When we post announcements of our rides, it's always with the proviso that the advertised route is provisional and that we might have to change it at the last minute, depending on conditions on the day. Such was the case with today's run. The original plan was to head out on the Water of Leith path and then back via Woodhall Road and Bonaly. But it has been particularly cold in Edinburgh this last week, with daytime temperatures often well below zero, resulting in some treacherous icy patches on roads and paths.
With that in mind, our leader, Alison, sensibly decided to carry out an extra recce of the planned route during the week. She found that certain stretches of the route – especially the high ground near the Woodhall Road riding school – were particularly badly affected by ice, and were likely to remain so for several days. So various alternative plans were considered. After some more reconnoitring, a more sheltered low level route was chosen, this being a variation of the "five parks" run that we have done several times before.
Twelve riders turned up for the ride, which, given the sub-zero temperature, was a pretty good effort. (Balaclava helmet liners, sealskin gloves and thermal jackets were all in evidence.)
Route
Our route took us through Holyrood Park, Duddingston village and Cavalry Park, then alongside the Duddingston golf course to Milton Road and Bingham. After a short stretch on the Innocent path, we turned off through the Peffermill Industrial Estate and then through Craigmillar Castle Park. It took a few minutes for us all to get across the very busy Old Dalkeith Road, but we were soon able to continue by way of Inch Park and Double Hedges Road to the foot of Kirk Brae.
On previous occasions, we have headed for Blackford Glen Road and the Hermitage of Braid at this point. But another of Alison's earlier recces had identified the Hermitage as another likely ice hazard. So this time we turned right at the traffic lights and headed up Mayfield Road – our only climb of the day and, thankfully, a fairly short one. Next came a particularly pleasant stretch through the grounds of the King's Buildings. After crossing West Mains Road, we weaved through the back streets of Blackford and the Grange before finishing the ride back at the Meadows.
At just over twelve miles, it was not exactly a long ride, but was just about right given the conditions. We kept up a moderate pace with very little standing around in the cold, and we managed to avoid the worst of the ice. So kudos to Alison for coming up with this alternative plan and for undertaking the necessary recces. A word of thanks too to Miranda who volunteered at short notice to serve as backmarker.
We'll be back to our full-day runs in February. It will surely have got warmer by then?
Leader: Alison
Report: Mike
Photos: Sorry, none this time; too cold to stop and take pictures.
2 comments:
Hello! I am sitting in the sunroom of my house near Ottawa reading the blog and listening to the wind outside, where the temp is -10, and the snow is very deep. I am marvelling at the possibility of joining like-minded people for casual rides, at all times of the year. January rides are a wild fantasy for a Canadian. Our plan is to retire to Edinburgh in about 2 years, and getting around by bike is central to the vision. I just wanted to say the style of these rides, and the vibe of your group (as far as I can tell from the blog) seems like a perfect fit. It’s a long way off but you’ll likely have a couple Canucks tagging along in the future. I do have a question, while I’m here; does the group make a distinction between bike and e-bike? Are e-bike users welcome on the rides? The pace and length of the rides look very doable but we’ll likely buy e-bikes when we get there.
Hello Greg. We are very happy for e-bike users to join our rides. Around 30% of the group currently use e-bikes, and the proportion has been steadily growing these last few years. But do note that we occasionally have to lift our bikes over gates or other obstructions, and this is obviously more difficult with a heavy e-bike than most others. But this doesn’t happen very often.
Do post here again if you have any more questions.
Mike
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