Since the early ’90s, an influx of hip bars, one-of-a-kind boutiques, galleries filled with all manner of art, trendy coffee shops, eclectic restaurants, and a bohemian pulse have made Asheville a culturally rich destination.

That’s the question I keep asking myself as I scale the vertical stone face of Cedar Rock in Pisgah National Forest. Perched halfway up the side of this granite mountain, I’m vaguely aware of the gaping views of forested peaks that stretch for miles around me

On a merciless climb toward the end of the Tour de Tuck (aka Tuckasegee River Bike Challenge), Andy Stenberg’s quads suddenly and forcefully seized, pitching him sideways onto the asphalt with a thump

I made my first foray into Lenoir a few years ago while venturing along the stretch of U.S. 321 known as “20 Miles of Furniture” in search of a sofa.

Legs burn, gears crank slowly, and lungs feel as though they’re ready to burst for cyclists attempting the climb up Beech Mountain Parkway.