Building a Bike Trail Ecosystem with Gary Vernon
This week on the podcast we are continuing with the Business of Outdoor Recreation series as Brent sits down with Gary Vernon, Director of Outdoor Recreation and Trail Innovation at Runway Group. They discuss the growth of mountain biking and outdoor recreation in Arkansas. Gary shares his background growing up in Missouri and his 30 year career at Walmart before leaving to work with Tom Walton on developing Bentonville's trail ecosystem. He describes the evolution of mountain biking in Northwest Arkansas and the economic impact of $157 million annually. Gary also explores the growing gravel biking scene and trail developments across the state of Arkansas.
Transcript
You know, this whole idea about bringing
Gary Vernon:mountain bike trails to town bringing access to outdoors to
Gary Vernon:town was a successful formula. We are becoming a center of
Gary Vernon:excellence for for bicycling and trails.
Brent Williams:Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast brought to you
Brent Williams:by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of
Brent Williams:Arkansas. I'm your host Brent Williams. Together, we'll
Brent Williams:explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the
Brent Williams:strategies, insights and stories that drive business today. Well,
Brent Williams:today I have with me Gary Vernon. Gary is Director of
Brent Williams:Outdoor Recreation and Trail Innovation at the Runway Group.
Brent Williams:Gary, thanks for joining today.
Gary Vernon:Well, thanks Brent for having me.
Brent Williams:Well, I am interested to dive in on
Brent Williams:mountain biking and its impact on our economy. And I love how
Brent Williams:outdoor recreation in the state of Arkansas is growing and has
Brent Williams:become a real focus, not only in Northwest Arkansas, but
Brent Williams:throughout the state. But maybe I want to start with you first.
Brent Williams:Your background. I know you, you spent several years at Walmart
Brent Williams:and you spent several years at the Walton Family Foundation
Brent Williams:prior to to joining the Runway Group. So a little bit maybe
Brent Williams:professionally, personally, and then I'll dig in on mountain
Brent Williams:biking and how you got into it.
Gary Vernon:Yeah, yeah, well, just personally, I'm just a kid
Gary Vernon:from Joplin, Missouri that liked the race BMX bikes and ended up
Gary Vernon:in Bentonville because I had a 30 year career at Walmart. Last
Gary Vernon:10 years, I was a director in the environmental compliance
Gary Vernon:area and had this really unique opportunity to work on
Gary Vernon:sustainability programs when it came to recycling and waste to
Gary Vernon:products and had a great job until I ran into a 23 year old
Gary Vernon:visionary by the name of Tom Walton. And he had this idea of
Gary Vernon:bringing mountain biking to town, you know, build trails in
Gary Vernon:town and Bentonville, which was really a fringe sport back then.
Gary Vernon:And so I ended up leaving my 30 year career with Tom and joined
Gary Vernon:Tom and his brother Steuart to lead their work to develop this
Gary Vernon:mountain bike vision to build a destination in and around
Gary Vernon:Bentonville and here I am.
Brent Williams:You know, it's it's pretty amazing now, you can
Brent Williams:go almost anywhere in the United States. And people now know
Brent Williams:Bentonville and, you know, of course, they probably know it
Brent Williams:either because of Walmart or mountain biking it seems and the
Brent Williams:mountain biking scene has exploded. And you've been a key
Brent Williams:part of that. How has this whole thing developed?
