland Trail was one of the last projects of long-time Mayor Patrick Hays and was the result of cooperation between the City and the VA to eke out the route between the VA property and the steep bluff line. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T6q-KmZt1cU/W4bMKtTpHRI/AAAAAAAAIns/okUx3cNTXoYgf9C_BRYIg4y27Qp3qcQ5wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T6q-KmZt1cU/W4bMKtTpHRI/AAAAAAAAIns/okUx3cNTXoYgf9C_BRYIg4y27Qp3qcQ5wCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0358.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Highland Trail lies just outside the Fort Root Perimeter fence.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-76Fe2jV18tU/W4bMKkSBMHI/AAAAAAAAIn0/ttEqE2krhcAuUsglrG_TzJC2DDAlsLbeQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-76Fe2jV18tU/W4bMKkSBMHI/AAAAAAAAIn0/ttEqE2krhcAuUsglrG_TzJC2DDAlsLbeQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0360.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Several benches offer places to enjoy the views, the woods, and moments of quiet contemplation</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOs3uALMMPQ/W4bMKnxRphI/AAAAAAAAInw/MgcE2Gpd9bY3sVgbVM0sFiRXa7Fz3bQpwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MOs3uALMMPQ/W4bMKnxRphI/AAAAAAAAInw/MgcE2Gpd9bY3sVgbVM0sFiRXa7Fz3bQpwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0366.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu2mCf7QwD8/W4bMLHVKjII/AAAAAAAAIn4/zKsW8pgdZY4yjCy5mW5xST5AEeR6q95zgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="640" height="278" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu2mCf7QwD8/W4bMLHVKjII/AAAAAAAAIn4/zKsW8pgdZY4yjCy5mW5xST5AEeR6q95zgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0369.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Even on this hazy August day, the views are striking. </div>
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The Highland Trail connects Fort Roots Drive to the older Emerald Park Trail and offers cyclists the opportunity to ride from one end of the bluffs to the other with a number of vantage points along the way. Though many of the views are hindered by dense foliage in the summer, from fall through spring they can be nothing short of spectacular. </div>
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Many riders remain unaware of this great addition to any climb of Fort Roots, as there are no signs to direct you. The trailhead is at the small parking area on the left as you approach the summit of the hill. Take that left turn and check it out. You'll appreciate your new discovery. </div>
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<b>Random scenes from the River Trail</b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-re3NU-jlo/W4bPzoJ6tZI/AAAAAAAAIoU/2BoLrpou8MURQGVQib2pfz3grwWuErfAwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="640" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-re3NU-jlo/W4bPzoJ6tZI/AAAAAAAAIoU/2BoLrpou8MURQGVQib2pfz3grwWuErfAwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0384.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You seldom see sailboats on the Arkansas River but this intrepid sailor has enjoyed a couple of breezy days recently. Squirrelly winds, current, and a fairly narrow channel require attention. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpOYVrqFNA4/W4bPzk2AmGI/AAAAAAAAIoQ/e55S0P6rJvAYE0FyBUSQZrKr_KQprwZ0QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpOYVrqFNA4/W4bPzk2AmGI/AAAAAAAAIoQ/e55S0P6rJvAYE0FyBUSQZrKr_KQprwZ0QCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0391.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tI9-q0Odl5s/W4bPztBCkQI/AAAAAAAAIoY/_siJybfbTvEB-TvNSR4NXACbIQRSfsYewCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="996" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tI9-q0Odl5s/W4bPztBCkQI/AAAAAAAAIoY/_siJybfbTvEB-TvNSR4NXACbIQRSfsYewCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0392.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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With the move of the<b> </b><a href="http://www.arboathouse.org/about/index.html" target="_blank">Arkansas Boathouse Club</a> to River Mountain Park on the Little Maumelle River, riders and walkers will be able to enjoy watching these sleek craft from the vantage point of the Two Rivers Park Bridge. </div>
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<b>One more thing-Clinton National Airport</b></div>
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I want to give a shout-out to the airport and the Airport Commission. Rob Stephens of the Arkansas River Trail Task Force recently reminded me of their support of the Southeast Trail, the installation of bike racks, and the encouragement of cyclists to use the facilities of the airport. Next time you drop in for your Starbucks fix, bathroom stop, or water bottle fill, take a photo and tag the airport. They'll appreciate it and it can only lead to more good things on this oft used bike route. </div>
JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-47202236451009913262018-08-23T10:49:00.000-05:002018-08-23T10:49:54.523-05:00JBarCycling Throwback Thursday- December 11, 2013 Along The Trail-Big Rock Quarry Industrial Art Walk I sometimes use my own previous articles for research and often find myself enjoying reading what interested me a few years ago.<br />
Here is a link to such an article:<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2T8SoOgT7A/Uqj8hS_VkuI/AAAAAAAAGC0/Bc9gABHlSNc/s1600/Quarry+walk+mobile+Dec+8+2013+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #223344; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",Verdana,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 12.93px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 12.93px; margin-right: 12.93px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2T8SoOgT7A/Uqj8hS_VkuI/AAAAAAAAGC0/Bc9gABHlSNc/s400/Quarry+walk+mobile+Dec+8+2013+031.jpg" style="border-image: none; border: 1px solid rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 4px;" width="400" /></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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<a href="http://jbarcycling.blogspot.com/2013/12/along-trail-big-rock-quarry-industrial.html" target="_blank">Along The Trail-Big Rock Quarry Industrial Art Walk</a> </h3>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319471012350330893.post-55194291915134848842018-08-22T12:12:00.002-05:002018-08-22T19:09:04.499-05:00Cottonmouths, Cut-Through from Cantrell, Pinnacle Valley Bike Lanes<b>Snakes alive! They slither among us.</b><br />
While it is common to see venomous snakes along portions of the River Trail, the cottonmouths were out in numbers on my Tuesday midday ride. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The first one I saw was making good progress across the trail so I just observed until he was on his way back to the swamp. ( The real swamp--not the one festering in Washington.)</span><br />
