Riders rock, roll and splash at bike festival

Riders at the annual Ozark Mountain Bike Festival at Devil’s Den State Park explore some of the most scenic trails in the Ozarks.

Some find themselves up a creek, but don’t need a paddle.

The 35th annual festival rolled along April 12 and 13 at the state park, situated in the Lee Creek valley south of West Fork. Group rides with experienced guides are a big part of the event. There’s a Friday ride at night to kick off the festivities each year. Coaches of high school mountain bike teams lead rides that help improve off-road riding skills.

A highlight on the festival on Saturdays is the Big Splash Contest, a crazy and fun show where riders pedal fast as they can into the chilly water of Lee Creek to see who can make the biggest splash. Big Splash always draws a crowd, and audience applause crowns the winner. But every splasher is awarded some state park swag for her bravery.

Devil’s Den State Park and the Ozark Off-Road Cyclists put on the festival every year. It offers something for every rider, from beginners to grizzled gear heads who crank out double-digit miles on group rides for the advanced crowd.

Kiddos have a blast, too, riding on the skills course, which includes a teeter-totter for bikes, raised boardwalks and bike limbo.

Tim Scott, the park’s mountain bike riding assistant superintendent, runs the show and founded the first Ozark Mountain Bike Festival in 1989. Before that, Scott and a co-worker headed to Colorado to check out a mountain bike festival there.

“We basically stole all our ideas from them,” Scott likes to say.

The first year, rides were all on the park’s Fossil Flats trail, and most rides today are over that 6-mile loop. It’s a popular biking and hiking trail any time of year. Surface ranges from rocky and rugged to smooth as a baby’s behind. Circling the picturesque path requires crossing Lee Creek twice.

Nowadays, some festival rides are over the longer Monument Trails network, which meanders through remote parts of the 2,500-acre park. Ozark Mountain Bike Festival is usually held the first full weekend of April, but was a week later this year because of the solar eclipse.

Steve Pereira is a regular at the festival and wouldn’t miss it. He started mountain biking 10 years ago and now is a ride leader at the weekend party on bikes.

“I like camping out, and I know a lot of the bikers here,” he said before leading a Saturday morning ride. “I like being out in the woods.

It’s my therapy.”

Pereira also coaches high school mountain bike teams.

“For me, the big thing is getting kids on bikes. It’s a skill they’ll have for life. It develops their brain, teaches team work and the kids make a lot of friends,” he said.

“The first trail I ever rode was Lake Fayetteville. I’d say that’s the perfect beginner’s trail. It’s not very technical, there’s minimal climbing to do, and it has good flow.”

Bob Cable of the Fayetteville area was front and center when the festival started in 1989, eager to hop on a group ride. When the leader saw Cable was experienced, he asked Cable to be co-leader. He’s been a ride leader ever since guiding short rides for beginners and long distance adventures for advanced bikers.

Cable has his groups stop at homesteads and other landmarks to share his knowledge of the park’s history.

“This year, I finally learned where some of the water wells were so we can take a look at those,” he said. Youngsters get a lesson on tree and wildflower identification on Cable’s rides.

The moon promises to steer clear of the sun for the 36th annual festival. It’ll be back on schedule April 4-6 in 2025.