Bentonville, Arkansas has been developed around an inviting culture of cycling, art and food. It’s amazing. There are tons of visitors of all sorts from families on bikes to man-cationers sporting spandex and high end helmets on fly wheels, I absolutely love it. It’s a vibrant mix of pedestrians, cyclists of all kinds at all levels from little girls with unicorn helmets to professional riders. Adding to the rhythm are cars, vans and delivery trucks moving within a beautiful and artfully appointed city scape built on the bones of an old mountain-town central square. There is so much interesting art, sculpture, landscape design and architecture to look at. Plus your eye will catch fun retail space, art galleries, bars, cafes and restaurants that tantalizes the mind, wallet and taste buds.
There is a lot going on.
I get swept up and on more than one occasion, have nearly wandered out in front of a car. No joke. And so the last time we were here, I wondered to myself how the area handles bike accidents.
I mean, Bentonville and NWA isn’t a resort. It’s a biking destination, but it doesn’t function like a closed entity. It’s an amalgamation of independent businesses, municipalities and non-profit organizations that provide and promote biking experiences through linked trails. So, I wondered, do they have a bike patrol?
It turns out Bentonville does actually have a bike patrol. It’s run through the local Fire/EMS. The first responders drive these specially equipped ATVs. The ATVs can navigate all of the trails in the Bentonville area. There are 2 of them. They can handle treating the injured rider and they have bike racks so that both rider and bike get home.
I asked the first responders on duty to tell me more about the service.
The two responders on duty told me they get 2 to 5 calls per day (his best guess average) for bike accidents ranging from minor scrapes needing a band aide to full blown trauma. The volume and severity of calls ebbs and flows with seasonal changes and area events. He said they do get calls involving cars and either pedestrians and bikes.
No joke, the square in Bentonville can sometimes look and feel like a Richard Scarry drawing: busy, vibrant, colorful and inviting. I am glad specialized bike patrol is part of the picture. It really is an amazing place.
Leave a Reply