Arkansaw High Country Race Day 6 / Thornburg to Little Rock / 45 miles

 

I woke up, ate some snacks, packed up, put my smelly, wet riding clothes and shoes on, and rolled out of Thornburg in the rain shortly after 6 a.m. The smartest thing I did during the night was to put my phone, charging cord and external battery inside my jacket while I slept in the hopes that my clean, dry clothes and body heat would dry the phone and cord enough to take a charge. It worked, and the phone was more than halfway topped off when I packed it away to start riding again. I picked my way through the mudholes and soft gravel of Tram Road for the first hour. The effect of hard rain on gravel, even in the places it doesn’t turn to mud, is to soften the road and riding a bike over that surface gives one the sensation of a million tiny hands reaching up to briefly grab your tires as you try to pass. What should be an easy 12 or 13 mph becomes a labored 8 or 9. Tram road was one of those sections of the course that turned out to be an object lesson in "be careful what you wish for." So much of the High Country course is extremely hilly, you dream about the relative ease of a flat portion. That flat section will absorb rain and become much softer and muddier than the hilly sections, though, and that soft mud will tax the rider in a different, but no less difficult way.

At Wye, the road benevolently turns into smooth pavement and turns toward Little Rock between Lake Maumelle and the Arkansas River. I was absolutely sapped of energy, my stomach empty, my brain foggy, and my legs leaden as I alternated between riding slowly and practically laying on the aerobars to coast down the frequent downhills. I stopped at Pinnacle Mountain State Park and washed most of the mud off my shoes and bike at a bike repair station in the parking lot.

I was bottoming out, physically and I couldn’t snack enough to pick my energy back up. There was no thought of quitting, but I knew I would probably need to take a long pause on this day. Riding 180 miles to get back on schedule was out of the question for me. Stop in Little Rock or push on another 55 flat and mostly paved miles to Conway? Continuing to Conway would allow me to claw back some of my lost time. 

Entering Little Rock puts one on the beautifully wide, paved, scenic Arkansas River Trail, where Margaret and I would occasionally do leisurely rides[1] when we lived in Arkansas. The River Trail should be the easiest, most pleasant section of an otherwise brutal 1,000-mile course, but this race has, as the young people say, “no chill.” Because of construction adjacent to Big Dam Bridge, I had to carry my bike up to the railroad track, walk along the tracks for ½ to ¾ of a mile, and then carry the bike back down to the trail on the far side of the construction to continue the course. I foolishly chose a steep, briar-covered place to rejoin the trail, though, and paid for it with a hard fall and lots of scratches. Out of breath, filthy, and frustrated by the time I got back on the trail, I decided right then to take the rest of the day in Little Rock to recover, dry out, get a new charger cable for the Wahoo, and eat all I possibly could.  

I erroneously thought I needed a selfie with the Clinton Bridge[2], and thus added an unnecessary 5 miles to the morning’s ride. After I took my picture, I scrolled around on the phone to find a hotel. The cheapest option, a Comfort Inn, was also the closest, just about a half-mile south of the bridge next to the interstate. The route there took me scant feet past the Lost Forty Brewery, one of our favorite places to eat in the entire state. I rolled up to Lost Forty at 10:56 a.m. They opened at 11. Providence was smiling on my decision to stay in Little Rock. Shortly after noon I was able to get into a hotel room and started cleaning, maintaining, charging, and continued eating. After striking out at a couple of nearby gas stations, I eventually rode over to a Walgreens where I was able to score the USB to micro-USB cable I would need. This was one of those stops where I was able to get out of my wet, filthy bike shoes, let them air out a bit, and wear the Teva sandals I usually kept strapped to my dry bag. To roam around in the campsite, motel, or town for a couple of hours in the sandals also gave my feet a break, and my feet held up much, much better than the previous summer when they chafed and blistered, and I didn’t fully understand why.

The dry bag/handlebar arrangement I used took me a couple of days to completely figure out since I had not used this exact kit on such a bumpy, lumpy course. I had my sleep system as well as my down jacket and pants[3] in the 10-liter dry bag. The bag attached to the handlebars with the Revelate[4] harness, a much better system for me than the Salsa cradle I started with a few years ago. I had to really cinch up that middle harness strap, though, to prevent the nightmare scenario of the bag bouncing down and rubbing on the front tire while traversing rough roads. I also learned to pack the bag a little loosely to allow that center strap to sufficiently compress the center of the bag. I laid my sandals on top of each other and snapped the outside harness straps over the heels and toes, cranking those straps down tightly to keep the sandals in place. I think a great part of the fun and challenge of bikepacking is really dialing in your setup and becoming comfortable with your bike and gear. 

---

[1] I feel very strongly that leisurely bike rides are the only kind permissible on trails that are also used by walkers and joggers. If you want to ride faster than about 14 mph on a multi-use trail, you really need to ride somewhere else.

[2] The Clinton Bridge was the start/finish line for the original course.

[3] The down jacket and pants were overkill most of the time since the weather warmed up after the first couple of days. It was great, though, to have them to put on in an overly air-conditioned space after being wet all day.

[4] I’m not sponsored by Revelate, but all my bike bags are made by them. I have found their products to be ingeniously and ruggedly designed, and their customer service is excellent.