Gary Vernon:Well, you know, Arkansas has had some wonderful
Gary Vernon:trails for decades, you know, the Ozark Off Road Cyclists
Gary Vernon:started in 97, you know, that club here in Fayetteville. But,
Gary Vernon:you know, back then it was an enthusiast sport, you know, the
Gary Vernon:trails were built by enthusiasts for for that, that mountain
Gary Vernon:biker. And what, what happened in Bentonville, you know, and it
Gary Vernon:didn't happen on the first five miles, you know, in back in
Gary Vernon:2007, when that first five miles were open it it wasn't really
Gary Vernon:catered to the new rider, the beginner had had one little
Gary Vernon:trail on the flat ground called seed tick. And that kind of
Gary Vernon:opened everybody's eyes to where people were wanting to ride that
Gary Vernon:one trail that were just trying to start mountain biking. So
Gary Vernon:that's when the focus flipped and turned into let's build
Gary Vernon:some, some trails specifically for beginners. And that's where
Gary Vernon:the All American Trail, that connector trail that goes all
Gary Vernon:through Bentonville, starting from the square that was focused
Gary Vernon:on building a fun trail that is not intimidating, but still had
Gary Vernon:some alternate places to jump and all that. But that magical
Gary Vernon:Tell us a little bit about, well for those that haven't ridden
Gary Vernon:trail, the All American, really was the secret sauce to
Gary Vernon:Bentonville. And really the success of you know, the first
Gary Vernon:12-15 miles and that seems to be the the amount of miles that
Gary Vernon:these trails, Coler is an interesting place, right? In the
Gary Vernon:we're telling other communities. If you can get 10 to 12 miles of
Gary Vernon:trail it'll, it'll start really becoming something special
Gary Vernon:that'll transform your community. We saw that, you
Gary Vernon:know, the first 10 to 12 miles. The success, the people that
Gary Vernon:set, you know, it seems like it is truly designed for certainly
Gary Vernon:were riding mountain bikes that otherwise wouldn't be riding
Gary Vernon:mountain bikes started really evolving. You know, the tipping
Gary Vernon:point was 2016. That's when we had enough miles and hadn't
Gary Vernon:an enthusiast, but particularly accessible for anyone, whether
Gary Vernon:started having bigger events. And people started hearing about
Gary Vernon:Bentonville. We had the International Mountain Bike
Gary Vernon:Association's World Summit that end of that year. We just built
Gary Vernon:the back 40 trail in Bella Vista started on Coler Mountain Bike
Gary Vernon:you're walking on the trail, you're having a cup of coffee,
Gary Vernon:Preserve. And it was that was from when it really started booming.
Gary Vernon:you know, you can ride, you know, in the midst of all of
Gary Vernon:that. It just seems like a really interesting place to me.
Gary Vernon:Yeah, you know, and that was the year that, I was a volunteer,
Gary Vernon:you know, I'd met Tom and when he first started the first five
Gary Vernon:miles and ended up as the president of a local club, you
Gary Vernon:know, Fast in Bentonville, Bella Vista, and, and was just doing
Gary Vernon:projects, and it got to be too much to be able to work my job
Gary Vernon:at Walmart and do all these projects. So Tom and Steuart
Gary Vernon:brought me on full time in 2015. So Coler was an idea that Tom
Gary Vernon:had, back then it was a 300 acre park with a creek going through
Gary Vernon:it a perfect little canvas, you know, to build the trail system.
Gary Vernon:But the idea we brought in a couple of different companies,
Gary Vernon:you know, some architects, a consulting group that had
Gary Vernon:designed national parks and, and just others that were an artist,
Gary Vernon:you know, and, and trail designers, and just we all sat
Gary Vernon:around a table and talked about ideas. What can we do with this
Gary Vernon:little 300 acre parcel just three miles west of the square.
Gary Vernon:And there was an old barn in the middle of the valley, where
Gary Vernon:Oscar and Esther Terrell had built their homestead back in
Gary Vernon:1930. Well, when that barn was a good anchor, you know, what can
Gary Vernon:we do around this barn? Well, we obviously wanted to redo the
Gary Vernon:barn. But where that old home was, was no longer there was a
Gary Vernon:perfect area to put a cafe. And that was a kind of a crazy idea
Gary Vernon:to build a cafe in the middle of a 300 acre park that you can't
Gary Vernon:drive to. You can only bike or hike to and we thought man,
Gary Vernon:that's going to be just a real big gamble. But that ended up
Gary Vernon:being a homerun. Mark Bray from airship coffee, stepped up and
Gary Vernon:opened up his operation there in November of 2020, pandemic, you
Gary Vernon:know, and but everybody was getting outside because of those
Gary Vernon:trails were allowing people to get out of the house and get
Gary Vernon:active. So that coffee shop all winter was booming. And even
Gary Vernon:today, it's you can go there on a Tuesday, you know, afternoon
Gary Vernon:and it's full of people.
