Eight out, two back – a damp weekend to Perth

The fourth annual 20 Milers weekend away saw us head north to the fair city of Perth. What turned out to be a damp, and at times downright wet and blustery weekend saw eight set out on Saturday morning. But only two rolled back into Edinburgh in the early evening sunshine on Sunday. Whilst that may seem like a terrible rate of attrition, it wasn’t quite as bad as it sounds.

On a cool damp Saturday morning, a mere eight riders met at the Craigleith marker to begin our journey to Perth. No doubt the weather played a big part, but this was the lowest turnout since our weekend away rides began in 2014. With us all in waterproofs, we headed off along the familiar path towards South Queensferry and the Forth Bridge. One of the group fell courtesy of an uneven drop kerb at Dalmeny. Fortunately, no injury or damage occurred and we carried on through the new housing estate. As we got closer to the bridge we stopped to speak to an old lady walking her dog. She told us she thought the bridge was closed to cyclists as a result of kestrel damage! On arriving at the bridge, we discovered this was not the case. But it certainly made us smile and cropped up in the conversation a number of times over the weekend. Our concern at the bridge was the chaos caused by the roadworks. We are so used to quickly and smoothly making our way to the foot and cycleway on the eastside of the bridge. But not today. We had to negotiate our way to the westside before we could begin our crossing. Once across we were confronted with miles of cones, rope and strange door frames at crossing points. There was one benefit. The usually horribly busy road into Inverkeithing was as quiet as most of us had ever seen it. We left Inverkeithing behind us and headed towards Dalgety Bay. From there we found ourselves on the B901 Clocklunie Road – not Clock-the-loony as some on the group had christened it. This was a steep road that went down into the valley before climbing out at the far side.

Being a busy and narrow road meant we were delighted to see a lovely wide, well surfaced cycle path running alongside. Two brave souls wanted to whizz down the road and see how far up the other side their momentum would carry them. The rest of the group took the path not caring that a gateway at the bottom would scupper any chance of that. It was great zooming down; but it was very hard work going up the other side. We then pressed on through Crossgates, Cowdenbeath and on to Kinross. In Kinross it began to rain heavily. Fortunately, our lunchstop, the Muirs Inn emerged from the gloom and we rushed inside. The rain continued as we enjoyed a lovely lunch. We didn’t rush. One of the group had been checking train times and urged us to get a move on so he could make Perth in time for his train back to Edinburgh. Well, it was time to get moving and the rain had stopped. We made our way through Milnathort and turned left up a minor road towards Netherton. A sign told us this road was closed, but fortunately we were able to get through. On this road about ten horses decided to gallop up and down their field for a few minutes. Perhaps they didn’t get to see many cyclists. We passed through Colliston, Drunzie, Duncrevie and Glenfarg. Near Dron we found ourselves on a beautiful long descent. It may have been a minor road, but the curves were gentle and the surface smooth and free of the dreaded gravel. Some reported hitting 40 mph here. Then came the cloud burst. There was no shelter on this stretch. We had agreed to regroup beneath a bridge that carries the M90 motorway. There was plenty of room under the bridge. It looked as if the weather had set in for the day. We anticipated it being like that all the way to Perth. The rider who wanted to catch his train realised he would make better progress alone, so left us and headed out into the rain. Astonishingly, a few minutes later the rain stopped and the sun made its first appearance of the day, and that’s how it stayed as we made our way into Perth. One rider headed off to meet their lift home, whilst three piled into a strategically parked van for their return to Edinburgh. And then there were three. We made our way to our overnight accommodation, enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower and change of clothes before meeting up for dinner. Obviously, dinner was less lively than in previous years due to depleted numbers.

On Sunday morning, the three remaining riders met beside the main road bridge across the Tay to begin our journey back to Edinburgh. It was dry, bright but cloudy and a touch cool. We retraced our route from the previous day. With the beautiful steep descent near Dron now ahead of us as a most foreboding climb, the leader turned left on to a flat road. Phew! This quiet road led us to the A912. We headed south on this fast twisty road keeping in single file. There was some traffic, but being a Sunday morning it was not overly busy. This led us to our morning coffee stop at the delightful, friendly and welcoming Bein Inn. From there we went through Glenfarg, Duncreavie, Drunzie and Milnathort before arriving at Loch Leven Larder for lunch. The café there looked very nice. But the “you’ll have to wait at least 20 minutes for a table” did not appeal. We got some food from the deli and sat outside, but under cover as it was now raining. In a field closer to Loch Leven a cricket match continued despite the rain. At this point one of the group left us to head to Cowdenbeath for a train back to Edinburgh. And then there were two. We headed down to the loch. A lovely path and fine views should have made this part of the ride lovely. But there was a drawback – the swarms of flies and midges. It began to make sense why so many cyclists heading towards us had their faces covered as if they were on their way to rob a bank. On leaving the lochside and getting back on the road the wind got up. This annoying headwind did not seem to let up until we were back in Edinburgh. This headwind and some dull featureless roads made parts of our journey out of Fife something of a slog at times. At Dalgety Bay the leader suffered the first puncture of the weekend. He told the writer to go on. That wasn’t going to happen. The 20 Milers ethos has always been that we stick together. No one ever gets left on their own.  Puncture fixed and we were rolling again. Once more we threaded our way through the maze of roadworks to get onto the Forth Bridge. Thanks to the strong headwind, climbing to the highest point on the bridge felt like climbing a mountain. Eventually we got across. Not a kestrel in sight. From there familiar roads and paths took us back to the Cramond Brig Hotel for a well-deserved pint. We sat outside the pub in the early evening sunshine and shed our jackets for the first time all weekend. From there we returned to Craigleith where the ride was officially closed, and the final two headed home in opposite directions.

