Arrival in Jonesboro
Parking, packet pickup, the rider meeting and the opening party on Main Street.
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Arrival in Jonesboro
Monday is arrival day. Nothing about it is difficult, but the rider meeting is where the week's ground rules are set, so plan to be at one of the two sessions. Here is the order to do it in.
- 1 · ParkLong-term rider parking at Arkansas State University, off Alumni Blvd by First National Bank Arena. Non-riders and operations vehicles park by Centennial Bank Stadium.
- 2 · Keep your bags with youThere is no bag drop on Monday. Your tote (50 lbs max) and duffel stay with you overnight and go on the truck Tuesday morning at the start line, 6:00–7:00 AM.
- 3 · Shakeout rideAn easy 2:00 PM spin, optional and untimed. Meet at Gearhead Outfitters on Main Street, then roll to Crowley's Ridge State Park or just take a slow lap through town.
- 4 · Go to The ForumPacket pickup 3:00–7:00 PM, then the rider meeting at 4:00 or 5:30 PM. It is about 3.8 flat miles from parking, and the route is below.
- 5 · Main StreetMeet Me on Main runs 5:00–8:00 PM, with the Delta Dirt happy hour and the Graveler merch pop-up at Gearhead.
Campus parking to The Forum
The ride from long-term parking at Arkansas State University to The Forum on Main Street, for packet pickup and the Meet Me on Main celebration. About 3.8 miles, and flat enough that nobody needs to think about it.
Accommodations
Jonesboro books up for race weekend, so reserve Sunday and Monday nights early. These are the closest options to the start at A-State Stadium.
| Property | Distance | Book |
|---|---|---|
| Embassy Suites Jonesboro | 0.4 miles from the start | Visit site → |
| Motel 6 Jonesboro | 1.8 miles from the start | Visit site → |
| Super 8 by Wyndham Jonesboro | 2 miles from the start | Visit site → |
| Hilton Garden Inn Jonesboro | 2.3 miles from the start | Visit site → |
| Courtyard by Marriott Jonesboro | — | Visit site → |
| My Place Hotels Jonesboro | — | Visit site → |
For RVs, if you need hookups:
| Property | Distance | Book |
|---|---|---|
| Lucky Camper RV Park | 2.5 miles from the start | Visit site → |
| Southside RV Park | 5.9 miles from the start | Visit site → |
Schedule
Everything with a time on it.
| Time | What | Where | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | Long-term parking opens | Arkansas State University, Centennial Bank Arena | — |
| 2:00 PM | Shakeout rides | Gearhead Outfitters on Main Street, then Crowley's Ridge State Park or a slow roll through town | — |
| 3:00–7:00 PM | Packet pickup | The Forum on Main | — |
| 4:00 PM | Roads close for the opening party | Main Street | — |
| 4:00 PM | Rider meeting, first session | The Forum | — |
| 5:30 PM | Rider meeting, second session | The Forum | — |
| 5:00–8:00 PM | Opening party: Meet Me on Main | Main Street | — |
| 5:00–7:00 PM | Delta Dirt happy hour | Gearhead | — |
| 5:00–8:00 PM | Graveler merch pop-up | Gearhead | — |
| 5:00–8:00 PM | Arkansas Delta Heritage Trail van unveiling | Gearhead | — |
Jonesboro
Where the hills stop and the Delta begins.
What it is now
Jonesboro runs on healthcare, education and manufacturing. St. Bernards Healthcare employs more than five thousand people here. Arkansas State University employs another three thousand, and it is where you park, gather and roll out. NEA Baptist, Hytrol Conveyor, Frito-Lay and Nestlé account for thousands more between them, and Riceland Foods has been processing this region's rice here since 1930.
The arc underneath those numbers is worth knowing before you form an opinion about the Delta. Jonesboro had 155 residents in 1870 and 4,508 in 1900. It passed twenty-one thousand by 1960 and seventy-eight thousand by 2020. It is the largest city in northeast Arkansas and it is still growing.
You start at the top of Crowley's Ridge, in the last town before the country flattens out.
Jonesboro sits on Crowley's Ridge, which the Encyclopedia of Arkansas describes as a crescent-shaped rise and the highest point in northeast Arkansas. That elevation is why a settlement held here at all: the ridge kept the town above water that regularly covered the country around it.
You will spend most of Tuesday getting off it. Close to a third of the week's total climbing happens in those first hours, which is why day one looks like the hard day when you read the profile. It is not the hard day. It is the last real elevation you will see until Sunday.
Eat and drink
- Skinny J's, 205 S Main St — Open Monday. On Main, a short walk from The Forum and from the party.
- Omar's Uptown, 301 S Main St — Opens at four. Steaks, two dining floors.
- The Parsonage, 305 S Main St — Southern, and it closes at five, so this is a lunch stop if you get in early.
If you have an hour
- The Forum, 115 E Monroe Ave — You are picking up your packet in a movie house built in 1926 as the Strand.
- Gearhead Outfitters, 230 S Main St — Ted Herget started it in a friend's living room in Jonesboro in 1997. It is eighteen stores now and still headquartered on this street. The pop-ups are here.
- The Hattie Caraway marker, A-State campus — Caraway was the first woman elected to the US Senate, in 1932. She raised her family in Jonesboro and is buried at Oaklawn Cemetery here. The Arkansas 250 Commission put the marker up in March 2026. Exact campus location — coming soon.
City of Jonesboro →Tour Jonesboro →Downtown Jonesboro Alliance →
After you finish
Everything on the schedule once the day's formalities are done.
| Time | What | Where | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00–8:00 PM | Opening party: Meet Me on Main | Main Street | — |
| 5:00–7:00 PM | Delta Dirt happy hour | Gearhead | — |
| 5:00–8:00 PM | Graveler merch pop-up | Gearhead | — |
| 5:00–8:00 PM | Arkansas Delta Heritage Trail van unveiling | Gearhead | — |
Weather and medical
We ride in rain. If lightning is near we shelter, and every host location has a designated indoor space for weather that turns serious.
- Medical
- UAMS is on site. They can assist immediately and connect you to any local hospital or emergency services as necessary.
