AVLFest Ride Guide

The AVLFest Ride Guide connects all the bikeable venues together via the best routes. If the venue isn’t included in the AVL Fest Guide, we do not recommend riding to it. AVLFest does provide a free shuttle service. Bikes are not allowed on shuttles.

The Ride Guide focuses on Downtown (and a few adjacent venues), The River Arts District, and West Asheville. 

AoB built the AVLFest Ride Guide using Ride With GPS (RWGPS) application. It’s a mapping and route finding tool, similar to Strava. The AVL Fest Ride Guide is accessed in the “Collections” section of our RWGPS page as well as additional routes and resources for riding Asheville, NC. 

To access these resources, follow these steps:

1. Click this special pre-approval link, which pre-approves you as an Asheville on Bikes annual member. It will prompt you to either set up a new free account or link your existing RWGPS account to our club account. Then you’ll have access to all the members-only routes in our Club account. For any route in our Club account, you have all the pro (normally paid) features of Ride With GPS, including turn by turn navigation and offline mapping.
2. Download the Ride With GPS app on your phone and make sure it is working, before riding the City!

About Riding in Asheville

Asheville, NC is recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community. Asheville also leads North Carolina in bicycle & pedestrian injuries and death. The city has held this dubious distinction for over 15 years. When riding in Asheville, be Ride Ready.

Ride Readiness

• Wear a helmet
• Equip your bicycle with front and rear bike lights
• Carry a lock to secure your bike when it’s parked
• Carry a water bottle and avoid dehydration
• Be predictable and communicate with other people in the public rights of way
• Anticipate conflicts & avoid unnecessary risks
• Activate the “Safe Habit of Riding” 

AVLFest

AVLFest is a venue-based music festival returning to the Blue Ridge mountains August 1-4th, 2024. Presented by Asheville-based Wicked Weed Brewing and Worthwhile Sounds, AVLFest will fill 20+ area concert halls, clubs, and outdoor venues alike with an exceptional multi-genre lineup of local, regional, and national talent. Performances are set to take place throughout the 4-day festival with wristbands granting pass holders access to 200+ shows through the Asheville area.

• View the AVL Fest Line Up → 
• Purchase AVLFest Tickets →

The post Riding AVLFest – Bike Guide appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

RITUAL MOUNTAIN BIKE FILM TOUR

7pm on Wednesday, April 22 at The Orange Peel 

Ritual: A Congregation of Mountain Bike Filmmakers and Fanatics launches its annual gathering of mountain biking’s best films to Asheville, NC on Wednesday, April 22nd at 7pm. 

Advance Tickets: $20
Bike Valet Opens: 5:30pm 
Doors Open: 6pm 
Films Begin: 7pm

The film festival features epic adventures, legendary lines, stellar storytelling, and interstellar athletes riding in many of mountain biking’s most scenic locations.  

Weaving together the industry’s best stories, riders, locations, and more, the Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour premiers in Asheville, NC.  

To celebrate the launch of the Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour in Asheville, AoB will have a bike+ valet set up for participants. Ride your City to the Orange Peel, check your bike in with an AoB staffer, and enjoy the film festival. Riders must retrieve their bikes 30 minutes following the conclusion of the film.  

About Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour

Launched in 2020 and shut down by Covid19, Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour is re-launching in Spring 2024. The tour, founded by Chris Keig (Warren Miller / Fly Fishing Film Tour), Geoff Shaffer (Pearl Izumi) and Chad Melis (Turn It Up Media / REEB Cycles), will feature a collection of industry leading films from established and independent film makers on the big screen and will debut at roughly 50 venues through a mix of hosted and licensed live events in 2024.

To submit a film, host an event or get the details, visit ritualbike.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The post Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

This bike valet is made possible by the generous support of Brevard Insurance. Thank you for your financial support.  

What is a bike valet?

Just as it sounds, a “bike valet” is like valet parking–you check in your bike, and get a claim ticket. We keep your bike in the valet, where our staff will keep an eye on it, while you go have fun. When you come back, hand in your ticket and get your bike back. Piece of cake!

How much does it cost? 

