Asheville is beautiful at any time of year – a place so picturesque and perfectly resonant of how a Blue Ridge Mountain town should look and feel. This year though, when summer gently faded into autumn we were met with a new appreciation of its allure.

As cyclists, we venture off to our less traveled surroundings to unwind. Western North Carolina is riddled with windy mountain roads laden with rural beauty and forests filled with age old flora. With a summer behind us packed with hard group rides and racing, fall is the perfect time for day-long adventures in search of crisp air, self-reflection, and a deeper understanding of why we turn the pedals.

We retreat to these lands known and unknown not just to exercise and to train, but because these roads serve as our playgrounds – both physically and viscerally. Riding is an outlet through which we can slip away from the hustle of everyday life and replace it with contemplation and beautiful distraction.

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