These routes compliments of my friends at Bikeseller. You can visit them at
www.bikeseller.com.
1. Lake Maumelle Loop - Distance 36 miles
Wye Mountain
This is central Arkansas' signature road ride. Lance Armstrong raced on this course in the early 1990's with the Subaru-Montgomery team (and he didn't even win!) The easiest thing to do is to drive west on Highway 10 (aka Cantrell Road). About 3 miles west of I-430 you'll pass a big Kroger grocery store on your right. Take the next right, following the signs for the Maumelle Campground. Park at the camping site.
Ride west (right) on Pinnacle Valley Road. The road at this point has some nice rolling hills, and you'll pass by lovely Pinnacle Mountain. The road will dead end at Highway 300. Go right on Hwy. 300. Once you pass the sign for Natural Steps, the shoulder on the road disappears, and the cars tend to drive a bit fast, so be careful. Continue following the signs for Hwy 300. After 3 or 4 miles, you'll enter the town of Roland. The traffic starts to mellow out here. Keep following the signs for Hwy 300. About 2 or 3 miles past the sign for Monnie Springs you'll see a pleasant little grocery store on your left if you need a Coke. You'll take a right 2 or so miles later. The traffic all but disappears here, and the scenery really starts to get nice. Take a deep breath and stretch a bit since you'll start climbing Wye Mountain. It's about a 1.5 mile climb, fairly steep. Once you reach the top you'll keep on Hwy 300 for several miles. You'll ride through the steep rolling hills of Little Italy, and eventually come to Wye. Go straight (NOT right). You're now on Hwy 113. You'll see another small grocery store on your left. They hate cyclists (actually, they probably hate everyone), so don't give them your money. You'll tackle some Ardennes-like steep rolling climbs, then you'll go right for the descent. After a couple of miles you'll arrive at Hwy 10. Go left. Even though the scenery of Lake Maumelle and the surrounding Ozark foothills are gorgeous, the traffic on Hwy 10 can be rather ugly. Do yourself a favor and stay on/near the shoulder. Stay on Hwy 10 for 8 miles or so. Go left on Barrett Road and ride for about 4 miles. The road dead-ends at Hwy 300. Go left on 300, ride for about a mile, then go right onto Pinnacle Valley Road. You'll be back at the Maumelle Campground in about 4 miles.
2. Ray Wilson Loop - Distance 9 miles
Who is Ray Wilson? He's one of Arkansas' bike racing legends. He's raced for Team USA at UCI World Cup mountain bike races, he's lost teeth NHL-like in USCF National Championship road race field sprints. He's also a supremely nice guy and one hell of a carpenter. How did this loop get named after him? All I remember is that my old friend Zack and I used to do intervals on this ride all the time in high school. I don't know if we named the loop after Ray, but the quickest way to figure out whether the person you're riding with is certified Old School is whether they know this ride. Done in multiple loops, this is a great workout-type ride, and not necessarily the best for sight-seeing. The best thing to do is to start at the Rebsamen Insurance building (it has the time & temp reading on the roof) across the street from the huge Alltel HQ on Riverfront Drive. Go west for about 3 miles on Riverfront Dr. You'll pass by Rebsamen golf course and get one heck of a view of the majestic Arkansas River. Go left up Overlook Drive. It's about a one mile climb, and it hurts. You'll have a minute or two to recover, then you come to a stop sign at Overlook and Rockwood. Go down Rockwood until you come to the stop at Pine Valley. Go right on Pine Valley and stay on Pine Valley. The road has one heck of a descent and clmb. It twists and turns quite a bit, but stay on it. Eventually you'll hit Kavanaugh Blvd. Kavanaugh has a bit of traffic, so be careful. You'll cross over Cantrell road, go down a fun descent, then see Mount St. Mary's high school on your left. Bear left as you pass the school to remain on Kavanaugh. Go about another mile. You'll pass the bikeseller.com shop on your right. Take the next left on Cedar Hill Road. Go one block, take another left to head down the tricky Cedar Hill descent. Cross over Cantrell again, and you'll soon see the Rebsamen Insurance Bldg again. Do this loop 4 or 5 times and you'll have earned yourself the right to a Buffalo Grill cheeseburger and a beer.
If your preference is for an easier ride, start the ride the same way, but rather than going left up Overlook, take a left onto the Jimmerson Creek bike path just past Overlook. A bike-only path will then take you to a bike-only road alongside the river. Take the road until you hit the boat dock. From there you can either turn around, or you can go up the challenging River Mountain Road.
