By Sue Wasserman
Claudia Nix makes a living selling bicycles, but she’s made a life around riding them. She advocates for the development of local and regional greenways to create additional urban road cycling opportunities.
“There’s so much I love about riding—the freedom, the challenge, the chance to be outside,” says Claudia, who co-owns Asheville-based Liberty Bicycles (libertybikes.com) with her husband Mike. “Riding is a great way to take in the sights, sounds and smells, and become part of the environment.”
Of course, sending newcomers out to put the proverbial pedal to the metal isn’t something she takes lightly. Both Claudia and Allan Hightower of Epic Bicycles (epiccyclesnc.com) believe it’s critical to understand a customer’s interests before suggesting a model.
“If a customer comes in who has never ridden before, we often suggest a multisport or comfort bike,” says Claudia. “The elevated handle bars make them ideal for riders who don’t want to lean forward.” Allan adds, “The last thing we want to do is put a beginner on a fancy mountain bike they won’t ride.”
He equates the difference between riding a road bike and a mountain bike to that of driving a Ferrari versus a pickup truck. “Mountain bikes are built to take a beating. You can’t take a road bike designed specifically for pavement on trails, but you can take a mountain bike on the road.”
Riding options abound. The diverse terrain at South Asheville’s Bent Creek Experimental Forest makes it ideal for families, and beginner to advanced riders. “KOLO Bike Park (kolobikepark.com), which is a private park with about four miles of purpose-built trails on rolling terrain, is also well suited for riders of varying experience,” Allan says. The park is located across the French Broad River from downtown Asheville. Brevard’s DuPont Forest also affords a wealth of trails that range from easy to technically challenging. Western Carolina University in Sylva offers seven miles of trails free to the general public.
“We have a number of great trails in Black Mountain,” Allan adds. “The most aggressive is Kitsuma.” Given its more than a dozen switchbacks on the way to the top and heart-in-your mouth three-mile descent, Allan only recommends it for deeply experienced riders. “My favorite is the Old Mitchell Toll Road, an abandoned gravel road. It offers a 13-mile climb and great views of Mt. Mitchell.”
Downtown Asheville residents and tourists have easy access to Richmond Hill Park, which offers mountain bikers about five miles of trails overlooking the French Broad River.
The Internet is a perfect tool for searching for mountain trails based on location, features, highlights, difficulty, and length. For example, check out mtbikewnc.com and mtbproject.com. All of the previously mentioned trails can be found here.
Claudia recommends local greenways for road cyclists who want pavement without the traffic. Carrier Park Greenway, which takes riders from just outside Biltmore Village to Hominy Creek Park, is one of her personal favorites. Claudia says it will connect to New Belgium Brewery later this year.
A board member of Friends of Connect Buncombe (weconnectbuncombe.org), Claudia is part of a dedicated team working to expand Asheville’s greenway system. “Among other places, greenways are in the works from Amboy Road to Broadway, from Broadway to Woodfin,” she says. “Over the next few years, we’ll have a significant number of greenways that interconnect.”
“There are so many great places for people to ride,” she says. “The Blue Ridge Bicycle Club (blueridgebicycleclub.org) schedules regular rides suited for all experience levels. Asheville on Bikes (ashevilleonbikes.com) is another organization that holds family rides and encourages people to ride bikes to work.”
Claudia and Allan enjoy sharing their vast resources with customers. “I am insanely in love with this sport,” Allan says. “What’s so great is that I get paid to do what I love doing.”
Sue Wasserman (walkwithme62@gmail.com) is a freelance writer and nature photographer. (Photos by Brenda Ernst Photography/brendaernst.com)
Really great. I enjoyed reading.