Cycling is continually booming in the Natural State, as shown by the rapid expansion of trails, both road and mountain, as well as bike-friendly cities, traveling options and more. With Bentonville becoming established as the mountain biking capital of the world and the U.S. National Mountain Bike Team placing its headquarters there for the 2028 Summer Olympics, Arkansas trails have become nationally recognized as a great landscape for training.
Cayden Parker of Hot Springs is the first professional mountain biker on Team USA from Arkansas.
As part of the United States Men’s National Team, Parker competes for the U.S. in international competitions and is a proud member of Bear National Team when competing in races throughout America. As a four-time national championship winner, Parker recognizes that he is living a once-in-a-lifetime dream and is optimistic that Arkansas will continue to be recognized by professional mountain biking.
“My goal is for there to be more athletes that come from Arkansas, and because I want this, I really want to teach and be able to give back to the community that’s given me so much through cycling,” Parker said. “It certainly is really cool to be one of the best in the state, but what’s more important to me is that we create more really great cyclists who will come out of Arkansas because we have so many resources and so many great trails that it just makes sense for there to be more.”
Growing up in Hot Springs, Parker credits the great outdoors for his interest in cycling. He said he fine-tuned many of his basic mountain biking skills through family rides. He watched his parents, both mountain bike enthusiasts, and started cycling at a young age.
A Hot Springs native, Parker is grateful for the chance to ride on the Northwoods Trails. Photos by Kai Caddy.
“I think we all just fell in love with it, and eventually, I started racing locally, and then all around the state. By that time, I had realized I was pretty good at it and started to take it more seriously.”
With all of his early success in local and regional competitions, Parker eventually began racing on a national level and competed in his first national championship in 2017. Though he finished 17th in that first competition, he returned to Snowshoe, W.Va., the next year to win the first of two national titles.
“After winning a national title, I remember knowing then that I was pretty good at this and that it was not out of reach for me to travel the world while competing,” Parker said. “I really have been enjoying this, and I’ve met most of my best friends through this sport. Those first national titles made me realize that this path is something I want to explore and see what I can get.”
Parker said he has always been determined to find a way to do what he loves professionally. Growing up on the lake and trails, he already knew the “career path” he would take once he was old enough to be asked about it.
“There was nothing that I really wanted to do before this, and I definitely had other hobbies, but I’ve just always enjoyed being outside and seeing the world from the saddle,” Parker said.
“The outdoors really has been my life. I’ve always loved being able to explore. It just makes me feel good to get up and see what is out there. If you’re a runner or a hiker, then you get to see really beautiful trails, but on a bike, you’re just able to cover so much more ground, and the places that I’m able to explore on my bike are pretty limitless.”
Aside from the competition, mountain biking has opened up the world to Parker. He said the travel involved with competing internationally has been eye-opening.
“I feel so fortunate to get to do this, and I know it may sound silly, but I’ve gotten to see just how big the world is and how much life is out there,” he said, emphasizing the importance of being immersed in different cultures, food and languages.
Parker’s favorite place of late outside of the United States is Italy. He was recently able to spend two weeks in Lavino, training, riding, racing and of course, exploring. Parker estimates that he spends roughly 30 hours a week on his bike, training.
That training has opened up his own country to him, as well. This past winter, he trained in Tucson, Ariz., but thanks to the rise of the sport in Arkansas, Parker said he’s blessed to be able to train at the level that is required of him right in his hometown on the Northwoods Trails system.
He’s grateful to the communities across the state whose support has enabled mountain biking to become such a big deal in Arkansas and opened up the sport to so many who otherwise would have never been exposed to it. For Parker, the rise of the sport in Arkansas came at an opportune time.
“I was really starting to get into cycling right when everyone seemed to start shifting their focus to creating bigger trails and more bike-friendly activities throughout the state,” he said. “I got to grow my skill as they were adding more, and it feels like I have really been able to grow up with the state, in a way, through my love of cycling. It’s also incredible to think about how I’ve been able to race in big competitions in my own state, and that has been really crucial for my development. Honestly, I don’t think I’d be where I am right now without the growth that I was able to be part of.”
As a national champion and a member of the U.S. National Team, Parker said everything about his experience has been special, but he’s most proud of being invited to compete in the World Championships in 2021 and 2022.
“It’s a really cool feeling to get to represent your country, and I’m so proud to have had that experience,” Parker said.
In 2022, Parker also won two races in Fayetteville, which opened him up to competing in front of his home crowd — something he never dreamed of being able to do growing up.
“Racing at a high level in Arkansas was surreal; there is nothing like being able to compete with a home-state advantage,” he said.
As for the future, Parker wants to turn mountain biking into a full-time professional career. His sights are set on competing in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“Competing in the Olympics is my biggest long-term goal at the moment,” he said. “I realize it’s pretty ambitious, but I’m still going to work for it. As far as regular life goes, cycling is my life, so all of my goals are really aligned with that — just doing everything it takes to make that happen and become a professional and be able to make a living doing what I love. That’s the goal.”
Parker plans to return to West Virginia Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 to compete in the 2023 World Cup at Snowshoe, in which he will race against UCI Mountain Bike World Cup elite riders. This year’s UCI Mountain Bike World Series will feature 180 elite teams with more than 900 riders across all formats of racing. After the Snowshoe event, there will be one more 2023 World Cup event, which will take place in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec.
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