It’s absolutely free. Always has been; always will be. We do accept donations.

Can I park my bike trailer/tandem/unicycle/recumbent? 

Of course. If it’s on wheels and powered by human muscles, we’ll park it.

I don’t need to lock my bike? Is it safe? 

Our staff will never leave the valet unattended, and no one else is allowed access to the bikes. Your bike is in good hands.

Want to get involved?

If you are interested in having a bike valet at your upcoming event, or would like to sponsor a future bike valet, please send an email to abby@ashevilleonbikes.com.

The post AOB’s Bike Valet Return Program to Launch at the 2023 Get in Gear Festival appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Here are what a few of our participants had to say:

“It was a pretty day and nice to see lots of people out on bikes in green.”

“It was a super fun day! We came from Boone to do it. I also liked some of the signs along the way like the tongue twister going up the big hill.”

“Good to see participants from the other bicycle advocacy groups helping out.”

“It was fun to do for the first time. I loved having the route on my phone that talked to me. The checkpoints were fun to find and well spaced.”

Bike of the Irish 2021 would not have been possible without the help of our local partners!

Local businesses that served as checkpoints along the Bike of the Irish routes opened their doors to a number of BOI participants. Here are just a few of the quotes from our checkpoint partners on the day of the event:

“[We saw] steady traffic of visitors. Many stuck around for a complimentary beverage and asked about our bikes and service.”

“Lots of excited participants checking out our spot for the first time!”

“We decided to not play a large role this year and not be there in person because of COVID, but AoB made it very easy for us to display our board and play a small part! Looking forward to doing more in the future.”

And finally, we would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s Bike of the Irish event.

Cruisers:

Best Overall

Team: Team Agan
Members: Steve Agan, Maggie Agan
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/64125793

City Centric:

Most Points in the Least Amount of Time (this includes checkpoints and bonus points)

Team: ‘O Bear
Members: Ed Broadbear (solo)
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/64116882 

Runner Up and Best Photographs

Team: Leslie’s Team (Team Leslie)
Members: Kristy Carter, Wade Rogers, Leslie Houde, Bronie Reynolds
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/64121752

Best Team Name

Team: Very Hungry Catermillers
Members: Wes Miller, Kristi Miller, Brent Miller, Nicole Miller, Trenton Miller, Bellatrix Lestrange
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35410139?privacy_code=osb3QyLKNYJpFcWi

Rough & Rowdy:

Most Points and Most Elevation (this includes checkpoints and bonus points)

Team: Riley and Luke
Members: Luke Paulson and Riley West
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/64117321

Most Points and Least Amount of Time

Team: Zoller
Team Member: Jason Zoller (solo)
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/64136576

Best Team Name & Best Costume

Team: Irish I Was at the Pub
Members: Garrett Burrell, Monty Burrell, Juanelle Burrell
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/64126884

The post Bike of the Irish 2021 (COVID-19 Edition) Winners appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Who: Open to the general public, free, preregistration required. Looking for a way to beat those mid-winter blues and get your creative juices flowing? We have just the thing for you! This event is open to all who feel inspired and submit a scrawl by the deadline.

What: A bicycle ride to create visual art from your GPS route log. Participants design a “drawing” using roads and trails anywhere in Western North Carolina using a GPS application. Once the route is designed, they ride it to generate their illustration as a mapped route and submit the result to AoB for cool prizes and bragging rights.

Scrawl Categories: 

1. Best Representation of the theme “Bike Love”
2. Best Use of Multi-Surface roads (Greenway, Gravel, Road, Trail)
3. Most Intricate Illustration

When: Registration open Jan. 1 – February 28th. You choose when you ride, after pre-registering. After your ride, you turn in your GPS art!

• AoB is extending the deadline for Urban Scrawl submission until February 28 due to less than desirable riding conditions.
• Winners announced Mar. 3

Where: Any public right of way in Western North Carolina (thus you have a bunch of places to consider for a ride, anywhere within the dark portion of the map below)

Why: When pandemic restrictions wouldn’t allow us to ride safely in groups, or have mass starts and parties at the finish line, we found new ways to connect and celebrate riding in WNC. This event began part of our socially distanced ride series. We loved it so much, we’re keeping it going, and we can’t wait to see the art you create!

