Originally posted by
jfought
I'm moving to Brevard, NC later this summer. I'm super excited to be able to trail run to my heart's content, but I'm concerned about where to open water swim. Can anyone tell me where I'm going to be able to continue my open water swim training?
I'd also like to know if my tri bike is going to be impossible to ride because of the steep hills? Am I going to be able to find hills that will work with my bike's gearing?
You probably already have these other ideas, but just in case.... there's Lake Dense or Lake Julia in DuPont; Cascade Lake and Lake Powhatan
(pretty small lakes, small fee, but an idea if you are desperate
); Lake Lure; Biltmore Lake if you know someone who lives in that Asheville-area neighborhood; and possibly somewhere on Lake Summit in Henderson County?
Lake James State Park is about 1.5 hours from Brevard but good for a day trip - beautiful park with lots of open water. The Asheville Tri Club hosts Wednesday night swims at Lake Logan, although it's a bit of a haul from Brevard.
There are a lot of hills around Brevard, but also a lot of flat routes, believe it or not. The Blue Ridge Bicycle Club has reasonable membership fees and a huge database of local rides, including many for Brevard and Pisgah Forest, some with hills, some with very little elevation change, depending on what you want. I love riding in Brevard/Rosman on my recovery days because of some of the flat, scenic routes along the river.
I use a road bike since I also do a lot of the "tours" in the region and can't afford two bikes. I'm sure you can get by with the tri bike, but most bikes I see around here at races are road bikes with clip-on aero bars if needed. I'm definitely not an expert on that one though! My bike is 2x10
(50-34 in front and 34-11 in back
) and it works for me a slower cyclist :-
)