Tikes, Trikes, and Trails second ’23 event set Saturday at Entergy Park
Tikes, Trikes, and Trails is hosting its second biking event this year on Saturday at Entergy Park, 530 Lake Park Drive.
The event starts at 10 a.m. with about an hour and a half of ride time, wrapping up with a prize drawing at noon for a free bike and helmet.
Tikes, Trikes, and Trails is a biking event meant to encourage children and families to live more active lifestyles and take advantage of the city’s parks and trails by introducing them to beginner-friendly biking tips and trails.
Hannah Rice, Hot Springs trails coordinator, said her predecessor, Ken Freeman, “really believed in getting kids out, getting them involved, letting them kind of experience new outdoor activities. And so he really started Tikes, Trikes, and Trails in the park because of the natural surface trails at Entergy Park … but Ken really saw the opportunity for Entergy Park to be like a beginner skills course for natural surface mountain biking.”
This is the first year Parks and Trails has hosted two Tikes, Trikes, and Trails events. The first event was held in March and had around 30 participants. The fall ride is expected to have just as many, if not more, Rice says.
The event originally started as a way to introduce children to biking, but she said its audience is expanding past kids.
“Since spring, we’ve noticed that parents, they’re interested, too, and a lot of them don’t have their own bikes,” she said.
“So really, when we have these events, we like to encourage the parents to ride with them now,” she said. “We have adult bikes that they can borrow, we have kid bikes that they can borrow, and they’re welcome to
bring their own bikes. Maybe if a kid gets on a bike and says they love it and the parents are like, ‘Wow, that looks like a lot of fun!’ they can just get on a bike and go too. So really, it’s a whole family event now.”
Rice said Tikes, Trikes, and Trails also strives to familiarize locals with their home and give them more ways to explore the trails in area parks.
“Something we’ve noticed is people who get on the Greenway, a lot of them aren’t familiar with the entire trail,” she said.
“They only walk a portion of it and getting on a bike and kind of going around makes it easier to check it out. It’s the same with Entergy. We’ve got a lot of people that come out there for the first time and say, ‘I had no idea there were natural surface trails out here!’
“Giving them an incentive, by providing bikes, it gets them more familiar with the parks,” Rice said. “It gives them more ideas of how to use the parks and trails and it just really encourages healthier outdoor lifestyles.”
The event will have a ride leader from Hot Springs Bicycle Touring Company and Hot Springs Northwoods Trails. They will also have prize drawings, with the biggest prize being a bicycle and helmet, provided by Recycled Bikes for Kids, who provided the event with 10 bikes.
Parkside Cycle also donated to the event, providing eight helmets for the ride. There will also be free T-shirts and water, as well as swag bags provided by Hot Springs Northwoods Trails.