Yesterday we decided to go to the Womble for a weekend ride. I was getting a lot of people emailing me asking about the conditions of the Womble, and though I had ridden the north section of the Womble, I had not been on the southern sections for awhile, so we decided to go. We started our trek from the Hwy 298 trail head, when we arrived the parking lot already had three vehicles in it, by the time we left for the ride there were six. We headed southwest first going toward Mauldin Mountain. We did not go as far North Fork Lake but the parts of the trail we did ride were in pretty good shape. After ridding this direction for a bit we decided to head back and go northeast for a while. After crossing Hwy 298 we continued on down the trail not quit all the way to the top of Reed Mountain before we turned around and headed back to the car. This section of the Womble is also in pretty good condition as well. Overall the Womble is is good to ride, the undergrowth might be a little tall in a few places but considering all the rain we have had the trail overall is in good shape. The temps here in Arkansas are starting to drop now, so hopefully the growing season is about over. As for the ride, it was perfect, the weather was cool, just a slight breeze and riding on the Womble, what more could you ask for.

Let me risk getting a little sentimental right now. On the ride yesterday I would come across these different sections of the trail and it would bring back old memories, you know kind of like hearing a certain song or smelling a certain smell. I would see a spot and say I remember that place that's where I helped on a reroute around a fallen tree, or seeing an old bridge you helped build, coming to a place where you got a picture of your buddy in mid air of an endo in the middle of a creek, places where you had good times, maybe stopped and enjoyed a lunch in the quietness of the forest, maybe you can remember your first ride on the Womble. You start to remember the good times and the bad times, like a time I almost got heat exhaustion and dehydrated because I ran out of water on a really hot day, or times when your so sick you couldn't see straight but rode anyway. Meeting and ridding with new friends, and old friends. I wonder how much socializing those old pines have witnessed and if only they could talk, for some it may be a good thing that they can't. When you stop and think about it, the Womble has been there a really long time and folks have been riding and walking this trail for years. I am sure there have been a lot of memories made out there. The little memories each of us take from our rides are like little treasures we each get to keep. That is mountain biking, and when you do it on the Womble, then that my friends is Wombling.   

May all your Wombling's be blessed.

Do you have some Wombling's you would like to share, go ahead and share your story we would love to hear it. Just go to the MBA Forum under Cycling Passion or click here