The Big Peach Ride + Run Podcast is hosted by Big Peach Running Co. Director of Marketing, Dave “D2” Martinez. “D2” took on his first mountain bike race in decades, the Little Sugar Mountain Bike 50k, and shared his experience and thoughts on the world’s mountain bike capital, Bentonville, Arkansas.
Hey Friends!
I had an incredible time in Bentonville, Arkansas! Can you believe they build 2-3 miles of bike trails weekly? That adds up to over 100 miles each year, and I was lucky enough to race through almost 32 miles and explore more of those trails on my own. Bentonville is located in Northwest Arkansas and is the home of Walmart. The Walton family is credited for the growth of this city and the abundance of bike trails in the area.
Early in the year, I signed up to race the 50k option, not really knowing what to expect. It was my intention to train on my mountain bike, but that never happened. I actually never even rode my mountain bike until the day before the race with a local group. Without knowing the trails or what to expect, my goal was to finish the race and not crash. I met at least one of those goals. Actually, I didn’t really crash. There were a couple of times when I unclipped from my bike, my footing slipped, and I took a small tumble. I did scrape up my knee but no major damage which was the primary goal. Little Sugar Mountain Bike Race had 3 distances and I chose the middle since I was riding the 100+ mile gravel race the following weekend. I couldn’t imagine riding the 100k option as I learned later it was much more technical than the option I chose.
If you’re a mountain biker, you need to visit Bentonville, AK. Put it on your bucket list, and watch YouTube videos. There are plenty of them. From Atlanta, it’s quite a drive. Google Maps stated just under 11 hours, but you can expect a drive time closer to 12 hours if you stop for gas and food.
Lifetime Events puts on great events, and this was no exception. Whether you’re going to race hard or do as I did and finish, you should consider signing up for this race. For the full race recap, listen to the podcast.
