in Group Rides, Bike Trips, and Events

Walter and I drove to Arkansas last Thursday and rode Womble, and part of the Eagle Rock loop. We then headed west due to the weather and rode Switchgrass in central Kansas.

We got a shuttle at the hwy 27 fishing village to North Fork Lake and proceeded from there. It was a really good ride, and relatively unremarkable other than we were both exhausted by the time we reached our vehicle.



The next day we decided to try the Eagle Rock Loop, which was several miles SW of Womble. I had read that it was doable on a bike even though it's labeled as a hiking trail and part of it equestrian. This was an epic mistake as due to the numerous river and stream crossings, down trees, and steep grade, I'm not actually sure how much of this trail we were on our bikes. To make matters worse, Walt's shoes fell apart after the second river crossing but we managed to tape the sole back on enough to make it around a shorter version of the loop. I think our time not on forest roads amounted to 10 miles in about 5 hours, including breaks and river fording.





We decided to head to Kansas due to the weather forecast and eventually made it to Switchgrass, listed as an IMBA epic for good reason. This was a really nice trail with plenty of flow, technical features, and views. The only downside was the wind, which must have exceeded 30mph on the exposed areas, and occasional drizzle.



Overall a pretty nice trip. It was good to see spring in full force down there and ride some new trail, even if conditions were rough at times.

Great trip.

Eagle Rock will live forever in my memory. Your roll of electrical tape saved me from trying to walk out on (what would have become) my bloody bare feet.

Womble was as good as ever.

Switchgrass was a treat. Pretty nice trail for anywhere, a pleasant surprise for Kansas.

Walt

Sweet! Thanks for the photos. No Syllamo? I read that the locals are reinvesting in it. It has great potential, but has been neglected.

I would have gladly traded Syllamo for the disaster that was Eagle Rock. It was on the list, just poor planning/bad luck and bad weather.

I would have gladly traded Syllamo for the disaster that was Eagle Rock. It was on the list, just poor planning/bad luck and bad weather.

I'd like to dispute the point that the ride at Eagle Rock was a disaster.

Hindsight is 20/20. We were working with the best available information at that time. It's too bad the locals can't distinguish between a f-ed up horse track/wading pond and a bike trail. I noticed none of them were riding it. Circumstances dealt us a bad hand and we kept our cool, improvised a fix to a difficult problem, and kept moving to the bail out.

In my life, a lot of people have let me down when the going got tough and you didn't.

Objectively the ride was not fun. But we overcame adversity by having smarts and fortitude. It was a real mountain bike adventure and we got back to civilization on our own power. I'm calling it a success.

Walt

I would have gladly traded Syllamo for the disaster that was Eagle Rock. It was on the list, just poor planning/bad luck and bad weather.

I'd like to dispute the point that the ride at Eagle Rock was a disaster.

Hindsight is 20/20. We were working with the best available information at that time. It's too bad the locals can't distinguish between a f-ed up horse track/wading pond and a bike trail. I noticed none of them were riding it. Circumstances dealt us a bad hand and we kept our cool, improvised a fix to a difficult problem, and kept moving to the bail out.

In my life, a lot of people have let me down when the going got tough and you didn't.

Objectively the ride was not fun. But we overcame adversity by having smarts and fortitude. It was a real mountain bike adventure and we got back to civilization on our own power. I'm calling it a success.

Walt

Well put Walt. And I am sure that Gary means that in hindsight you would have chosen differently.
But sometimes it is a matter of perspective. What is a failure can also be looked at as a learning opportunity and an adventure. I think we lose sight of that when we expect perfection every time out. Those if us that have been riding for a few decades now remember when almost every ride was an adventure. Trails were what we made up in our heads and just following a deer track was not out of the question.

Oh yeah: These kids have it too easy today :P