Springtime in the Timberlands

For the second year in a row, on May 10th, a little mountain bike race in an unlikely place will start off the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series. Most of the races in the series have taken place in the Ozark or Ouachita Mountains or Arkansas River Valley. The Timberlands Mountain Bike Race takes place right on the geological border between the Timberlands of southern Arkansas and the Delta of the eastern part of the state. An area of rolling hills bordering  largest bayou in the United States, Bayou Bartholomew.

The race course lies completely within Cane Creek State Park just outside of Star City, about 30 minutes south of Pine Bluff. It’s a relatively short drive from Little Rock but totally different terrain than most of the trails of central Arkansas. Last year a section of the course had been completed just the week before the race and then it rained, and rained, right up until race day leaving the new parts wet, muddy and slick. With a year of age on the newer sections of the trails, the park is hoping for better course conditions this year.

This year’s race director, Seth Boone explained the park efforts to improve the course, “We have done (or soon will do) work on the new section, including new temporary bridges to cross the streams, and we are having everyone with a service project going out to tamp down and try to get the ground as solid as possible. Boy Scout Troop 930 out of Star City has been out helping keep the trail in good shape.”

Also different for 2014, all registration will be onsite due to some issues with state accounting, organizers hope to have online registration back for 2015. Questions about the race should be directed to Seth Boone at seth.boone@arkansas.gov.

The course is 8 miles long on the park’s trail system. It will be marked with pink arrows. The trails are permanently blazed with red, white, and yellow blazes.

Race photos from 2013 Timberlands Mountain Bike Race.