Ed Tiles is an avid and experienced cyclist who has enjoyed the sport for over 30 years. A member of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club in Henderson County, North Carolina, he attended the 2005 Tour de France as well as many other professional cycling events. In June 2022, Tiles taught a two-hour course titled “The Tour de France: Riders, Teams and Strategy” at the Blue Ridge Center for Life-Long Learning at Blue Ridge Community College. Tiles is a native of Wisconsin and majored in economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked in the newspaper business and was employed by a number of major papers, including USA Today and, more recently, Gannett who owns both the Asheville and Greenville daily publications. Ed retired and a resident of Flat Rock, North Carolina.