The Bridge to Somewhere

The bridge piers for the extension of the River Trail into Maumelle Park is coming along. it is scheduled to open the summer of 2011. In the photo is the concrete embankment and the first pier, this is located just west of the interstate bridge.

Big change this year

Yesterday, I rode 22.41 miles on the Rivertrail, the temp was in the low 80’s and there were walkers, joggers, and dogs everywhere. There seems to be more people on the trail that I have seen in the past.

The biggest change that I have seen this year so far is the water fountain at the metal canopy on the North Little Rock side of the Big Dam Bridge, the water pressure is up. It is now possible to fill a water bottle without having to tip it almost onto its side. The drawback to this is that the wind blows the water stream around and it means you have to move your water bottle around some too.

Where I’ve been

This is where I have been since the last post.

Here are the coordinates to see for your self: 47.359612,8.486938

It is a hillside just outside of Zurich Switzerland, where the weather is very similar to Central Arkansas, surprisingly enough.

XTerra South Central Cup

This weekend, starting on Thursday the Xterra South Central Cup is being held at Burns Park. What this means to bikers and walkers on the River Trail is that at one of the narrowest spots on the Trail, Emerald Park and the footbridge is going to be the course for the weekend events. Below are two maps of the area, the first is the off road bike course and the second is the running course. When you are down at the soccer fields area, it’s easy to spot where the headquarters of the race is, with the big tent and all.

What I don’t know now is if this section of the River Trail is going to be closed to the public during the race, I will make a call and find this out.

Off Road Bike Course at Burns Park

Xterra Running Course through Emerald Park Area

I’ve been using a program on my iPhone called Every Trail, and this has allowed me to track my rides on their web site after recording it on my iPhone and uploading it at the end of the trip. I have done several trips and decided to go back to one that I recored in February of 2009 and reproduce the ride to see how my time has improved in the past six months. Below are the maps and the stats from both of the rides;

River Trail Map 7 Feb 2009

Stats from 7 Feb 2009 Ride

Now for the 17 June 2009 Ride Map and Stats

Map of Ride from 17 June 2009

Stats from rider 17 June 2009

The stretch of trail that I call the middle fork of the trident is still under water. Back in April I rode on this, but the rains of May put it under. I expect the water level to lower in the next two weeks to expose this section. When the water is gone from this part of the trail but the mud is still wet, watch out. Last year I almost bit the pavement going to fast and hitting a slick patch of mud that looked dry.

Ribertrail reopened after Riverfest

The trail was closed from the Memorial Day weekend, Riverfest activities were between the Broadway Bridge and the RV park. Now the trail is back open, but watch out for the mud that was tracked on the trail by the trucks moving the equipment around. Here is a photo of the sign warning of the closing.

Waterfall along the Rivertrail

With all the rain in Central Arkansas we have been getting over the past several weeks a waterfall has been spotted. On the North Little Rock side of the river at the old quarry it can be seen from the trail. Water run off from Fort Roots has formed this waterfall.

River Trail Clean-up

This past Saturday the metal pavillion at the NLR side of the BDB was in about 18 inches of water. Now on Monday the water has receded and the mud is being pressure washed off the path. The picture is from Saturday and now there is a thin layer of mud everywhere. Tomorrow most, if not all the mud will be gone.

River Water Level

I found a link to the Corp of Engineers website that has a real time status of the water level for the river as it moves through Little Rock. Now to know if a section of the River Trail is going to be under water all you have to do is check here:

Arkansas River Water Level

Since I’ve found this link, 17 feet is the point where the road from the dog park to the west end of the soccer fields will be under water.  The trail from the west end of the soccer fields to the Big Dam Bridge is probably going to be around 14 feet, I will post when I know this for sure.