Brevard - Biking Capital Of The South (Asheville: hotel, camp)

[Shooting Stars]

Brevard and Transylvania County is featured in BIKE Magazine's January/February issue, which is the "Bible of Bike Tests" issue.

The Camp Illahee Blog | A Summer Camp for Girls in Brevard, North Carolina

Pisgah Area SORBA » Blog Archive » Brevard hits mountain biking big time – Asheville Citizen Times

BIKE Magazine: "Transylvania County is ground zero for some of the best riding in the nation”!

[ButtercupMcToots]

That was a good article. I stick to the little trail in town.

[wcu25rs]

this area is awesome and I have no problem with mountain bikers, but the road bikers are where alot of disdain from us locals are directed. Ive never understood the logic or reasoning behind the mentality that alot of these people have.....they are on a 10-20lb bike riding on the same roads as 2500lb-10000lb cars/trucks, yet they think they own the entire road, and alot of them dont even obey traffic laws. Granted, I know they bring in money to our county, but it's the attitude and disregard for motorists/traffic laws, as well as the dangers they impose that make it hard to accept them.

[Samoi137]

I didn't see Brevard being called the biking capital of the entire South. One magazine added it to a list of good places to bike. Local officials, in a bit of hyperbole, expect this to have a huge impact on the number of tourists in the area. I like the area, and saw lots if bikers, but also saw darn few bike trails, and feel that the steep roads, with limited space for bikes, could appeal to a limited number of people. As the article says, there are not yet plans to expand the number of hotel rooms in the area. I'd like to see it happen.

[ButtercupMcToots]

Originally Posted by Samoi137

I didn't see Brevard being called the biking capital of the entire South. One magazine added it to a list of good places to bike. Local officials, in a bit of hyperbole, expect this to have a huge impact on the number of tourists in the area. I like the area, and saw lots if bikers, but also saw darn few bike trails, and feel that the steep roads, with limited space for bikes, could appeal to a limited number of people. As the article says, there are not yet plans to expand the number of hotel rooms in the area. I'd like to see it happen.

What time of year were you there? Brevard has lots and lots of bikers, as noted above, maybe too many road bikers. Rt 276 is treacherous in warm weather.

[Spacepup]

I think Brevard could reasonably take the title of mountain biking capital of the south. But even then for an area with so many mountain bikers and tourists coming in there really is a surprisingly low number of dedicated trails in the area. The trails that are around and open to bikers are really good, I'll give you that, but I wish there were more.

For cycling (road biking) I'd say another Southern area would take the crown over Brevard. Perhaps Austin, TX with Lance Armstrong living there and whatnot? The roads here really aren't conducive to road biking: narrow roads, curvy mountainous routes, limited areas for passing, heavy tourist traffic, and unpaved shoulders make the experience pretty harrowing for cyclists and drivers alike. I stopped road biking when I moved to this area because while it is utterly gorgeous I just wasn't comfortable with the sorts of things you had to do to keep safe, such as taking the whole lane to prevent someone trying to pass you when there isn't room.

[ButtercupMcToots]

Originally Posted by Spacepup

I think Brevard could reasonably take the title of mountain biking capital of the south. But even then for an area with so many mountain bikers and tourists coming in there really is a surprisingly low number of dedicated trails in the area. The trails that are around and open to bikers are really good, I'll give you that, but I wish there were more.

For cycling (road biking) I'd say another Southern area would take the crown over Brevard. Perhaps Austin, TX with Lance Armstrong living there and whatnot? The roads here really aren't conducive to road biking: narrow roads, curvy mountainous routes, limited areas for passing, heavy tourist traffic, and unpaved shoulders make the experience pretty harrowing for cyclists and drivers alike. I stopped road biking when I moved to this area because while it is utterly gorgeous I just wasn't comfortable with the sorts of things you had to do to keep safe, such as taking the whole lane to prevent someone trying to pass you when there isn't room.

I'm always surprised how few accidents there are involving cyclists. And how about those people biking up Caesar's Head? My car struggles coming up!
Is the big race Assault on the Carolina's?

[thitzler]

I tried to access the article in the Asheville Citizen Times newspaper but it was archived and the only way to read it was to pay a fee. Can someone please post the article here so I can read it?

[ButtercupMcToots]

Originally Posted by thitzler

I tried to access the article in the Asheville Citizen Times newspaper but it was archived and the only way to read it was to pay a fee. Can someone please post the article here so I can read it?

Use the link in OP, it works.

[Samoi137]

Originally Posted by ButtercupMcToots

What time of year were you there? Brevard has lots and lots of bikers, as noted above, maybe too many road bikers. Rt 276 is treacherous in warm weather.

We've been there in August and in February. I agree there are lots of bikers (though we saw more in the Pisgah Forest than in Brevard itself), if not sufficient bike trails. I just meant that there are other places, with even more bikers. Maybe we could say "an important biking center in the South" rather than "biking capital of the South."