# Is western North Carolina ebike friendly?



## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

I am looking for a place to move in a few years that I can ride my ebike on trails in the area without hassle and not too far from home. Is western North Carolina ok with that? I have eyeing that area for awhile now.


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## slimat99 (May 21, 2008)

Basically all of the good riding is in the Pisgah Nat forest which is not open to motorized use. You could ride Brown Mountain near the northern Pisgah. That's an ORV area. All the single track in the southern Pisgah (Brevard) and northern Pisgah (Boone) are human powered only.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

generally, no. there are limited areas that are, such as the ORV area mentioned above and also at least some of the smaller private bike parks. But the vast majority of trail miles are in National Forests, where ebikes are a no go.


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

Another area I am considering is Roanoke. It seems not as swanky there. I like NH but those $10k a year property taxes are not going to fly.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

Everything near Roanoke is USFS. 

Never seen a motorized trail in western VA.


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## mbmb65 (Jan 13, 2004)

I hear Arkansas is pretty welcoming to the motorized crowd. Pretty hot there, though. 


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

It would take years to ride all of the good eMTB legal trails in Colorado and Utah, but if you don't want to live in the west, you still might be saved eventually. At some point, NFS is going to have to decide whether they are going to shut out eMTB forever, or join BLM and NPS in allowing them. In the Federal bureaucracy, National Forests are part of the USDA (Agriculture) while BLM and National Parks are part of the Department of the Interior. 

Lobby the USDA if you want to ride eMTB on MTB trails in National Forests.


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

Colorado just won't work for me. I am in Montana and want to escape the wind. Colorado has lots of wind as well.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

Cody01 said:


> Colorado just won't work for me. I am in Montana and want to escape the wind. Colorado has lots of wind as well.


Actually, once you get off of the Front Range, there are many places in CO that are not terribly windy. Montrose, Durango, etc.

I can see the appeal of NC, though.


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## shreddr (Oct 10, 2009)

Not to rehash what has been discussed here ad nauseum but ebikes are NOT motorized vehicles by definition. 


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

I just want to move somewhere that I can ebike in the woods, buy a decent home for $250-275k, have decent healthcare, very little wind, and a job that pays $40-50k a year.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

Cody01 said:


> I am looking for a place to move in a few years that I can ride my ebike on trails in the area without hassle and not too far from home. Is western North Carolina ok with that? I have eyeing that area for awhile now.


IMO the NC trails are "a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there". My wife and I visited a couple times, rode all of the awesome stuff (and there's a ton of it), but just didn't dig the Asheville scene. It wasn't quite as it was advertised. The riding really isn't that nearby, and we didn't want to be too rural.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great, great area to live and play outdoors. It just wasn't "optimal" for us.

YMMV.


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## Salespunk (Sep 15, 2005)

Tahoe with access to Downieville


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

So where would you suggest?


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

I doubt Tahoe is doable on my home budget.


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## mtbbiker (Apr 8, 2004)

AZ has lots of ebike friendly trails and more rumored to be opening soon.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

The big problem here is that if you base your decision on a snapshot in time, areas that may seem to be not friendly to eMTBs may well be accessible in a year or two. I would bet that class 1 eMTB access will be the default in most areas in the not too distant future. If that's the case, your list of cost effective places to live and ride would be much larger. No easy answer.

Another thing to consider is whether or not you want year-round MTBing or not.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

shreddr said:


> Not to rehash what has been discussed here ad nauseum but ebikes are NOT motorized vehicles by definition.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


lmao. the USFS manages them as such, whether you like it or not. And that definition is what matters right now. Does that change at some point? Maybe, maybe not. No telling right now if/when that might happen. Assuming it does anytime soon and making major life/financial changes on that assumption is taking a gamble.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Cody01 said:


> I just want to move somewhere that I can ebike in the woods, buy a decent home for $250-275k, have decent healthcare, very little wind, and a job that pays $40-50k a year.


Wintertime in WNC can be quite windy. Sure, probably a major reduction compared to what you're used to, but I wouldn't say there's "very little" of it.

Also, you might want to research the job market in WNC a little more before you commit. It's the sort of area where you'd better have something lined up before you get here, or you're going to be in rough shape. A LOT of people here have "side hustles" and the gig economy is pretty big for those. A friend of mine owns a kayak manufacturing business, but he makes his actual living as a real estate agent. You won't get a decent home in Asheville proper for that money, but if you look outside of the city, you could. Now we get into questions of what the job is that you wind up with, where it is, and how far you're willing to commute.



RickBullottaPA said:


> IMO the NC trails are "a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there". My wife and I visited a couple times, rode all of the awesome stuff (and there's a ton of it), but just didn't dig the Asheville scene. It wasn't quite as it was advertised. The riding really isn't that nearby, and we didn't want to be too rural.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, it's a great, great area to live and play outdoors. It just wasn't "optimal" for us.
> 
> YMMV.


Curious what you were expecting and/or what you'd be actively looking for. I live here (had been visiting WNC on and off for almost 20yrs, and the Southern Appalachians in general for close to 40 before moving to the area permanently), and there wasn't exactly anything hidden to me about it.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

Cody01 said:


> I just want to move somewhere that I can ebike in the woods, buy a decent home for $250-275k, have decent healthcare, very little wind, and a job that pays $40-50k a year.


