Hi

anything worth driving 18h to ride Pisgah Forest during a week vacation?

I planning a home made training camp, I want some nice trails, climbs and tech sections where I can stay close to the trails. Preferably riding to and from the trails. I thought of Brevard and Pisgah forest. Anybody from the area?

Any other area worth going instead? South Carolina? Georgia? Ideally, I want other attractions nearby too, so my GF can do something...

thanks

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Asheville is a super cool town if you or your gf are into that sort of thing. And yeah, the mountain biking out of there is fantastic. Highly recommended.

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Would you recommend staying close to Asheville so I could ride nearby?

Would staying in Brevard near Pisgah Forest be too far away from Asheville? Google give 45min drive...

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I am not from there, but go there about 5-6 wk ends a year. I always camp and ride road and /or mtb. I took both bikes every time I went this past year. Lots of great riding there.
It can be very remote, sometimes I may not see anyone for hrs at a time.
Are you going to ride solo? It is easy to get lost in the network of trails.

I would stay in Brevard, as I always do.

Edit again....
After thinking about this more. Not sure there would be much for your gf to do in either place. Site seeing in the forest maybe. There are some 100 or so waterfalls in Brevard area.
What time of year are you planning on going? I assumed this winter. Weather can be iffy there. In January, I went for a long wk end. The week before I went and the week after it was 40°F for the low and 60°F for the high, but the time I was there 16° /30°. Made for some very cold riding and you couldn't climb up to summits because it was much colder and windier.
My point is, if you are investing that much time in traveling, jump on a plane to Tuscon, AZ. Guaranteed sunshine, awesome riding,and lots to do and see there.

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It is definitely worth it, I went down this fall to ride and the trails down there are awesome. I'd stay in Brevard, as it's kind of a haul back to Asheville after a long day of riding. The guys at http://www.thehubpisgah.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; set us up with some good routes when we were down there. I'd recommend bringing a full susp bike if you have it, as the trails are a bit rough.

We did Black Mountain one of the days
http://app.strava.com/activities/23144004" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dupont was an absolute blast, it flows really well, cool scenery and there's a cat 4 slickrock climb
http://app.strava.com/activities/23331480" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We also did a ride out of Old Fort just near Asheville that was really run, big climbs, ultra steep downhills, It was tough to follow even with a map since there aren't many trail markers, it's most of the ORAMM race course
http://app.strava.com/activities/26675756" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's also Bent Creek near Asheville that has lots of fun, non technical trails

I would recommend bringing your road bike if you have room, the road riding down there is awesome as well, I've been going down there for 4 years now and usually ride near the Mars Hill area north of Asheville.

thanks guys

I would be going during the first week of march, so the weather would be safe?

My GF would enjoy hiking and just relaxing, visiting Asheville and seeing sights. Flying to Arizona is way too expensive compared to this kind of trip. We would be 4, so a rental wouldnt be expensive. I'd have a riding buddy with me.

So far Staying in Brevard seems to be the go, close to the trails

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Then rough it if you like camping. There is primitive camping all over the place. Davidson River campground is 1/4 mile from trail heads.
I have only camped, never stayed in a hotel there. March will be wet and cold on top of the mtns. If its too wet to ride trails there are lots of forest service roads around to ride.
I did lots of training for Leadville 100 there.

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great!

most likely will stay in a rental house or something similar

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Devinci Pm me when you get closer to your trip. Have some good friends in Ashville. Should be able to hook you up with some riding partners or as least some good routes to ride.

Go find Jeremiah Bishop's Strava files from the Pisgah stage race. From what I've heard you can't go wrong riding anywhere around there. When I go anywhere I usually go on Strava and find segments/routes and go from there. That part of the country has a lot of mountains and thus probably has any kind of terrain you want. I wouldn't waste time driving places to ride unless you have it and the ride quality is that much better.

Brevard is a cool town, and your GF can walk around all the shops downtown. You can ride from town to the entrance to Pisgah, stop in at the bike shop there and get information on all the trails there. Those guys specialize in mountain biking, so they can turn you on to some of the trails.The thing with Pisgah is that some trails are not open all year, so look into that. If you are will to drive, you can get to Bent Creek from there, or go back out toward highway 26 from Brevard and go to the Mills River area. Those trails are technical and you can ride all day.

You could also stay in Greenville and do some riding around there. Greenville would be great for the GF. You can get to Dupont from Greenville as well and those are some nice trails. You also have Paris Mtn trails.

HUMP

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Shop around, Tucson should not be more and is cheap to stay in. You also can't really go wrong with Southern CA that time of year.

The Mid-Atlantic wasn't too bad in March of last year so I don't know why NC would be worse.

thanks guys

I appreciate the advices. I went training in the Atlanta/Kennesaw area 2 years ago, it was cold but I could ride and that all I need.

Might look into Tucson but the thing is we're gonna be 4, might rent a small econoline so its would be quite cheap splitting the costs between us. As long as there is no snow accumulations, im good for training.

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If you're on a budget I HIGHLY recommend West Virginia. Amazing MTB and road riding everywhere, dirt cheap, etc. The Lost River Valley or Cumberland Gap areas are phenomenal.

Will look into that as well, not really on a budget, but thing is the week we're leaving is the spring break here, so flight tickets price goes up quite a bit. We did shop for Arizona last year, and it was quite expensive.

How would the West Virgina weather be early march? Comparable to NC?

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