There’s a biathlon at the coast, a lucky bike ride in the mountains, and salvation — or at least a way to save yourself from getting lost — in the Piedmont.

Coast

Before you go tri, perhaps you should try bi.

It only makes sense that instead of going directly to three sports, you should ease yourself in with two. Say, standup paddle boarding and running?

If that sounds like a plan, then plan on entering Saturday’s 7^th Annual Wrightsville Beach Biathlon, combining a 4-mile flatwater standup paddle  course and a 4.5-mile beach run. The action commences at the Blockade Runner Resort, at Wrightsville Beach. An avowed one-sport person? No problem, find another similarly committed soul and enter as a team.

Logistics: 7^th Annual Wrightsville Beach Biathlon, Saturday, March 18, 10 a.m., Blockade Runner Beach Resort, Wrightsville Beach. $35. More info here.

Saturday forecast: High of 65, chance of afternoon rain.

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Looking ahead: Hike NC! Cliffs of the Neuse State Park Lake Trail hike, 2 miles, Friday, March 24, Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, Seven Springs. More info here.

Piedmont

Our GetOriented! program has declared this weekend Find Your Way in the Woods weekend, with classes in both the Triangle and Triad areas.

We start the three-hour session with a half hour of map-and-compass get-to-know-you. Then, we head down the trail, and off, in search of the hidden treasures that elude the trail-bound. The overall goal: to make you feel more comfortable about your ability to navigate the woods.

Our Saturday morning session is at Umstead State Park in Raleigh, Sunday morning we’re at Haw River State Park in Greensboro. Compass and map are included.

Logistics: GetOriented! Finding Your Way in the Woods: Saturday, March 18, 9 a.m., Umstead State Park, Raleigh, more info and sign up here; Sunday, March 19, 9 a.m., Haw River State Park, Greensboro, more info and sign up here.

Saturday forecast: Saturday morning in Raleigh: Temperature in the 50s, chance of rain;  Sunday morning in Greensboro: Sunny, with temperatures in the 40s.

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Looking ahead: Hike NC! Celebrate the first day of spring with a hike along the Eno at Eno River State Park, Monday, March 20, 10 a.m. More info here.

Mountains

Talk about fortuitous timing: Saturday, it’s forecast to be rainy in the morning in Asheville. But the rain is expected to clear around noon, just in time for the 11^th Annual Bike of the Irish ride beginning and ending at the Wedge Brewing Company.

“We’re rolling through several historic places which have transformed with the times,” Mike Sule, executive director of Asheville on Bikes, told the Asheville Citizen Times. “The Wedge [Brewing Company], the [Wedge at] Foundation, the French Broad Greenway, downtown, and the Beaucatcher Mountain. They’re all old and new. We’re celebrating our dynamic city and rediscovering its nooks and crannies.”

The ride is 9.3 miles and gains 643 feet of elevation. Not bad for the Asheville area.

Logistics: 11^th Annual Bike of the Irish ride, Saturday, March 18, 1:30 p.m., Wedge Brewing Company, Asheville. More info here.

Sunday forecast: High near 60, partly cloudy at ride time.

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Looking ahead: Hike NC! Collier Cove Nature Preserve hike, Sunday, March 26, Arden. More info here.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below. 

Coast

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