Au secours! Help! Bike, north carolina

[Le breton]

I will be in North Carolina, near ASHEVILLE, during the last week of April.

I was counting on using a racing bike of mine which should have been near Raleigh, where I will land on arrival.

Unfortunately it was apparently given away to Goodwill (used a total of about30-50 hours, with spare parts and tools in the cardboard box, the whole thing worth around or above 1500$).

SO, I NEED TO RENT A DECENT BIKE FOR A WEEK, PREFERABLY NEAR ASHEVILLE (OR RALEIGH, where I could stay for my first night).

I will look on the web, but if anybody has a suggestion ...

Many thanks.

 

[V3R1T4S]

Liberty Bikes. There are a host of other options, but that is probably the most well-known. PM me if you are looking for routes.

 

[Master50]

I will be in North Carolina, near ASHEVILLE, during the last week of April.

I was counting on using a racing bike of mine which should have been near Raleigh, where I will land on arrival.

Unfortunately it was apparently given away to Goodwill (used a total of about30-50 hours, with spare parts and tools in the cardboard box, the whole thing worth around or above 1500$).

SO, I NEED TO RENT A DECENT BIKE FOR A WEEK, PREFERABLY NEAR ASHEVILLE (OR RALEIGH, where I could stay for my first night).

I will look on the web, but if anybody has a suggestion ...

Many thanks.

Why do people give away other people's bikes, and then try to defend it by telling you how little it was worth being so old? Then goodwill scraps it because it is only a 6 speed.

 

[ChewbaccaD]

Yea, Liberty. Great bike shop. They will help you out.

 

[Puckfiend]

Yep. Liberty Bikes is a really good shop. Plus, they are 200 yards from the Blue Ridge Parkway; ready made bike ride! They can also set you up with some cue sheets for other rides.

Motion Makers is also another good shop. Don't know off the top of my head if they rent or not.

 

[Le breton]

Many thanks guys,

I just spent time again on the web looking for bike rentals in Asheville.
Here is what I found for road bikes ( don't want to take chances on MTB trails)
LIBERTY BIKES
Rental fees are for a 24-hour period from the time of rental. A valid driver's license is required, and a credit card imprint will be taken at the time of rental. WE HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF RENTAL BIKES; FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Bikes may be reserved, but reservations must be made at least a week in advance for a minimum 2-day rental.

PRO BIKES
Rentals
.....
Road Bikes $55-$65
........
A rental “day” is 24 hrs. We will allow a 1-hr. grace, after that a late charge of $10 per hour will apply until the late charge reaches the daily rate.
We offer a 10% discount on the daily rate for rentals of 3 days or more.
Saturday rentals being returned on Monday will be charged for one and a half days. Pick-up can be no earlier than 3 p.m. on Saturday and returned no later than 12 p.m. on Monday.



Basically prices are almost double of what I expected (from experiences in Maryland, Switzerland and Tenerife) and, since Saturday and Sunday are excluded for me, I will take my chances and rent either twice for 1 day or once for 2 consecutive days.
Then again, if I just want to exercise a bit I could ask for an honorary membership at UNC and promise somebody to guide them on a cycling tour when they come to the area

Cycling
President - John Lombardi (jlombardXunca.edu)
Like to ride bikes? UNC Asheville's cycling team is all about riding bikes all the time. Whether you mountain bike, road bike, ride a fixed gear, or even unicycle, this cycling club is for you! The club typically does group rides every Friday which are either mountain bike rides or road rides that last 1-2 hours. Please contact the president for more information!


Hoping for good weather.

 

[V3R1T4S]

I would give a tour if I was there but I am not.

I have seen Liberty Bikes grow from when they first started in the original "shack" to where they are now; same with Asheville as an outdoor destination spot. Unfortunately with the increase in popularity has come the increase in prices and people.

Strava helps a lot nowadays, but there are no shortage of climbs, with most of the good ones being roads that climb from the valley to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Starting North and moving South my favorite climbs are:

-Curtis Creek (dirt with big rocks - MTB)
-Craggy Gardens climb (dirt but good on road bike when not muddy)
-Elk Mountain
-NC-151
-US-276 S
-US-215 S

If you are starting dowtown a good short loop is Elk Mountain / Town Mountain. A good longer loop is to do Doggett Mountain then Hot Springs and back to town through Marshall and down by the river.

