And now the tough realty that it’s only two hotels for may dates/and max budget available in Brevard. Flat rock has more options, but as I understand but for trail riding it would be always driving to the direction of Breverd?
Also, I’ve booked a car - mazda cx50 - what would be the best way to pack a dirty MTB inside that car? any lifehacks? 
You can pack a clean bike in the car - the Hub in Pisgah Forest has a free bike wash you can use in the upper gravel lot.
For lodging, it’ll be expensive in May, it’s peak tourist/spring season. There might be cheaper airbnb’s in Brevard. There is a bike path that you can ride from Brevard (town) to Pisgah Forest (276 corridor to access those trails)
I have visited Brevard a couple of months ago with my gravel bike and it was a blast. Stayed at the Pilot Cove cabin with my family, it is very bike-friendly and even have a bike washing station right there. This complex is also right above The Hub bike shop and tavern that also rent bikes out. I was there for about a week, and rode something different every day - with a gravel bike I would head out of the cabin and was able to string together 50-60+ mixed surface, gravel routes. There’s tons of climbing obviously. One day I did a group ride with the local roadie group north of Asheville, and another day rented a MTB.
I used RideWithGPS and looked for nice routes. One thing to keep in mind, that if the route is few years old, not all the roads are still open due to the hurricane Helene - I had one route that was going through Dupont forest, which I had to find a detour for.
Let me know, I can send you some of the routes that I liked. Avery Creek Rd climb that starts right there is a leg buster!