Brent Williams:Pretty, what a cool place.
Gary Vernon:But you're right, the trails are designed. If you
Gary Vernon:look at the map, you know, the highest peak at Coler is kind of
Gary Vernon:the northeast side of the, you know, the the parkway, it kind
Gary Vernon:of almost runs north and south, maybe a little bit crooked. But
Gary Vernon:the northeast side is kind of has the highest peak. And that's
Gary Vernon:where we wanted to put some gravity jump trails and some
Gary Vernon:technical trails to ride down. But then on the southwest, it's
Gary Vernon:kind of the easier train and through the valley. So it's kind
Gary Vernon:of separated into a jump trail, more advanced on the northeast,
Gary Vernon:and then a family fun area on the southwest and then
Gary Vernon:connecting it all throughout the middle and then the Greenway the
Gary Vernon:paved trail, goes down the valley on the creek, you know,
Gary Vernon:fall in the creek. And then there's some easy trails for the
Gary Vernon:kids to ride along that paved trail.
Brent Williams:Yeah. So such a wonderful place. And it's fun to
Brent Williams:just, it's just a fun place to be and fun place to take your
Brent Williams:family and there's kind of something for everybody there,
Brent Williams:it seems to me, you know, and I know you've been focused on
Brent Williams:Bentonville. And we've it seems to me that we've really seen
Brent Williams:mountain biking grow throughout the state, right, you know, now
Brent Williams:Devil's Den is amazing. Nebo, Pinnacle at Little Rock, kind of
Brent Williams:what do you see in you know, if you kind of step back and look
Brent Williams:at Arkansas and what's happening in mountain biking?
Gary Vernon:Well, Arkansas had five major trail systems, you
Gary Vernon:know, in the early 2000s, that were considered by the
Gary Vernon:International Mountain Bike Association, they rated trails,
Gary Vernon:and they were considered epic trails, you know, they were 20
Gary Vernon:plus miles and they were, you know, the scenery was great. And
Gary Vernon:the conditions were good, but they are in the middle of
Gary Vernon:nowhere. And so when Bentonville was an experiment, so
Gary Vernon:Bentonville, the success of that building a trail in town, where
Gary Vernon:people could pop over there on the trail on lunch, or after
Gary Vernon:school after work, that changed everything where other
Gary Vernon:communities wanted trails. So that really started a spark that
Gary Vernon:spread throughout Arkansas. And then we started looking at, you
Gary Vernon:know, there's some great places to build trail, but we're not
Gary Vernon:going to build anymore in national forest because we have
Gary Vernon:trail counters that measures how many people ride trails, we
Gary Vernon:noticed that these five trails in the middle of national
Gary Vernon:forests, were getting no visitors, you know, maybe maybe
Gary Vernon:a big bump, if there's an event, but throughout the year, it was
Gary Vernon:a lot of maintenance, because they're in the middle of nowhere
Gary Vernon:and there's no volunteers nearby or even staff at the Forest
Gary Vernon:Service to maintain them. So we're having to pay to maintain
Gary Vernon:those trails. So that's when we connected with Grady Span, the
Gary Vernon:state park director and started working with him and like what
Gary Vernon:you know, some of the best terrain we have in the state is
Gary Vernon:state parks. And you talk about, you know, Mount Nebo, Devil's
Gary Vernon:Den, those are state parks, they have cabins they have, in some
Gary Vernon:cases, they have restaurants and they definitely have staff that
Gary Vernon:can maintain trails. So that became a relationship. In late
Gary Vernon:2015 we took Grady and his staff to some site visits for you
Gary Vernon:know, around the country for destinations for trails, and
Gary Vernon:they really started to get how wonderful this relationship
Gary Vernon:could be. And that started the brand, the monument trail brand,
Gary Vernon:which is trails and state parks in Arkansas. So, you know, Mount
Gary Vernon:Nebo, Hobbs State Park, Pinnacle Mountain, and Devil's Den are
Gary Vernon:all four of those State Park Monument Trails, and we've got a
Gary Vernon:few more up our sleeve that are coming, that are going to be wonderful.
