OK, this is kind of complicated. I rode to Ozark, Arkansas today (88.8 miles), but we’re still in Bentonville. We wanted to make some forward progress, but we also have another event in the Bentonville area tomorrow. It’s a Diabetes Fair at Walmart #1 in Rogers, Arkansas which is just down the street from where we’re staying in Bentonville.

So, I decided to ride today and Pat would come pick me up and we’d drive back to Bentonville to stay tonight. Tomorrow, after the Diabetes Fair, we’ll drive back to Ozark. We might end up staying in Ozark if it rains like they say it will or we might try to get 30 or so miles in if it’s not.

My parents have been visiting us while we’ve been staying in Bentonville. Today, after seeing my start my ride today, my parents headed back to Minnesota. It sure was nice to see them.

I was having difficulty finding a safe cycling route out of the Bentonville/Springdale/Fayetteville area, so I sent a few emails to some local clubs. I got a call back this morning from Tim Ray of the Fayetteville Wheelman/Team Tyson. Not only did Tim give me directions from Bentonville to Fayetteville, he escorted me through Fayetteville until I was safely on my way towards Ozark, Arkansas. He was a fabulous ambassador for his team, his town, and Arkansas cycling. Oh yes, he also helped me fix the flat that I had just outside of Fayetteville. I couldn’t have asked for a better guide through the busy streets of Fayetteville.

After Tim turned back, I was on my own on highway 16 to Brashears, Arkansas and then highway 23 through the Ozark National Forest. This 19-mile section of highway 23 through the Ozark National Forst is also known as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway and it was incredibly scenic. It was very steep in a couple of places too. I wish I had a picture or two from my ride today to share with you all, but it really wouldn’t have done it justice. Under sunny skies, temperatures got up to around 70 degrees today, but there was a beautiful canopy of trees along this route that kept me in cool shade most of the way. As I was cycling, I could hear animals (I assume deer) in the forest being startled as I passed by silently.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 27th, 2006 at 7:23 pm and is filed under The Dream Tour, Bicycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.