1,000-mile bicycle race marks trail map debut

The Adventure Cycling Association will publish in May its much anticipated Arkansas High Country Mountain Bike Route.

To celebrate the release of the nonprofit’s deeply researched route map, Chuck Campbell of Russellville and (so far) 23 other cyclists are staging a 1,000-mile Arkansas High Country Race, beginning June 8 in downtown Little Rock.

Developed using a $100,000 grant from the Arkansas Parks and Recreation Foundation, Adventure Cycling’s bike touring map — with an app — will spotlight about 1,100 miles of established backroad/ gravel cycling in the state.

“They are cartographers,” says Campbell, the environmental sciences teacher at Russellville High School who got Adventure Cycling interested in mapping the route.

The race will simply take advantage of the new map. There’s no fee to enter, and no event insurance. This will be a self-supported, ultra-biking event. Advice posted on the event Facebook page conveys: “‘SelfSupported’ means that the rider is completing this course solo. No sag van. No food/gear/water caches. No calling a buddy to bring a pizza and beer.”

Campbell is looking for sponsors. The field is limited to 50 racers, who will demonstrate their progress via Trackleaders.com GPS units, which they will supply. The race will end whenever racers get back to Little Rock. He thinks the fastest will take six to eight days.

Adventure Cycling’s waterproof maps locate bike shops, sources for food and water and overnight accommodations. Digital data will be available, too, as well as an app that can be uploaded to a smartphone or GPS device. The organization has mapped more than 46,000 miles of cycling routes across North America, with turn-by-turn directions. See bicycleadventures.com.

More information about the race is at facebook.com/ ArHCrace. The email is arhcrace@gmail.com.