Brent Williams:Okay, I can't wait to find out. Well, you
Brent Williams:know, Gary, as you, you know, you've been riding bicycles your
Brent Williams:whole life. But, you know, I can clearly you've got a passion for
Brent Williams:it. But I think you have a passion for like, it's good for
Brent Williams:people, right, you know, so kind of how do you see one being good
Brent Williams:for us at an individual level, but then, you know, let's talk
Brent Williams:about how this connects to business in our economy. And as,
Brent Williams:as our economy is growing, as companies are growing as
Brent Williams:companies are moving here, I think this matters, talk a
Brent Williams:little bit about all that, you know, sort of magic sauce there.
Gary Vernon:Well, we've seen it in real time, you know, in this
Gary Vernon:region. And specifically Bentonville, Bella Vista where,
Gary Vernon:if you want to talk about, you know, it's it's definitely a
Gary Vernon:quality of life initiative, when you build access to nature. I
Gary Vernon:mean, the studies have shown that, if you just get out in
Gary Vernon:nature, it's a benefit for your mental health. And it's a it's a
Gary Vernon:form of getting active. So those two things together, are
Gary Vernon:powerful. And if you have a good quality of life, then people
Gary Vernon:will want to be part of your community. So we've started to
Gary Vernon:see people move to the region, to be near the trails, in some
Gary Vernon:cases, they're moving here without a job. And we're seeing
Gary Vernon:businesses that are attracted to that kind of influx of young
Gary Vernon:talent, talent of all ages. And so we have seen businesses, and
Gary Vernon:we've been courting businesses in the outdoor industry in the
Gary Vernon:cycling industry. Because they see that as a, you know, you can
Gary Vernon:certainly bring in talent and retain talent, if you have a
Gary Vernon:community that people want to be part of. And that's simple. When
Gary Vernon:I moved here, 20 years ago, I moved to Bella Vista 20 years
Gary Vernon:ago, with my career at Walmart. And I wanted to move here, I
Gary Vernon:knew it was a good place because I just grew up there, up the
Gary Vernon:road in Joplin. I knew this was a wonderful community. But
Gary Vernon:people outside this region don't understand what we have here.
Gary Vernon:And it was a tough sell, to get people to move here. But now
Gary Vernon:with the reputation of this outdoor lifestyle, with trails
Gary Vernon:on every corner, that you can jump on. I've had so many people
Gary Vernon:come to me on the trails and say we moved here. Third visit, in
Gary Vernon:the first visit, we were blown away, came back with a family
Gary Vernon:third visit we looked at real estate and bought it. That story
Gary Vernon:happens all the time. And I would have laughed if somebody
Gary Vernon:told me 20 years ago that was going to be a story here.
Gary Vernon:Because it wasn't.
Brent Williams:Yeah. But it certainly is today. There's no
Brent Williams:doubt about that. Well, you know, as you as you as you think
Brent Williams:about how do you see how do you see that whole economy around
Brent Williams:cycling developing you started to mention it you started to say
Brent Williams:businesses are starting to wrap around right you know, there's
Brent Williams:services, there's bike shops, like as you're looking at the
Brent Williams:future of what that economy you think is going to look like in
Brent Williams:Northwest Arkansas, give us a little bit of a sneak peek you
Brent Williams:know in Gary's mind of how you see this continuing to develop.