How:

1. Register for Urban Scrawl 2022 here
2. Design your route in advance of your ride
3. Pick a date prior to Feb 28, 2022, and ride your route with a GPS tracking device of your choice. AoB provides you with a free AoB Ride With GPS membership account.
4. Take a screenshot of your completed route map, showing your art, and…
5. Post it on social media with the hashtag #aoburbanscrawl & #avlbike
6. AND email it to roughandrowdy@ashevilleonbikes.com with “Urban Scrawl Entry” in the subject line.
7. Deadline for entry is midnight, February 28th, 2022
8. Winners announced on Thursday, March 3rd, 2022

Inspiration for your ride:

• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/gps-doodles-doodling-tracking-strava-ottawa-1.3575228
• https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/2019/04/15/nashville-bicycling-route-elvis-strava-art-gps-doodling/3435098002/
• https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/02/pedaling-pictures-the-art-and-science-of-gps-doodling/
• https://www.bicycling.com/rides/a20044377/become-a-strava-artist-with-these-gps-tips/
• https://www.boredpanda.com/bike-gps-doodle-stephen-lund/
• https://www.gearbrain.com/best-running-cycling-strava-art-2646198759.html

Get ready to show us what you’ve got!

The post Urban Scrawl – Bike GPS Art Challenge! appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

AoB thanks our 2020 sponsors for their financial support which enables us to move our mission forward:

Winners Announced: 

Cruiser Winners: 

1st Place:

Team – Spider Bike
Team Member(s): Nate Field & Otis Field
00:45min & 17 checkpoints
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58409098

Runner up (Second Amount of Checkpoints in the Least Amount of Time):

Team – Wagers on Bikes
00:28min & 8 checkpoints
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58394800

City Centric: 

1st Place: 

Team – Monty Rides Again
Team Members: Dave & Linda Copley
01:46hr & 36 checkpoints( including bonus)
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58404772

Runner Up

Team – Jim
Team Members: Jim Grode (Asheville on Bikes’ Board Member)
2:43hr & 31 Checkpoints
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58407802

Rough & Rowdy:

1st Place:
Team – Honda Insight Fan Club (Official)
Team Member(s): Devin Clancy and Nick Bragg
03:55hr & 28 checkpoints
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58408402 

Runner Up:

Team – Pumpkin Pedaller Fox in Socks
Team Member(s):Christina Montes
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58414982

Best Costume: 

Team: It’s Pronounced Fronkensteen
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58417939

Best Team Name:

Team – Bent Creekers
Team Member(s): William Goodson

Pumpkin Pedaller winners will receive a gift from one of these local companies: 

• Oowee Products
• The Runner Box 
• Taco Billy 
• Riveter

AoB has a three pronged approach to our mission – celebration, education, & advocacy. To learn more about our work in education and advocacy, watch “Education & Infrastructure Moves the Next Generation Forward.”

The post Pumpkin Pedaller 2020 Winners appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Special Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who make our events possible:

Rough and Rowdy:

Most Checkpoints and Elevation

Team Name: Westside Wanderers
Team Members: Karen Ostergaard, Erik Ostergaard, Austin Walker
78.2 miles, 6,405 feet elevation gain, 36 points
@_k_j_o
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56777099

Runner up: Most Elevation

Team Name-Riley West
Team Members- Riley West
64.1 miles, 5989 feet elevation gain, 17 points
@ohitsriley
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56773678?privacy_code=NH6KckzNkIJdQaEA

Best Name, Costume and Photographs

Team Name: Autumn Oddity
Team Members- Christina Montes & Ethan Burns
47.9 miles, 4,466 feet elevation gain, 31 points
@xomontes
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56772533

City Centric:

Most Checkpoints and Elevation:

Team Name: Team SGOT
Team Members: Rebecca Lawton & Trevor
28.9 miles, 2,288 feet elevation gain, 30 pts
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56771222

