Walmart is Building Mountain Bike Trails!?

- Today we jump on BCPpov. (applause) Release. And walk the

trails

built by Wal-Mart? Our road trip through North America continues. After a few hot, sweaty weeks in Florida, Yuka and I headed northwest to decidedly cooler Bentonville, Arkansas, the headquarters of Wal-Mart. And as we entered town, it quickly became apparent what a presence Wal-Mart has here. Of course, they had the department stores we all know, but there were also Wal-Mart brand gas stations, convenience stores, gyms, a world hall, a culinary center, the headquarters, a museum, and the original Wal-Mart. called Walton's named after the founder, Sam Walton.

Unsurprisingly, Wal-Mart has made the Walton family a ton of money. And with that money, Sam Walton created a charity called the Walton Foundation that is now run by his children and grandchildren. The foundation's main focus is education and the environment. But some of that Wal-Mart money has gone toward

building

mountain

bike

trails

in northwest Arkansas. And when I say a little cash, I mean $74 million, and that's as of 2018. It's probably a little more now. With that money, they built and maintained 163 miles of trails over 10 years. And while that figure seems impressive, it's about $450,000 per mile of trail, which seems a little expensive.

So with a price like that, are the trails any good? Well, let's find out. We got up very early and began our trip in downtown Bentonville. We stopped by the store that started it all, the original Walton Five and Dime. Oh, the original, that's the original. Oh, there's an ice rink here. And one minute and 30 seconds later, we are on our first trail. Ah yes, here we go. So, the first trace already. But wait, who is this person guiding us? Well, to find out we have to go back to the day before. And that started when Yuka and I rode at the free climbing skills park in the Slaughter Pen area.

There were a series of falls ranging from small to large, with the last one presenting a step towards the fall. The first two went well. (soft music) But fans of the channel could predict what that last step will be like. (soft music) (bicycle noise) Yes, that's true. Step-ups are my kryptonite. It all started with this step forward at the Whistler Bike Park last spring. (soft music) - Are you okay? - Here our luck changed that day. We came across a local ripper, a 17-year-old named Cooper. He knew how to get up the step and offered to tow me.

Perfect, let's do it. Great, okay, I'll follow you this time. - Alright. (soft music) (bicycle noise) I still have a problem. Oh, come on Eric, just send it. - Will you try? - Uh, yeah, maybe I'll try. - Okay, well, maybe Yuka will have better luck following Cooper. (upbeat music) (bicycle rattle) - Wrong gear. - Although she is not someone who gives up easily. - High five. - Actually? - Yes, before the high five. And she says something that I know she's committed to. - Alright. - Oh, she's going to do it now. - Ready? - Yes. (soft music) (bicycle rattle) They hit me. (laughs) They resisted me. - Did they resist you? - Yes.

I did, I was surprised. (laughs) That wasn't so beautiful. That wasn't pretty, but that's okay. You saw it? - Yes, I do! She is a cycling superstar. There are no mind games for her. If she made the decision, she just sends it. I noticed it didn't come out perfect, but you were still fine. - It was fine, yes. - You barely made it, but you still had a lot of room. - Oh yeah, where did I land? - Well, you rolled right to the angle. -Oh, was she? - Yes. - That's bad! (laughs)-Although she didn't do it completely perfect, but she did it.

Which gives me the confidence to do it. (upbeat music) Oh, here we go. (upbeat music) Her lip is quite aggressive. - Yes, you will lose a lot of your speed as soon as you hit it like a whoop. - It wasn't completely perfect either, but with the feature unlocked, I can do it again and improve it. (upbeat music) After a little more practice, Cooper had to leave, but we agreed to meet up the next day to ride some more. - Nice. - Which brings us back to the Walton's store in downtown Bentonville. And like I said, our first trail, the All-American, is just a minute and a half away.

Ah yes, here we go. It's already the first trace. And it's filled with lots of fun things to play with. (upbeat music) How grippy do these rocks have when they're wet? Oh! You went off the wire. - My foot got stuck. - Oh, here's some wood. But as we move forward, you might be wondering: at 17, shouldn't Cooper be in school right now? After all, it's Tuesday. Well, he was homeschooled and

mountain

biking is basically his PE class. Sounds pretty good to me. (upbeat music) Okay. (upbeat music) As we climbed to our next trail, we saw a crew repairing a trail.

