# March Vacation + Riding



## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

Anybody have a suggestion for a vacation destination in the Southeast (Possibly Texas) during early March. 
Some basic requirements:

1. Maximum 14 hours drive from Nashville, TN
2. Warmer temperatures (prefer average high to be >45 degrees F, if possible)
3. Great road or mountain biking (possibility of meeting-up with a local group ride)
4. My wife doesn't ride, so some other things to entertain us (museums, historical sites, shopping, evening shows, etc.) would be essential.

Thanks for your help.


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## bmax119 (Jul 26, 2006)

Boone, NC - can't beat the riding, plenty to do, Asheville is nearby


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## RHankey (Sep 7, 2007)

Southern Pines, NC. Moore County is wonderful for road riding. Check with Rainbow Cycles in S'Pines to get you started with some bike routes. I used to go there (from Canada) with a number of other cyclists every spring for a number of years, sometimes at Christmas too to get a jump on my bike training miles. I got a couple days of riding there a couple weeks ago.

If historical sites are of interest, I'd suggest staying at the Jefferson Inn in S'Pines, rather than the chain hotels, which has been redone very nicely.

S'Pines and neighbouring Pinehurst have a few nice shops, but your wife is likely to want to head to Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Charlotte (all roughly an hour's drive away) for serious shopping/evening shows.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

If you can wait until April 11-13, Cycle North Carolina has its spring cycling event out of Oriental along the coast. The event features loop rides from Oriental each day with options ranging from 20-100 miles.

http://ncsports.org/nccyclemain.php


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

tarwheel2 said:


> If you can wait until April 11-13, Cycle North Carolina has its spring cycling event out of Oriental along the coast. The event features loop rides from Oriental each day with options ranging from 20-100 miles.
> 
> http://ncsports.org/nccyclemain.php



Unfortunately, we have to go in March (work schedules). Maybe next year, or the September/October Cycle North Carolina looks pretty cool.

Thanks for the input.


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## HikenBike (Apr 3, 2007)

bmax119 said:


> Boone, NC - can't beat the riding, plenty to do, Asheville is nearby


Boone area has many antiques and art shops. If you wife is an outdoors type of person, there are a lot of neat places to visit/hike.

I highly recommend the Lazy Bear Lodge in Valle Crucis.
http://www.lazy-bear-lodge.com/


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## NealH (May 2, 2004)

Lots of good recommendations here, but, being that this is also a vacation for your wife I would recommend a place like Charleston, SC which is rich in history and culture, has a great climate in March and, much to do and see in and around the city proper. The forts, the plantations, the water, neighboring islands, etc. Riding..... well almost all towns and places have some amount of riding and Charleston is no different. There are clubs there and, they schedule plenty of rides such as Johns Island, Isle of Palms, Mt. Pleasant, Sullivans Island, Kiawah Island, and the list goes on. At most all these riding areas/destinations you can bring your wife to enjoy the features, sights and amenities of these particular places. Very relaxing, very cordial, very historic. There is something for all, not only for the rider.


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

rnhood said:


> Lots of good recommendations here, but, being that this is also a vacation for your wife I would recommend a place like Charleston, SC which is rich in history and culture, has a great climate in March and, much to do and see in and around the city proper. The forts, the plantations, the water, neighboring islands, etc. Riding..... well almost all towns and places have some amount of riding and Charleston is no different. There are clubs there and, they schedule plenty of rides such as Johns Island, Isle of Palms, Mt. Pleasant, Sullivans Island, Kiawah Island, and the list goes on. At most all these riding areas/destinations you can bring your wife to enjoy the features, sights and amenities of these particular places. Very relaxing, very cordial, very historic. There is something for all, not only for the rider.


I was just thinking about Charleston. I had a friend who lived there for a couple of years and they said it was a really cool place. I just checked he average temp for March and it looks pretty good. I'll have to check with the wife and see what she thinks.

Thanks for the advice.


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## HikenBike (Apr 3, 2007)

jspharmd said:


> I was just thinking about Charleston. I had a friend who lived there for a couple of years and they said it was a really cool place. I just checked he average temp for March and it looks pretty good. I'll have to check with the wife and see what she thinks.
> 
> Thanks for the advice.


I don't know about March, but June is unbearably hot! I went jogging at sunrise and was hurting after a few miles. Charleston is a cool (as in happening) place.... I lived there for a summer.


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## VaughnA (Jun 3, 2003)

Brevard NC would be my pick. I've done the Assualt on the Carolinas road ride in the area and it is a great ride in late March that you might want to catch. And pisgah is right there for mountain biking. And you can hit some of the great Pisgah MTB trails that are closed after April 15th. And there are plenty of other options for fun in the Asheville area.


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## sidsport (Mar 3, 2007)

As much as Western NC (Boone, Asheville, Brevard, etc) probably does have the best cycling around, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for March. There's no telling what the weather might do--could be 60, could be 20. If you're in Asheville or Brevard, you can always drive down the mountain into SC for maybe 10 degrees more warmth but still iffy. If I was going for a cycling vacation in March, I'd be thinking warmer than these parts. One the other hand, if you do decide on WNC, send a PM and I'll give you some beta.


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