JBU Hosts Inaugural Race On New Bike Trail

John Brown University’s student biking club, Fox Fleet, will host the inaugural Ricochet Run, an 11K race, on JBU’s new mountain bike trail Sept. 24. Fox Fleet is also partnering with Siloam Springs Pedal’rs Club to host PedalFest, a family fun event for riders of various skill levels, in conjunction with the race.

Fox Fleet will launch two races, the 7-mile course at 8 a.m. and the 14-mile course at 8:30 a.m. Pedalfest will kick-off with a kid’s race at 10:30 a.m. and the family fun ride at 12:30 p.m. The race costs $35 per person with kids 12 and under admitted free. For more information and to register for the event, visit jbu.edu/ricochet_race/. Registration will also be held on race day at 7 a.m.

“We’re excited to have the local community join us for this event to introduce JBU’s newly professionally-built bike trail,” Dr. Steve Beers, vice president of student development, said. “We look forward to the trail becoming an additional recreational option in Northwest Arkansas.”

JBU students Harland Barker, Nathan Reindel and Kyle Blush founded Fox Fleet, which includes 25 members, three years ago after increased student interest in weekend mountain biking trips.

“Now that JBU has a biking trail, it is great for the club to expand and be what it is today,” Barker, senior engineering major and Fox Fleet president, said. “The race is an opportunity to share my love for the sport with the community.”

The trail was made possible through the generosity of the Walton Family Foundation and Simmons Foods, who contributed approximately $170,000 for its construction.

John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas’ top-ranked regional university (U.S. News Best Colleges, 2017), JBU enrolls more than 2,600 students from 40 states and 37 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, degree completion and concurrent education programs. JBU offers more than 39 majors, with top programs including business administration, graphic design, engineering, construction management, counseling, teacher education and nursing.

JBU student, Justin Riffel, rides on JBU’s new mountain bike trail, where the inaugural Ricochet Run will be held on Sept. 24.

JBU student, Justin Riffel, rides on JBU’s new mountain bike trail, where the inaugural Ricochet Run will be held on Sept. 24.