Arkansas Cycling
Sat 17 October 2026
We decided to register for the Big Sugar Gravel Race in Bentonville, Arkansas, held Oct. 17th this year. Grace has friends who were going to do the 25- and 50-mile routes. We registered for the 25 miles. Since we're road-tripping with our bikes, we decided to extend our trip after the Bentonville event and head down to Hot Springs to visit the National Park.
We started Thursday by driving to Wichita and continued to Bentonville on Friday. We walked over to the event center to pick up our race packet. The best part of this event was the generous swag package, including bike socks and a T-shirt.
Race Day
Over 3000 entries in the 3 events (100, 50, 25). The 25-mile ended up being 31 miles because the course was planned differently. I know events like this are advertised with easy numbers, but 31 miles is 20% over the planned 25.
The course through Bentonville was paved and very nice at about 7 miles. The gravel route was typical gravel, though it had an interesting section that felt more like a single-track walking path connecting parts of the gravel roads.
One complaint: little to no route markings. They expect everyone to use a bike computer, and they posted an updated route the night before, which some riders couldn't download or update on a bike computer - one of the race's fails, IMO.
As we headed back to town (and the paved section), the 100-milers passed us to their finish. This included motorcycles and a helicopter filming/photographing the finishers.
The second issue was that at mile 27-28, Grace's hanger on her derailleur broke. This caused the derailleur to break free and embed in her spokes. I'm amazed she didn't crash. I freed the derailleur, but the bike wouldn't roll, so Grace started carrying it for the last 4 miles. The Race provided no support, SAG, or aid to cyclists with a major mechanical issue. The Good Gravel Bandits are a volunteer group in town that rides with the organized rides and provides free support. After a mile of walking and holding up her rear tire, they found us and helped. The only 'hack' was to fully remove the hanger, break up the chain, and shorten it to make a single-speed bike. They did that; however, it was just a bit too long. The bike jumped up to the next biggest wheel in the first 100m Grace started, and that was so tight (probably shifted on the first bounce) that the pedals could no longer rotate. So, Grace ended up walking into town and to the finish.
Sunday
Grace spent the day calling every bike shop in the area to find one with a hanger for her Liv cycle. Nobody did. We visited the Crystal Bridges Museum.
Monday
No joy in repairing Grace's bike. We rented a gravel bike and cycled the Razorback Greenway. Starting late in the morning (waiting for the bike shop to open and then getting the rental paperwork), we decided to bike MM 35 to 40 (north of the bike shop to the end of the greenway), then bike back south toward Fayetteville to about MM 25, and back to the bike shop.
It was still early enough to turn in the rental that we repeated the 8-10 miles of the North section to make it a better ride day.
TBD: Image.jpg
Tuesday
We drove down to Hot Springs and had a good lunch in Lake Ida on the scenic drive through the state forest.
Wednesday
Hot baths, soaking, and hiking up to the observation tower.
We did the basic hot tub hydrotherapy the hot springs were famous for. We had a whirlpool bathtub filled with hot spring water, then a sit tub and a steam bath. After the steam, we had a hot towel for my rotator cuff soreness and a sheet wrap to relax. Overall, an interesting experience.
Thursday
We drove to Stillwater for a mid-road-trip stop. Grace stopped at the Husky Halfway House to visit this husky rescue that she follows on Facebook. In Stillwater, we met up with my friend Bill Cunningham and had dinner.
Friday, we drove the final stretch back to Fort Collins.
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Greece Sailing and Adventure