I just returned from the first trip in my series to discover and profile great places in North America to go bicycling. I brought my family along and it was a great adventure. Here's a brief overview...

Tennessee & The MRT
We rode Amtrak's City of New Orleans from the Big Easy to Memphis, where I bicycled along a rolling, scenic section of the Mississippi River Trail in Western Tennessee. I rode with a group of local road cyclists through Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, a popular destination with local road cyclists due to its proximity to Memphis and the low volume of vehicular traffic. We bicycled about 45 miles and those roadies kicked my butt.

Mental Note: The next time I'm bicycling with a group and am the only one on a mountain bike, be sure that my tires ARE properly inflated -UGH-.

Driving Across Tennessee to North Carolina
We rented a Ford Freestar from Hertz to drive across Tennessee from Memphis all the way to Asheville, NC. I loaded 2 folding bikes, a bike trailer, skateboard, guitar, cooler, stroller, numerous bags, 3 kids & my wife into the minivan & hit the road. We traveled all day and didn't arrive in Asheville until 10:30 PM. What a day.

Asheville & The Blue Ridge Parkway
What a beautiful city! Set amid the mountains of Western North Carolina and bisected by the Blue Ridge Parkway, this was a great base for exploration. The Blue Ridge is made for cycling (excellent road surface & very little traffic) but BE READY for plenty of leg burning climbs, fast descents, minimal road shoulders and low guardrails. Summer storms pop up fast with lightning too but the views are awesome.

Eastern USA Mountain Biking Nirvana
Within easy reach of Asheville are the mountain biking meccas of Tsali Recreation Area, Pisgah National Forest and Dupont State Forest. With limited time and the demands of a family, I concentrated on Dupont State Forest. About an hour's drive South of Asheville near the NC/SC border, DSF offers 100 trails of varying difficulty as well as lush scenery and WATERFALLS. The kids and my wife splashed around at the base of Hooker Falls while I explored trails. For challenging mtb riding & slickrock, ride the South side of the park, concentrating on Big Rock, Burnt Mountain & Cedar Rock trails. Burnt Mountain has the most challenging jumps, ledges & drops.

Returning to New Orleans from Atlanta via Amtrak's Crescent
I had planned on riding the Silver Comet & Chief Ladiga rail trails from Atlanta to Anniston but the temperatures were too hot for my wife and kids to do that. Instead, we stayed in the mountains a little longer and drove back to Atlanta where we visited with family for a day. With the beginning of school looming, we dropped off the rental car, and rode The Crescent back to New Orleans. We enjoyed a relaxed journey on The Crescent with good meals and the comfort of 2 compartments to stretch out in.

I'll be offering more info about this trip and the trails soon; meanwhile, here's a photo gallery from the bike trip. Enjoy!