THE FLIP SIDE

Fayetteville to Rogers ride covers new stretch of Razorback Greenway

Bikers, hikers and kids on trikes have traveled bits and pieces of the Razorback Greenway for years. Now, it's possible to travel all of the Greenway between Fayetteville and Lake Bella Vista.

Our little bicycling group found that out on Sunday, riding the Razorback Greenway from Fayetteville to Rogers. We hopped on our bikes at the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks and rode north for 17 miles to the Mercy Hospital trailhead, near the Pinnacle Hills Promenade area of Rogers, then back to the gardens.

Greenway Grand Opening

A grand opening celebration for the Razorback Greenway is set for May 2 in downtown Springdale. The time hasn’t been set, but is expected to be around noon.

Each city along the route may hold its own ceremony, but the main event and ribbon cutting will be in downtown Springdale. Guide rides and history walks will be part of the event.

— Source: Northwest Arkansas Council

This just-finished section of the hard-surface trail is as diverse as Arkansas itself, passing through forests, meadows, industrial areas and neighborhoods of all kinds. We'd biked from the botanical gardens to south Fayetteville dozens of times, and through Bentonville to Lake Bella Vista. Our ride Sunday was uncharted territory for us.

From the gardens, we pedaled north along the Lake Fayetteville Trail for a bit, then veered right on another path. Soon we were biking the Razorback Greenway along Powell Street through Springdale. Here the route runs along the right side of the street. Vehicles aren't allowed in the lane dedicated to the greenway.

A few pieces of the 36-mile Razorback Greenway are along a road, such as this one, but most of the Greenway is along its own concrete path. It's about as wide as one lane of a highway, with lots of room for bikers, runners and walkers going either direction.

It was good to see so many people out on this overcast Sunday in the low 50s. The cutest were the little kids on their tiny bikes riding with mom and dad. People walked with dogs on leashes, or puffed along on their morning run.

Heading north, the Razorback Greenway crosses Don Tyson Parkway and U.S. 412, then runs toward downtown Springdale. Part of the downtown stretch is on a boardwalk behind the Shiloh Museum and follows Spring Creek that flows through town. Streams are part of the reason most of the Razorback Greenway is flat. A lot of it is in the floodplain of these streams.

The quality of the route is impressive. There are miles of attractive wood fencing between the Greenway and private property. Nice bridges span creeks. The meandering route is fun to ride, with gentle curves and straight stretches. There are a couple of climbs, but nothing major.

In Lowell, a convenience store on the west side of Interstate 49 made a good coffee stop and a chance to warm up. There's more countryside as the Razorback Greenway enters Rogers, near neighborhoods and a golf course.

Pretty soon we were on the infamous "bridge to nowhere" that was put in place months before the Greenway construction reached the bridge. It stuck out, sitting there by itself, hence the name. Now it's a bridge to somewhere, across the interstate from the Walmart AMP.

The Mercy Hospital trailhead appears just beyond the bridge west of Pinnacle Hills Promenade. A moderate tailwind was like a gentle hand pushing us north. Now it was a chilly headwind on our ride back to the botanical gardens.

It was big day for us, riding this new section of the Razorback Greenway. We've already planned a ride from south Fayetteville to Lake Bella Vista, once the weather warms a bit more.

Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 03/12/2015

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