Final Reminders!!

All – Everyone travel safe, and look forward to seeing everyone either Wednesday evening or Thursday AM.  Here are a few final reminders and tips for having more fun in Asheville.  Share with others in your club.

REMINDERS

Wed Night Ride:  The start time is now 6:30, at Hearn’s Cycling, across the street from the hotel, at Patton and Asheland.

One World Wednesday:  If you are in town before too late, come by One World Brewing for a Welcome Party.  Great speakeasy space with lots of good beer.  If you do the ride, get dinner at Salsa’s or Farm Burger, then walk down the alley in between to get to One World.  9:30 – ??

Kits and Caps:  Pick up your MTMS kits and caps when you Check-In.  Visit the Schedule page on this website for details.

Thursday Party at Barley’s:  The Baltimore Wheelmen have organized an MTMS party upstairs at Barley’s from 4:30 – 7 PM.  Appetizers, one free drink for the first 50 or so with an MTMS wristband (from check-in), darts, pool, and more.  Dinner on your own afterwards.

Rides at Aston Park:  There is no car parking at Aston Park.  If you can’t ride from your hotel you need to allow PLENTY of time to find downtown parking.  Generally, free parking is had to find in Asheville, so come prepared.  Their website offers a guide to municipal public parking.  Aston Park is at corner of Hilliard and S. French Broad, just a couple of blocks from the main hotel.

Burnsville Metric:  Want to do the Burnsville on Saturday?  Learn more about it at the Rides section of the website.  Call your club prez or Ken Ashton if you want to do it.

Asheville Hates Signs!   You will find more intersections without signs than with them in this town.  The roads are still great, but…. Be sure to get a map before every ride.  Use a cyclocomputer, and pay attention to the cue sheet on the maps.

Rules of the Road:  Asheville is very happy to have us in town, but they have been very clear that we need to ride with the rules of the road.  We will all be full of adrenaline when we start riding, but let’s avoid the dumb stuff like running stop signs and riding 4 abreast.

Single File:  Two nearby towns have passed anti-bike single file laws.  We won’t spend much time or money in their towns, but we have to ride through both Woodfin and Biltmore Forest at times, so pay attention to the ride leaders and warnings on the road.

Lights:  And for like the 10th time – bring appropriate lights for the tunnels on the Blue Ridge Parkway for Saturday’s ride.  Some of these tunnels are long enough to go pitch black, so these are lights so you can see!  If you forget, you may be able to pick something up at Hearn’s, Liberty Cycles, REI, or one of the other great bike shops in town.

TIPS FOR MORE FUN

Beer:  Asheville has endless amounts of great beer at the brewery’s tasting rooms.  Maximize the number of beers you can try without getting hammered by ordering half-pours.  Nearly all of them do 6 and 8 ounce servings for half the price.

Drum Circle:  Its one of Asheville’s best things, a huge drum circle every Friday evening, in Pritchard Park, just a block from the hotel.  Bring your own drum and join in.

Hearn’s Cycling:  This cool bike shop is right across the street from the Downtown Asheville Inn.  Unique place, with tons of vintage and antique bike parts.  Looking for serious roadie stuff?  Go to Liberty Bicycles on NC 25 near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Gravel:  If you brought your gravel bike ask David for the off road maps.  More importantly, keep an eye out for gravel in the corners of our regular routes.  Asheville had some frozen weather this year.

Folk Art Center:  Check it out if you can.  A very cool place.

Stuff to Do:  Check out this site for tips and suggestions on restaurants, where to drink, and fun stuff to do.