It was another big year for Arkansas and Arkansas Outside. New events like the Arkansas Enduro, Little Rock Gran Fondo and the Village Creek Trail Run plus the return of events like the 3 Bridges Marathon and the Scott-Tucker-Scott Bike Race made 2014 a year to remember. During the year we tried everything from Dragon Boat racing to Cyclocross to racing a train. We enjoyed the rewards of volunteering to manage aid stations at the Big Dam Bridge 100 and the 3 Bridges Marathon.
We watched kids learn to mountain bike at the Big Rock Mountain Bike Festival, start running at the Go! Mile and maintain trails throughout the state. Arkansas grew two new IMBA Epic trails, started repair work on a neglected one and opened other trails throughout the state. We followed James Gaston on his journey toward Leadman status, visited outdoor music festivals and even covered some local politics. We followed rock climbing, paddling, cycling and running and made a lot of new friends.
A recap of the year would be lacking if we did not remember the friends we lost from the Arkansas cycling, paddling and running worlds. Laura Wooldridge, Jon Kennedy and Jacob Wells were gone way too early, but are remembered and celebrated by all who knew them. Our outdoor communities were made better by their presence and their passing showed us how strong our communities and friends are. We will miss them.
Thanks to all those who have contributed articles and those who’ve supported us throughout the year. Also a big thank you to our advertisers: DLT Event Management, Spokes Little Rock, Go! Running, Fayettechill, Bentonville CVB, Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters, Arkansas Super Prestige Series, Motive Bike Service, The Community Bicyclist and Arkansas Cycling and Fitness. As Arkansas Outside begins its fourth year, Lisa and I look forward to more adventures, more friends and more time playing outside.
Here is a sample of the events we covered and participated in during the last year. We published almost 160 articles and took tens of thousands of photos this year, so many great photos and great memories that it would be impossible to choose favorites so I kept the photos to only two events per month (tough, tough choices). Click on the images to see the stories and see more photos:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
We hope you have a great 2015 and we’ll see you outside.
