Asheville NC riding - Mt Mitchell

Triathlon Forum
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I’m going on a trip in June to Asheville with the in-laws and I’ll get at least one morning/day to go out and ride. I’d like to ride up Mt. Mitchell. I’ve done a little bit of research and their appears to be a couple of approaches to doing it. The place we are staying at is on the West/NW side of Asheville, so I’m thinking of either taking Tower Mountain Rd to Blue Ridge Pkwy or Elk Mountain Scenic Hwy to Blue Ridge. Anyone with experience in the area have any comments or suggestions regarding these routes, or possibly other routes? Or anything else I should know/consider? How variable can the weather be in June?

Thanks

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In my opinion, you are splitting hairs between going up town mountain vs. elk. If you are staying downtown I would go up Town Mountain and if you are staying near the Grove Park I would go up elk. I would also say which ever way you decide to go up, I would come down the other one just to get the full adventure.

Weather on Mt Mitchell is always a crap shoot. It can be 90 in Asheville and 45 and rainy on top of Mitchell. I would bring some arm warmers and a pair of gloves just in case. A rain jacket is never a bad idea if you have room. I would also bring a rear light for the tunnels. They are not very long going that direction on the parkway but it gets pretty dark in there.

Also bring cash. There is a little shop on top that sales drinks and snacks but I don’t think they take credit cards.

There are so many awesome rides to do here but if you only have one day to ride, I think going up Mitchell is the way to go. Craggy Gardens on the Parkway is awesome.

feel free to shoot me an email at mdgreene22 at gmail dot com if you have any other questions. I live here.

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The “WAY” is to start in Marion if you want the pain of using the AOMM route and doing the same segment that Gaimon did.

Take with you what you may need for the ride, there isn’t really anywhere to get more fluids. Cash only at the top for snacks. Yes, weather can be very variable. Pick a good weather day overall, it’s a long enough ride that if there’s a “chance” then that chance may well happen.

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I just got back from the Haute Route event in Asheville this past weekend. On day 1 we climbed Elk Mountain Scenic Highway and descended Town Mountain Rd. On day 3 we climbed Town Mountain Rd. I personally enjoyed the Elk Mountain climb more than Town Mountain Rd. The Town Mountain descent is fast and fun. However, as somebody already mentioned I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

Overall the riding in the Asheville area was the best I’ve ever done. Roads were challenging and in great condition and traffic was minimal.

Have a great time!

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Just finished the Assault on Mount Mitchell for the 2nd time earlier this week, and have done the climb from both Asheville and Marion. It really is an awesome climb and not terribly challenging aside from the length, although it does get steeper once you turn off the BRP onto the state park road. The Asheville side on the BRP is less steep, probably averages about 4% with the most sustained climbing at about 6-7%. Inside the state park, you average about 8% for a few miles aside from where it flattens out by the restaurant and the entrance to the park.

Starting from Asheville, I’d recommend going up Elk Mountain based on where you’re staying. It’s also fun to climb up from the Folk Art Center on the BRP, but that’s a few miles East of Downtown Asheville. Elk Mountain is an awesome climb which feels more like a proper mountain pass, in comparison to the rest of the climb to Mitchell.You’ll have a number of hairpins but the gradient is a pretty consistent 7-8% as I recall. I think it’s better to go up Elk Mountain so that you can descend down Town Mountain road coming back. If you’ve never been down Town Mountain, you absolutely need to! It has some turns but they’re fast, sweeping turns, more like a slalom than a hairpin. If you’re a good bike handler, you can fly through the turns on the limit barely touching the brakes. There’s probably a little more traffic on Town Mountain, but coming down you’ll generally be as fast as a car (faster through the corners) so it shouldn’t cause an issue.

As others have said, make sure you bring some warm warmers or clothing for the descent from Mitchell. Even if it’s warm in Asheville, it can get cool inside the state park. Either bring food or cash for snacks- if you bring food, they do have water fountains and bathrooms for you to top off the bottle. Also, be careful of the wind coming down from Mitchell to the BRP. The descent is exposed and fast (easy to get 40mph+, 50+ with super tucking) and leaves you exposed to sudden crosswinds, even though it’s pretty much a straight shot after the first hairpin.

One last note, don’t burn all your matches going up. After you descend the state park, you have a few mile climb back up to Craggy Gardens. It’s not super steep (probably avg 5%), but it can really drag if you’re not feeling good.

That’s about all I’ve got, have fun! Make sure you take pictures from the top of Mitchell, it’s super scenic!

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I don’t know the area very well, so just going off google maps, but it appears our AirBnB is just north of the Echo Hills area.

That’s good information about the weather, I wasn’t sure if I should bring a jacket or something, but I will now. I’m also curious about traffic. From what I’ve read, the Blue Ridge Parkway can get a bit of traffic around Asheville, but more so on the weekend. We will probably do this on a Thursday morning, so I don’t know what to expect regarding traffic at that time. Since it seems like a popular cycling route/area I’m guessing drivers are somewhat used to cyclists? Though I never assume too much with motorists.

