I'm moving from So California to somewhere near Matthews this summer and looking forward to getting back seriously into MTB when I come.  I was just visiting my kids in Matthews and I was very impressed with the countryside in general, the people, and with all of the opportunities for MTB.  What an awesome place you live in!! I'm home now and can't stand it here in SoCal anymore.   I'm currently attempting to gather some more intel and would appreciate your help with a couple of questions, if you wouldn't mind.

1.  Can you MTB year-round in NC?  Are there some months that are just too wet or cold or hot or ...?

2.  Since we have a choice on where to live in the area, I'd like to buy a house where I could ride down the street and hop on a trail without having to use a car to get there.  Are there any areas like that?  

Thanks,
Mike

Thanks for the great intel, Woody!  Are you Woody from 106.5?

Tough to bike to many trails from your home unless you are braver than me. This is definitely car country and the roads are not bike friendly at all. The only benefit is that most of the best trails are in the suburbs/farm country so the traffic isn't that bad out there.

That being said best trails in the area are Lake Norman State Park, USNWC, Sherman Branch, and Rocky River Trail. Lake Norman has the most to offer from a flow trail perspective with Monbo loop being the best flowing trail in the area. LNSP has 30 miles of great trails. Best bang for your buck as they are all pretty good if you don't mind dealing with the i77 horror show. USNWC has like 40 miles of trails that are mostly twisty XC trails but that place has so much more than biking to offer. Sherman is fun but pretty easy and flat. Rocky River Trail has very steep climbs with some technical sections and good flow.

All the trails here are typical of most trails on the east coast with some roots and rocks with the dirt being more of a clay. Charlotte is flat compared to nearby dupont or pisgah but most of the trails still have some small hills.

Sherman and Rocky River are only 9 miles apart or so.  You could live halfway between, be outside the Charlotte City limits (lower taxes and cheaper housing) and be close to two different trails.

Riding the road between them is ok, but not the best - 45mph speed limit so people drive, like, 1000mph while on their phones, and no shoulder or bike lane.  If you lived close to one, though, it would only be a 10 minute drive to the other.

Not that far from Matthews either.  Good luck and welcome to Charlotte.

I lived in the Bradfield Farms neighborhood for awhile; off Harrisburg Rd, 15 mins from Matthews. Could ride 3 blocks thru the hood from my house and drop into the Lake loop at Sherman Branch~very sweet for early morning before work rides.

MTB4U wrote on 02/25/18 at 10:08pm:
Yep (check the Boba Fett avatar and where it says listen in the morning on 106.5!!)

Before I retired, I worked with a guy named Ben and he lived in the Bradfield Farms development. I rode with him and his wife one afternoon and we rode through the hood for a block and a half to the Lake Loop. I don't think you could go wrong living there.

Woody1065 wrote on 02/28/18 at 3:37pm:


(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

If you pump when you're supposed to jump, you're gonna have a bad time.  

Lot of new home construction in Troutman , there's a street that butts right up to the rear of the Wildlife trails of the Itusi, which is the MTB trail at Lake Norman State Park. More affordable housing in Statesville . Troutman and Statesville are good as it puts you close to other systems and away from the crazy traffic snarl of I-77. 50 miles north of Statesville is Kerr Scott trails. One of the better systems in NC . Your also 100 miles from Asheville ,and near there is Bent Creek and Old Fort Tails(Kitsuma)part of Pisgah forest. 40 miles south west of Asheville, puts you in Brevard. Where the famous part of Pisgah you always read about is. Also the DuPont state forest, which may be a flow riders dream, also eastern slickrock