Riding Jefferson County was all the rage at the 21st annual Tony Carruth Memorial Tour de Bluff on Saturday, just before the heat continued its late-summer rage.
Sha Moody, a court reporter for 11th West Circuit Court Judge Jodi Dennis, felt right at home before taking off with the rest of the estimated 125 riders from the Pine Bluff Civic Center. A week earlier, she rode the hills of Bentonville, a common scene on the Arkansas riding scene.
“That was so hilly and this is so flat. It’s so different and lovely,” Moody said. “You see the crops at the different times of the year. I was born and raised here, so it holds a special place in my heart.”
Joe and Ruth Klingbeil of Little Rock, riding their tandem bike, tried out for themselves the Tour that stands out from other Arkansas biking events because of its Delta roads.
“You love the terrain as far as the flats without wind, but also just the farmland with the soybeans, cotton and corn,” Joe Klingbeil said. “It just gives it really a neat feel and keeps the traffic down, which is always part of it. Roads are really good, and that’s what we look for. The roads that are really solid don’t have a lot of traffic on them and good rest stops and support, which this tour really has.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Klingbeils stayed with the peloton as it journeyed through Regional Park and up U.S. 79B into the farmlands of northeast Jefferson County, turning on Rob Roy Road near Altheimer. Many of the riders indicated they would ride the 50-mile path, journeying north on Arkansas 88 into Altheimer and west to Arkansas 15 and 31 before riding south back into Pine Bluff.
The 63-mile voyage took riders into Wabbaseka from the U.S. 79B-U.S. 79 before picking up the way home from Arkansas 15.
Early in the tour, Little Rock father and son Jackie and Josh Walker rode through the Arkansas Railroad Museum for one of the two new short courses that brought gravel riding to the Tour.
The Klingbeils like to ride on gravel aside from road riding.
“We’re old enough; we’re not much into the single track, which is northwest Arkansas,” Joe Klingbeil said. “Any way you can get people on the bikes is important, whether it’s e-bikes nowadays or tandems or regular road bikes. It’s fun. You can do it. We’re in our mid-60s and still riding.
“You can get a good workout on the flat rides like you can on the hills.”
Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington put in her annual 1-mile workout at the Tour. Washington said she’ll continue to ride the mile in future Tours, although she’s leaving office New Year’s Day.
Washington noted the tour started collaborating with the Tour in 2018, as it moved from Barraque Street to the Sixth and Main Plaza and now 500 E. Eighth Ave. She has been pleased with the growth in volunteerism and fanfare for the Tour.
“We’ve had 145 riders, but very few citizens,” she said, noting the record number of registrants in 2022. “We want more riders but more community interaction. … People come into the event from all over.”
Ruth and Joe Klingbeil of Little Rock pose with their tandem bike at the start of the Tony Carruth Memorial Tour de Bluff at the Pine Bluff Civic Center. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
