Half-day ride this coming Saturday

We will be having our last ride of the year this coming Saturday (14th). As is now customary, both this ride and January's will be shorter than usual: just half a day each, finishing at around 13:00.

The route

This month's route promises to be particularly interesting as it will be an opportunity for us to try out the brand new Roseburn-to-Canal cycle path, due to open today (9 December.) This will allow us to reach the Roseburn Path without having to negotiate the steep zig-zag in the Telfer Subway, a busy stretch of Dalry Road and the the awkward right turn into Murieston Crescent.

The rest of our route will be on the more familiar NCN 1 as far as Davidson's Mains, and then down to Cramond and the Silverknowes Esplanade. If time permits, we'll  have a quick stop at Lauriston Castle and/or Cramond Kirk. From Silverknowes, we'll retrace our outward route back towards the Meadows.

The total distance will be about 14 miles. I don't foresee any difficulties except for the fairly steep - but short - climb up from the Esplanade.

We'll set out from our usual spot at the north end of Middle Meadow Walk at 10:30. We'll aim to finish the ride at or near the Meadows. There is a good choice of  cafes, pubs and sandwich shops near the finish point for those in need of post-ride refreshments, but that won't be part of the official programme.

And finally ...

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has led our rides in 2024 as well as those who have helped the group in other ways. We've had another successful year with a full programme of rides - not forgetting the celebrations to mark our twentieth anniversary.

Looking ahead, our first ride in 2025 will be on 11 January, and that will be another half-day run. We'll get back to our normal full-day format in February. In the meantime, happy pedalling.