 

[Le breton]

I would give a tour if I was there but I am not.

I have seen Liberty Bikes grow from when they first started in the original "shack" to where they are now; same with Asheville as an outdoor destination spot. Unfortunately with the increase in popularity has come the increase in prices and people.

Strava helps a lot nowadays, but there are no shortage of climbs, with most of the good ones being roads that climb from the valley to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Starting North and moving South my favorite climbs are:

-Curtis Creek (dirt with big rocks - MTB)
-Craggy Gardens climb (dirt but good on road bike when not muddy)
-Elk Mountain
-NC-151
-US-276 S
-US-215 S

If you are starting dowtown a good short loop is Elk Mountain / Town Mountain. A good longer loop is to do Doggett Mountain then Hot Springs and back to town through Marshall and down by the river.

Thanks

If I go for just one ride, it will most likely be on Blue ridge mountain.

Which one would you put in 1st place as a "must do" after that one? Say for 120-160 km (75-100 mi)

 

[Rouetheday]

I've just been perusing the Ticketmaster website, and I've discovered that Bob Dylan will be playing Asheville on the 30th of April. But don't tell Zam_Olyas- he'll be bitterly jealous.


As for a scenic ride, I would recommend taking Highway 74 southeast over Hickory Nut Gorge to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure. These towns were used in the filming of "Dirty Dancing" and "The Last of the Mohicans".

 

[hiero2]

Don't know if this helps - but Greenville and Spartanburg are close by, and might have some worthy competition for bike rentals. The Assault on Mt Mitchell is in that vicinity. I think George Hincapie might still keep a home there - if I recall he was from the area, and used to ride the Assault. Maybe he has a spare steed sitting in the garage,

 

[Le breton]

Don't know if this helps - but Greenville and Spartanburg are close by, and might have some worthy competition for bike rentals. The Assault on Mt Mitchell is in that vicinity. I think George Hincapie might still keep a home there - if I recall he was from the area, and used to ride the Assault. Maybe he has a spare steed sitting in the garage,

Thanks for the suggestion, although the distance is short compared to the Earth circumference, Spartanburg and Greenville still are over 60 miles away and the trips would eat considerably on my available riding time (I land in Raleigh which is why I considered renting there)

I don't know how tall is Hincapie's wife or wether she rides/own a bike, which could then possibly be of an appropriate size; that would be the only option because a spare bike of tall George would do me no good (unless he kept his old bikes from when he was growing up )

(BTW, I always thought he was from New York)

 

[V3R1T4S]

Please, everybody reading this: go to Greenville and Spartanburg! Asheville is awful. Paris Mountain is the greatest climb ever! Caesar's Head too!

Where is your start point or will you have a rental car? I will assume you have a rental car or similar for now.

Park near the arboretum or at Bent Creek. Take Sand Hill Rd to Enka Lake Rd to back roads to NC-151. Climb that to the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) and continue South on it and descend US-276. You can then either hop on US-64 or take back roads around Brevard and up through Rosman to US-215, my favorite. Make sure you stock up at the only gas station about ~8-9 miles after turning onto 215 and before the real climbing starts. Climb all the way to BRP and then head North on BRP, all the way back to French Broad River and hopefully right near where you parked! Should be right 100 miles and over 10k ft of climbing.

A little more manageable is parking in Brevard and going out to 215 on back roads and then over and descending down 276 for ~62 miles.

From downtown Asheville the Doggett Mountain - Hot Springs loop is a good one.

The mention about taking US-74A over the continental divide and down by Chimney Rock is also good, especially if it is unseasonably cold as out of the mountains it is a good 10F warmer. Can loop around Bill's Creek and then up and over Bat Cave Rd.

I can go on and on, and certainly I will probably be going to bicycle hell for exposing all of the secrets. The good thing is the off-road riding is even better than the road riding...

 

[Black-Balled]

Mt Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. While not a particularly touch climb, it is a nice one to have in one's palmares.

And it sure is fun, coming down!

 

[V3R1T4S]

Mt Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. While not a particularly touch climb, it is a nice one to have in one's palmares.

And it sure is fun, coming down!

