Beneath a quiet overpass on the paved trail leading into Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in Bentonville, Arkansas, a once-drab tunnel now bursts with lavender, red, mustard yellow and cobalt blue. A bike wheel doubles as a flower. A helmet floats beside a water bottle. In bold black letters, the message reads: all bike(r)s welcome.
It’s the kind of art you might find on a sticker, a water bottle or the back panel of a cycling jersey: playful, bright and full of two-wheeled pride. But in recent months, the mural became the focus of a local dispute over interpretation, process and public messaging.
