Jesse M

i just moved up here and am looking for routes, rides, and riders. holler at me if you're familiar with the area.

* jack *

I wish I knew Asheville better than I do... hope you enjoy living there.

Guess you'll be spending some time at the Mellowdrome. * jealous *

Ceya

I was there last year. The airport is small, town is some what small but alot of riding. they race on a car track for their track racing. I heard it was not steep.

S/F,
CEYA!

roscoenyc57

There's a bikeshop downtown that claims to be the "second oldest bikeshop in the USA"
really nice guys. (Hearns?) They had a few track bikes in there.
the old race car track is called the Mellowdrome.
Lots of great road riding around there.
One of my favorite towns in the USA. The Orange Peel is one of the best newer live music venues around. Hope you dig it there.

chuck_norris

The Brew and View is worth checking out if it's still around.

You probably will want a roadbike for the blue ridge. Some of the best riding on the east coast.

soybean

Tomorrow I'm going on a roadtrip to Asheville. My friend who I'm going with lives there (and bikes). I can ask her what's up, but I probably won't be online for a while.

max-a-mill

i am jealous!

i was down there earlier this year riding oramm.

man that is big country out there. i wouldn't be riding too much road at all since i am nmore of a mountain bike guy myself. there seems to be enough beautiful offroad possibilities out there to keep someone satisified for many lifetimes.

youth

i want to go there.

BodiesOfLight

Holy sh-t , Boris is playing the Orange Peel Sept. 8th.

I just moved to NC from Columbus...let's just say I'm not enjoying it too well. Sooo Charlotte as a city sucks, Black Sheep Cycles is awesome, I'm not into southerners (friendly, but still), there aren't any art (design) specific schools I want to go to down here, most of the schools around NC aren't in a city or around anything...fu-k I miss Columbus.

Why am I down here then? Well, my living arrangments in c-bus got ****ed up when I ended up sleeping with my friend's girlfriend (behind his back for five months, but GOD was the sex good and she was f-cking hot and a model...), basicly lost all my friends (lesson learned) and was forced to move down with my parents. Oh, this was after I withdrew from college. Huh.

Anyway, I'm trying to find a city to live in, how is Asheville? Is there any reason I should stay in NC. I'm leaning toward moving back up north, to Chicago or Baltimore (sister lives there, MICA is a great school), but that's going to be hard.

Jesse M

well, i've only lived here for three days, but having lived in both charlotte and asheville, i can tell you that asheville is a hell of a lot better than charlotte is.

black sheep is about the only good thing charlotte has going for it. that and the fact that they're building a velodrome in rock hill, SC, but i'm not even sure about the details on that. there's tons of suburban sprawl in charlotte, it's really hard to get around without driving, and the roads aren't bike friendly at all.

asheville is often referred to as "NC's last liberal stronghold," so take that to mean whatever you want it to. just from riding here the past two days, i can tell that traffic is fairly bike friendly, and i've seen more bikers on the road than anywhere else i've ridden in NC. everyone i've talked to has been super friendly, but if you don't like southerners, idk what to tell you.

UNCA is about a mile from downtown asheville, and the city seems pretty simple to get around. the school has a strong art program (not sure about design, specifically), and is the state's only official liberal arts school, i believe. oh yeah, and did i mention that the school has a bike shop/coop on campus that teaches you how to fix your bike and rents commuter rigs? plus, UNCA students are able to ride asheville transit busses for free.

and as other people have mentioned, asheville has the closest thing to a velodrome in NC, which is the mellowdrome. i did a few laps on it tonight for the first time, and had a good time. i'll definitely be going back.

so, those are my impressions of both cities, after having spent three days in asheville and six months in charlotte. i prefer asheville a whole lot more, but if you have a serious phobia or hatred involving hippies, that might get in the way. on the other hand, if you have problems with ******bag fratboys, stay away from charlotte.

jfmckenna

I make it down to Asheville about 10 - 15 times a year. IMO some of the best road riding in the whole USA is in those parts. The Melodrome is a really cool venue too they just had the NC/SC State Championships last weekend. It's not steep but still it's a fun track. I like Asheville, it's a bit of a hippie town though. Check out Salsa's for some good eats and this little noodle shop right around the corner, and there is a lot of live music/bands playing.

-=(8)=-

H0LY $]-[iT, BATMAN !!
Hippies down Souf ??!?!?!?
My wife and I have been looking to move to S.C. but now
it seems a trip to Asheville, NC is in order !!

shot

Honk.

KrisPistofferson

Not just hippies, Lem, but all their punk rock children. Asheville rules, got a lot of friends there. To the OP, start going to punk shows, the scene is great in Asheville, the scenery is beautiful, and the "bike culture" is mighty. May see you around now and again. Enjoy.

NCTrey133

Also give a look at Greensboro when your running through NC. Its the most up and coming city IMO, everything is being remodeled and the downtown section is really bike friendly minus the occasional dick. And the crackheads are really funny too! UNC-G has a great biking scene and their critical mass actually has a fair amount of people. I ride downtown about 2 to 4 times a week just to chill, take the spring garden loop to N. Elm, elm all the way down to the middle of the city and then you can just explore from there.

-Trey

roadrider

If you ever get down to Winston Salem we have a Tuesday night urban ride that starts at 7:00
down town. Any where from 5 to 25 people turn out. Also a big variety of bikes mountain, cross
and SS. Great ride, lots of variety.

dustinlikewhat

ASHVILLE IS BORING!!! I lived there for a month last year, I couldn't find **** to get into. Although here are some good things:

Mellowdrome (watch out for baby strollers, roller bladers, and roadies)
Lucky Otter, awesome burritto's, get the white trash.
Green Eggs And Jam, great record store on broadway.
The bike store near the mellowdrome, also down the street from the Lucky Otter.

Watch out for:
Hippies - Smelly, play bad jam music in the parks
Train Hoppers - Also smelly, play bad "riot folk"
Pirate Punks - Stinky, dress like pirates, will drink your beer and not offer to pay.
Rednecks - Usually pretty nice in person, but will aim at you when your riding your bike.
Yuppies - Don't know what the hell their doing in their car and WILL hit you.

justintime8425

Just saw this post when searching. Anyone still here in A'ville?

Jesse M

right now i'm living at home in winston-salem for the summer, but am moving back to asheville in august for school. i'm definitely always trying to meet more people to hang out with.

asheville was supposed to have an alleycat a few months ago, but the weather was terrible that day, so i wasn't motivated to go. not sure if it actually happened or not.

i never knew there were so many north carolinians on here.

justintime8425

I remember hearing about the alleycat race, but i couldn't go because of work. I was thinking of talking to a few people and trying to get another race together. I've just started riding regularly over at the melodrome, but when i'm riding downtown i never see any other fixed bikes out there.

Anyone else still in Asheville and up for a ride?

Jesse M

bump this. asheville come on and raise up.

robcycle

A thread about riding in Asheville and no mention of Pisgah and Tsalai? Some of the best singletrack on the east cost. The place is a Mecca, Moab of the East. Anyway, there is plenty of prime singletrack around there. Other than that ... A road bike sounds like fun, maybe a cruiser for the city, a fixed cross bike might be fun for some light singletrack and fire road burns ... man I would love to play there.

-Rob.

dabern

I've been here just over a year now and love it...I'm putting less miles on the track bike but making up for it with all the climbing. For road routes, it just depends on where in/near Asheville you live. Check the link and click "cue sheets" for some nicely-done ride maps. Enjoy Asheville!

https://www.blueridgebicycleclub.org/