In 1992, many folks had never even heard of riding bicycles on a trail through the woods. That was the year Jim Parham published Off The Beaten Track, A Guide to Mountain Biking in Western North Carolina, a book that would change the way trail guidebooks were written, and strongly impact the recreation industry in the Southeast. Mastering Mountain Bike Skills

At the time, he was a 28-year-old whitewater river guide and kayak instructor for the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City, NC who’d fallen in love with off-road cycling, and he noticed the outfitter store staff spending precious sales time drawing crude maps on scraps of paper for customers asking where to ride. In October of 1991 he decided to take action and publish the first mountain bike trail guide for the Southeast. The concept was simple: concise directions, basic, ultra-clear maps, and everything a rider needed to have the best experience possible. The book itself would be slender, but packed with information–no philosophical musings, no text padding, just a few terse comments from the author to help the reader find the right ride.

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