Gary Vernon:It's already started, there's no secret you
Gary Vernon:know, we have Eddyline Kayaks moving from Seattle their
Gary Vernon:headquarters here you know, Allied Bicycles is in Rogers
Gary Vernon:they're building high end, carbon fiber, mountain bikes,
Gary Vernon:How cool is that? And Professor Jon Johnson here, is focused on
Gary Vernon:gravel bikes, road bikes. Victoria Tire their US
Gary Vernon:headquarters is here. Rapha, you know, the apparel company is
Gary Vernon:headquartered here. There's the continues to be outdoor apparel
Gary Vernon:companies pop up. I mean, it's we were, we were courting the
Gary Vernon:rest of the industry, you know, Specialized Bicycles has an
Gary Vernon:Experience Center. YT Bikes is going to have one of their
Gary Vernon:experience centers they call a YT Mill. It's going to be a
Gary Vernon:state of the art showcase where you can come in and look at
Gary Vernon:their products and demo their products. And they've got some
Gary Vernon:of the more affordable high end bicycles you can get. It's an
Gary Vernon:online business but you'll be able to come to Bentonville and
Gary Vernon:try out one of their bikes before you order it online. You
Gary Vernon:could actually come here on a weekend, demo one of their bikes
Gary Vernon:on a day and then go back over to their location and just have
Gary Vernon:one shipped to your house, that's going to continue to
Gary Vernon:evolve. And again, as we bill and the Ledger, have you seen
Gary Vernon:the Ledger office building I mean, that's built. It's the,
Gary Vernon:it's the world's first bikable building six or six stories tall
Gary Vernon:and you can ride your bike to every floor. And that has been
Gary Vernon:filled up with different bike industry, USA Cycling has moved
Gary Vernon:to headquarters here where their our Olympic mountain bike
Gary Vernon:hopefuls are going to be training in this region. People
Gary Vernon:for Bikes has a headquarters here and they're helping us
Gary Vernon:really master plan how to get people to ride to work on bikes.
Gary Vernon:And the story goes on so yeah, we are we are becoming a center
Gary Vernon:of excellence for for bicycling and trails. There's a Bicycle
Gary Vernon:Technician Program at the community college in Bentonville
Gary Vernon:at NWACC. And we're just getting ready to launch a trail builders
Gary Vernon:trade school in Bentonville at NWACC that Dr. Bollinger is
Gary Vernon:spearheading and we've made some partnerships with the the EU
Gary Vernon:program that they're trying to build over there. There's
Gary Vernon:several countries in Europe and Scandinavia that have been
Gary Vernon:working together to build trail building curriculum. And it's
Gary Vernon:because trail buildings kind of wild west, but there's gonna be
Gary Vernon:credentials and certifications to be a trail builder. And they
Gary Vernon:are partnering with us because they've kind of ran into a
Gary Vernon:little bit of headwinds on their curriculum. And so we're going
Gary Vernon:to work together with them and build a universal, you know,
Gary Vernon:trail building curriculum and certification. And it'll be
Gary Vernon:based out of Bentonville.
Gary Vernon:outdoor industries and engaging students and thinking about
Gary Vernon:careers in the outdoor industry, which is another great fit to go
Gary Vernon:alongside what you guys are doing.
Gary Vernon:There are so many kind of synergies happening now. It's
Gary Vernon:hard to even keep up with it. But what is it what is exciting
Gary Vernon:is, you know, that grand experiment that Tom and Steuart
Gary Vernon:are doing are doing in Bentonville, and in surrounding
Gary Vernon:areas have grown to where other communities in Arkansas are
Gary Vernon:doing it themselves, just because they can see it works.
Gary Vernon:And building trail and, and getting people active.
Brent Williams:What about this whole gravel scene that's
Brent Williams:happening, as, and that's kind of, seems to have really been
Brent Williams:developing as of the last several years. But getting more
Brent Williams:and more popular.
