First indoor bike park and climbing gym combo coming to Mills River, NC
A new facility focusing on adventure fitness is breaking ground and set to open next winter in Mills River, NC, close to the Sierra Nevada Brewery. Once completed, the Riveter will encompass 40,000 square feet and combine outdoor adventure and sustainability. Perched above a 10-acre working farm, the Riveter will be home to 16,000 square feet of climbing terrain, 18,000 square feet of progressive jump lines, drop training, a yoga studio and a spin studio, the first Velosolutions Pump Park in the country, community space, a libation station, a retail shop and outdoor courses including a cross-country trail around the perimeter of the farm. Elizabeth Jackson and Eric MacLeod, MD, are co-owners of the innovative new property. “This is not just a climbing gym and this is not just a bike park,” says Jackson. “This is a community built around our mutual love for outdoor adventure.”
Amateur international cycling event returns to Asheville May 17-19
The Haute Route, the world’s first global series of prestigious multi-day events for amateur cyclists, returns to Asheville, NC May 17-19. Haute Route events take place throughout the world and are selected based on their significance to world cycling heritage. In 2019 the United States has two host cities—Asheville and San Francisco. Stage One of the Haute Route begins Friday, May 17 at Pack Square. The course travels Town Mountain Road, the grounds of Biltmore Estate, and Elk Mountain, among others. A portion of the event will also take place on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Participants of the Haute Route will travel to Asheville from at least 30 states and 7 countries. In 2018 the event generated nearly $1 million in economic impact for the Asheville region.
More visitors may soon be allowed at one of the country’s most popular hiking spots
The Bureau of Land Management is considering increasing the daily visitors allowed at The Wave, a popular and hard-to-visit rock formation at the Utah-Arizona border, from 20 to 96 people a day. Applications to visit The Wave have increased over the past five years as word has gotten out about the contoured rock formation. Visitors can apply for a permit during a monthly online drawing and daily walk-up lotteries. Less than five percent of those that want to hike The Wave each year are awarded a permit to do so. The limit is imposed in order to protect the delicate sandstone that forms The Wave and to create a peaceful environment. The agency is now seeking public comment on the proposed changes, which could be implemented as soon as October.
