Fast fliers on knobby tires: At Arkansas festival, mountain bikers race around hills, rocks, tree trunks

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Fast Fliers Illustration
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Fast Fliers Illustration

EUREKA SPRINGS -- Among the trees, spectators lounge in vivid lawn chairs, coolers packed with refreshment at their elbows, the air thick with anticipation. A sound like clashing rock mixed with cowbell and cheering is heard above them on the hill.

They lean forward. Small exclamations turn to shouts of encouragement. Here comes one.

Fast as he can pedal, feet a blur, alternating between sitting and standing, the bike racer comes speeding down the mountainside.

Just as he reaches what looks like warp speed, he stands to confront a series of quick turns that weave among mature trees. Big, hard trees.

Rather than mashing the brakes, a logical response to impending doom, with elbows locked and arms extended he thrusts one side of his handlebars at the ground and the bike leans sharply, toward the rushing ground; but the rider's body doesn't follow. It hovers, centered above the knobby tires, which grip with maximum traction.

The rider flows expertly through the first turn and rights himself immediately, abruptly whipping the handlebars upright to set up his line for the next turn.

Exhale. Cheer!

Repeat.

A large time was had by all who attended the 19th annual Fat Tire Festival in Eureka Springs, July 14-16. With five different mountain bike events over three days, adrenaline flowed freely. Even nonracers left with their fun-meters maxed out.

Clusters of spectators were scattered along the route throughout the mile of the Downhill course, but the largest group of onlookers planted themselves beyond some orange safety fencing that bordered the landing zone of "The Big Drop!" Exclamation point.

This involved a rock ledge, 10 feet above the ground, with a landing zone about 25 feet downhill.

It was quite a sight to witness each racer launch off the lip of that rock at top speed, setting sail like a majestic eagle and then landing, balanced gracefully on the rear wheel. Immediately upon making contact with the ground they stood out of the saddle and resumed cranking their pedals in their ongoing quest for speed.

Or didn't. At least one bike slipped at the ledge, ejecting its rider Superman-style toward the general vicinity of a large tree trunk.

But no harm -- beyond scrapes and bruises -- was done.

The things we do for fun?

However intense "The Big Drop!" might sound, according to racer Doug Whitby, leaving the ledge was not the scary part. The sketchy approach was more daunting.

Once you're airborne, there is nothing to do but enjoy the ride. But during the approach to the drop, Whitby said, his brain was flooded, collecting data for his big decision, was it a go or no-go, should he or shouldn't he? Of course he did.

Whitby and a friend, Greg Haddon, drove all the way from Dallas just to compete in the Downhill race and "The Big Drop!" There is no event like it closer to their hometown, and with the shuttle service back up the mountain, they said, the thrill was well worth the drive.

Another event, the Super D, also served up a hefty slice of excitement for racers and spectators alike. It basically overlapped the Downhill course but included several extra miles of gravity-fed single track. And it detoured around the ledge drops.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

The Fat Tire Festival has come a long way since 1998, when the city of Eureka Springs approached David Renko, then president of Ozark Off Road Cyclists (OORC), with the idea of developing a mountain bike race in the area. The sport was just picking up in the Natural State then, and city officials liked the idea of being an outdoor activities mecca.

At that time there were no mountain bike trails in the Ozark Mountains surrounding Eureka Springs. Renko and his fellow OORC cyclists mostly rode gravel roads and abandoned logging paths.

The route for the first year's race -- and that's all there was to the fest, a race -- followed the area's only existing trail, a short loop around Lake Leatherwood. Renko registered the race with the then 2-year-old Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series, and it attracted 70 racers.

The next year OORC members built trails that linked the lake loop to some of the more cycling friendly logging roads.

"The event then further morphed when we added the gravity-fed features of a downhill in 2005, and a couple years later the Super D, to give us five events," Renko says.

The festival's fame began to grow, but only among cyclists. Although Lake Leatherwood is only five miles from downtown Eureka Springs, nonbikers were often unaware of its existence. After conferring with city officers, Renko moved the starting line of his grand finale cross-country race into downtown Eureka Springs, directly in front of Basin Park. Eureka! Tourists found it.

The festival was attracting 300 cyclists from eight states each year, and the responsibilities for its management dominated OORC's volunteer workforce. The club no longer had the time for other efforts. Progressive Trail Design took over the helm in 2012.

As a trail building and bike park developer, Progressive exploited the area's rugged terrain to add the sort of exciting technical features that were becoming popular with mountain bikers at other, more famous cycling locales.