I have a blinking red light on my bike currently, it’s not a particularly strong one, but it’s definitely visible, would that be enough? Or should I get something brighter? I also have a head light I can bring if you think that helps as well.

And since you brought up other routes. I only have spousal approval for one epic ride. But if I get up early on Friday-Sunday and can get around 2 hours in, what would be a good place to ride? It would probably have to be near the AirBnB due to time constraints.

@burnthesheep, I know about going up through Marion and the AOMM, but given where we are staying I didn’t want to have to mess with riding over to Marion first.

Thanks for the info, this has already been very helpful.

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Having ridden the BRP numerous times when I spent summers in AVL even on weekends in the summer it’s not too bad. Weekdays are less crowded but honestly the amount of traffic on the BRP is pretty minimal compared to a lot of other places in NC, AZ and the world I’ve ridden.

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Based on twheat18 and mikeridesbikes suggestions I think climbing Elk Mountain hwy and then descending Town Mountain seems to be a good choice.

I’m definitely not a fly down the descents rider, as we have pretty much no where to practice descending here in Florida, but I feel comfortable enough handling my bike in general. We (brother-in-law and I) plan to make it a fun all-day event, taking plenty of pictures and that sort of thing, so we aren’t in a hurry. I was planning on bringing just some basic food (Larabars and Gatorade) along with some water. I’ll be sure to bring cash as well.

There’s been a lot of great information here, I really appreciate it!

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That’s actually pretty comforting and good to know. Thanks

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yes the blinky light should be fine. Again the tunnels are pretty short going that direction. A head lamp wouldn’t hurt if you have never rode through tunnels before but it wouldn’t be a necessity. If you go the other direction to Mt Pisgah you would need one because the tunnels are longer and bend in the middle closing the light on both ends.

Your airbnb in Echo Hills is in a prime place to ride from for shorter morning rides. Anything North along the river is fantastic riding out in the county with minimal traffic and tons of farms. Ride to the town Marshal on the west side of the river (super hilly) and ride back on the east side of the river on riverside dr and its pretty flat. The bakery ride is the most popular route in town and can be found here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/4173092 You can modify it to make it shorter, but again anything North from your airbnb is awesome and safe.

I have found traffic in Asheville to be very good for riding. Yes the parkway can get very busy inside the city limits around rush hour times but will be very minimal where you get on at either town mountain or elk. Roads are in fantastic shape and you guys will love it.

Enjoy!

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While I haven’t ridden Tower Mountain Rd or Elk Mountain (hoping to check these out on the next trip to the area), I’ve ridden Asheville to Mt Mitchell and back via BRP numerous times (starting from a campground on west side/Rt 191).

As others have said, you will want to:
1)get a flashing taillight for the tunnels. I’ve even add a flashing headlight. If you are going to ride other direction (Asheville to Pisgah, there are more tunnels and they are longer and are curved), get a good/powerful headlight.
2)bring/carry some layers for the descent off Mt. Mitchell, temps up there will likely be cool vs. lower elevations where it will likely be warm
3)know where you can re-load on hydration. Drinking fountains can be found along the way:
Folk Art Center (would only pass this if you ride BRP instead of Tower Mtn Rd or Elk Mtn)Craggy Garden Visitor CenterSummit of Mt. Mitchell4)be aware of sections where you are exposed, can have some strong crosswinds in some of the “gaps”
5)save some energy for return trip as there are several decent climbs to get back to Craggy Gardens. After that, any uphills are pretty short
6)go early. Past experience for me has been that weather gets more unstable in the afternoon (more chance of showers). I usually like to be coming off the summit before 11:00am. Bonus on starting early: its cooler which isn’t bad when you are climbing most of the time.
7)if you have the time and start early enough and weather is nice, grab a light meal at the restaurant on Mt. Mitchell, 1 mile from the summit. Summit first, then come down and get some chow. Nice views.

The descents on the BRP are not technical, you can wind it up as fast as you want. I do get more cautious in the tunnels though, but that’s just me.

Enjoy! That area is my favorite area to ride. Well worth the 7 hour drive for a couple of days of riding.

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Nice thing about riding in Asheville is once you’re away from the city in 15 minutes, traffic is minimal. I live more or less downtown and rarely ever even use my car. Parkway is best if you leave early. Weekdays should be fine, as it is best avoided during the weekend. Elk is a good climb, and I’d suggest you have at least a 36/28 or 30. The ride up to Mitchell is pretty chill though, I don’t think anything on the parkway is more than 6%. The access road has some steeper pitches, but they aren’t long. Make sure you pack what you need as there is no stops except at the top, and they don’t have much. Definitely take a light jacket or vest as well as blinky lights for the tunnels. The tunnels are quite short heading north so a head lamp is not really needed.

For shorter rides, there are quite a few options from West AVL. Check out the heat maps on Strava.

Heath

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My bike gearing is 48/32 with an 11-34 cassette, so I don’t imagine I should have a problem running out of gears.

I’m more excited about this trip now, after reading all the replies, then I was before hand. And I was pretty excited before hand.

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That is PLENTY o’ gearing.

