Riding A Bike On The Arkansas River Trial

Bobby's Bike Hike Little Rock 

After three days of seminars my husband thought it would be a nice treat to take me for an afternoon bike ride.  I was all up for a little exercise, fresh air, and soaking up some sunshine.

Our adventure started at Bobby's Bike Hike where their friendly staff helped us chart a course with a map of the route, determine how long we thought we wanted to ride and fit us for a bike.

Map of the Arkansas River Trail

We were then introduced to Bruce (a girl's bike) and Daisy (a guy's bike). Water was purchased. I took five minutes going back and forth trying to decide if I wanted to use a helmet.  My husband was good with his baseball cap. I decided on having the wind in my hair since we would mostly be on the trail. Then we were off on our ride along the Arkansas River Trail.

Shortly after starting our ride we crossed this really cool bridge with sweeping views.  My picture is a little off tilt because I was adjusting to taking pictures while straddling a bike.

Views from the bridge on a beautiful blue sky day.

Along the way we enjoyed beautiful views of the river and encountered all types of wild life including cranes, squirrels and a beaver who was trying to cross the path and was very busy at his work.  He was crossing again on the way back.  We laughed that it was going to be a really big job for him to dam up that river.  I did notice a difference in the color of things we would encounter in Arkansas vs North Carolina.  The squirrels and the rocks tended to have more of a red shade here and at home they are more of a grey shade..

This was such a nice little adventure.  I was surprised how quickly I adapted to a bike after all these years.  Changing gears seems to go smoother on newer bikes.  I think two hours was a good start for us. The hardest part of the whole ride was getting back over that first bridge but I built up some speed, geared down a little, and kept peddling.  Ok, I almost made it to the top before I had to stop. All in all it was a lot of fun. I think this experience will have me checking out bike riding locations on future trips. 

Traveling and planning out ever moment sometimes leaves you tired and overwhelmed so on your next trip think about doing something a little unexpected or just something that has you slow down, breath deep,and just enjoy the beauty of the day.   -  Marianne