Mountain Biking through fall flora in Northwest Arkansas
Words by Jess Oveson • Art by Abby Belford and Paige Dirksen • October 2023
For many mountain bikers in the northern hemisphere, the end of summer marks a seasonal transition - a season rife with the yin of winding down the long, bright days of summer. And yet, autumn offers its own form of abundance; a time to harvest new sights, sounds, and smells. The Boston Mountains of Northwest Arkansas have been rated a top U.S. destination to see fall foliage, rivaling even the legendary colors of New England. Visitors drive scenic byways through the winding mountain roads while pontoon boats speed around Beaver Lake, meaning tourists can take in the scenery at their leisure.
Paw Paw
Yellowwood
Leatherwood Fern
Christmas Fern
Arkansas Native Tree Woodblock Prints ©️ Paige Dirksen 2023
Artist Note: This series of paintings were based on different bridges that are apart of the Razorback Greenway in NW Arkansas. I challenged myself to only bike to these locations with all my materials in order to experience the nature of the trails and bridges while also taking in the environment that surrounds them. ©️ Abby Belford 2023
We could go on these tours of comfort as well, but we are not that kind of woman. We are not content to be told about the beauty of this place, to see it in pictures or from the comfort and safety of a vehicle. We seek to experience the vibrant colors first hand. To breathe in the crisp, sweet decay of autumn air. We seek to go deeper, to be amongst these colors, gliding confidently through the golds and reds of the historic lands of the Osage. Hardwood trees grow tall, with resilient root systems to anchor them to the earth through all the chaos of the seasons. We indulge in the feeling of the wind whipping against our skin as we race through narrow corridors of trees that work in part to shape the character of this place.
Artist Note: On the campus of the University of Arkansas on Old Main lawn sits dozens of maple trees. These trees turn colors as the weather turns cooler and beg to have a portrait done of them. There is tricky business though when trying to paint a tree where every time you visit it in the span of a couple weeks, it progressively changes colors, and you want to say to the tree “Please stay still!” ©️ Abby Belford 2023
German Cyclist Heinz Stücke once said, “It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels.” With Oklahoma to the west and Missouri due north, NW Arkansas indeed likely feels unknown to many mountain bikers. Yet, as mountain bikers, we are the engines of our own adventure and our curiosity presses us onward, bringing new sensations with each turn of the trail. Like Heinz, our interest is piqued and drives us east. Traveling to Bentonville, AR in the fall is a pilgrimage of sorts. This rugged terrain has been traversed by humans for millennia, including the Caddo, Quapaw, and Osage peoples native to this distinctive region. As fate would have it, by the mid-1990s humans came to understand that the land was uniquely suited to mountain biking.
Tulip Poplar (Arkansas Native Tree) ©️ Paige Dirksen 2023
As we peel off the Razorback Greenway into abundant woods, we find ourselves struck with the beauty of the region’s forests in this season. The state motto “The natural state” is earned, as I feel myself shed the person I am back home during the working week seamlessly, as a snake sheds its skin. Arkansas’ topography is not her only obstacle. The humidity is pervasive, creating freezing temperatures in winter that cut through well-planned layers of clothes. In summer, the heat sits heavily on the land. Buggy and damp, it can be hard for even the most tenacious souls to do much more than sit on a porch and watch the long days slip away. We have waited for this season and the freedom it gives us. The cooler air allows for longer, more ambitious trail days, elusive during the muddy days of spring and oppressive heat of summer. Arkansas shows us her charms in the fall.
“Arkansas is a curious and interesting community... it is probably the most untouched and un-awakened of all American states.”
-John Gunther
The region boasts nearly 568 miles of mountain biking trails and 207 miles of paved multi-use trails. One of the birthplaces of downhill mountain biking, the story here is one of grassroots efforts and community. Groups such as the Trailblazers have come together over the past several decades not only to develop trails, but to bring the community together on bikes, hosting BMX races, DEI events, and family biking initiatives. Make sure to check out GRIT MTB Festival put on by All Bikes Welcome at the end of September, an annual mountain biking festival for femme, Trans, women and non-binary riders serving to foster greater gender and racial diversity in mountain biking.