This is true. If you did this from downtown I would climb Elk Mountain, descend Ox Creek, go up and over Maney Branch Rd to Dillingham Rd to Stoney Forks Rd, which is a 5.1 mile dirt climb at 8.5%. From there proceed up to the top of Mt. Mitchell. On the way back, go down the parkway all the way to either 1) The turn-off to go back down Elk Mountain; 2) The turn-off to go down Beaverdam Rd; or 3) Down Town Mountain Rd. All three will take you back downtown, depending on where you started. ~85 mi. Don't forget blinkies for the tunnels!

 

[Le breton]

I'm back from NC. Didn't have all that much time to cycle in the end.
However last Friday, I managed to rent from Liberty bikes and left from there towards the Blue Mountain ridge. Weather was beautiful, a bit cool at higher elevations, with a gentle breeze, favorable on the way back. A very pleasant ride indeed.

I rode until it was time for me to go back, reaching the 426 mile marker past Pisgah (409 mi), in other words I did a 75 miles long ride. I must have seen about 10-15 cyclists in those 5 + hours.

As it turns out, on 3 occasions in those 8 days I also managed to ride stationary bikes with fanciful wattage readings

On last Tuesday I could possibly have ridden again, I had thought of going up to Mount Mitchell, but I hesitated and didn't because I was flying the next day, also, see below.

In fact, for the past 12 days or so, since a couple of days before my flight to the US, I had had a swollen area in the back of my leg, at the top of the calf. It didn't hurt when riding or walking, only when standing up still.

I didn't have a chance to see a Dr. before leaving or while in the US. Where I was staying no Dr would take in a new patient, I would have had to go to emergencies and wait hours.

Today I finally saw a Dr who prescribed a sonogram which showed that - much to her surprise - I had deep vein thrombosis in the area mentioned above

I immediately started a treatment with anticoagulants. Apparently I had been at risk for a pulmonary embolism while riding out there, yet my leg didn't give me any such warning and never hurt while on the bike.

Since my Dr knows me as a keen cyclist she will not have me follow the traditional 3-month long treatment (or more) for which she feels competent and will send me to see another Dr that will propose a much faster acting solution. We will discuss it on Monday.

 

[King Boonen]

Sounds like you were lucky, that can be very serious. Consider a long treatment, the consequences of a failed treatment would be much worse!


Take care.

 

[V3R1T4S]

Glad you got to ride some. Hopping on the Blue Ridge Parkway south from Liberty is the quickest way to good views and a sense of the terrain and area.

Glad your DVT was caught before anything worse happened!

 

[Le breton]

Sounds like you were lucky, that can be very serious. Consider a long treatment, the consequences of a failed treatment would be much worse!


Take care.

Well, I had tests and more tests and the last one, with an angiologist (?), was rather reassuring, I still have some blood clots in the area mentioned, but quite small in superficial veins.
Consequently she gave me the OK to cycle as long and as hard as I feel like.
However I must keep my anti-clotting treatment for a few months, and of course be aware of increased hemorrhaging risks.

In the future I'll have to take some form of treatment before long flights.

What was puzzling in my case was that my symptoms were pretty atypical if I compare to other cases I found on the web or in a few specialized books.

 

[Le breton]

Well, I had tests and more tests and the last one, with an angiologist (?), was rather reassuring, I still have some blood clots in the area mentioned, but quite small in superficial veins.
Consequently she gave me the OK to cycle as long and as hard as I feel like.
However I must keep my anti-clotting treatment for a few months, and of course be aware of increased hemorrhaging risks.

In the future I'll have to take some form of treatment before long flights.

What was puzzling in my case was that my symptoms were pretty atypical if I compare to other cases I found on the web or in a few specialized books.

Follow up :
Thought I would inform you on the state of things.
I stopped the anticoagulants at the beginning of August ( I couldn't schedule my final doppler test before but was very confident everything was OK, which was confirmed a few days later).

Anyway, I am back to normal, but all those tests have not revealed the real cause of the problem, I guess it's just several factors acting together.

I still have one test to do now that I am not on anticoagulants anymore, not the more pleasant one : a colonoscopy

So I can now resume activities which I had been avoiding because of risks of cuts such as gardening or opening oysters (Wasn't the season anyway for the latter)

Cheers everybody.