Can you buy a home in that price range on that salary you quoted? That'd never work in NY.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Crankout said:


> Can you buy a home in that price range on that salary you quoted? That'd never work in NY.


good point. maybe OP is okay with being house poor? I know I'm not.

But maybe OP has zero credit card debt, no auto loans, no student loans, a good savings account, and anticipated proceeds from the sale of another home so the actual home loan for such a place wouldn't be the stated amount.


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

I have zero debt and my crrent home is paid off. Worth $250k. So I will only have basic living expenenses and property taxes. Also my wife makes about 40k a year as well. I am open to other areas. I like the Ozarks but they get a lot hotter in the summer I think. Otherwise considering Boise area too.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

Cody01 said:


> I have zero debt and my crrent home is paid off. Worth $250k. So I will only have basic living expenenses and property taxes. Also my wife makes about 40k a year as well. I am open to other areas. I like the Ozarks but they get a lot hotter in the summer I think. Otherwise considering Boise area too.


https://www.realtor.com/realestatea...ainier-Ln_Delta_CO_81416_M27140-88911?view=qv

https://www.realtor.com/realestatea...vid-Ln_Montrose_CO_81401_M18700-46527?view=qv

https://www.realtor.com/realestatea..._Grand-Junction_CO_81501_M96298-34027?view=qv

https://www.realtor.com/realestatea...lling-Rd_Cortez_CO_81321_M29196-47850?view=qv

Be sure you look at *all* of the costs of living wherever you decide to look. Property taxes, car registration, sales taxes, price of gas, insurance, etc.

There are still some affordable places in CO with great access to riding and other outdoor activities. Property taxes are among the lowest anywhere, but a few things are unusually expensive, like vehicle registration and (in some areas) health insurance.

Western Colorado has a lot of $30-50K jobs, not very many above that.

Personally, having lived in the southeast, you couldn't pay me enough to deal with the humidity, traffic, culture, and crowding in many of the best places. Arkansas sounds good until you realize you are in Arkansas. Utah has some great places, if you can deal with the Mormon thing. New Mexico *should* be a great place, but poverty and crime overwhelm the great aspects. Wyoming has crappy weather. Nebraska and Kansas, well, as the official slogan of Nebraska says, "It's Not For Everyone". LMAO.

I haven't been to Boise in 20 years, I liked it then, but I keep hearing that it has been invaded by California refugees?

The other place we looked and liked was SW South Dakota. However, the weather is a challenge there, and the tourist season sucks.

Nowhere is perfect. If I were a Billionaire I'd have a lot different outlook, that's for sure. When you have to put all of your eggs in one basket, it is a tough decision. I have a relative who thought Knoxville was going to be the perfect place to retire and they only lasted one year. They lost a ton in that debacle.


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

Thanks thats good info


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## MX9799 (Feb 11, 2018)

Cody01 said:


> I have zero debt and my crrent home is paid off. Worth $250k. So I will only have basic living expenenses and property taxes. Also my wife makes about 40k a year as well. I am open to other areas. *I like the Ozarks but they get a lot hotter in the summer I think*. Otherwise considering Boise area too.


If you don't like hot summers, cross NC off of your list.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Cody01 said:


> I like the Ozarks but they get a lot hotter in the summer I think.


If heat is a problem for you, I agree to cross the SE off. WNC is basically a rain forest. If you're not used to heat + humidity, you're going to hate it. True, it's not as hot as the lower elevations, but that's not much reassurance if you're not used to 100% humidity and feet of rain.


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## MX9799 (Feb 11, 2018)

Harold said:


> If heat is a problem for you, I agree to cross the SE off. WNC is basically a rain forest. If you're not used to heat + humidity, you're going to hate it. True, it's not as hot as the lower elevations, but that's not much reassurance if you're not used to 100% humidity and feet of rain.


No joke. Some folks underestimate the miserableness of the humidity here. Even a cool summer day in 70's can be rough if there's a tropical air mass in place, which happens a lot in NC in the summer and fall. I think the last time went for a ride at dupont was last August. It was cool those two days, in the upper 70's, but a hurricane was in the gulf at the time the air was just soggy as it could be. Both days I rode I basically drenched everything I had on, even my shoes. My gloves and socks were so wet that at the end of the ride when I took my wet gloves and socks off, my fingers and toes were pruned up like I'd been sitting in a bath tub for too long.


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## threepin (Nov 2, 2006)

I take it that you live on the east side since you say its windy.
I live in Flathead and with the exception of a few small areas i would in no way call it windy here, or most of the west side.



Cody01 said:


> Colorado just won't work for me. I am in Montana and want to escape the wind. Colorado has lots of wind as well.


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## Cody01 (Jul 23, 2014)

Ya, I am in Great Falls. I wish I could live in the Flathead area but I don't have $350k for a house and jobs over there are not the highest paying.


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## threepin (Nov 2, 2006)

that would explain the wind issue for sure

Flathead has definitely gotten pricier but there are some nice places in mineral, sanders or lincoln counties that are far more reasonable. I would have challenges going back to a humid climate. I hope you find what you are looking for.



Cody01 said:


> Ya, I am in Great Falls. I wish I could live in the Flathead area but I don't have $350k for a house and jobs over there are not the highest paying.


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