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Asheville Hosts Cyclo-cross National Championships in January 2016
Asheville will host the Cyclo-cross National Championships on Biltmore Estate in January 2016. USA Cycling evaluated potential host cities using various criteria, including: accessibility, community support, course options, technical expertise and the organization’s commitment to volunteer recruitment, marketing and lodging. It will be the first time this event has been held in the southeast. The national championship course will be set amongst the 8,000 acres of America’s largest home. In addition, Asheville will host an international-caliber test event ahead of the national championships in 2015.
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Road Biking around Asheville
For road bikes, the popular spot is the Blue Ridge Parkway. Read some great tips about biking on the busy Parkway. Also read a biker's journal of his ride of the entire Parkway. There are also plenty of country roads to explore. Carrier Park has a paved track for biking loops. New is the Point Lookout Greenway Bike Trail, a very scenic 3.6-mile paved greenway that climbs 900 feet in elevation.
Bike the Assault on Mt. Mitchell, a very challenging 102-mile supported bike ride from Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the top of Mt. Mitchell. You will climb a cumulative of 11,000 plus vertical feet (6,600 feet in the last 24 miles)! You can bike the entire route or take ride the Assault on Marion, a 78-mile ride that stops before the steep climb to the top. For more details, go to the Assault on Mt. Mitchell website.
Mountain Biking
As you may guess, mountain biking is big in the Asheville area of the North Carolina mountains. Just south of the city, you will find a variety of mountain bike trails at the Bent Creek Experimental Forest and the NC Arboretum next door. About an hour west of Asheville is the nationally known Tsali Recreation Area. Just opened in 2008 north of Asheville is 26 West Mountain Bike Park. See more details below.
Bike Rentals
If you are not bring your bike, you can rent road and mountian bikes in Asheville at Liberty Bikes. For a convenient place to rent and service bikes near Tsali Recreational Area, go to Nantahala Outdoor Center. Their bike shop is only ten minutes from Tsali and they have their own Flint Ridge Trail with great views of the Nantahala Gorge.
Bent Creek Mountain Biking, Asheville
Located in Asheville on the northern tip of the Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest, the Bent Creek Reasearch and Demonstration Forest encompasses Bent Creek's watershed, and contains a collection of trails that is well suited to beginning and intermediate mountain bikers, families, and groups. With some trails containing large climbs and technical sections, more advanced riders will can fun here as well.
Bent Creek is popular for after-dinner rides, because it is just a few minutes' drive from Asheville. A campground, mountain lake, and family recreation area make this area very popular with tourists. Due to the crowds, this area is patrolled nearly every summer weekend by members of Southeastern Mountain Bike Patrol.
This trail network can be connected with others in Pisgah National Forest via the unimproved Bent Creek Gap Road to make long, epic type rides. This area is also a perfect place to begin your day trips if you plan on spending several days in Pisgah.
Though less advanced riders may find them difficult, none of the trails in the Bent Creek trail system are considered extremely technical. Most trails follow old road or railroad beds and have only a few areas that require significant technical skill, with steeps, rocks, roots, mud, and creek crossings. Fast, hardpacked sections of trail lie between these obstacles.
The nearly 10 miles of doubletrack and singletrack open for biking in Bent Creek Experimental Forest are comprised of a 6.5-mile loop, with a 1.6-mile one-way out-and-back (3.2 miles total) tacked on for good measure. This popular trailhead, actually called Hardtimes, is named for the gated road leading to nearby Lake Powhatan. The road leads into a part of the original 1,100 acres George Vanderbuilt purchased south of Asheville, part of which now contains the Biltmore House and its estates.
Directions to Hardtimes Trailhead: From Asheville, take I-240 west to I-26 east and get off on exit 2, NC 191. Turn left, pass the Biltmore Square Mall, and head south on NC 191 for 2 miles. Turn right at the stoplight onto Bent Creek Ranch Road, following the brown signs to the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area (bear left at fork after 0.2 mi on this road). The paved, signed Hardtimes trailhead parking area is just over 2 miles down this road on the left. Other popular starting points are beyond Hardtimes further into the valley.
