Bentonville serves as the new Home of the U.S National Mountain Bike Team for good reason.

By Emma Dannenfelser

In December 2022, United States of America Cycling, the  national governing body for bicycle racing across the U.S, announced that Bentonville would be replacing Colorado Springs as the official “Home of the U.S National Mountain Bike  Team.”  

While this announcement may come as a shock to many, those familiar with Northwest Arkansas and the way mountain  biking has become interwoven with work, play and community  service, it is no surprise. 

The blossoming of the mountain bike scene over the last few decades is nothing new to Northwest Arkansas, said Ozark Off Road Cyclist club member HB Fink. Fink, a Fayetteville native,  began mountain biking in the ‘80s when he was living in Fort Smith and the only real accessible trails for biking were located  at Devil’s Den State Park, nearly an hour away.  

Many times, biking trails would be difficult to distinguish from hiking trails, often resulting in a “Hike-A-Bike” situation, meaning the rider must resort to carrying their bike on their shoulders, Fink said with a chuckle. 

The transformation into what the mountain biking scene looks like today can be largely credited to one man, Tim Scott, Fink  explained. 

Scott, working at Devil’s Den State Park, began the mountain-biking crusade in September 1989 when he brought, probably, the first ever  mountain biking festival and race in Arkansas  to the park. Local bike shops helped host the  event and around 100 people joined in the  action, Scott added. 

In 1997, the Ozark Off-Road Cyclist Club  (OORC) was formed, unifying like-minded  cyclists, racers and bike-shop owners. The club’s main goals include building, preserving and maintaining the majority of bike trails  throughout the state, additionally serving  as advocates for fellow off-road cycling enthusiasts, Rob Reno, the current trails  coordinator for the OORC, said. 

The club has more than 300 members  and hosts cycling events across Northwest Arkansas, such as their annual Upper Buffalo Headwaters Challenge. The event, which covered two days, was at one time the largest group mountain bike ride in the state, with 200 to 300 riders embarking on  the challenge, Fink said. This year, the race  was attended by riders from sixteen different  states, Reno added. 

However, what makes up a sizable aspect of not just the OORC, but also the Northwest Arkansas biking community as a whole, is  dedication to serving the community and  giving back. Volunteers maintain, improve and patrol trails, keeping them safe and clear for Northwest Arkansas residents and visitors  from out of town alike.  

Recently, the OORC has begun partnering with trail running, hiking and other outdoor recreation clubs to maintain the trails that  each group uses for their individual sports,  Fink said. 

“In the past, 99.9% of trail maintenance and building was done by mountain bikers,” Reno  said. “But trail runners and hikers are actually some of the trail’s biggest users. So, now we have the trail running groups coming out,  and the Northwest Arkansas branch of the Trail Sister’s, an all-female hiking club, which  is great to have more people helping with the  work.” 

The biking community also emphasizes  supporting the next generation of mountain bikers in the area. The organization Pedal It  Forward works with community members to refurbish and repair used bikes that are then  donated to children and adults in need of  transportation, or just the freedom that a bike  can offer, Executive Director, Kenny Williams,  said. According to the Pedal It Forward  website, since 2014 the organization has  donated over 6,500 bikes to those in need.  

“We just believe that a bike is kind of a simple thing but it provides a lot of freedom and affordable outdoor time to a kid and can really be a positive influence in their life,” Williams said. “We never know exactly what a bike can do for a kid, but there’s a good chance that it could be something that  significantly changes the quality of their  childhood.” 

Reno said, “Access is the number one thing that sets Northwest Arkansas apart. You can’t beat it here.”

Today, Northwest Arkansas is exemplary in the mountain biking community for  numerous reasons, but the most unique aspect is the region’s unmatched accessibility to safe, well-maintained, and innovative trails.  

“Access is the number one thing that sets Northwest Arkansas  apart. You can’t beat it here,” Reno said. “I can just open my  garage, get on my bike and be on the trails in five minutes. In Bentonville, you just have to leave the downtown area and you’ll hit the trails. With the new Fayetteville Traverse  being built, you’ll be able to bike a circle around the entire  Fayetteville area.” 

Northwest Arkansas’ innovation and passionate biking community is on full display with developments like the world’s first ever bikeable building, a community-hub called Ledger, in downtown Bentonville that will hold retail spaces, offices and bookable event space.  

According to the Walton Family Foundation, Northwest Arkansas has 484 total miles of trails, comprising 322 miles of “natural surface” trails and 162 miles of “multi-use paths.”  

While Arkansas may lack the breath-taking scenery and rugged mountains that other popular outdoor recreation destinations, such as Utah or Colorado, its proximity to numerous trail heads and its community’s dedication to maintaining those trails is what earned it the title of “mountain biking capital of the world.” 

Accessibility is also a factor in making mountain biking a more inclusive activity for all men, women and children alike. Programs like Trailblazers strive to advocate for more, and safer, Greenway systems across Northwest Arkansas in order to better serve minority and low-income families, Ciara Logan, a project manager at Trailblazers, explained. Biking can not only serve as a hobby, but also as a form of transportation to work and other necessities. 

“One of the biggest reasons we do so much advocacy for more Greenway trails is because we want every single family,  especially in low-income areas, to be able to leave their house, hop on a Greenway and ride to school, or work or the grocery  store, and not worry about having a car,” Logan said.

Trailblazers also creates inclusivity to the biking community by offering adult “First-Ride” bike riding classes. The class teaches adults who have never  been on a bike how to ride and currently has a waitlist due to its high popularity, Logan said. 

Trailblazers also creates inclusivity to the biking community by offering adult “First-Ride” bike riding classes. The class teaches adults who have never been on a bike how to ride and currently has a waitlist due to its high popularity, Logan said.

Fayetteville as a whole has a steadfast dedication to community and service, the biking community found within Northwest Arkansas is no different. Club members, park employees and community organization leasers are striving to not only create a biking scene that is competitive with the best biking trails in the world, but also a place that is constantly innovating more ways to be inclusive throughout the community.