Artist Note: Using unconventional materials like hot glue, tree bark, tule, leaves and twine, I created a series of prints that was inspired by my love for biking and the trails that intertwine NWA. It takes into accountability the different “feelings” or sights that one would experience while being on the trails. ©️ Abby Belford 2023
Artist Note: Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville, a popular spot for its trails and lookouts, is a perfect place to experience the nature of the area as well as a great backdrop to paint. There I placed myself looking up the mountain in a dried-up creek bed that portrayed these rocking coming from the ground that showed off its different colors of lichen. ©️ Abby Belford 2023
"'Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower,'” said the French philosopher Albert Camus. The oaks, maples, and hickories seem to have put on their Sunday best, showing their colors freely to anyone who stops to look upon them. The northern red oak stands tall, pinnately lobed leaves taking on a strikingly deep red. Point oak turns the colors of sunset, giving way from yellow to orange to red on each leaf as they pour over themselves like cascading fireworks. The aptly named shagbark hickory proudly announces a flurry of gold seen clearly through the woods. The sugar maple wears the crown in a forest of exceptional beauties, the leaves turning golden as sunshine in the late afternoon before giving way to a bright red. Palmated leaves reaching for the skies almost seem to clap for themselves as they dance in the wind, boldly congratulating their own grandeur.
American Holly (Arkansas Native Tree) ©️ Paige Dirksen 2023
I often find myself stopping, awestruck by the color, much like a firework display keeps my attention. I find a kind of rapture here. A chill runs down my spine, the trees of this place moving me the way music does, giving me a shudder of pleasure as I absorb this feast for the eyes.
One distinct figure is lacking in the forests. The Ozark Chinquapin, referred to as the “bread tree” by the Cherokee who resided just to the east in Appalachia, has struggled with a blight brought from overseas. An invasive fungus that burrows deep into the trunks of these trees reduces them to stumps. In 2020, the Ozark Chinquapin Foundation began active restoration of the tree in the region, as it is a key member of the local ecosystem and serves as a consistent source of food for insects, wildlife, and humans.
“Autumn teaches us the beauty of letting go. Growth requires release—it’s what the trees do.”
-ka’ala
As the happy fatigue of a well-enjoyed trip settles on us, I ponder the changing seasons. I take the lessons I’ve learned this autumn from the Ozark Mountains. What can passion and collaboration do for a community? What has been lost, and what can we save? I reflect on what in my own life I have held too tightly. Visiting this new area has reminded me of the richness of experience that mountain biking creates between myself and the natural world, or “the natural state,” I am biking in. I exhale deeply, realizing I’ve been holding my breath for far too long and, like the trees, let go as I speed down the trail.
Wanting to check out MTB in NW Arkansas in a safe, inclusive and fun way? Check out GRIT FEST!
Held annually in the autumn, Grit MTB Festival, "Grit Fest," is a 3-day MTB festival for Trans men and women, cis women, and non-binary riders of all abilities and backgrounds. Grit Fest is the annual fundraiser for All Bikes Welcome, a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission of creating more racial and gender diversity in cycling.
Jess Oveson (she/her)
Jess is a naturalist who has worked in outdoor spaces across the American west for the past 15 years (her favorite ecosystem is the sagebrush steppe). She hopes that through sharing her perspective people will deepen their own connections with the natural world. When she’s not buried in a field guide you can often find her wandering through the mountains, either running, taking photos, or building fairy homes with her two sons.
Abby Belford (she/her)
Abby was born in raised in Northwest Arkansas. She recently graduated with a degree in Art Education with a minor in Art History from the University of Arkansas. If she's not doing something creative, you can find her on her bike, going on walks, or at the park with her dog Murphy.
Abby can be found at https://abbygbelford.wordpress.com/
Paige Dirksen (she/her)
Paige is a printmaker and muralist residing in Bella Vista, AR, where she lives with her husband and two children. She grew up in Iowa and earned a BA in Studio Art/Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa and an MA in Art Therapy Counseling from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Paige can be found at https://www.paigedirksen.com/ and @paigedirksenstudio.