For more:
Full list of Bent Creek Trails.
Bent Creek Trail Map.
DuPont State Forest
DuPont State Forest is fast becoming one of the leading mountain bike destinations in Western North Carolina. This forest offers over 80 miles of trail, nearly all of which is open to both equestrians and mountain bikers. DuPont offers everything from gentle forest roads to exciting single track, with an impressive variety of scenic attractions located only minutes apart. Download their Mountain Bike Guide.
Biltmore Estate
If you are visiting Biltmore Estate, take along your bike and try out their mountain biking trails - from easy to difficult. Read more.
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Nantahala Outdoor Center
Rent a mountain bike at NOC’s Tsali Bikes on the Nantahala River! We’re just 10 minutes from Tsali, or ride across the river on our own Flint Ridge Trail! Service and repairs, bike sales.
Tsali Bikes is located at NOC on the Nantahala River
Click here to view their Web site |
Tsali Recreation Area: Mountain Biking Heaven
The popular Tsali Recreation Area has long been a top destination for mountain biking in North Carolina and even the entire eastern US. Containing nearly 40 miles of trails in a system with four excellent loops, it has been rated as one of the top 10 places to ride in the USA! The area is located on a hilly peninsula reaching into beautiful Fontana Lake, at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains. The four long main trails at Tsali wind along the lakeshore and onto the wooded, steep interior ridgelines, and many connector trails, gravel roads and extension trails make rides at Tsali even longer, more scenic, and more fun! Three main overlooks along the trails provide sweeping views of Fontana Lake with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the other side. The trails are fast, hardpacked singletrack, and they're extremely well designed and well used. Trails alternate use between mountain bikers and horseback riders on different days, two will always be open to mountain biking. There is a $2.00 trail use fee for one day, but Tsali is well worth two bucks!
Tsali's jumping off point is the end of FR 1286, where the trailhead, campground, and boat launch are located. Tsali can be quite crowded on summer weekends. This means the parking lot will probably be pretty full. Don't let this deter you from riding here, however. Finding a place to park is not a problem unless there's an event such as a race going on. While on the trails, you might encounter other riders frequently - so keep that in mind as you pick up speed. Despite this, the trails are hardly ever so crowded that you can't find seclusion. Even on the most crowded days, you can often ride for miles without seeing anyone else. To avoid the crowds, try to visit during the week. Tsali's Left and Right Loop trails can be combined to make a great, but difficult, 18-mile ride.
Located at the entrance to the trailhead parking lot is the Trailhead Store, a small stand which sells Tsali souvenirs such as bumper stickers, postcards, and t-shirts. There's also firewood for the campground and for the trail they have handy items such as power bars, cold drinks, tubes, brake pads, guide books, and even helmets. Though this may have destroyed any remaining illusion of being in the wilderness when you're in the parking area, some of that stuff can really come in handy (especially the cold drinks on a hot day!).
Directions to Tsali: From Asheville, take I-40 West to Exit 27. Follow Highway 74 past Bryson City (Great Smoky Mountains Expressway) to intersection with NC 28 North. Follow NC 28 North about 3 miles (through heavy construction; this road is being widened to four lanes) to the sign for the Tsali Recreation Area; turn right. Follow this newly paved road to the campground and trailhead parking lot; park in the lot signed "Riders Park and Pay Here."
Download Tsali Guide (PDF) | Full list of Tsali Trails.
Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships
USA Cycling has chosen Beech Mountain Resort as the site of the 2011 and 2012 Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships. The resort, the highest ski area in eastern North America, is developing the course and enhancing its lifts with the goal of creating an advanced facility for all mountain bike enthusiasts. Beech Mountain, where Lance Armstrong trained and the Tour DuPont was run for four of its six years, has long been a destination for peddlers, and the USA Cycling championships will elevate its status even higher. The 2011 championships take place Sept. 22-25 with a complement of activities that include a North Carolina microbrewery tasting event and an expo.
