The eighth Annual Wampoo Roadeo Metric Century Bike Ride will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday at the All Souls Church, 4601 Walkers Corner Road, Scott.
I found myself curious about the name Wampoo Roadeo. According to organizers, in the beginning the course route included Wampoo Lateral Road. The term "roadeo" was borrowed from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, which holds a yearly competition dubbed a "roadeo" that involves dump truck drivers, road graders, backhoe drivers and tractor drivers. "Since we ride road bikes, "roadeo" seemed appropriate," says organizer Charlie Hart. The Wampoo Roadeo has since changed its course and now bypasses Wampoo Lateral, but the name stuck.
The Wampoo fits the definition of a no frills ride. There are no T-shirts. No medals. No packet pickups.
Riders show up on race day, registration begins at 6 a.m. Saturday on the church grounds. All participants must sign a waiver, wear a helmet, and make a minimum $10 donation to Wampoo Roadeo to get a bib number. Then the rider chooses a distance and that's it, registration complete. The distance options are the full 62-mile metric century (100K) or the 40-mile route (65K). Courses will be marked, but are on open roads, and riders are expected to obey all traffic laws.
Both courses begin and end in Scott. For the safety of the riders, U.S. 70 and its high-speed vehicle traffic will no longer be part of the course. The 2016 course is pancake flat and should be a little faster than previous years, Hart says.
What it skips in frills, the Wampoo makes up with support. Rest stops for both distances will be available at England (mile 19), Keo (mile 25), and Bevis Corner (mile 34). After the shorter route splits off at Bevis Corner, the full ride will have a stop at Lonoke (mile 46) and a second stop at Bevis Corner (mile 55) before returning to Scott. There will also be a SAG (support and gear) wagon and a sweep vehicle to aid any stranded riders.
There will be a finish line party with ice cream from Loblolly Creamery, chocolate milk and ice cold watermelon provided by the JDRF (Junior Diabetes Research Foundation) bike club.
Angry Dave's Bicycles has donated a Marin Argenta Elite road bike that will be raffled off during the party for $5 per ticket. Raffle tickets can be bought by contacting any RevRock Cycling or Mello Velo Cycling member, or on race day.
All proceeds from the raffle and the bike ride go to the Marilyn Fulper Memorial Fund, which works to improve the cycling infrastructure along the Arkansas River Trail by donating money and buying equipment for cyclists' needs. Among other things, the Wampoo Roadeo has funded four bicycle repair stations, donated money toward a trail sweeper for North Little Rock, and annually buys and donates 400 bicycle helmets to Recycle Bikes for Kids based out of Little Rock.
The first year (2009) there were 19 riders. In 2015, there were 373 riders and the event raised more than $6,000.
For more information, contact Charlie Hart, (501) 590-9525, or search Wampoo Roadeo on Facebook.
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ActiveStyle on 07/11/2016