Charlotte, NC Riding

[fredd]

I'm going to be in Charlotte for a few days in April for work, and am planning on bringing a bike for a jaunt to Asheville after that.

While in Charlotte, I'd like to be able to ride my bike to keep fitness. Looking at 1-2 hour rides. Do paceliners have any recs for routes in that ballpark in Charlotte?

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by fredd

I'm going to be in Charlotte for a few days in April for work, and am planning on bringing a bike for a jaunt to Asheville after that.

While in Charlotte, I'd like to be able to ride my bike to keep fitness. Looking at 1-2 hour rides. Do paceliners have any recs for routes in that ballpark in Charlotte?

I don't live in Charlotte, so I don't have any specific suggestions, but you should know that Charlotte is HUGE geographically, so the specific area where you're at in Charlotte would be helpful to know if you're going to be trying to ride from your door instead of driving to ride.

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by fredd

I'm going to be in Charlotte for a few days in April for work, and am planning on bringing a bike for a jaunt to Asheville after that.

While in Charlotte, I'd like to be able to ride my bike to keep fitness. Looking at 1-2 hour rides. Do paceliners have any recs for routes in that ballpark in Charlotte?

A nice ride is up the BR Parkway to Mt. Mitchell. Park at the Folk Art Center on the Parkway, ~1 mi N of Hwy 70, just a few mi E of Asheville.

[fredd]

Originally Posted by rothwem

I don't live in Charlotte, so I don't have any specific suggestions, but you should know that Charlotte is HUGE geographically, so the specific area where you're at in Charlotte would be helpful to know if you're going to be trying to ride from your door instead of driving to ride.

Helpful. I'll be in Downtown.

[CNS]

I work in downtown Charlotte but live about 10 miles south/southeast in the Matthews area. I'm not the most knowledgeable about downtown routes but I think options are limited if you have one or two hours. Traffic will always be a concern in and around downtown.

A couple miles south of downtown is the Booty Loop (three mile loop through the Myers Park neighborhood). Full disclosure - a cyclist was killed in 2018/2019. It's a longtime spot in Charlotte that is in a heavily trafficked area.
The 24 Hours of Booty charity ride is held every year on the Booty Loop.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/689128

The Airport Loop travels west of downtown. It may be longer than what you're looking for. Road construction is also common on this route.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/376032

Weekly Rides is a great website for Charlotte cycling and the surrounding areas. You can search for bike shops, local events, group rides by day (AM/PM) if you're interested.
https://www.weeklyrides.com/

[CAAD]

Little Sugar Greenway is about 12 miles long. Charlotte drivers are the worst, watch out for rogue Nissan Altimas.

Asheville there are plenty of great routes. I avoid the parkway personally. Bakery Ride has a great route, stop in Marshall for coffee. https://www.strava.com/clubs/706205/...events/1004352

[Ralph]

Asheville and BRP no where close to downtown Charlotte.

[kytyree]

The Whitewater Center isn’t that far and has plenty of mountain bike trails. There’s a parking fee but I believe they also rent mountain bikes if you didn’t want to bring one. Good place for a hike or run too if you wanted to get some air. Charlotte traffic is brutal around town, I’d stick to the greenways mostly if riding in the city.

[Whit51]

Unless you're wanting to ride on roads, the Little Sugar Creek Greenway is a good bet. Varied scenic landscapes from rural to urban, not terribly crowed. It extends a little ways into South Carolina. Last time I rode it there was a stretch near dsowntown that required riding on some low traffic neighborhood streets to connect up two discontinuous sections of greenway.
https://parkandrec.mecknc.gov/Places-to-Visit/greenways

[fredd]

Appreciate the input here. Seems like greenways are the best bet, which is a bummer since it's usually harder to keep a decent pace on them, but I'll take what I can get.

Funny enough I'm actually mountain biking at the whitewater center as a team building activity with my co-workers.

[kytyree]

I'd read about their adventure race team building stuff, but we ended up going bowling, probably for the best since it was winter.