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BIKING THE BIG DAM
BRIDGE
Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas, put out a big welcome mat
for us last week. Actually, it was huge: 14 feet wide, 4226 feet long, and
stood more than 70 feet above the Arkansas River. It had been there for
three and a half years before we arrived and will continue to welcome all
who come long after we depart.
We shared this welcome mat with hundreds of other folk. There were
bicyclists, walkers, joggers, runners, families on outings, adults pushing
baby strollers, children running ahead of their anxious parents, folks
paying more attention to their cell phone conversations than their walk,
and daydreamers creeping along at a snail’s pace, slowing everybody
behind them. There was a group who had stopped altogether to watch a fleet
of barges pass thru the lock on the north edge of the river far, far
below.
 This
"welcome mat" was the Big Dam Bridge, the longest bridge in the
United States built exclusively for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. It was
opened in September, 2006, constructed atop the Murray Lock and Dam which
had been built across the Arkansas River some years earlier. Hence the
name: The Big Dam Bridge. (Click on photo to
enlarge. Click on BACK to return to the story.)
 After we had settled in at North Little Rock’s Riverside RV Park on
the north bank of the Arkansas River, we wasted
little time in setting out to explore this phenomenon. Nearly fifteen
miles of paved, dedicated bike trail connect the two cities to the bridge
on both sides of the river, a bicyclist’s dream.
 The north trail which began very near our campsite, quickly took us out of
town and thru a series of city parks along the north bank of the river.
The scenery must have been beautiful, but the head wind was strong enough
that I had to keep my eyes on the trail. Our route soon guided us thru
open grassy fields, around a number of curves in a heavily wooded area and
then, suddenly, there it was ahead of us: the Big Dam Bridge. What an
impressive sight!
 As we rode the trail, we had commented to each other about the heavy
traffic of both walkers and bicyclists of all ages, abilities, sizes and
skills. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in spring and it looked as if
half the population of the two cities was headed to or from the bridge.
The closer we got to the bridge, the more congested the trail became.
 We both started riding up the bridge’s 5% grade toward the top. My
legs, already tired from bucking the head wind, were screaming for rest.
The higher I rode, the farther away slipped the security of solid ground.
With no windbreak, the wind tore at us with increased force as we rode
into the river channel. When a jogger nearly knocked me over as he went
by, that was the last straw. I stopped, got off my bike and walked the
rest of the way up, over and down the other side. Bruce could have ridden
the whole route, I’m sure. But, not wanting to intimidate me, he, too,
got off his bike and walked.
 The view from the bridge – as well as the fierce gusty wind! – was
breathtaking. We joined the crowd watching the barges move slowly thru the
lock and then walked our bikes back down to the north side where we had
started. The ride back home was literally a breeze with that strong wind
now pushing us along. We made the return trip in half the time the ride
out had taken.
The following day we set out to experience the other half of that
dedicated bike trail, 7.25 miles along the south bank of the Arkansas
River. The route crosses the river on the Junction Bridge, an old
abandoned drawbridge now locked in its upper position. Bicyclists ride
onto the bridge, take an elevator up to the raised cross piece, ride
across it, and then take a second elevator back down to street level, and
the continuing bike trail.
That sounded like fun, until we discovered that the second elevator was
out of service! So, we turned around, went back to the north shore where
we had started and began to look for another route across the river.
Taking our lives in our hands and dodging city traffic, we made our way to
the Main Street Bridge several blocks away. We breathed a sigh of relief
when we discovered that it had a protected bikeway.
We reached the south shore of the river safely but were far from the
marked bike trail route. How to find it? Bruce’s unerring sense of
direction took us down city streets, past the valet entrance of a fancy
hotel, thru its parking lot, and into a city park on the river. Sure
enough, there were the bike trail signs!
 This south route took us thru business and residential areas of the
city of Little Rock. Being a weekday, we had the trail almost to
ourselves. We skirted several city parks and a country club before we
reached our goal: the Big Dam Bridge. Despite a headwind again, this time
we were both able to ride every inch of that challenging structure, up,
across and back down on the north side. That felt like a major
accomplishment. Again, our ride home, powered by a tailwind, was a breeze.
 We really enjoyed the large "Welcome Mat" that the cities of
Little Rock and North Little Rock, extended to us. Biking the Big Dam
Bridge was great fun and a good chance for us to tune up our biking
muscles which had grown flabby during days of travel. This special
structure is a very attractive aspect of those two cities which we found
delightful. We didn’t get quite as enamored with them as Tony Bennet did
with San Francisco, however. We didn’t leave our hearts! There are,
however, a couple patches of skin from my left knee cap which I left on a
curve in the bike trail. It will serve as a reminder to future generations
that we were there, and biked the Big Dam Bridge!
4/28/10 - mshr |
