Two rides for May

 We've got two rides coning up this month: our usual monthly outing this coming Saturday; and the first of this year's Extra rides on the 27th. Here are the details:

May 20-Milers : 13 May

For our "second Saturday" ride this month, Graham (Thompson) has devised an interesting and unusual route through the west of the city. It will link up a few familiar paths and roads with some sections that will, I think, be new to most of us. There will be a variety of surfaces and gradients but I don't expect any serious difficulties. The total distance will be between 22 and 24 miles.

Our lunch stop will be at a venue that will also be new to most of us: the Gogarburn Golf Club. There is a friendly café there that serves a variety of sandwiches, wraps, baked potatoes, etc., all at reasonable prices. There are also picnic tables for those who prefer to bring a packed lunch.

The arrangements are the same as always. We'll set out at 10:30 from our usual spot at the north end of Middle Meadow Walk. The ride will end at or near the Meadows around the middle of the afternoon.

20-Milers Extra: 27 May

This will be our first Extra of 2023. These Extra rides are longer and faster than our usual monthly runs, with an earlier start and a later finish, but with the same sociable and unpressured pace. They generally appeal to riders who find our normal rides well within their capabilities and would now like to try something slightly more demanding.

Look out for another post here later in the month with details of the route, destination and meeting time and place for this ride. In the meantime, note the date.

More rides

As summer approaches, other local cycling groups - including EasyCycle, Mellow Velo, CTC and others - will be organising their usual full programmes of rides. These rides, which are of varying distances and levels, are mostly free and open to all. You can find a full list on my website. 

And, finally, you might like to know about a new cycling map of our area that has recently been issued. It is Sheet 24 of a series published by Cycle Maps UK.  It has less detail than the familiar Spokes maps, but it covers a much wider area, including nearly all of the Lothians, most of the Borders as well as the southern part of Fife. Here's a link to the relevant page on Amazon.

That's all for now. I hope to see you on one or both of the above rides. In the meantime, happy cycling.