Customer Reviews

Road Cycling: The Blue Ridge High Country

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I live in the area this book covers, and was curious to see if the book was a good overview of this area's riding. I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to quickly discover some of the road ride gems in the NC High Country. A great, and more efficient, alternative to asking at bikes shops or lurking on local internet biking forums.

This is THE guide for some of the most beautiful road cycling in the United States. My husband and I have spent hundreds of hours enjoying the North Carolina high country thanks to this book. Additionally, the author's website gives timely updates on road conditions and closures for the rides in the book (bridge replacements, etc.). You don't need to go to Europe to enjoy world-class cycling when you can ride along the top of the Blue Ridge! I should also mention that the national collegiate champions are from the area and we see many pro teams train here, so you won't be alone on the roads and most locals are very respectful of cyclists. A favorite local restaurant in Blowing Rock keeps a bike pump by the door. If you're a real roadie and climbing doesn't scare you, you won't regret spending time in the high country!

I purchased this book to provide ideas in creating my 4th week long tour of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I was seeking routes near the Blue Ridge Parkway that were a combination of stiff climbs and gentle rides in the valleys. The book includes many rides in each category that can be connected to create a challenging and scenic 60 to 70 mile riding day. I've cycled some of the roads in previous tours and have recently driven some other ones and found the book to be quite accurate regarding pavement conditions, challenge and scenery. I highly recommend the book to any cyclists who desire to ride off the beaten path of the Parkway, but still have access to it.