Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
May 2, 2026 a group of us went to the Square to Square in Arkansas. This ride goes down the Razorback Greenway trail is its well put together. This is taken after the finish. We are making oour way back up to the start which is why so many bikes are coming South Towards us. This is the first half of that trip.
LONG LETTER TO THE PLANO LOW RIDERS
Going up Friday about noon and arriving at 5, I found that that was a little late in picking up my packet. They had run out of adult sized wrist bands so all they had left were the child size. They had also ran out of most sizes of the shirts.
Carol had plans on Friday but she put me in touch with a couple of Missouri guys. Chris and Harold were veterans (Army and Navy) and I went on a ride with them of about 12 miles as the trail ran right behind the hotel I was staying at. Comfort Suites. After the ride we met up with Natalie and Ron at Dennys. This one Denny's probably ruined it for the entire chain as the service was horrible. I ordered a breakfast which was mediocre at best. Ron and Chris ordered Salmon which was suspect at best. I think I heard them say the word 'crunchy'
We decided since we were two miles from the start and the first wave was going at 7am (in 30 minute increments) that we would just start there and head South at that same time to stay ahead of the 1800 riders. This was a brilliant move by the way. We had clean trails the entire way with some of the faster cyclists passing us within 10 miles, but overall it was a nice easy ride.
Along the way we ran into Santosh on a hand cycle and he joined us for the ride down and most of the ride back up. Even with our smaller group of 5 on the way down, sometimes we would seprate by a decent amount as Santosh would throttle up hills leaving us int he dust or one of us would get around a bicycle faster than others and sometimes that pesky squirrel just sidetracked you and you looked up to see nobody.
At the finish line in Fayetteville we enjoyed the refreshments and goodies they had while Santosh recharged his battery and there we met Carol and Steve. After a good while of enjoying company we headed back North. From this point on, we were fish swimming upstream but here is the thing with Arkansas. All the bike riders were on their side of the yellow line. AND. Every road crossing that was not controlled with a light, the cars would see you coming and they would stop and wait for the entire line to cross. You didnt have to be close to the intersection, if they saw you coming, they stopped. I was really impressed.
The video here represents the First leg back up until the halfway point (about 15 miles) where Carol and Steve parted ways and Santosh charged back up a bit.
Video - 1
youtube.com/watch?v=KF1xmtScQeM&t=707s
So now we were back to the original 5 I believe. Santosh, Natalie, and myself left on our own accord as Chris and Harold were waiting for an 'Acoustic' rider Craig whom was a bit slower. The hills here are killer.
Which...also kills your battery. We got about 2 miles or so from the hotels when Natalie lost her battery. a quick call to Ron had her rescued. I showed 3 miles left on my lowest setting if it hadnt been for Mt Everest to climb up I might have gotten closer. I did find out much like Kaylyn that if you run out of batter for the motor on our trikes, you can still shift for a bit longer. I shifted to gear '2' as this trike is not light and inched my way back to the hotel. I regrouped with Natalie and Ron at Braums for a burger before driving back.
We never saw the others. We last passed Santosh under a tree resting and he said he was good so Natalie and I pressed on. Apparently Chris and Harold regrouped and it turned out at some point Santosh also ran out of battery. (Chris and Harold both have 2).
Within walking distance of my hotel. Dennys (NO), Braums, and also a Cracker Barrel.
Those that stayed until Sunday could ride again with Carol whom is a gracious host and makes sure everyone is having a good time. She is bubbly and fun and has earned her nickname of ROCKET. Thank you Carol!
Enough of my rant. The first video link is above. if you subscribe to the channel I have more related videos coming out on the 9th, 13th, 15th, and 17th, so far. I may not post as much to let you know about them since I will be in Europe.
This is a worthwhile event to go to, but I think I enjoyed Carols rides we did with her a couple years back. I remembered much of this trail and it looks like we started basically in the middle and went South one day and North one day. They were shorter overall which kept the batteries alive and we saw more between the two rides.
