Local bike shop Youngblood Bicycles has teamed up with national campaign My City Bikes to launch an interactive, Asheville-centric bike app — Asheville Bikes.

The free app, available for Apple and Android, acts as a guide to everything Asheville biking: mountain trails, scheduled group rides, bike maintenance, city trails and how to pick the right bike for you.

More from My City Bikes:

Asheville, NC – The My City Bikescampaign is on a mission to improve individual and environmental health by inspiring Americans to take one simple action: bike more. Although it may seem basic, getting on two wheels more often has a profound impact on our personal wellbeing and the quality of our air.

One in every 3 American men and women die of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases – more than all types of cancer combined. In Asheville 63% of residents are dangerously overweight or obese, with 22% of residents reporting that they do no physical activity at all. This health crisis is preventable, and that is why Youngblood Bicycles teamed up with My City Bikes to help make a change in these life-threatening trends with the Asheville Bikes app.

Asheville Bikes is the official guide to beginner biking in Asheville. Biking is an excellent joint friendly, low-impact activity that can be done indoors or outdoors, on a road or on a trail, alone or with a group. No matter how you like to be active, there is a biking style for you. Best of all, biking is practical. Not only can you improve your strength and cardiovascular endurance on a bike, but you can transport yourself from point A to point B doing it – talk about multitasking!

The Asheville Bikes app – now available for free for Apple and Android devices – provides one central, easy-to-use utility that you can access anytime, anywhere to make biking a part of your life. Asheville Bikes is a definitive guide to improving the health of ourselves and our community, and having fun in the process. Biking more pays dividends to your health, quality of life and the environment.

For example, the average passenger car produces about one pound of pollutants per mile. Swapping a car for a bike just once a week can make a serious improvement in air quality. Not to mention, every 10-mile round trip commute made by bike instead of by car saves you about $10 and burns about 400 calories. Last but not least, when you’re free from bumper-to-bumper gridlock you may even find that you get where you’re going faster and free from the tension and stress of road rage.

Starting a biking habit is easier than you think. Here’s what you’ll need:

a bike in working condition with a head and tail light

a helmet that is snug but comfortable

a backpack or bike bag (also known as “panniers”) to carry your things

bright clothing, preferably with reflective accents

a bike lock

Check the Asheville Bikes app for commuter-friendly streets and bike paths near you, then hit the road. Start with a shorter trip – the grocery store, a friend’s house, nearby restaurant, etc. – to get comfortable before embarking on longer journeys. Plan your route ahead and remember, bikes are considered vehicles and must obey stop lights and traffic signs the same way a car would.

As an official local partner of My City Bikes nation-wide initiative, Youngblood Bicycles has dedicated itself to the wellbeing of the Asheville community by making sure that local residents have access to this necessary resource. For more information visit mycitybikes.org.

My City Bikes is the national web- and mobile-based public health campaign for beginner cyclists to benefit communities across the United States by providing a simple mobile resource to inspire and facilitate cycling. Whether for fun, fitness or transportation, My City Bikes is a definitive guide to cycling opportunities in communities nation-wide. My City Bikes along with its network of beginner-friendly bike shops and local municipal governments are bringing beginner biking resources to hometowns across the United States to empower individuals to improve their health by simply pedaling a bike. Join the biggest bike team in America! Download your free local My City Bikes app at http://mycitybikes.org to find local entry-level rides, need to know DIY bike maintenance, and beginner-friendly bike shop experts and go for a ride.