On top of North Mountain in Hot Springs there is a tower from which you can see for miles, I remember looking out of the elevator and seeing a hawk flying below us. The road to the tower starts by the fountain that we get our water from. Its just west of there. Once you are climbing that mountain its swithchback after switchback. Each one brings you almost to a halt. A change of direction is a change of velocity. I managed to make it all the way to the top but the last 50 feet or so I had to dismount and push. Then the down road appeared. The Up road is one way. I got remounted and after an amazing descent with the same sort of switchbacks. My brakes were screaming. I came out just east of the fountain and glad to be alive. My car was parked just at the bottom of the last hill and curve.This was my second climb of the day, because a half mile from our house there is the road to Cloud Nine RV park. It is very steep. Once I was up there I circled the RVs and descended back to hiway 70.

OK.,I just went for the mail, and I went and climbed Cloud Nine again. It didnt seem as difficult this time. Maybe there has been a training effect. Cloud Nine's entrance is only a half mile from our house. The house itself is on a hill, but now that hill doesn't seem as daunting as it used to seem.

aquist... you might consider posting this thread in the Arkansas forum.

I know that road, have pedaled it many times. Fun climb and a good fitness benchmark for me.

Also, start from the bike shop- Park Cycles I think? and go West, that's a fun climb, then u-turn and come back - that's Black Snake road and a real leg breaker.

Hey creakyknees, on my last tuesday nite ride I fell doing a wheel stand and messed up my knee badly, since then the weather has been rotten, but I really appreciate your words of wisdom. the old peugot needs some work and I have a new project that blows me away. after I recover and have a good bike to ride maybe I wont do so badly.I really need to find the casual cyclists since I am truly a has been. the Peugot needs a new front derailluer and my project bike needs some kind of rear derailleur that was meant to be hung from a deraileur hanger drop out with an allen key bolt. also some small parts for cantilever breaks or center pull ones. so that i can hook up the brakes I took off a thrown away bike, then a drive chain and hook up all cables and I should have a nice mountain bike, I have another aluminum frame mountain bike that has a sprung front fork and rear triangle. I find these things in the trash!

Looks like a pretty cool place... not what I was expecting when I Google'd.

the whole of Hot Springs is a tourist trap. there are all kinds of things to see and do. But to me its a great place to ride a road or a mountain bike, i just wish I had a riding partner who was not that much faster or slower ( is that possible?) than me.

I have a Trek antelope 830 that works well and has never let me down except when i wanted to be down, I rode that bike as a bike messenger in Chicago so you know it has a lot of miles on it. Its purple and green and I substituted down tube shifters because I am more used to shifting that way, my current road bike is a Peugot Course that is silver well bluish silver grey metalic and I paid an awesome fifty dollars for used. the front derailleur is wrong (triple) and am trying to figure out how to put an SR La prade seat post into the bike just because I like them. turn it down by 1.7 mm and put another tube inside to strengthen what is left (1.7 x 2 = 3.4mm overall leaving the 26.8 as a 23.4 which is what the Peugot takes. and a double chain wheel front derailleur so it wont go clank clank clank when I am on the big ring.