Link for the Pedaling Innovations Pedals.
pedalinginnovations.com/?ref=TRIKEWITHMIKETX
All Music by John Holgate
used with permission
johnholgate.bandcamp.com
May 2, 2026 a group of us went to the Square to Square in Arkansas. This ride goes down the Razorback Greenway trail is its well put together. This is taken after the finish. We are making oour way back up to the start which is why so many bikes are coming South Towards us. This is the first half of that trip.
LONG LETTER TO THE PLANO LOW RIDERS
Going up Friday about noon and arriving at 5, I found that that was a little late in picking up my packet. They had run out of adult sized wrist bands so all they had left were the child size. They had also ran out of most sizes of the shirts.
Carol had plans on Friday but she put me in touch with a couple of Missouri guys. Chris and Harold were veterans (Army and Navy) and I went on a ride with them of about 12 miles as the trail ran right behind the hotel I was staying at. Comfort Suites. After the ride we met up with Natalie and Ron at Dennys. This one Denny's probably ruined it for the entire chain as the service was horrible. I ordered a breakfast which was mediocre at best. Ron and Chris ordered Salmon which was suspect at best. I think I heard them say the word 'crunchy'
We decided since we were two miles from the start and the first wave was going at 7am (in 30 minute increments) that we would just start there and head South at that same time to stay ahead of the 1800 riders. This was a brilliant move by the way. We had clean trails the entire way with some of the faster cyclists passing us within 10 miles, but overall it was a nice easy ride.
Along the way we ran into Santosh on a hand cycle and he joined us for the ride down and most of the ride back up. Even with our smaller group of 5 on the way down, sometimes we would seprate by a decent amount as Santosh would throttle up hills leaving us int he dust or one of us would get around a bicycle faster than others and sometimes that pesky squirrel just sidetracked you and you looked up to see nobody.
At the finish line in Fayetteville we enjoyed the refreshments and goodies they had while Santosh recharged his battery and there we met Carol and Steve. After a good while of enjoying company we headed back North. From this point on, we were fish swimming upstream but here is the thing with Arkansas. All the bike riders were on their side of the yellow line. AND. Every road crossing that was not controlled with a light, the cars would see you coming and they would stop and wait for the entire line to cross. You didnt have to be close to the intersection, if they saw you coming, they stopped. I was really impressed.
The video here represents the First leg back up until the halfway point (about 15 miles) where Carol and Steve parted ways and Santosh charged back up a bit.
Video - 1
youtube.com/watch?v=KF1xmtScQeM&t=707s
So now we were back to the original 5 I believe. Santosh, Natalie, and myself left on our own accord as Chris and Harold were waiting for an 'Acoustic' rider Craig whom was a bit slower. The hills here are killer.
Which...also kills your battery. We got about 2 miles or so from the hotels when Natalie lost her battery. a quick call to Ron had her rescued. I showed 3 miles left on my lowest setting if it hadnt been for Mt Everest to climb up I might have gotten closer. I did find out much like Kaylyn that if you run out of batter for the motor on our trikes, you can still shift for a bit longer. I shifted to gear '2' as this trike is not light and inched my way back to the hotel. I regrouped with Natalie and Ron at Braums for a burger before driving back.
We never saw the others. We last passed Santosh under a tree resting and he said he was good so Natalie and I pressed on. Apparently Chris and Harold regrouped and it turned out at some point Santosh also ran out of battery. (Chris and Harold both have 2).
Within walking distance of my hotel. Dennys (NO), Braums, and also a Cracker Barrel.
Those that stayed until Sunday could ride again with Carol whom is a gracious host and makes sure everyone is having a good time. She is bubbly and fun and has earned her nickname of ROCKET. Thank you Carol!
Enough of my rant. The first video link is above. if you subscribe to the channel I have more related videos coming out on the 9th, 13th, 15th, and 17th, so far. I may not post as much to let you know about them since I will be in Europe.
This is a worthwhile event to go to, but I think I enjoyed Carols rides we did with her a couple years back. I remembered much of this trail and it looks like we started basically in the middle and went South one day and North one day. They were shorter overall which kept the batteries alive and we saw more between the two rides.
Link for the Pedaling Innovations Pedals.
pedalinginnovations.com/?ref=TRIKEWITHMIKETX
All Music by John Holgate
used with permission
johnholgate.bandcamp.com