But meanwhile, Progressive's business was expanding, with trail building jobs around the state and nation. After the 2015 festival, Nathan "Woody" Woodruff, company founder, decided it was time to hand the torch off to someone else.

One day, as Woodruff and Chris Brosh, co-owner of Phat Tire Bike Shop, were totally bombing some area mountain bike runs together, the subject of the festival came up. Before the end of the ride, a handshake sealed the deal, and Phat Tire Bike Shop assumed management of the festival, with the understanding that the Ozark Off Road Cyclists club would retain ownership.

Although Progressive no longer manages the race, Woodruff has stayed involved, helping to maintain the Lake Leatherwood trail network and each year sending two or three employees to get the course in racing shape. Ozark Off Road Cyclists, the Carroll County branch specifically, supplies the lion's share of day-to-day maintenance of the trails.

LET THE FUN BEGIN

This year's event kicked off on a Friday afternoon for competitors and spectators when the Downhill and Super D courses opened for practice. With multiple runs, racers were able to set up their line over the drops, jumps, table tops, through rock gardens and around fun packed, high banked berms. Upon reaching the bottom they would load their bikes on the bike shop's trailer to be shuttled back up for another downhill.

Nonracers used the practice runs to scope out the best spots for viewing the action.

As the practice period drew to an end, another spectator-friendly competition kicked off on the festival grounds below: the Short Track Race. This course, which circled Lake Leatherwood, was designed for shoulder-to-shoulder racing. Rain-swollen creek crossings made for great photo ops. The banks became a favorite location for spectators.

They didn't forget the kids. Fast Rack, which manufactures bicycle features, and Progressive set up pump tracks that let young pedalers work on their bike handling skills all weekend. There was even more for the kids on the opening day with the Cruiser Costume "Crit" (criterion) Race around the park.

NO NEED FOR SPEED

In a different vein, the "Big Town Ride" was a laid-back group outing, free to anyone who could pedal a mountain bike. It routed cyclists through a labyrinth of in-town single-track, alleys and back streets -- paths only locals know. I've visited Eureka Springs on dozens of occasions over the years and this outing showed me a "Little Switzerland of the Ozarks" I didn't know existed.

Afterward the crowd stopped at Brews for a frosty adult beverage, and I understood why they bill the Big Town Ride as the epitome of the Fat Tire Festival experience.

The day was topped off by a silent auction of assorted really cool items donated by area businesses and craftsmen, with all proceeds going to trail maintenance. As cyclists entered their bids and counterbids, relaxing vibes filled the air from music on the festival stage.

GRANDDADDY GRIND

The final day began bright and early with the event's main competition, the Cross Country Race -- the outing that started it all. From Basin Park, the initial three miles used paved streets, alleyways and city trails before merging onto single-track trail.

The routes (10 to 20 miles, depending on the rider's category) were punishing, with many steep, half-mile climbs. By the time they reached the finish line, racers had cranked out more than 2,500 feet of climbing.

In wet conditions the route's polished rock ledges and knobby roots make for slippery riding, but when dry, the loose and marble-like surface can be equally treacherous. Thanks to scattered showers the evening before, racers encountered both conditions. But all survived with only mild cuts and scrapes on their bodies and punctures and broken spokes on their bikes.

Renko and the Carroll County Search and Rescue unit had the courses covered, staying in communication via short-wave radio.

There was more music and kids cycling as the event slowly wound down and people began to leave.

As for the future Fat Tire Festivals? Brosh says organizers will continue to build on the popular Downhill and Super D courses for racers; but he also will be working to include more for the nonracing part of the mountain bike community.

They began working in that direction this year with the music and the Ozark Beer Co. tent.

He also plans to expand shuttle service. He'd like attendees to park their fuel-combustion machines upon arrival and not touch them again until they depart. Improved shuttle access from the city to the event could also improve attendance by residents.

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Cranking away from Basin Park in downtown Eureka Springs, cross-country racers are able to spread out across the pavement July 16 before reaching the confines of single-track at Lake Leatherwood City Park.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette/BOB ROBINSON

A creek on the Fat Tire Festival’s Short Track Race course throws itself at racer Josh Carroll.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette/BOB ROBINSON

Teens play on Progressive Trail Design’s portable pump track during the 19th annual Fat Tire Festival in Eureka Springs.

Such details aren't thrilling. But at a first-class festival, people may have been drawn by the thrills, but they come back, year after year, for other reasons.

ActiveStyle on 08/14/2017

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