Ohio Gravel Grinders - Recap: Big Sugar Gravel Race and Bentonville, Arkansas Trails

Big Sugar Gravel Race is a gravel event in Bentonville AR held this year on October 22. It is also the final race event in the new Lifetime Grand Prix Gravel Series. There are two routes, The Big Sugar at 100 miles and 6300 feet of elevation and the 50 miler Little Sugar with 3500 feet of elevation. 1000 sign up for Big Sugar and 500 for Little Sugar. As this was my first year and I planned to spend additional time in Bentonville I signed up for the Little Sugar.

I didn’t only come for the gravel race. A few years ago at the Miami Valley Bike Summit a representative from Bentonville, AR was the speaker and shared the background and progress of their extensive mountain bike system and paved bike trails in the area. I was intrigued by the town and fascinated by the various types of trail systems and quickly added riding in Bentonville to my bucket list of riding destinations. If you mountain bike no doubt you have heard of Bentonville as they bill themselves as the “mountain bike capital of the world”. So this trip was twofold ride Little Sugar and experience all that Bentonville Arkansas had to offer cyclists. The town did not disappoint!

I arrived to our BNB in Bella Vista, Arkansas on Thursday as a I had a friend, Allison who was joining me, though not riding the gravel event. Bella Vista is 20 minutes from Bentonville and there is a bike trail that connects the two cities (though was blocked for construction during my stay). We settled in and then on Friday we drove to Bentonville to partake in the expo and the “shakeout rides”. There were 4 rides scheduled Friday open to all. We chose to do the ice cream ride with Marley Blonsky (All Bodies on Bikes) sponsored by Shimano at 5 miles and then the 20-mile Pirelli Shake Out ride which started an hour later. The ice cream ride was delayed so we explored the town by bike and ended up doing a couple miles on a mountain bike trail. The mountain bike trails are easily accessible from multiple points in town. A little before 1 pm we headed over to the Pirelli ride where we found lots of the elite cyclists which made it a faster shake out ride than we planned. Luckily it was an out and back, so we cut it short with 12 miles total. The day was hot, and we stopped about 3 miles from the end to cool down as I was feeling a little dehydrated (temps in upper 80s). Just as we restarted the elite riders were returning and we ended up riding and chatting with one of the woman riders in the Grand Prix series, Hannah Shell for the final miles.

Saturday morning came much too early, and I headed to Bentonville where I met up with a friends from Major Taylor Cycling Club of Kansas. I joined them last year for the Kansas Unbound Gravel Race and it was nice to see them again. We watched the 100 milers set off. Then it was our turn. The 50-miler mass start went off with a bang. My goal was to ride steady and not get pulled into going out at a faster pace by the groups. We quickly left pavement and the fun began! The gravel was rough in many areas with deep loose gravel as well as lesser sections of hardpacked gravel/dirt roads. I had recently put 40mm tires on my wheels and they handled everything well. The climbs were exhausting but the descents were glorious. About 6 miles from the start a bridge was out and we had to walk our bikes. This was my only walking of the day.

On the 50-mile route there is one check point/rest stop at mile 23. What fun to be welcomed in by the volunteers, bike repair, ample water and great food; they were even grilling! I stuck to my pre-made PB&J sandwich and refilled my bottles; talked briefly with a few friends and hopped back on the bike. Immediately leaving the stop; however, there was a crazy steep hill on gravel that was not for the faint at heart. Whew! I was glad I hadn’t stayed long at the rest stop. Then came the smoothest gravel of the day, before heading back into forested areas with chunky rocks and small rollers. Temps were in the low 60s at the start and upper 70s at the end. All was well but the winds eventually kicked up to 20+ mph and were relentless on the return. I was happy to see a few friends later and ride with for a few miles, but I kept to my strategy and rode my ride. While most of the big climbs are in the first 35 miles and on gravel; the two final climbs into town are both on pavement. With the wind and the steep climb at mile 49.5 my legs were not happy but seeing the photographer gave me a last bit of energy, put a smile on my face and kept me pedaling. We rode beside the busy RazorBack trail for a mile or two with a gradual ascent before making the turn into the chute for the finish. I was glad to be out of the wind and see the cheering crowd.

Overall, I had a blast as the Ozarks did not disappoint! The ride is extremely well supported, the scenery is beautiful and I enjoyed the diverse gravel roads.

The next day we pulled out the mountain bikes and headed to Slaughter Pen Mountain Bike Trails in Bentonville. What awesome trails! Over 40 miles of single track and they are continuously adding more. Even for a beginner mountain biker like myself there were numerous trails to ride and enjoy. We ended up riding some of the beginner and intermediate trails in each of the three phases of Slaughter Pen. Great to see so many folks out on the trails including families. And the paved Razorback trail and the beginner All-American mountain bike trail were both awesome to ride on to connect to different levels of trails. Although we had mountain bikes several of the trails would be fine on gravel bikes.

The following day was a wet one. Instead of riding we decided to hike another trail system, this one in Bella Vista. We hiked a portion of the 21-mile Back 40 loop. We were pleasantly surprised to find the occasional white cooler containing bottles of water left by “trail angels”. We enjoyed the 6 mile hike in light rain and vowed to come back to spend a day riding the loop trail in the future.

Allison left the following day and I recuperated from all the fun. The final day I headed to Bentonville to explore more of the town and the Razorback trail for a relaxing 40 mile ride. This paved bike path connects Bella Vista to Fayetteville and towns between. Its about 38 miles long. And of course, it has numerous connections with the mountain bike trails. Bentonville truly has something for all and Big Sugar Gravel is an excellent event. Can’t wait to head back for more gravel and mountain biking!