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This stubborn little fellow took a break in mid trail, stopping traffic. Someone tossed a few rocks to try to encourage him but he was unimpressed. I moved beside him to take this photo and he finally moved on. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vi2YJVEflXU/W32Ps34EnCI/AAAAAAAAImU/MfpwiecoH5wJXLC5N8S_YxpJWxSSQk9tgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vi2YJVEflXU/W32Ps34EnCI/AAAAAAAAImU/MfpwiecoH5wJXLC5N8S_YxpJWxSSQk9tgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0340.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This impressive specimen seemed to like this spot and was hanging out as I took this picture. I was also watching an oblivious runner approaching in a direct path to the snake. I started yelling at the runner but he was head down, apparently with ear buds on high volume. I was virtually screaming at him when he finally looked up. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zhb5T0AGuws/W32PuihEjpI/AAAAAAAAImY/kNdJn9-6zM457PrBOBf3FWZSyCrfPFtkgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zhb5T0AGuws/W32PuihEjpI/AAAAAAAAImY/kNdJn9-6zM457PrBOBf3FWZSyCrfPFtkgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0328.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Heavy rains upstream mean that the river is back to some high flows and the backwaters are flush.</div>
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I don't know whether the snakes are out in such numbers because the recent welcome cooler weather makes the warm trail more attractive or if they have been displaced by recent heavy rains, but they are more active than usual. If you encounter snakes on the trail, the best advice is generally to leave them alone. I often stop to caution approaching users until the snake moves on. They are driven mostly to eat and mate, so have little interest in us unless threatened. </div>
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Be alert, and I suggest keeping kids and dogs out of the brush adjacent to the trail, especially in the marshy areas of Two Rivers Park. The snakes live there and we are just passing through. </div>
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<b>Pinnacle Valley Bike Lanes and Bypass To Cantrell/Highway 10</b><br />
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OK, OK, I am admittedly a year or so behind on reporting this, but the addition of bike lanes along Pinnacle Valley Road north of Cantrell is a great addition to the Arkansas River Trail system. This had been discussed for years within the Little Rock Bike Friendly Community Committee ( I swore years ago to quit typing the whole name, so from now on it is back to LRBFCC) and championed by former chair Ed Levy.<br />
In addition to the bike lanes, there is now a bypass from the traffic signal at the intersection of Taylor Loop to Pinnacle Valley Road, thanks t the cooperation of a friendly developer.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YWL_oKZ6YuA/W3yfgNGfh3I/AAAAAAAAIk8/UutKnpmv5SMJfo142jfOkh0ZVgfQo3pwgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YWL_oKZ6YuA/W3yfgNGfh3I/AAAAAAAAIk8/UutKnpmv5SMJfo142jfOkh0ZVgfQo3pwgCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0320.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I ran into my friend and not-quite-cousin Becky Barton Dalton while I was out for a spin on Sunday. She dragged me around as she hit her 5000 year-to-date mile mark. (Kudos-that is some riding!)<br />
This stretch of Pinnacle Valley previously challenged riders with limited sight distance, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">no shoulder, </span>and a lot of traffic. As you can see, it is a much more comfortable and safe situation today. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vokVtcUm9Fg/W3yfjPiDk7I/AAAAAAAAIlI/zwvJkywh3WoAb7maR1rJdT0aXRyM4M9qwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vokVtcUm9Fg/W3yfjPiDk7I/AAAAAAAAIlI/zwvJkywh3WoAb7maR1rJdT0aXRyM4M9qwCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_0331.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This new subdivision ends in a cul-de-sac but the developer cooperated with the community by allowing a bike path that extends to Cantrell. </div>
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The developer apparently has expressed a little frustration that riders are not using the bike/pedestrian lane he added to this bridge. Riders tend to stick to the road but the bridge will certainly add value to his neighborhood and be appreciated by residents. Thanks go to him for the consideration. </div>
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I seldom ride that way these days, but before two Rivers Bridge opened I regularly took life in hands to ride out Cantrell from River Mountain Road or made the unpleasant climbs of Pleasant Forest to get to Taylor Loop. It was always frightening to cross 5 lanes of traffic from Taylor Loop to get the few hundred yards to Pinnacle Valley.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8FCvpDCFnM4/W3yfkFpa6dI/AAAAAAAAIls/Im7Y1fm309w7u15LZ5phU_I8Uvu3-ZeqACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_0335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8FCvpDCFnM4/W3yfkFpa6dI/AAAAAAAAIls/Im7Y1fm309w7u15LZ5phU_I8Uvu3-ZeqACEwYBhgL/s400/IMG_0335.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Riders coming from West Little Rock can now just cross Cantrell at the light on Taylor Loop rather than making a mad dash back to Pinnacle Valley Road.</div>
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The bike path ultimately leading to Pinnacle Valley connects behind Buffalo Wild Wings. </div>
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The bike path leading from the subdivision to the back of the shopping center where Buffalo Wild Wings is located.</div>
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Improvements like this do not just happen. Work on this seemingly small infrastructure improvement has been going on for many years within the LRBFCC and the participating LR city departments, along with lobbying of developers and other stake holders. There are typically months or years of boring meetings to identify a need and develop a plan. Then, those plans often don't see implementation until a street is resurfaced or some outside funding becomes available. The wheels of government move slowly and, when it comes to cycling improvements, those wheels are being pushed and lubricated by your fellow riders who invest their time for the common good. </div>
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The weather has gotten a little nicer. Go ride your bike.</div>
JBarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10612290032138592894noreply@blogger.com0