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Big Dam Bridge - Little Rock, AR

September 27, 2008

The Big Dam Bridge 100 is only in its 3rd year but it is a premier event. Registration was available online and also at various places in Little Rock right up to hours before the kick-off of the event. I pre-registered and packet pickup was very easy. They always have bicycle-related vendors nearby at registration.
I'm not sure of the final count but they expected over 2000 riders. The organizers clearly marked all turns. Most intersections along the way, especially in the urban areas, were controlled by police. Additional volunteers flagged the turns. There were at least 8 rest stops on the 100 mile route. All were well stocked with all kinds of goodies and drinks.
The general layout of the course was the same as in years past but this year the longest routes were done in reverse. That meant we hit the biggest climbs at about 40 miles instead of much later in the course. Here's the elevation profile: http://www.bigdambridge.org/BDB100/images/MAPS/BD100_profile.pdf
After the two steepest climbs we had about 5 miles of ridge-top riding on Billy Goat Mountain with beautiful "valley" views to the north and south.
The hill training I did before this event paid off. I'm glad they changed the route but I was still ready to soak my feet in cold water by the time I made it to the finish line.
If you've never attended this ride you definitely need to try it one year! The roads are mostly good and some of the ridge-top scenery is fantastic.

Sep 29 , 2007 - Web page

Although the Big Dam Bridge 100 in Little Rock is only in its 2nd year, the folks who organized and executed this event
know what they're doing. This is an excellent event and is every bit as well done as the Collin Classic or Mesquite Rodeo Ride with the added benefit of beautiful mountain and river scenery and a bunch of leg-killing hills. Thankfully absent was very much of the dreaded chip-seal.
I did the 75 this year but at the finish my odometer read 83 miles. The rest stops were fantastic but I only stopped at 3 because I was riding my trike recumbent and wanted to maintain a decent pace. Once could easily gain weight on this ride with all those great home-made cookies and an abundance of other tempting goodies.
There wasn't any need for cue sheets. The course was well marked and almost every turn, whether major or minor, was manned by volunteers or law enforcement personnel. Traffic on several major routes was stopped so bikes could keep rolling.
Riders were staged according to distance, which helped make a much smoother start. The last 5 miles of the course went through a beautiful hilly wooded area on the north side of the Arkansas River and ended several blocks from the starting point. We were welcomed back by enthusiastic onlookers, received a custom finisher's pin, were treated to more cold drinks and snacks, and even had the opportunity to have a free massage and adjustment by a local Chiropractic.
It's well worth the long drive! I'll be back in '08!

This is a fantastic ride. I usually go to Waco, but went up to try this and visit my best friend up there. The scenery is fantastic!!!I did the 50 miler-ended up w/54 because we went back up the dam bridge on the way back. Homemade cookies, P&J sanwiches, goo packets, pickles, mini cliff bars. Rest stops were great, super smooth roads and we had police/traffic control at EVERY street and never had to stop. Worth the drive up, we stayed Sun. and played golf. Next year will go a day earlier and tour the Clinton Library. For a second year ride, you ROCK!!! Thanks to all the great volunteers...

We thoroughly enjoyed the BDB 100. The volunteers were extremely good with traffic control and the rest stops were very well stocked; the support seemed to rival the MS150 (Houston to Austin). The route was very scenic with the residents coming out to cheer you on and there were a few climbs on the 100 that were a challenge. The finish line and finishers pin was a very neat touch; there were still plenty of people around to cheer us on when we finished at 2:00. My only complaint would be you had to print your own map (glad our hotel had a business center) and the rest stop distances were off by several miles. Those are minor inconveniences and we would make the long drive back for this ride!

 

Oct 1, 2006

I thoroughly enjoyed my first century at Little Rock's Big Dam Bridge 100. This was the first time this event was held but the organizers obviously had lots of feedback from cyclists who had been to larger events. It was superbly organized! Great rest stops with dozens of volunteers, plenty of shade tents, and way too much fresh baked cookies, PB sandwiches, pickles, fruit, drinks, energy bars, and gels. Well-marked turns and police at almost every intersection. It was great to come up to a major road and have them stop all the traffic so we could glide through. Most of the roads were excellent except for the road on the first big hill at about 65 miles. That one was really rough on our slow ascent and bone-jarring cobblestone on the fast descent. The second hill was just as steep but the ascent was on a much better surface. Here's a profile of the ride. The actual distance was 101.7 according to my odometer.

http://www.dltmultisport.com/BigDamBridge100/MAPS/BDB100%20mile%20elevation%20profile.pdf

We were pleasantly surprised by the well-stocked rest areas since many first-time events don't have much at the stops. Everyone got to ride a 12 mile loop across the new bridge and through town and it turned out to be a good deal because we had time to get our legs warmed up before hitting the hills. It's a long drive up and back but I would highly recommend that you add it to your 2007 schedule.