However, this is a very common occurrence in Bentonville. They are

building

and maintaining trails all the time here. Those Wal-Mart dollars hard at work. And speaking of those Wal-Mart dollars, check out this platform as the start of the journey here. These centers truly are a hallmark of the building style in Bentonville. And since the trail crew is working on Choo Choo, we headed towards Boo Boo. (funky music) Alright, are you ready, Yuka? - Yeah! - Oh yeah. (upbeat music) (bicycle rattle) Sweet. That's funny. - Yes. - As we move forward, it's starting to become obvious that they'll leave a trail anywhere here, including the side of the road. (upbeat music) (

bike

rattle) Hard work!

But while it's all good and fun, let's step things up a bit by crossing this crosswalk to a trail called Barn Burner, a black jump line. Another hallmark of the building style here is the way they build their jumps. Most jumps use these flat rocks to create these durable lips. It takes a while to get used to them because they are not as soft as dirt, but in the end they work well. It took us a few tries to remove them correctly, but when we did, it was very satisfying. Sick. (upbeat music) (growls) That's hard. (upbeat music) Oh man. (upbeat music) Cooper took us to a little pump track, but what he really wanted to show us was a feature in another area just north of here called Blowing Springs.

Stone falls, okay. Oh, do you roll them up? - Yes. - Oh, yes, okay. Rock slabs, I love rock slabs. And with a little pedaling we had arrived. - So that's the uh. - Oh. Drop? That's interesting, huh? - Yes. - Can you crawl down and go pretty slowly? - I think so. - Yes, have you hit it? An awkward climb to the top and Cooper is ready. Are you going to send it? - Yes. - It should be fine. (upbeat music) (bicycle rattle) (laughter) - Yes! (laughs) - Once you're on, you have to go. After a little inspection, it's my turn.

Yeah, it's actually not that big. - No, it's not big. - Oh. (laughs) - There is no traction. - Going up is more difficult. (upbeat music) (bike rattle) Wow, that's cool. And Cooper wants to come back. Nice! He goes very fast. (laughs) Yeah, I don't think he can go that fast. (laughter) (upbeat music) (bike rattle) Here we go. By this time we already had a bit of an appetite. So we headed to the local fast food joint and stuffed ourselves with something greasy. But there was still one last trail we had to hike, a double black jump line in the Slaughter Pen area.

But first we had to pedal past these incredible cliffs. (upbeat music) Followed by a harrowing creek crossing. Soon enough, we were at the top of the double black jump line called Blackbird. But this trail is quite unique because of its surface. It's interesting. - Yes that's it. -Does it have grip? - My God, like no other. - It's interesting. It has a slightly serious concrete surface. It's something called Soiltac, which is apparently used on BMX tracks. It's almost paved, like a road, and is the smoothest mountain bike trail I've ever ridden. It was so new to me that I didn't really know how much I could rely on the cornering grip.

But we still went down and gave our best. (heavy breathing) Great. - Did you see me when they hit me? - Oh no. - Oh my God, friend. - Scare you? At the beginning of the video, I talked about how much money the Walton Foundation had spent to build these trails and whether or not they were any good. But you know, I would say they are world class. Everything has been intelligently designed, taking advantage of the low elevation here. Even the flat parts of the trails have been filled with elements to keep things interesting. On top of that, there are skill parks and pump tracks spread all over the place.

A lot of time and effort has gone into making the trails look good, especially the elevated trail centers. But if I have one criticism, it has to do with the more advanced jump lines. You just have to pedal very hard for them to work. (grunts) In many other places, flow and jump lines require very little pedaling to clear jumps. Just go at trail speed and they will work. But in Bentonville you either have to be an excellent jumper or you have to pedal hard. (growls) (bike rattles) But this failure is really just a side effect of the limited elevation they have in Bentonville.

Trail builders really want to maximize the elevation they have, thus creating low angle trails. But the positive side is that the children who grow up here will become incredible jumpers, simply because the jumps are so difficult. In next week's video we will still be in Bentonville and continue traveling with Cooper. But this time, we will travel through the Coler Reserve, where Yuka and I will advance to one of the largest attractions in the area. It will be good. But, as always, thanks for watching and being twisted.