Well it looks like I’m heading to Boone, NC to get a good week of training in. Does anyone know of a pool, as well as trails, and good long bike routes? If anyone is going to be in the area, shoot me a PM.
Thanks
As far as trails Moses Cone State Park is excellent and for riding it can be great to do out and backs on the blue ridge parkway out over the linville viaduct and to linville falls (great 7 mile climb from Moses Cone heading out that way, mostly 8% grade). Also is fun to ride the parkway the other direction out to Virginial and the Blood Sweat and Gears Route is supposed to be great, i am planning on doing it later this year in prep for IMCDA http://www.ncbikeclub.org/queue_sheets/bsg2001.htm. If you are thinking of heading back for some more in May pm me as I may be interested…
KOG,
I believe there’s a public rec center that has lap swimming available. Here’s a link to find pools anywhere in the world which will have more info:
As the OP proposed, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a great place to ride - no commercial traffic, no towns (it bypasses all towns it goes near). Other roads: Rt 221 towards Linville/Grandfather Mtn - fairly flat relative to most roads in the area, but very twisty with limited sighting distances, Shulls Mill Road - a nice climb that’s part of the Blood, Sweat & Gears ride (begins off Rt 105), Meat Camp Road off of Rt194 north of Boone (a hateful climb that gets steeper and steeper) - this is the Snake Mountain climb on the BSG ride (I had a friend draft off a butterfly to complete this climb).
As for runs, the Moses Cone running trails will be the best things in the area. You can also contact the folks at Zapp Fitness to get further recommendations. They help sponsor elite runners (not sure if any post on ST or not), so they will definitely be able to tell you the best places to run. Here’s the website:
http://www.zapfitness.com/?page=24
My only complaint is not being able to find any places for open water swimming as most lakes around there do not allow swimming (I think its the Fishing Lobby that has a stranglehold on that).
I live 7 hours away from those parts, but every time I ride there it feels like home. Enjoy it, its a great area!!!
Awesome, thanks for posting the info. I’ll be sure to take a ton of pictures and post them up on here. North Carolina is an awesome place.
HA! who else told you “ZAP”
It has been a LONG time since I have been here, but the pool on campus at ASU used to be wide open. The one guard was stationed on the opposite side of the locker room entrance, so you could just walk right in and swim. No hassles. But again, its been a long time, so you might want to cruise by once before you swim to scope it out.
Not sure exactly when you are going, but it can be chilly up there in early March! The weather actually looks good for the next week or so, so you might be in good shape. Send me the dates and I MAY be able to talk some folks into it.
We do a training camp in Valle Crucis, NC (just down the road) in late April. 3-4 LONG days. (http://www.thecustomcoach.com/camps/)
One of our favorite rides is the Blood, Sweat & Gears course.
http://www.bloodsweatandgears.org/bsg/main/start.htm
We also do an out and back exclusively on BR Parkway from Boone to Little Switzerland and back.
And we also make sure to climb up Beech Mountain as I apprently like to rip my own soul apart. That hill just owns me.
The pool we swim at is called the Broyhill Wellness Center right in Boone. It is a 25yd pool and it is nice and warm!!
Not a local, but the roads around that way were where Lance got his groove back after fighting cancer. Beech Mountain specifically, I believe.
Please, for the love of whoever or whatever you worship, lets not make this a Lance-is-clean/dirty thread. Just a point of interest.
I live in Boone. Two pools for the public. Watauga Medical Wellness Center and the Parks and Rec both are about 1/2 a mile from each other. Cycling? More than you can imagine. Just go to Boone Bike and Touring and they will tell you everything. Boonebike.com also App State has a strong team and is in the middle of racing season along with Lees McRae College (ranked #1 in the nation). There is also a couple of ASU ex-cross country guys working at Boone Bike that can help with run routes. The weather is horrible right now, 8 inches of snow temp about 10 degrees but warming up to a balmy 45 by the end of the week. In March and April it can be 70 or snowing like mad, sometimes in the same week (or day no kidding). There is also lots of ridding options that are less than a 20 min drive that can deliver sun and warmth when we are socked in. Hope this helps
I spent four years at ASU, your comment about the snow and sun in the same day brought back memories. I used to love the four pm daily rain storm in the summer time. It would be gorgeous outside and at four o’clock, BAM! Clouds roll in and so does 20 minutes of hard rain, ten of light, and sunshine again! Awesome.
Lighting up an old thread.
Any open water swimming options in or near Boone? previous post mentioned that most lakes don’t allow swimming but wanted to see if anyone knew of one that does allow it.