BluGnat

Hi. My husband and I are tentatively planning on relocating from Westminster, Colorado to somewhere near either Sevierville or Hendersonville, Tennessee. We are leaning toward Sevierville, because it has a little altitude/is mountainy (plus, Appalachian Trail). I'm a total "hack" (to use the equestrian definition) in that I'm not competitive, I'm not particularly skilled, and I have a "road" (well, a flat-bar commuter) bike, and a mountain bike (but I'd never try anything super technical on it, because I'm also old and don't want to wad myself up on a rock). But I LOVE to ride, for hours or a full day at a time as time allows. Currently, I frequent a 20+ mile out-and-back trail out my back door, as well as another 30 mile path that's along the highway if I'm feeling a need for more hill. There's hundreds and hundreds of miles of off-road (sidewalk or path, not street) biking here. There's also a ton of bike events, which I also like to participate in. I'm wondering if there's a place in Tennessee that has that sort of thing available. Maybe that has a strong existing, or up-and-coming, bike infrastructure. Maps and Googling can only do so much and the Trails website isn't really showing anything that's very long. We'll be out in Tennessee again for a Jeep event in August, and were planning on driving around to do some recon, and I'd love to have some suggestions of where to look. Thank you for reading and for any info.

Rje58

I am next door in North Carolina, and I've never ridden in Tennessee (yet), but I know that Chattanooga is supposed to be a bike-friendly town. Unfortunately it's over two hours by car from Sevierville. Knoxville is only about a 30-to-45 minute drive and it has some MUPs - supposed to be about 30 miles of them. Here's a link:

Bicycling Greenways

I don't know, but I would guess there must by some good cycling paths somewhere between Sevierville and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park...

Good luck, and let us know what you find. We may want to ride there, too.

BluGnat

This is great info - thank you!

Berg417448

Chattanooga has lots of cycling opportunities. There is the paved Riverpark/Greenway that runs along the river and creek and it is currently being extended. You can also ride many miles at the Chickamauga Battlefield just south of the border.

There are also lots of mountain bike trails at Raccoon Mountain, Enterprise South Nature Park, White Oak Mountain and many others.

superdex

444 miles of uninterrupted pavement:
Natchez Trace Trail
https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

tnburban

If moving to Sevierville check out Townsend/Walland/Maryville - it is awesome. So much awesome riding. I've done well over 1,000 miles in the area in the past 12 months, mostly in Townsend/Walland and Foothills Parkway. They opened up the final section of the parkway last year and it is lots of pain when you climb, and pure joy when you descend.

And ride up toTop of the World via Butterfly Gap! (aka, the Wall). Absolutely brutal short climb but when you do it, the sense of accomplishment is huge and you keep going back for more.

sch

Smokey Mtn Cycle club or similar name is in Knoxville. Also to get an idea of what local riders like to ride go
to https://www.strava.com/heatmap#8.38/....20887/hot/all You can change the color from the
garish red/yellow. Expand it up in your area to see what locals consider good routes, and if a given road
is not on the heatmap, it probably or certainly is one to avoid. Unless you are a strava member you will
have to cross ref with google maps to get road names, but this is a start. These days you may have to look
closely at roads to make sure you are on pavement versus gravel with the upsurge in gravel riding.

Here it is: Smoky Mountain Wheelmen ? Smoky Mountain Wheelmen

I used to ride in the park every year in April, but traffic can be brutal on the main road through the park.
OTOH, River Rd from Gatlinburg to Townsend, and from Gburg around the Cades Cove loop is a very
nice ride, some traffic but it is so twisty that the cars have to slow down. Check Sevierville bike shops
for organized weekly rides.

insignia100

I was a bit disappointed when I moved to Knoxville to find that the MUP system is rather disjointed. I started cycling in Tucson, AZ, which has The Loop (131ish miles of nice mostly interconnected MUP that circles the city). I'm currently training in the hopes of finding some group rides to join -- I typically have to make laps around the main MUP that goes through the southern part of town to get any decent mileage. If I want more than 25 miles, I'll have to start riding the roads.

BluGnat

Thank you so much for all the info, everyone! I didn't think about the Strava aspect - I will totally check that out.

I'm excited to go check stuff out next month, and this gives me ideas. Thanks again.

mousemeat

sounds interesting....memphis, has come an long ways with many bike paths, greenline, and more

Cykilist2

I don't know much about the cycling in Sevierville, and the only road I know there goes through there, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge. Most roads are more narrow, so probably not too bicycle friendly. However, I know the biking infrastructure in Hendersonville, as I visit this area a couple of times a year, and ride around the area.... There are some back roads east of town that are somewhat narrow, but don't have a lot of traffic... it's where the senior center is, off of Gallatin rd, This road travels south, and has a bike lane and better infrastructure as you get into Davidson Couty (Nashville). I'm also comfortable with the residential streets there. The bike lane stops at Old HIckory Blvd, but it continues, and you can find side streets to get around the busier streets. East Nashville is good to ride in. There's a park called Shelby Bottoms.. There are other bike paths west of town. Music City Bikeway. This kind of leads west towards the Natchez Trace, which is about 20miles SW of downtown. Getting to it can be a little tricky, but once you get on the Trace, you've got hardly any traffic, no stop signs, no lights, and bathroom/picnic stops about every 20 miles.
Good luck in your decision, but for cycling infrastructure, I'd choose Hendersonville.

Badbird2000

I live in Knoxville, and just recently purchased a bike (Litespeed). I was big into cycling when I was a kid and in my young years in Florida and excited to get back into it. My goal is to ride from Sugarlands Visitor center in Gatlinburg up to Clingmans Dome.

eaalto

Riding the Natchez Trace is awesome, if you ever get chance.

valve_timing

i'm going to be in sevierville/gburg area for my wedding starting friday afternoon if anyone wants to meet up and ride let me know on here. gravel or road doesnt matter

keokeo68

I went and felt very interesting, you do not hesitate and just do what you want.