Gary Vernon:I used to ride gravel roads to get to a trail,
Gary Vernon:you know, back when I was growing up, but it's amazing,
Gary Vernon:it's and it has become a phenomenon. And we have a we
Gary Vernon:have a you know, registration for a gravel event they sell out
Gary Vernon:in minutes.
Brent Williams:Really?
Gary Vernon:You know, like our Little Sugar event in October
Gary Vernon:sold out quickly. But anyway, it's just, it's just a way to
Gary Vernon:get out and it's it's social, where you can ride side by side
Gary Vernon:with your friends and ride to another town and get lunch and
Gary Vernon:see the backwoods, you know, by bike and it's and in some cases,
Gary Vernon:some of the riders may be not quite ready to go off road on a
Gary Vernon:mountain bike. So it's a good starting point. And others are
Gary Vernon:pure, you know, endurance motorheads that just want to go
Gary Vernon:out and ride 100 miles on back country and not have to worry
Gary Vernon:about the high speeds of a highway. But man, you can see
Gary Vernon:the most beautiful spark parts of the parts of the state just
Gary Vernon:by riding your gravel bike and in one of the one of our best
Gary Vernon:experiences is the Arkansas High Country route. The Adventure
Gary Vernon:Cycling's route and now that's a 1000 mile loop around the best
Gary Vernon:parts of the state.
Brent Williams:It is amazing now what you can see and the
Brent Williams:beauty that you can see in Northwest Arkansas on a gravel
Brent Williams:bike and other parts of Arkansas too I know there's I haven't
Brent Williams:ridden it but I know there's a ride a gravel ride that happens
Brent Williams:down near Helena I think yeah, which is completely differently
Brent Williams:landscape but has a unique beauty of its own.
Gary Vernon:Well, I didn't understand how, how great that
Gary Vernon:area is for gravel riding until I you know, Ted Hergert and
Gary Vernon:Martin Smith from Martins from Bird Eye. And Ted's in Jonesboro
Gary Vernon:and they kept telling me about the Crowley's Ridge experience
Gary Vernon:and I didn't I just knew that over there you're gonna be
Gary Vernon:riding in the grids of farmland on gravel. And it's, you know,
Gary Vernon:can't be that exciting, but they convinced me to come down there
Gary Vernon:we rode from Jonesboro to Helena on Crowley's Ridge, which is a
Gary Vernon:really unique like two mile walk, you know, it's in the
Gary Vernon:middle of that delta flat farmland, but it's a two mile
Gary Vernon:wide, basic, rolling hillside that's eroded over the years,
Gary Vernon:but it's remained. So you're riding through canopy and you're
Gary Vernon:going through these small towns that have wonderful cafes, and I
Gary Vernon:discovered fried pies there. And every 10 miles you can get a
Gary Vernon:fried fried pie. But we rode from Jonesboro into Helena and
Gary Vernon:and then rode on into Clarksdale, Mississippi on the
Gary Vernon:levee. And that was a wonderful trip and so, but what else was
Gary Vernon:happening from Helena, the Delta Heritage Trail, which is an old
Gary Vernon:rail bed, it's being created into an 86 mile, rail to trail
Gary Vernon:you'll be able to leave Helena, jump on it and ride Arkansas
Gary Vernon:City, you'll be able to cross the White River and the Arkansas
Gary Vernon:River on these giant, old railroad bridges that are going
Gary Vernon:to be reconditioned, and there'll be a way to a hut to
Gary Vernon:hut plan for that on the way so you'll be able to really
Gary Vernon:eventually ride Crowley's Ridge from the Missouri State line all
Gary Vernon:the way to Arkansas City.
Brent Williams:Really great to see, you know, this, I guess
Brent Williams:exploding throughout Arkansas. I think that's the one thing that
Brent Williams:I love. I love seeing about it. And you know, it's had a
Brent Williams:substantial economic impact, at least I know you've been able to
Brent Williams:measure it, I think and in our region. Tell us a little bit
Brent Williams:about that.
