asheville, north carolina routes gpx

[Pschnei3]

North Carolina paceliners I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to help me on some good routes. I will be traveling with a couple of my friends next week to Asheville and was looking for some good roads to ride. any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance.

[OtayBW]

Pretty ho-hum, I suppose, but the ride up the BR Parkway from the Folk Art Center east of Asheville is pretty nice. 63 mi, grades not bad, screaming ~18 mi downhill past Craggy Gardens on the way back. Do it on a weekday if you can to avoid the RV, and bring a headlight.

[bocarider]

Here are links to the rides my wife and I did last year(ish) out of Asheville:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/8946708

- nice loop route through the suburbs/farmland NW of town:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/8946707

-out tunnel road to the Blue Ride Parkway, nice climb up the Parkway and then down Elk Mountain back into town. This was a really nice ride, but go early as Tunnel Road out to the Parkway is a heavily trafficked commercial road. We are not from the area, so did not realize what a bad road it was for cycling.

Check out Farmburger in downtown Asheville. One of the best burgers we've had (and we eat a lot of burgers) and the milkshake was pretty darn good as well. 12 Bones is the big name BBQ place, but I was really disappointed in it - the brisket was super dry and over salted, the ribs kind of tasteless and the pulled pork was slimy (I got a sampler platter). I would avoid it, despite the hype.

[dougefresh]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

Do it on a weekday if you can to avoid the RV, and bring a headlight.

and a rear blinky if you choose to ride the Parkway in this area. Lots of tunnels of decent length; and with curves in them.

[coffeecake]

I created several routes on ridewithGPS in preparation for a 2015 vacation to Asheville.

They are a variety of distances and I present them here with the disclaimer that I do not know the condition of the roads or the amount of traffic on the roads at this time. I simply pulled these based on strava files from my friends who lived there.

Short loop out of town and through Biltmore forest on the BRP. I rode this one; the climb out of town was steep from the gun and the road was narrow which could be a little dicey at rush hour.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9430969

Shorter loop based on the above. Did not ride this exact route but I imagine it's similar to the above.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9431193

38 miler west of town. I did this one. It was pretty great. Lots of tough climbing and not too much traffic.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9448980

Loop that includes Mt. Pisgah. This one was pretty sweet... the climb up to the BRP was difficult and had lots of tight switchbacks. Take lights for the tunnels. I did not do the full loop -- just ended up doing an out and back to the top of Mt. Pisgah and back down.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9431470

Gran Fondo, 60 miles. Did not do this one but pulled it from the Asheville Gran Fondo route so I imagine it is good.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9430921

Mt. Mitchell out and back. Did not do this one.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9432332

[redir]

Originally Posted by OtayBW

Pretty ho-hum, I suppose, but the ride up the BR Parkway from the Folk Art Center east of Asheville is pretty nice. 63 mi, grades not bad, screaming ~18 mi downhill past Craggy Gardens on the way back. Do it on a weekday if you can to avoid the RV, and bring a headlight.

I love that ride, not ho hum at all if you ask me.

[Pschnei3]

thanks for the quick replies and suggestions!!!


using strava(using the most used routes function) I came up with the below route.


https://www.strava.com/routes/9820336

[R3awak3n]

wifes dad lives close by, such a good area to ride.

[simonov]

The blue ridge parkway is great in both directions. And for a big ride, the Asheville Gran Fondo route was pretty great and easy to follow.

[eBAUMANN]

Originally Posted by coffeecake

Mt. Mitchell out and back. Did not do this one.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9432332

Coffeecake pretty much covered it...at least as far as I know...

Definitely climb up to mitchell though...the descent back down into the city alone is worth it...so long, so SO fun.

Heres my ride - https://www.strava.com/activities/307883362

[Lovetoclimb]

If you pm me with an email address and some more specific ride requests I can set you up. Lots of traffic, especially out of towners this time of year. BRP is great but I really don't recommend it unless you go early and still try avoiding the busiest stretches.

[.RJ]

Bringing this to the top - I'll be in Asheville the month of July and I'll have my bike with me. Staying in town, so plan to check out some of the restaurants/breweries/arts/etc of course. I will most likely bring my CX bike, the easier gearing and disc brakes probably best for the hills, can always swap on some road tires if thats what I'll be doing.

Is there any decent grazzle riding near town, or within an hour drive?

I've copied some of the route suggestions here, any more to add?

[emckee1]

There is good gravel riding just south of town in Bent Creek and Mills River area. There is also some decent gravel riding from downtown Asheville - Webb Cove Rd, Patton Mt Road and Vance Gap Rd. PM me if you want more details.

[Tz779]

Not a “route” but there is the Mellowdrome in Asheville. Not clear if you can ride road bikes on it. A not steeply banked velodrome if thats your jam!

[Rpoole8537]

The "Drone" is actually the old Asheville Speedway. Unless things have changed, you can ride your road bike.
Liberty bikes is a very good bike shop on Hwy 25, you may check with them about routes, etc.
Bent Creek area and N Mills River have many miles of roads for gravel.
Try Buxton Hall on the South Slope (lots of breweries) is my favorite barbecue!
+1 on traffic on the parkway during the summer.
Good luck and have fun.