Wheels Hot Fayetteville: Northwest Arkansas MTB Championships

The weather perfect. The dirt track perfect. The bike skillz oh...uhhhh. It was a day of riding in the wheel, dodging trees, rocks and stuff breaking. It was a day of story telling, front porch sitting and good food. I haven't done the Devil's Den race in years. Pre-riding the course earlier in the week reminded me of how much fun that trail is and why it's one of my favorites in NWA. For the record I am an okay MTB'er at best. It's fun to mix things up and hang in the MTB community for a change. Hole shot? Nope. My only ambition was to have a good time and ride my own rhythm. I started in the back and finished well...would have finished in the back. I actually started to feel great on the third lap. A combination of the legs coming good and understanding the flow of the course. Mountain biking is so much fun. You are constantly having to focus. Scanning trail and choosing the line you want. At the end of the first lap I thought four laps was too much. At the start of the 4th lap I wanted more. It just ticks away because you get in the zone. At one point on the second lap I realized how much fun I was having. I'm certain I had a huge childish grin on my face. A big thanks to Devil's Den State Park and all the volunteers for hosting this great event. One of the oldest races in the state. It is well run and the course is always ready to rock. I'll be putting it on my calendar next year for sure.