Gary Vernon:Well, just recently the University of Arkansas did
Gary Vernon:their report. And it's $157 million annually of just
Gary Vernon:economic impact in the in the Northwest Arkansas two county
Gary Vernon:region. And that's just driving the business of bringing people
Gary Vernon:here to ride bikes on trails, and then local businesses being
Gary Vernon:enhanced by people riding bikes and getting active. And it's
Gary Vernon:real dollars. And we started seeing, you know, the people
Gary Vernon:from out of town, like I said, when we started having 12 or
Gary Vernon:more miles and Bentonville, that's when we started seeing
Gary Vernon:these bike racks on cars with license plates from outside the
Gary Vernon:region. And we started really understanding hey, this is this
Gary Vernon:is bringing people in so that as the miles, you know, continued
Gary Vernon:to add on and it became more of a destination. We saw more and
Gary Vernon:more out of towners come in they, they're spending real
Gary Vernon:money here. So it definitely is an economic impact to the
Gary Vernon:community.
Brent Williams:Yeah, and you're starting to see you know, more
Brent Williams:hotels in Bentonville being built and more restaurants. As
Brent Williams:you said, the the synergies are a little bit hard to even keep
Brent Williams:up with.
Gary Vernon:You know, people ask me sometimes what are they
Gary Vernon:building over there? I don't know. They're building quicker
Gary Vernon:than I can keep up. But you know, when I first moved to
Gary Vernon:Bentonville, or to Bella Vista and worked in Bentonville,
Gary Vernon:Station Cafe was a burger joint on the square. And that was it.
Gary Vernon:You know, there's nothing else to really do on the square and,
Gary Vernon:and now it's, it's a model for downtown revitalization and,
Gary Vernon:and, you know, when we were out there working on that first few
Gary Vernon:miles of trail it slaughter pen in Bentonville. With Tom he had
Gary Vernon:his vision, he wanted to revitalize the downtown as part
Gary Vernon:of this whole mountain bike. So he got it early, he knew what he
Gary Vernon:was wanting to do, and did it with the help of the community.
Gary Vernon:And the community, you know, if it wasn't for the community,
Gary Vernon:buying in and entrepreneurs jumping in and helping and, you
Gary Vernon:know, Tim Robinson starting Phat Tire Bike Shop, you know, in
Gary Vernon:2009 or 2008. You and as the trails grew so did his business,
Gary Vernon:and that's, that's, that's all part of it, you know, just
Gary Vernon:people having the vision to jump in and be part of the growth and
Gary Vernon:it's, it's really been fun to see,
Brent Williams:It has been a you've been really a huge part
Brent Williams:of that development. You know, one one thing, Gary, I'd love
Brent Williams:your thoughts on for our students, you know, so at the
Brent Williams:Walton College, you know, we'll have, oh, let's say, you know,
Brent Williams:over 8,000 students in the Walton College and you know,
Brent Williams:there's probably 32 ish 1000 at the University of Arkansas, and
Brent Williams:many of them from here, but many not, and many might not have
Brent Williams:grown up riding bicycles, you know, and they might be looking
Brent Williams:at all the trails around and thinking, like, alright, where
Brent Williams:do I start? How do I how do I jump in to this to this
Brent Williams:ecosystem? What would you what advice would you give them?
Gary Vernon:Well, the first thing is rent a quality bicycle.
