Imagine you're a cyclist wandering from paved urban streets of Benton County to gravel rural roads.
While you’re enjoying the ride, sense of openness and view of the fields, a tractor meets you at the bottom of a hill. Wes Evans, a beef producer and Benton County Farm Bureau Secretary, said this is a familiar scenario.
"These roads they've known as theirs for so many years, all of a sudden, different groups of peoples out here and joining them too," Evans said. "And a guy wearing overalls seeing a guy wearing tights going up and down the road is just another one of those aspects of being uncomfortable."
Rural residents have seen more cyclists on the road because it's a large tourist attraction. In recent months, the cycling industry has generated about $150 million in economic impact for the state, according to the Federal Reserve Bank.
Gravel cycling is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the industry and is prevalent in Benton County, where Bentonville is the self-proclaimed mountain biking capital of the world.
"The last few, probably the last three years, it has just absolutely exploded to where you’re starting to see more groups, you're starting to see more organized rides," Evans said. "And I guess races, they're having a lot of races and, and stuff out here so."
Some rural residents know what to do around large equipment where visibility is limited, or how to react if an animal is on the road, others new to rural spaces might not.
The Farm Bureau and Runway Group started the Respect Rural Road initiative and released a video of a Cultivating Safe Roads conversation with Evans and Andy Chasteen, a team member on Runaway’s Rural Recreational Roads project. This is a campaign meant to educate people about road safety, communication and offer tips. Farm Bureaus from counties outside of the region are also interested in the project.
Chasteen is a cyclist of 20 years and is an off-road rider. He said the increase in gravel riding kicked off the initiative with the Farm Bureau.
"So that was kind of the genesis of the idea, you know, how can we how can we build this connection between riders and farmers and folks who live out on these roads," Chasteen said. "And preserve and protect the the wild and outdoor spaces that we have, you know, initially and obviously in Benton County."
Evans and Chasteen often field questions from producers and cyclists. They can be about farming operations like “What’s that smell?” and “What kind of cow is that?" Or the best roads for gravel riding and tractor etiquette, a topic Evans and Chasteen touch on during their conversation.
Evans said another common question he gets asked from producers is why there is an interest in gravel cycling when there are thousands of miles of trails in the region. He said many riders want to enjoy a sense of adventure and avoid safety concerns associated with traffic.
For Chasteen, these are a couple of reasons why people are attracted to cycling off-road. Through this project, he said some people find common ground in preservation of spaces.
"And so I think that we found very common interest with a lot of these folks that we've been working with and that it kind of warms my heart," Chasteen said. "It makes me happy to realize that we're kind of moving in the same direction towards the same goal. It's been a really nice experience for all of us, I think."
For almost 10 years, Johnny Gunsaulis has served as the staff chair of the Benton County Cooperative Extension Service and throughout that time, he has seen more bicycles. Because the area attracts people from across the nation, he said some people might not know of Benton County's existing agriculture community.
"You can travel up and down 49 and land in Bentonville or Rogers there and think that it's all town," Gunsaulis said. "But once you get out, it's still very, very agricultural, at least in parts of the county."
In conversations, Gunsaulis said the most common topic people mention is wanting to avoid an accident.
Although there is a limited pool of producers who do cycle in the county, he said some are beginning to recognize a welcome consumer base. Some cyclists might be interested in buying ears of corn or a quart of strawberries at the end of a ride.
"The Farm Bureau really appreciates the runway group. taking interest in the ag community and learning more about Benton County agriculture, and Farm Bureau it really wants to promote safety, and also understands that these people are our customers, we're in protein production in Benton County," Gunsaulis said. "And so they are our customers, they exercise a lot, and they probably eat a lot of protein. And that's exactly what we produce in Benton County is a lot of protein."
