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Bruce
& Betsy Blais |
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Mountain Biking - SPECIAL EVENTS This section of the website is dedicated to special events Bruce has participated in while mountain biking. Local rides are not usually documented, and special rides are documented in the Special Trails section of this site. Competition events are covered in the Competition section. On US-270, about 15 miles west of Hot Springs, Arkansas, is Camp Clearfork in the Ouachita National Forest. This is the site of the annual Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) Memorial Day weekend MTBK bash. This is a four-day event running Friday through Monday each Memorial Day weekend. The event has been held every year since 1987.
Camp Clearfork is a former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) facility from the Great Depression that has been made into a group camping area with cabins, a dining hall, gathering area and space for tent camping. The weekend of May 25th, 2009 was not a good one to be in Clearfork. We got a ride in on Saturday morning, and then the sky opened up later that afternoon. Below is a shot of Joe cleaning off his bike after coming off the trail. Had he known what was coming, he simply could have left it outside for 36 hours of torrential rain.
Another rider coming off the trail and getting ready to clean up a bike.
It rained so hard, that the fire pit filled up with water.
Since most folks didn't want to ride in the rain, they huddled in the dining hall with all of the enthusiasm of a bunch of wet cats.
After waiting the rain out for 24 hours, Bruce and Betsy packed up, had dinner Sunday evening, and headed back to Dallas. Camp Clearfork is located on US-270 in the Ouachita National Forest, about 15 miles west of Hot Springs, Arkansas. This has been the site of the annual Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) four-day Memorial Day weekend MTBK bash since 1987. The festival has run Friday through Monday each Memorial Day weekend since 1987. The 2012 gathering marked its 25th anniversary.
Below is a shot from the gathering area looking away from the lake towards some of the cabins near the entrance to the camp.
Those wanting to camp or that did not register in time to get a cabin camped out in the field. The cabins fill up fast, so if you don't register early, this is where you end up, unless you just want to camp out.
Behind the the Dining Hall is the gathering area. It has picnic tables, BBQ grills, some bleachers and a fire pit. The photo below was Friday night. Bill and Dana are boiling crawfish for dinner.
Soon, it was time to eat. Here is a shot of one end of the dining table with a bunch of hungry bikers feasting on boiled crawfish, AKA mud bugs, along with boiled corn and potatoes.
There was plenty of "down time" for socializing. Below is Ric (AKA "Digital Rebel") and Bruce discussing cameras and photography.
The weekend is also a time to connect with folk you may not have seen in a while. Bruce and Deborah reconnected after several years of not riding together. Bruce is wearing his 2009 Clearfork tee-shirt.
The next morning, everyone lined up and headed out to the various trail heads. Folks group up by trail and skill level to go off and ride. On this trip, Bruce rode the Womble from North Fork Lake to the Hwy-27 fishing village, and the LOViT and Charlton the following day. These rides are described in the Special Trails section of this site.
Camp Clearfork is located on US-270 in the Ouachita National Forest, about 15 miles west of Hot Springs, Arkansas. This has been the site of the annual Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association (DORBA) four-day Memorial Day weekend MTBK bash since 1987. The festival has run Friday through Monday each Memorial Day weekend since 1987. The 2012 gathering marked its 26th anniversary.
Every year the festival starts out with dinner on Friday night. In 2013, the menu shifted from crawfish to BBQ. Hear are the early arrivers getting started with dinner. As the evening went on, more folks showed up.
The next day, it was off to the Womble Trail for the group Bruce was riding with. This year, he did an "out and back" east from the US-270 parking lot near Rocky Schoals. Below is shot of Paula on a bridge crossing a creek out on the trail.
Next it is Chi crossing the bridge in the photo below.
Following Chi, is Dana crossing the bridge on a fat-tired Surley.
The Womble is not too technical in this area. Below is Debbie on the trail.
Below is Debbie crossing a stream further down the trail.
Near the end of the return leg, the group stopped to cool their feet in a stream. Below is Chi and Bruce holding down some rocks in the stream while they cool their feet.
The next day, Bruce rode with a group that was riding the LOViT east from near Clearfork. The photo below shows the group crossing a chasm just past the Charlton Recreation Area.
About half-way out "Loop B" to the Forest Service Road 47, they had to cross a shallow stream. Most riders made it, although a couple put a foot down.
At the end of "Loop B", they came up over the berm and onto the Forest Service Road 47.
From there, it was up FS Rd. 47 to the Charlton Trail and out to the Crystal Springs Campground. Just past the campground, they crossed another stream. This one was a bit more difficult, and most couldn't get across without putting a foot down.
Further out, they came to a deep stream with large, flat boulders in it to facilitate crossing. Everyone carried their bikes across.
From there, it was a long gradual climb up to the top of the ridge.
Up near the top, Lake Ouachita began to come into view.
They rode out a way, then turned around and headed back to Clearfork. Along the way, they stopped at the Pipe Spring for a cool refreshing drink.
Below is Bruce refreshing himself with a drink from the spring.
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Version 0.4, October 3, 2013 |