Gary Vernon:You know, you don't want to ruin your experience by maybe
Gary Vernon:starting out on the wrong piece of equipment, but rent a quality
Gary Vernon:bicycle. I know you, you guys rent them here at the University
Gary Vernon:at UREC. There's bike shops are all around the region that you
Gary Vernon:can go in and spend 40, 50, 60 bucks just to try it out. Or
Gary Vernon:borrow a friend's you know, it's even easier. But just give it a
Gary Vernon:try. Get some instruction early. You know, if you get out and
Gary Vernon:give it a try, hire a coach to teach you good habits first. And
Gary Vernon:then it'll be a lifelong sport. And that's what I like about
Gary Vernon:cycling and mountain biking. It's a lifelong sport. You know,
Gary Vernon:I'm 40 years older than my son and so we go on trips together
Gary Vernon:and ride bikes. Because it's a lifelong sport. He's getting a
Gary Vernon:lot better than me, but I'm still able to keep up.
Brent Williams:I bet. Well, you know, as you maybe even broaden
Brent Williams:it out a little bit, last question for you, again,
Brent Williams:thinking about our students, and as you look back at your entire
Brent Williams:career of, you know, being involved in what's happened in
Brent Williams:cycling in Bentonville, and the state, and then 30 years at
Brent Williams:Walmart, couple of lessons learned that you would say, if
Brent Williams:you're, if you're a student today at the Walton College that
Brent Williams:you'd give them some advice.
Gary Vernon:Well, what has worked for me and made me
Gary Vernon:successful, or at least happy, is, have ambition, but also
Gary Vernon:enjoy where you're a in life. I saw so many people that weren't
Gary Vernon:happy in a long career, because they were never satisfied at
Gary Vernon:what they're doing. And so I think that was my secret is,
Gary Vernon:enjoy the moment, what you're doing and try to be the best you
Gary Vernon:can be and things happen. Advancement happens if you're,
Gary Vernon:if you're positive, and you're, you know, you're doing a good
Gary Vernon:job of what you're doing and don't lament the fact that
Gary Vernon:you're not able to make the next step quickly. That's been really
Gary Vernon:my success in at least secret to life, but also just having the
Gary Vernon:confidence and just try new things. I mean, my, you know,
Gary Vernon:kind of make your own luck, you know, be you know, hard work and
Gary Vernon:and opportunity, you know, creates, creates good luck. And
Gary Vernon:you can't do enough of that.
Brent Williams:Well, you know, say yes to opportunities, be
Brent Williams:present, work hard, do your best and the opportunity that's in
Brent Williams:front of you, I think it's wonderful advice.
Gary Vernon:10 years of volunteerism, you know, got me
Gary Vernon:to my role, but it was passion, you know, that I enjoyed doing,
Gary Vernon:didn't expect it to turn into anything, because there wasn't
Gary Vernon:such a job there, but it worked out. But then I would just, I
Gary Vernon:would just finally say, you know, this whole idea about
Gary Vernon:bringing mountain bike trails to town, bringing access to
Gary Vernon:outdoors to town, was a successful formula. And same
Gary Vernon:things happening with paddling. You know, we have 96,000 miles
Gary Vernon:of rivers, creeks and streams in this state. And Stewart Nolan
Gary Vernon:who started the Arkansas Canoe Club back in the mid 70s is
Gary Vernon:helping lead that effort to bring paddling to town. So what
Gary Vernon:about Little Sugar paddling down it in Bentonville? Bella Vista?
Gary Vernon:Or what about, you know, the White River paddling into
Gary Vernon:Fayetteville. So making it easy, make you know, lower the
Gary Vernon:intimidation factor getting more kids and first timers out on the
Gary Vernon:water. That's all part of the the secret formula is make it
Gary Vernon:easy bring it to town. That way people don't have to make a
Gary Vernon:decision on a weekend to go somewhere two hours away.
Brent Williams:Well, Gary, thanks for all you've done for
Brent Williams:for our community in Northwest Arkansas for our state and for
Brent Williams:for all the businesses that are benefiting and for all the
Brent Williams:people that are benefiting so deeply appreciate you. Thank
Brent Williams:you.
Gary Vernon:Well, thanks for having me.
Brent Williams:On behalf of the Walton College thank you for
Brent Williams:joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected
Brent Williams:and never miss an episode. Simply search for Be Epic on
