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Michael Mooney won’t be trying to break any world records this weekend at the Lexington Avenue Arts Festival (LAAF), but he will definitely be hosting some bicycle jousting and big wheel races. This is the 9th year for the LAAF, and it’s by far the most fun downtown festival that Asheville offers. It’s when the [...]

Mountain biking could become an official sport at a high school near you. Matt Fritzinger, head of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, is creating a nationwide coalition of high school mountain bike leagues. Fritzinger has brought new leagues to California and Colorado, and North Carolina and Georgia are both at the top of the list [...]

There’s something about riding a new bike that makes a girl just downright giddy. Not that I got a new bike, but I did borrow a demo from the bike shop…a really squishy one at that. Of course it was last year’s S-Works FSR, so I can hardly wait to try next year’s. Riding a [...]

This weekend riders will suffer through the Off-Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell, which is a metric century complete with 11,000 feet of climbing—on some of the most challenging trails in the area. I rode Kitzuma last weekend, which is a mere fraction of what riders will see as they traverse 63 miles of gnar-gnar. The [...]

A million little needles work a million strands of yarn. Gears shift. Machine arms adjust and spin, the mechanized anatomy of a knitting machine pulls raw yarn in one side and spits out a sock from the other end. It is a Thursday afternoon in Sheboygan, Wis., the factory floor at Wigwam Mills Inc. buzzing [...]

North Carolina is in the process of creating a master plan for Chimney Rock State Park in the Hickory Nut Gorge. The 4,300-acre park includes the rocky outcroppings of Chimney Rock as well Rumbling Bald, a popular climbing area.  Through the process, park planners will create a 100-year vision, 25-year master plan, and five-year action [...]

G                         C I was goin’ down the hill doin’ ninety miles an hour G                   D When the chain on my bicycle broke G                       C I was scratched all over by the rocks and the gravel G            D             D I was punctured to death by the spokes G                                      C I ain’t kiddin’. I ain’t a-lyin’. I [...]

There are reasons why some destinations are more popular than others, and on a recent 16-mile circuit, Laurie and I found out why so many hikers flock to the Shining Rock Wilderness. The area has almost everything that makes hiking worthwhile in western North Carolina: magnificent views; rhododendron-lined streams filled with trout; cascades and inviting [...]

View one thru-hiker’s experience of the epic 1,000-mile trail.

I rode at Tsali this past weekend. The last time I was there was two years ago at the Tsali Challenge with teammates from Blue Ridge Outdoors. I was in good riding shape, but got a flat within 200 yards of the start. I got passed by at least 15 people and caught only about [...]

By day, these competitors are bike shop employees, carpenters and business owners, but every Monday night, they shed their professional garb in exchange for a battered bike and mallet while taking part in bike polo matches at Junaluska Park. “It’s all about going out and having fun,” said John Fennell, an employee at Magic Cycles. “We try not to take it too seriously, but,” he said, lingering for a moment, “we definitely play to win.”

One of the reasons I decided to send my child to a hippie charter school was because instead of a football team and a cheerleading squad, the school has drumming, snowboarding, and mountain biking clubs. The bike club is for middle schoolers. I volunteer, so that my first-grade son can participate. He can hang. He’s [...]

I’ve read a lot of fitness articles about the perfect sit-up and how to target very specific muscles, but when it comes to strengthening for cycling, I think the idea of the “proper” sit-up goes out the window. When I’m sucking wind really bad, and my body is worn out from climbing (you know, after [...]

I rode a big phat, carbon-fiber S-Works this past weekend at the Specialized demo day, and it was really, really fun riding out at Alexander Park. Ski Country Sports and Liberty Bicycles have secured the money and blisters required over the past ten years to breathe life back into the trails there. I have to [...]

The three largest bicycle companies in the industry are Trek, Specialized, and Giant. When Liberty Bicycles had to make the extremely difficult choice between selling Trek and Specialized, that decision created the opportunity for another bike shop to open. Motion Makers’ owner Kent Cranford seized that opportunity before the pedal even spun, opening a 5,000-square-foot [...]