Arkansas High Country Route - Part 1

[@rivarolarosendo]

Lindo Video!!! Saludos desde Ushuaia!!

[@georgesofield9930]

Thanks for sharing. We wrapped up a 2 day ride from OK to Queen Wilhemina Stae Park. I can attest to the steep climbs...and descents😜 I believe we saw you at the park for breakfast just before our depart back to OK. Happy riding.

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

Yes, we remember meeting you all and were the only other bikepackers was saw the entire trip. Hope you all had an excellent adventure!

[@rogervancleave8670]

Nice video! Thanks for sharing.

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

Thanks, much appreciated. Ride on!

[@karlr6810]

Cool video - thanks for sharing, D.

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

Thanks, much appreciated. Ride on!

[@DaveRucci]

I do NOT do well on a bike with dogs pursuing me... 🤬 Cool vid man. Especially liked the drone footage. Do you get your “passby” footage from the drone as well? I need to get more info about the “free” WalMart stops. So far I haven’t had any luck trying to stay overnight, but I haven’t tried many places yet.

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

Thanks Dave, Yeah the dog chasing bikes was a real bummer on this route, sometimes you knew they were coming and then sometimes they would pull the surprise attack out of the bushes. I didn’t use the drone for the “passby” shots, always had to ride back to get the camera. We have probably stayed at over 100 Walmarts over the years and never had an issue, If you have an IPhone they have an app that tells you which ones allow overnight camping, it is called AllStays. If you have Android you can just go to their website and look too: www.allstays.com/Campgrounds/ You can also camp at Lowes and Cracker Barrel but we have not tried those yet.

[@jcjc7783]

Great video! What bikes are you riding?

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

Thanks, much appreciated. We are riding Why Cycles S7 bikes. First time bikepacking with them and so far they are awesome.

[@tonyalewis9053]

What rigs are you using in Arkansas? I live in SW Missouri so hope to ride this route.

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

2020 Why Cycles S7. Why Cycles is now Revel and they discontinued the S7. Similar bike would be the Revel El Jefe. The only downside is they removed the rear rack mounts. Good luck on your adventures and let us know how it goes.

[@hansschotterradler3772]

Looks like a very nice loop. It's good to stay away from highways. Do you think a gravel bike with 700c x 45 tires can handle this?

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

The Arkansas High County route is fantastic and is totally doable on a gravel bike. Choose your gearing wisely because all the climbs are steep! Thanks for watching! Ride on

[@teddgram]

I wanted to do that this year, but rona had different plans. Maybe next year. Did you follow the ACA route? What was the water situation like?

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

Bummer rona ruined your plans, hope you get to ride the route soon, it’s definitely worth it and a challenge with all of the relentless steep climbing. We followed the ACA route for the most part, there was one forced re-route due to a road closure before White Rock mountain and we took a couple of small alternative routes. Water is a little scarce out there, most of the creeks were dry when we were out there in late September. Not sure if you are aware but on the ACA website there is a PDF with listed water sources that will help. The one area we ran into water problems was after Bates, the route has a bunch of ridge riding that has a ridiculously steep climb to get on top, then it’s super slow going along the ridge with no water sources unless you want to filter out of these small nasty ponds they dug up there. We had to bail to Waldron to get water and stayed in motel there. If you need any more info I would be glad to help, we also have an online journal that might help: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/ARKANSAS2020

[@teddgram]

@@PedalPowerAdventures I have the ACA map and I remember it mentioning that water may be scarce in the late summer and fall. If I go, I will have to plan accordingly. Thanks. I look forward to the next video.

[@pingpongballz5998]

My mom lives in Benton, AR!

[@PedalPowerAdventures]

That’s an awesome area! Loved the trails, downtown area, and Crystal Bridges museum.

[@pingpongballz5998]

@@PedalPowerAdventures oh she moved out of that place now for Vegas lol. She loves it out there