Hi all,
I just moved back home to North Carolina from California. I have backpacked and mountain bike throughout NC for most of my life, but never married the two together while I lived here before. Any info available on possible routes in the southern Appalachians? I know Uwharrie like the back of my hand, and have a good backpacking knowledge of Pisgah, Cherokee national forests but not mountain biking there quite so much.
Any beta anyone may have would be greatly appreciated.

This is bikepacking, courtesy of the Swiss army....

I love the Swiss. The entire country is like an island on this planet. They don't give a crap about the rest of the world, just do things their way.
Seriously, how did a country that was geographically smack dab in the middle of WW2 just sort of "sit out" the whole thing?
I had a Swiss girlfriend once. Quite serious we almost got married, the whole country is kind of bat s¥it crazy in a good way.

I think of the difference much as I would between "backpacking" and "being a tourist". It a real wide, fuzzy line between the two. I tend to define it, in my mind, as to how you spend the night. So if I'm riding a mountain bike, using frame bag and big saddle bag, etc. but sleep in hotels every night, versus riding an expedition touring bike with racks and panniers, and sleeping on the ground every night...there's a lot of overlap there.
For me, the term "bikepacking" has very little to do with what style bike you are on, or how you carry your gear. To me it means much more that you sleep in the woods.

BIG fan of the basic Trangia stove.  I really dislike wrestling w/ complicated stoves, and when it comes to fuel I like it cheap and simple.  I do just fine with the mini Trangia - http://www.trangia.se/english/2924.mini_trangia.html
That's the same one I have. With either the included mini pot and a plastic cup, or a GSI steel mug and using rocks for support it's just about perfect for solo.
The only addition I need to grab is a nice Ti cup w/ a handle.

On of these days I'll probably try building an soda/beer can stove for fun.

That's the same one I have. I'm very happy with it, perfect size for solo.

I don't have any pics, but over the years I have run the gamut from carrying a full blown white gas stove and a couple of pots and a water filter to simply carrying a bic lighter to cook over the campfire(or just a very small, cooking specific fire) and iodine tablets and for backpacking a steel billy can, for the bike, a steel mug.
Where I am these days is a bit closer to the campfire and iodine, but I will carry an alcohol stove for when I want to get moving early in the morning. I can make my coffee quick and get on the trail without waiting for a fire to die down. Or for when there are fire bans. I use a mini Trangia.
Someone earlier mentioned white gas stoves being basically on/off. Mostly this is true, but there are two models that are actually great for simmering...the MSR Dragonfly and the Optimus Nova. These have a main fuel valve at the tank, and a finer, second adjustment at the stove. Both work great.
I'm not an ultralight fanatic, but over the years I have slowly drifted away from camp stoves, water filters, tents, back to tarp/bivy bags, fires, and boiling water at night and iodine during the day...not so much out of the weight, but just that I find the simplicity enjoyable. I like camp chores. When I get the green light from the wife and kid, I can be packed and ready to go in about twenty minutes.

Ive been backpacking and mountain biking and bikepacking solo since I was a teenager pretty regular. I generally find that the nature of my trips are much different when I am alone versus with others. With others, there is a lot of goofing off, risk taking, etc. When I am solo, I am very careful. I do most of my hiking and backpacking in the winter when there arent that many other people in the woods, so you have to be very careful not to get hurt and stranded.
Most of my bikepacking tends to be in areas that are populated enough that if something does happen, 1- you are on an established trail, and 2- most likely someone will come along within a day at least and find you.
But it does seem that most people seem to be more wary of wildlife issues than others when they look at the risks of outdoor travel solo. Wildlife can be an issue, but its a pretty rare one.
The real risks are getting hurt from having an accident or something while out alone, running into crazy people or, like here in Northern California, stumbling on a meth lab or a pot grow (thats a very real risk here, especially in Mendocino NF, Trinity NF).
Bears and Mt Lions are there, but really aren't that much of a danger. Rattlesnakes are. Lyme disease is.

I've certainly not done anything resembling that distance but since 29ers became more common, going full rigid is more and more popular. I can't help but think at that distance the mechanical reliability of full rigid would be a selling point too.

Its a bit of a haul from Kern County, but Mendocino National Park should be snow free and has more trails, jeep roads, fire roads than you could explore in a year.
There's actually a lot of BLM land close to you that, while maybe not having established trails or campsites, should be perfectly legal to bikepack on and the thing about BLM land is that while it's open to recreation (lots of it anyway), hardly anyone ever uses it.

I was unaware of those Civilian bikes...quite sexy

I've had a Flash 29er, and currently ride a Salsa El Mariachi. Both are great bikes, and neither gave me a case of upgradeitis which I seem to be especially prone to.
I think overall, the Cannondale (mine was older though, a Caffeine from 2006 or so) is a bit more "racier" and nimble, while the Salsa is, for me, more comfortable as an all day bike.
Depending on what your preference is, both are pretty fantastic bikes in my opinion.

I don't know, winter is an issue. I race road too and my first race is Jan 1st, with a full season of MTB and road to follow, so my steady diet during the week is Netflix on an iPad in the garage with the road bike on a fluid trainer.
It sucks, but it is what it is, that's what it takes to keep the legs.

Its not the most lightweight option, but I have been using an Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy for about 10 years. It is a fairly heavy duty bivy with a hooped head area. For me it is the best of three worlds. Sets up quick like a bivy, gives a tiny bit of headroom like a tent (I cant go to sleep without reading for a few minutes, a quirk) and is built to be really durable. Its quite pricy, pushing 300 bucks, but a very good bit of gear.
Ive had the same one for 10 years, including 4 of those years being used in US Army Infantry duty, and its still going strong.