3. Camp Robinson Loop - Distance 30 miles
Fort Roots
Camp is best known as Arkansas' premier urban mountain biking spot, but it also has enough paved loops for hours of road riding. For those of you who don't know Camp Robinson, it's an Army National Guard base in North Little Rock. It's super-easy to get to by car - simply go north at the Burns Park exit off of I-40. The best road rides incorporating Camp, though, start in Little Rock.
Your best bet is to start at the bikeseller.com parking lot. Go east on Kavanaugh Blvd toward downtown. You'll hit a traffic light at Kavanaugh & Markham. Go straight onto Markham. Ride through downtown until you see the signs for the Main Street Bridge. Proceed north on the bridge, and go left at the traffic light at the end of the bridge. You'll go through another light and come to a stop sign next to a Hilton Hotel. Go right onto Riverfront Drive. Proceed about .5 miles, and take a left just before Riverfront Drive veers to the right. This puts you on Riverview Road. You'll follow the river, passing random sights such as the chain-smoking, chess-playing ex-junkies at a rehab hospital to your right, a propane-filling station, then a pasture with beautiful horses. After all of this, you'll see a city park on your left. Just before this park appears a road opens up on the right. Go right there. You'll start climbing. You'll hit a stop sign. Go left there. You'll begin climbing the infamous Col du Fort Roots. It has at least 3 or 4 switchbacks, and if you're in shape the grade is just easy enough to tempt you to climb it in your big ring. Once you pass the entry gates for Fort Roots, go right (or you can go straight to see a spectacular view of Little Rock tracing the banks of the Arkansas River).
At this point, you're riding through the Fort Roots VA Hospital. Once you pass the golf course clubhouse on your right, go left on 1st St. to climb the hill alongside Pulaski Vo-Tech. Go right onto Scenic Dr, proceed about .5 mile and take a left onto Valley View Dr. This descent is VERY STEEP with a hard 90 degree left turn at the bottom. You'll go under I-40, you'll wonder whether you've just passed beneath any down-and-out truckers trafficking large quantities of drugs. You'll immediately come to a stop sign at 35th St. Go right, then left onto Crutcher St. Then go left onto MacArthur St. This is a fairly busy road, but it has a nice shoulder. Proceed until you come to the traffic light at Military Drive. Go right, and you'll soon come to the hill that takes you up into Camp. Once you get to the top, go straight onto 7th St.
Once you're in Camp, you're fairly free to explore. There are several good 5 and 6 mile loops. Combine one or two of these loops, then ride back to the shop, and you've got yourself a top-notch two hour urban ride. And if you're feeling adventurous, you can always hit some of the nice dirt roads in Camp and really get yourself on a seriously long ride.
4. Tucker Prison Loop - Distance 70 miles
Keo
Actually, you never reach the property of one of Arkansas' finest maximum security prisons. Despite this fact, this ride is one of the best you'll ever find. The traffic? Non-existent. The terrain? Outrageously flat, with Belgian-like winds screaming across endless wheat and soybean and rice fields making or breaking your day. The road conditions are one notch improved over Napoleonic-era French cobbles. This is a ride for the hard men. It is a glorious, glorious ride.
Start by driving out to the Terry Lock & Dam. You get there by making your way to I-440 (the airport highway), then taking exit #7 for England. At the end of the exit, go right. Go about 1-2 miles, and you'll see a sign for "Blue Heron Estates" across the street from a burnt-out, abandoned gas station. Go right here. This is Colonel Maynard Road. Stay on this road for about 4-5 miles. At the fork, go right on the concrete road that leads you to the Terry Lock & Dam. Park here.
Start the ride by exiting the dam property. Take the near-180 degree right hand turn out. The roads are serpentine and very Euro. Go about 4 miles, then go right on John Branch road. When you hit Highway 161, go right. After several miles, follow the signs for 161 and take the hard left toward England. Several miles later you'll arrive in England. At the hard right entering England you'll see a building called "Rick's Fish House". Do NOT follow 161 by going left here. Continue straight. This road quickly ends. Go left. Pass the small grocery store on your right, then take the next right onto Hwy 256.
Stay on Hwy 256 for several miles. A mile or two after you pass the Jefferson County line, go left onto Ferda Road. This road is intensely Euro. Big potholes can swallow you, mean dogs might chase you. Stay on Ferda for 3 or 4 miles. You'll come to Hwy 15. Go right on Hwy 15, ride for about a mile or so. You'll see signs for Tucker Prison. Go right onto Richmond Core Rd. After 6 or 7 miles, you'll hit Hwy 256. Go right onto Hwy 256. Ride 'til you hit England and backtrack your way home.
5. Petit Jean Mountain - 36 miles
This is the course of central Arkansas' best road race every year. It starts at Petit Jean State Park, about an hour to the west of Little Rock. Drive there by going west on I-40 from Little Rock. Take Exit #108, go south onto Hwy 9. Go west on Hwy 154, and take it all the way up the mountain, then a few extra miles to the Petit Jean Visitor's Center. Park here.