Runner Up

Team Members- Richie Rozelle & Nick Kroncke
27.3 miles , 1,995 feet elevation gain, 31 pts
@Rozzeller
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56761720

Best Name and Best Photographs:

Team Name: Your Pace or Mine?
Team Members- Rylee Roquemore & Misty Miller
25.8 miles, 1876 feet elevation gain, 31 pts
@ryleeroq
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56770476

Runner Up Best Photograph

Team Name: Little Debbies Conquer City
Team Members: Mackenzie Kramer & Colin McCormick, John and Karly Haddock
@kenziekramer
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56764779

Best Costumes:

Team Name: Flagella and Anchor
Team Members: Katie Green & Ramin Sadeghian
@insideoutandupsidedown
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56769997

Cruiser:

Best All-Around

Team Name: Yancey’s Fancy
Team Members: Katie, Luca and Herb Yancey,
10.5 miles, 415 elevation gain, 13 checkpoints
@katiemccabeyancey
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/56760445

The post 2020 The Fall Out Winners appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Event Day Info Packet and Checkpoint Maps

This page is the official 9 AM information drop, your packet for the Fall Out 2020! Below are the links to the checkpoint maps for each of The Fall Out adventures. Grab your map and start your mind spinning!

Checkpoint Maps:

1. Rough & Rowdy 
2. City Centric
3. Cruiser

PDF version of the above linked maps and check point lists.

PDF version of this page, the day-of packet.

PDF version of the event rules page, as previously published.

What you must do:

1. Ride your own route to collect checkpoints and bonus points
2. Follow the event rules. Teams must stay together during the ride.
3. Document your ride with RWGPS and photos, using a cell phone
4. Submit your documentation via an email, before the submission deadline
5. Have fun!

Capture as many checkpoints as you can by 3pm and submit your route w/ pictures to AoB via the email that corresponds to your adventure type.

Deadline for riding this event: 3 PM
Deadline for submitting your route and images: 4pm

Your end of day team email should include:

1. Your Team Name
2. List of team member names
3. Disclose if you or your team used an ebike.
4. Link to the social media account used to document your team adventure.
5. Link to your team’s Ride With GPS (RWGPS) route w/ embedded pictures. Make it public.

Send your email to the appropriate email address for the map you used:

• • roughandrowdy@ashevilleonbikes.com
  • citycentric@ashevilleonbikes.com
  • cruiser@ashevilleonbikes.com

Hints:

1. Consider printing a copy of the map and / or making a list of the checkpoints because internet connectivity could be compromised by your location on the route and it’s cumbersome to switch between Ride With GPS (RWGPS) and Google Maps. A hard copy of the checkpoints is the way to go. 
2. Ride with a charged device to record your Ride With GPS route. An auxiliary charging source is a good idea.
3. Designate one person on your team to command Ride With GPS and take your checkpoint pics with his/her/their phone so that the pic files upload to the RWGPS route. When riding with RWGPS charting your course, any picture you take with your phone’s camera will be appended to your ride. You will see the list of photos at the end when you click “finish ride” in RWGPS and, at that moment, you do want all your photos from the day to be included on your route! During the event, all you must do with RWGPS is track your ride (leave RWGPS running until the end) while switching to the camera to take pictures as needed. If you use one phone for RWGPS and social sharing, you will end up with your pics correctly appended to your route and shared on social media.
4. Also share your photos to Instagram and Facebook. Tag Asheville on Bikes in all pics and hashtag #avlbike. Note that if you take pics and share on social by using a 2nd phone, other than the RWGPS phone (as will be tempting if you designate a 2nd team member to handle the social sharing duties), you won’t have pictures associated with the RWGPS route when you finish.
5. Take pictures with the bike fairies you encounter on your adventure, post pics to social media, and tag Asheville on Bikes  for bonus points. 1 point / fairy / team.
6.  Earn bonus points by capturing pics of the following and posting them to your social media platform. Tag Asheville on Bikes and hashtag #avlbike for each pic. One submission / bonus point.
7. Ride with front and rear lights and adhere to safe riding habits.

Bonus Points

In addition to finding each checkpoint, there are bonus points available during the ride. To claim the bonuses, take a photo that proves you have found any of these items, from the list for the ride you have chosen.