I’ve done Mt Mitchell 2x, both via the BRP from near Asheville.

Mt Mitchell itself is not really any harder climbing than Bear Mountain here in NY, or Cadillac Mtn in Acadia up in Maine.
There are a few ‘steeper’ parts that hit maybe 8% for a minute or 2, but otherwise it’s a pretty steady spin, and there’s a flatter section up near the top for a bit.
You may feel the altitude a bit - but it’s more the extended approach that takes it out of you.

You definitely want some arm warmers & vest, or light jacket - since it’s a legit mountain, and the weather up top can be dramatically different than what you have down in Asheville, or even at the base of the mtn.
I’ve been very lucky both times w/ weather, being fairly warm and not too windy, but that’s probably the exception, not the rule.

Also, both times in the afternoon it ended up T-storming, so there were many riders out on the BRP getting soaked.

Leave early am, for the least traffic and best weather window.

It is an AWESOME descent coming back down, really fun!!
I had the KOM on that for a while, but there’s always somebody faster out there on Strava.
https://www.strava.com/segments/648928

Enjoy! Definitely a bucket list ride for any avid cyclist.

15

Thanks everyone for the input. I thought I’d give a quick trip report. Our AirBnb was in West Asheville, just north of Patton Ave. All my rides started from there.

Trip was last week (June 12-17). Thursday morning I attempted my first trip to Mt. Mitchell. It ended up being solo, since my brother-in-law decided to go with the rest of the family to the Biltmore Mansion. I brought a light jacket with me, but I guess I didn’t truly appreciate the potential temp differences. The jacket I brought was a very light/breathable rain jacket I bring with me on rides in Florida in case I get in an afternoon shower. It breathes well, which is good for Florida, but probably not the right jacket for the mountains. The weather was fine/nice when I started, but when I made it to the Craggy Gardens visitor center the temp had dropped significantly. I don’t know what it was, but I could see my breath. All I had was a short sleeve jersey and the light jacket. Even with the jacket on I was shivering pretty good. The wind had also picked up and there were some pretty dark clouds, but I don’t know enough about mountain weather to know if that was concerning or not. I did know I was freezing and had at least another 1000 ft of climbing to do, plus the descent back to Asheville, so I reluctantly decided to head back. I was very cold on the descent, so I think I made the right decision. I also flatted on the descent (slow leak, not a blow out), so I had to stop to change the tire. This was my first time changing a disc-break/thru axle tire, and that went fine, except I prematurely punctured my CO2 cartridge. I carry a hand pump as well, and it took some effort but I was able to get the tires to what I felt like was a ride-able PSI. (I checked when I got back, they were at 35 psi, which is lower than I would normally want for my 38mm tires, but I didn’t notice any adverse bouncing or anything while riding home)

Friday morning I went for another shorter ride to Lake Louise and back, this time with my Brother-in-law. I really enjoyed riding around the Asheville area, lots of hills made for a fun ride, and the drivers seemed very aware and observant of cyclists. Probably because all the roads are so winding and hilly that you have to be careful all the time. I never felt unsafe.

Saturday morning, along with the brother-in-law, we attempted another ride to Mt. Mitchell, this time successfully. I brought a heavier jacket, and some other layers, but this time the weather was perfect and I didn’t need them. The ride was amazing, I don’t think I’d ever get tired of riding in those mountains! Early in the ride, while we were on the Elk Mountain Scenic Highway, I was coming down a hill when I saw a large black animal in the middle of the road. It took me a second to realize it was a black bear. I skidded to a stop about 20 meters from the animal and we just stared at each other. I wasn’t really sure what to do. About 20 seconds later my brother-in-law started down the hill and I motioned for him to break. This caused the bear to run off into the woods. I was never really scared, probably because I didn’t really have time to process what was happening, and the bear wasn’t acting aggressive, but it makes for a cool story. We saw two more shortly after that, but they weren’t as close. After summitting Mt. Mitchell we rode back to the Craggy Gardens visitor center where the rest of the family was finishing a hike. From there we loaded up the bikes on the car and joined them for the rest of the day. All-in-all it was an amazing ride!

I really enjoyed riding in Asheville. The Elk Mountain Scenic Highway in particular was really fun to ride on. Lots of climbing, good quality road, very little traffic (we joked we saw more bears than cars) and some terrific views. The Blue Ridge Parkway, while it had more traffic, was also rather fun to ride. I wish I had more time to explore the other areas, as I’m sure these are not the only nice places to ride.
Also, I really fell in love with Asheville. Like I’m ready to move there now! That’s not realistic, as I’m not uprooting my family over a good weekend, but I’m definitely going back. After that who knows.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice, I had such an amazing time!

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One more thing to add… I suck at descending! While I did find myself improving and braking a lot less towards the end of the week, I’m definitely not as good as the locals. The price of living in Florida I guess!

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Awesome to hear you had a great time. Between western NC, and eastern TN, there are so many good climbs it would take quite a while to climb them all. Some had been used in the old Tour DuPont so used to be a professional race on some of these mountain roads.