Ride away in the direction you came. Descend the mountain, head east on Hwy 154. When you get back to Hwy 9, go right (away from I-40). This is the only road where traffic is a bit busy, so be careful Go about 5 miles then go right on Hwy 10. Stay on Hwy 10 for about 7 miles. Things are flat throughout all of this - but soon enough they get ugly and you'll hear the delirious voice of Phil Liggett urging you on.
Go right on Hwy 324. Climb two medium length, very steep bergs. Then go right on Hwy 155. At the top of the sorta-long, sorta-not-steep climb, pull into the parking lot and check out the impressive view of the valley below. There was a rather dramatic forest fire down there in the late summer of 2000. Go right on Hwy 155, cope with the rolling hills for about 3 miles, then you'll be back at your car. Haven't had enough? Do the loop in reverse to make it a 72 mile ride total.
6. Buzzard Mountain - 45 miles
The Arkansas River
West Little Rock is a bike riding nightmare. The urban planning is catastrophic by design. The drivers are inconsiderate and inattentive. Still, you've gotta venture out there from time to time to make sure it's still as bad as it was last time you rode out there. Start at the Rebsamen Insurance building on Riverfront Drive. Go west for about 3 miles on Riverfront Dr. You'll pass by Rebsamen golf course and get one heck of a view of the majestic Arkansas River. Go left onto the bike path just past Overlook Drive. Continue west, then go left and climb up the formidable River Mountain Drive. You'll soon come to a traffic light on Cantrell Road (Hwy 10). Go right here. The traffic is terrible, but you'll be going downhill the whole time on 10. Keep it pegged at 30 mph and you'll do okay. About 3 miles down you'll pass a big Kroger grocery store on your right. Take the next right, following the signs for the Maumelle Campground. Park at the camping site. Ride west (right) on Pinnacle Valley Road. The road at this point has some nice rolling hills, and you'll pass by lovely Pinnacle Mountain. The road will dead end at Highway 300. Go left on Hwy. 300. You'll go up and over a hill. After about a mile or two, go right onto Barrett Road. Take Barrett 3 or 4 miles until it ends. Go right on Hwy 10. Cars drive very fast here. Please be careful. Go about 400 meters, then take the left onto Garrison Road. This is the best part of the ride. Stay on Garrison for several miles. That 30-second long stretch in your 39x23? That was Buzzard Mountain. More bark than bike for sure. Garrison dead-ends at Ferndale Cutoff. Go left. After several miles, you'll end up at Hwy 10. Go left on 10. After a mile or so, go right onto Barrett road. Backtrack for several miles. You'll eventually end up back at Hwy 10. Go right, then go left immediately before the Harvest Foods on your left. Proceed less than a mile. Go left on Hinson Road. Less than one mile down Hinson, take a left onto Pleasant Forest Road. Climb the painfully long hill, then descend. At the stop sign go right. Immediately go left onto Rodney Parham Road. At the big intersection with Cantrell Road, go straight. Proceed 5 miles to your car.
7. Steel Bridge Loop - 45 miles
This is a darn nice loop that takes you further south and west than most people ordinarily ride. Your best bet is to drive out to the intersection of Kanis Road and Ferndale Cutoff and park at the church. Getting there is rather easy - take Hwy 10 (Cantrell Road) west out of Little Rock. You'll pass Joe T. Robinson High School on your left, and Hwy 10 then shrinks from 4 lanes to 2 lanes. A mile or two later, Ferndale Cutoff appears on the left. Go left here, and drive about 5 or so miles to the intersection.
Begin by riding west on Kanis Road. This takes you through Paron. Most of the folks who drive out here are considerate. For some reason unknown to us, though, you will run into slightly higher numbers of jackass redneck drivers here. Be aware. Take Kanis all the way 'til it ends at Hwy 9. Go left (south) on 9. You'll climb up a tough false flat for about 2 miles. Then go left on Hwy 298.
Hwy 298 has some excellent rolling hills. You'll unknowningly enter the town of Bland, and have to climb up a brief, super-steep berg. Almost immediately after this climb (you'll know it when you're on it), you'll turn left onto Steel Bridge Road. Eventually you'll come to a deceptive fork in the road at Steel Bridge Road and Brazil Road. Pay attention and make sure to go left to remain on Steel Bridge!! You'll soon come to Congo Ferndale Road. Go left on Congo Ferndale, ride several miles, and you'll be back at your car.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.bikeseller.com
2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. #101
Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
Phone: (501) 663-8796
Email:
sales@bikeseller.com
Linear Mode