Rough & Rowdy Bonus Points Available:

• 3 little pigs on Sunset
• An i9 product
• A pic of jewel weed
• The bike tree on Waynesville Ave
• A representation of transportation in public art
• A pic of a Fall Out competitor
• A camper van
• A Bicycle Friendly Business designated by the League of American Bicyclists.
• A photo of your team under a bridge

City Centric Bonus Points Available:

• A JAG house under construction
• The bike tree on Waynesville Ave
• A Mosaic home / property  for sale sign
• A cyclist riding w/ a child
• A representation of a woman in public art
• A bicycle box at an intersection
• An illegally parked car
• A pic of a Fall Out competitor
• A Bicycle Friendly Business designated by the League of American Bicyclists.

Cruiser Bonus Points Available:

• A photo of your team under a bridge
• A happy dog on a leash
• A cyclist in a blue helmet
• Metal public art
• A cyclist riding with a child
• A pic of a Fall Out competitor
• A metal bird
• A personal flotation device
• A Bicycle Friendly Business designated by the League of American Bicyclists.

What you can win from today’s event:

• Bragging rights. We will publish a list of winners here within a week.

Thank you for participating. 

Asheville on Bikes is in it to win it and it is our pleasure to put our organization to work for some fun and adventure! When you show, we grow, whether it’s chasing checkpoints, hounding City staff about a road diet, or taking public positions on road projects that can be built differently to make all your rides safer.

Coming up this fall:

• AoB Pumpkin Pedaller ride (Likely to be a checkpoint style event)
• Candidate Forum and Questionnaire for the November City and County election candidates

The post Fall Out 2020 Event Day Instructions appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Asheville on Bikes & Connect Buncombe host a city council candidate forum focused on the issues of transportation on Thursday, Feb. 27th at Wedge at Foundation‘s Cloud Room from 6:00pm – 8:30pm.

The event provides council candidates the opportunity to discuss their positions on transportation and how they intend to impact the city’s infrastructure.

EVENT INFORMATION

Get There AVL
Thursday, Feb. 27th, 6:00pm – 8:30 pm
Wedge at Foundation’s Cloud Room

Asheville on Bikes provides a bicycle corral.

Our candidate forums are fun and well attended. We will be inside this year, but, in years past, we’ve met outside and the scene looked like this:

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, February 27th!

Further reading:

• Our Suggested Policy Positions 2020.
• Candidate Questionnaire Responses 2020.

The post 2020 Get There AVL Candidates Forum appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Bike Love ’19
p/b New Belgium Brewing
Saturday, Feb. 23rd, 2019
@ Isis Music Hall
Doors Open at 8PM
Buy Tickets Now

Live Music & a DJ Dance Party

Presented by New Belgium Brewing, Bike Love ’19 will feature live music from Red Honey and the Royal Jelly, featuring Grammy nominee Dave Gilbert on guitar, Kim Roney on keys, and Erika Jane on vocals, followed by an epic dance party with DJ Jut Rut.

• 8PM Doors Open
• 8:30 – 9:30 Red Honey & The Royal Jelly
• 9:30 – 12:30 AM – DJ Jut Rut

Win fabulous prizes—our Bike Love raffle is stacked

People look forward to our Bike Love raffle every year, and 2019 is no exception. We’ve got dozens of prizes from the local bike industry & other local business and there’s something for everyone. The support for Asheville on Bikes among local businesses is amazing! Industry Nine, Cane Creek, and Fox Suspension have all contributed to the event. We’re also giving away vacation rentals, massages, and gift certificates to many area shops.

Purchase your tickets online or at participating local bicycle shops:

• Liberty Bicycles
• Motion Makers
• Youngblood Bicycles
• Find Your Line
• Asheville Bicycle Company
• MustAsheville Bikes

Proceeds from ticket sales support AoB’s education and advocacy work to help improve Asheville’s multimodal transportation infrastructure and get more people in our community riding bikes.

The post Bike Love 2019 is Happening Feb. 23rd and You Should Come appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.