The DOOM (R)Evolution: Transitioning to the Ouachitas
The DOOM (R)Evolution: Transitioning to the Ouachitas
written by Andrew Onermaa
photos by the author and Aaron Arnzen
As we approach the fifth edition of DOOM, I can't help but smile at its progression. It has stood as a test piece of ultra and bikepacking since the beginning; each year, though, I've found a way to turn the dial a little closer to eleven. That growth reflects the community that keeps showing up, and it mirrors my own evolution as a rider.
I've been fortunate to experience incredible riding across North America: the Tour Divide; North to South Colorado; the endless rollers and minimum-maintenance roads of Iowa; the big mountains of the Vapor Trail 125; long stretches of Big Bend's state and national parks; samplers of riding out of Silverton and Durango; the White Rim; and pockets of Moab glory. Yet Arkansas remains some of the best riding I've experienced anywhere. The deeper I dig into the spiderweb of roads and trails in the Natural State, the deeper the obsession grows.
DOOM started as a rowdy backcountry route built for riders, by a rider. It was never meant to be convenient; it was meant to get people out there. My own exploration of the Ozarks began on 32c tires with tubes and slowly stepped up: 42's, then 47's, then 2.2's, until I found myself on a Slow Southern Steel hardtail with 2.35's.
As my fitness, equipment, and technical ability progressed, the difficulty of each year's DOOM route rose alongside that. It has always been one of the most challenging routes in the country for its distance; I've simply kept finding ways to refine that challenge.
What matters to me is avoiding difficulty for difficulty's sake. I want almost every mile to be rideable. If a rider ends up off the bike, it's rarely due to any sustained, mandatory hike-a-bike; it usually comes down to fitness, equipment, or technical skill. That keeps me motivated to use Arkansas as the place that prepares me to ride and compete anywhere in the world. Certain elements only exist in true mountain or desert landscapes, but as a whole, this state remains an ideal proving ground for testing the trio of equipment, skills, and fitness.
The move to the Ouachitas marks a shift toward a true mountain bike event. In 2022, I rode a full loop around Lake Ouachita by linking the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail, the Womble, and a stretch of the Ouachita Trail. The idea traced back to a loop Kenny Williams contributed to Bikepacking.com more than six years ago; while he wasn't the first to imagine it, he helped put the concept on a broader radar.
I only owned a gravel bike at the time, but I managed to borrow a steel, fully rigid On-One Inbred 29er, set up as a drop-bar singlespeed with 2.2-inch tires, from Ouachita legend Todd Hene. I bikepacked the loop over three days and two nights and was completely blown away by the region. I was underbiked and my skillset wasn't where it needed to be yet, but the experience lit a fire.
Along the way I learned that part of the published route crossed private land, so I made adjustments and added a revised version as a race option in 2022 for an event out of Hot Springs. It became the first time a race fully circumnavigated Lake Ouachita on these trails, and watching the impact it had on riders that year stuck with me. Fast-forward to today, and the progression of DOOM, and of me as a rider, has finally brought me back to this zone.
There's more to the Ouachitas than the marquee trails. The wider footprint of a DOOM-distance route pulls in the far reaches of the Ouachita National Forest, where long roller-coaster ridgelines and open views define the terrain.
These sections offer a brief reprieve from the technical demands while keeping the effort honest and fully engaging. What makes a long route in the Ouachitas special is how the character shifts from hour to hour; it never settles into a single rhythm.
Year five is a celebration of the DOOM community, of pushing the envelope within the ultra and bikepacking space, and, dare I say, the real ones. We don't just talk about it; we live it. There's no faking it out here.
I work a full-time job, and this stands as my annual passion project I can't resist keeping alive and improving. When you find your people, you'll do anything for them. A growing part of this work is shining a light on riders who pour themselves into this style of riding and creating avenues for the industry to engage with and support a community that's steadily expanding what's possible.
I hope to see this event rise to the level of what we're watching with the Mountain Races series overseas. It's the kind of event I wish I could attend as a participant.
The Ouachitas are simply the next chapter, built on the riders who've become veterans of DOOM, the ones stepping in for the first time, and the direction my own riding continues to pull me. That mix of experience and fresh energy is shaping where this event goes next, and I couldn't be more grateful to move forward with all of them.
