The Back 40 trail system here in Bella Vista will have its grand opening Saturday, when Mayor Peter Christie cuts a ribbon and leads one of three group hikes.
Visitors will be able to meet vendors and trail builders, and mountain bikers will have a few chances to go on group rides.
Schedule of Events
Event Schedule:
The grand opening starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m. The official ribbon cutting will be at 11 a.m.
Guided hikes
• 9 a.m. at the Lake Ann trail head, led by Mike Rush of Rush Running.
• 11 a.m. from the paved trail from the Blowing Springs pavilion near its intersection with Manchester; Mayor Peter Christie will lead this short hike after the ribbon cutting.
• 1 p.m. at the Buckingham Trail head, Erin Rushing of Northwest Arkansas Trailblazers will lead a hike. Because of limited parking, shuttles will be available from Cooper Elementary School at 12:30 and 12:45.
Clinics
• Noon. Basic bike maintenance, which is designed to be an introduction to owning and caring for a bicycle.
• 12:30 p.m. Tire changes, which will teach how to remove and replace tires and tubes.
• 1 p.m. Emergency trail repair, which will teach riders how to avoid a long walk out of the woods.
Group ride
• 2 p.m. Leaving from Blowing Springs Park, lead by Phat Tire and GPP Cycling.
"I think it's going to be bigger than I expected," said Cassi Lapp, communications manager for Bella Vista.
The ribbon-cutting is at 11 a.m., with the event lasting until 2 p.m., she said, aside from the group rides.
"People will have plenty of time to get to the Razorbacks football game," she said.
Parking for the event, she said, will be available at the Blowing Springs trail head, at Cooper Elementary School and the field across from Cooper Elementary School.
The ribbon cutting will be just outside the Blowing Springs pavilion, near the paved trail's intersection with Manchester.
"From that location," she said, "the mayor is going to lead a short hike up the trail."
This hike, she said, is going to be family friendly, with an emphasis on accessibility -- the distance won't be extreme, and families should feel more than welcome to bring their kids.
A hike before the ribbon-cutting begins at 9 a.m. at the Lake Ann trail head, led by Mike Rush, proprietor of Rush Running.
The third, she said, led by Erin Rushing of Northwest Arkansas Trailblazers at 1 p.m., will leave from the Buckingham trail head at Buckingham and Trafalgar.
It's very important, she said, that nobody park in the right of way on Trafalgar. Shuttles will be available for the third hike, she said, because of the limited parking. The shuttle, provided by Ozark Spokes and Floats, will leave from Cooper Elementary School at 12:30 p.m., and again at 12:45. It's first-come first-served, she said, and seats will be limited.
The Police Department will have a presence, she said. There will be an officer in place to direct traffic, as well as a few of the department's bike officers. The department will be offering fingerprinting services during the event.
For the bike enthusiasts, Lapp said, several area bike shops will have a presence, and some will be offering safety checks for bicycles. There will be group rides in the afternoon, and the morning will offer three clinics and a bike rodeo for the kids.
The clinics, she said, will start at noon with a basic bike maintenance course, followed by a tire change clinic at 12:30 p.m. and a discussion of emergency trail-side repairs at 1 p.m.
Additionally, she said, International Mountain Bicycling Association will have a presence, as will the firms that built this trail system.
"It's a really good opportunity for people who have questions about the trails to talk directly with the people who built them."
Lapp said that these trails are good for a variety of activities, not just biking.
Mike Rush, owner of Rush Running and leader of one of the event's group hikes, said they are excellent for hiking and running.
"There's a lot of Ultra runners in Northwest Arkansas," he said, "people that run marathon distances and they're mostly on trails -- we're eating it up."
One of the best things about these trails, he said, is that they have a wide array of access points. He can go running a few miles each day with his older son, or go a much shorter distance with his younger son, and explore a new part of the system each time.
"Saturday we'll hit one spot, then Sunday we'll go out and hit a different one," he said. "It's just so accessible, I think that's gonna be the allure of it for mountain bikers and hikers. I've got some favorite spots that are just gorgeous."
He'll be leading the 9 a.m. hike, he said.
"I'm going to go on a little hike with whoever wants to join me out there," he said. "It's going to be nice and relaxed. We'll go up there and lead however far people want to hike."
Seth Jacobs, shop manager at GPP Cycling, Bella Vista's sole bike shop, said that his shop is taking its support trailer out to the event, and they'll be handling the clinics as well and providing support for some of the afternoon's group rides.
The basic maintenance course at noon, he said, will be like a beginner's guide to owning a bike, while the 12:30 p.m. tire change clinic can teach new bike owners a vital skill. The 1 p.m. course on trail-side fixes, he said, could prevent some serious headaches.
During that final class, Jacobs said, they'll be "showing folks that may be kind of new to cycling some of the basic trail-side fixes. How to avoid walking four miles back to your car."
The group ride, he said, will be staffed by two riders. One rider will lead the ride, while another will be on an electrically-assisted mountain bike carrying a trail-rated trailer full of supplies in case anyone in the ride needs an assist.
"When you're (using) a 400-watt motor," he said, "a 20-pound trailer is nothing."
That assist also lets someone cover a lot of distance without wearing themselves out, he said. Someone might otherwise be too tired to be particularly helpful after half a dozen miles of rough trail, he said.
He's glad to be a part of the opening, he said, and he's looking forward to seeing trails available to everyone.
"We've been waiting for these trails to open since they started building them," he said. "It's great to have a world-class trail system right outside your back door."
General News on 10/12/2016