The weekend had been tough at times. Not Peebles tough, but no easy amble. There had been stretchs on some busy roads; but that was balanced by some lovely quiet lanes. Some of the climbs were tough, but going from Edinburgh to Perth – there are hills in between. Think of them as a challenge. Remember, there is no shame in walking up the steepest ones. Sometimes its quicker and easier than riding them! A big thanks must go to Jim for all the effort he put in to planning, recceing and leading the ride. Going out on his own recceing the route in the winter months deserves a mention in despatches, if not a medal.

Leader: Jim
Organiser: Glenn
Report: Glenn
Photos: Glenn and Graham
Map trace: Jim

A windy weekend ride to Peebles

The second annual 20 Milers weekend away ride saw 13 riders gather on a cool, damp and breezy morning that felt more like March than May. Someone once said May is the best month of the year if you're after good weather in Scotland. There was a theory to test. The leader handed out encapsulated (oh ye of little faith) route cards, gave the customary briefing and we were off.

Taking the familiar route of the Innocent Railway, we soon left Edinburgh behind. At this stage, none of us questioned whether we would ever see it again - such thoughts would come later! We passed Musselburgh station on our way to Whitecraig and the cycle path to Dalkeith. We threaded through the streets of Dalkeith and made a comfort stop at the Tesco superstore. At this point Mike (who was never intending to do the whole ride) left us to return to Edinburgh. We made our way through the store car park to cross the bridge over the busy A7 and onto the cycle path towards Rosewell. There we left the path and rode down the high street before taking an unsurfaced track towards the small village of Carrington. Plans of a picnic lunch in the village were abandoned as it began to rain heavily. We pushed on down a deserted road towards the delightful village of Temple. After climbing the main street, just after the last house in the village we found a large open space with stacks of timber. The sun was now shining and it was pleasantly warm. So, here we had our picnic lunch slightly later than planned. But we still had many miles ahead of us.

After waking Logan from his post-lunch nap we set off again. Very soon we were battling into a strong headwind and hoping it would soon ease. If anything it got stronger and just to add to the joy showers of rain and hail were mixed in! This part of the ride was seriously hard work as proved by the need to pedal to go downhill! On reaching the top edge of Gladhouse Reservoir, we paused to regroup as we were now very stretched out thanks to the battering winds. Where we had stopped, the wind dropped. As we recovered and passed around sweeties, we began to hope this may be the respite we hoped for. Within twenty yards of setting off, we realised that had been wishful thinking. The wind continued to batter us. This really was hard work. With few having much strength left, we turned off onto a track to be confronted by a locked gate. There was no alternative. All twelve bicycles had to be lifted over. As we made our way towards Portmore Loch, the wind finally eased. There were now smiles on faces that hadn't been there for miles. In addition to the easing of the wind, we had the bonus of riding through the beautiful Portmore Estate. Past the walled garden and the big house we came out in the village of Eddleston. The route through the estate meant we only had to ride 50 yards on the busy A703 before turning right to head down the Meldons. The wind returned to make this hard going. But the scenery was stunning and most of the group had never been there before. On a warm and calm day it would be breathtaking for a different reason.

On reaching the busy A72 into Peebles the leader gave the group a choice of two routes into town. After such attrition, it wasn't surprising that ten opted for the more direct route along the main road whilst only three agreed to stick to the planned route. A trouble free run saw the group of ten quickly get into town. The intrpid three now headed on the more scenic, but longer route. Only at this point did the leader admit he wasn't totally sure of the route! A promising start led through some lovely countryside. But it all went wrong when they arrived at the main road they had been trying to avoid. Damn! If it wasn't for tiredness, the fact that time was getting on and the allure of the pub there may have been some retracing of steps and serious studying of maps. Instead it was a case of, "stuff it! We'll take the main road." The group met up again in the pub for a well-deserved post-ride pint before heading off to find their accomodation. Was there ever a harder earned beer? Following the luxury of a shower and change of clothes, we all met up for a lovely pub meal to round off what many were claiming to be their toughest day on a bike ever! We had ridden 43 miles, but for most of us it felt like 20 more.

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast the remaining 9 riders (two had only ever intended doing the first day and two pulled out injured after such a punishing day) met outside Sainsburys on a cool and damp Sunday morning to start the ride back to Edinburgh. With food for a lunchtime picnic, we rolled out of town on the quiet backroad towards Traquair. It was quite wet along this stretch. Near Cardrona we met up with Richard, a good friend of the leader. Thanks to his local knowledge, he soon had us on the quite new and very nice Tweed Cycleway path which we took into Innerleithen. Although it remained cool and showery, some of the group had to stop for a Caldwells ice cream at the shop in the high street. Carry on along the high street, turn left, a flat section as far as the golf course and then the climbing of the Granites began. Waiting to regroup by the golf course and entrance to a montain bike route, we were asked with a grin if we fancied doing a couple of circuits! In the interests of self-preservation, we declined. We began the long slog up the Granites. A long hard slog is the best way to describe it with some steeper and less steep sections. Despite the dampness, we all began to feel warm. Just as anyone may have considered shedding a layer, a shower would come down and a cold wind blow to change their mind. The group stretched out as we climbed. We were passed by many road bike riders. For those of us used to riding in Edinburgh, it was quite a surprise to receive a cheery greeting from them. They may have been fast, but they didn't have luggage like we did. As we climbed towards the top, Richard, who had an appointment with a paint brush had to leave us and head back down. Not long after that, we found a corner on the road with a layby and some shelter where we had our lunch. We didn't loiter as it wasn't warm despite the shelter. We carried on to the top. After that the road began drop down. After so long spent climbing, a deserted sweeping downhill road was glorious. The leader stretched his legs and hit 38 mph on this stretch. For a few minutes he forgot he was leading a 20 Milers weekend ride to Peebles and was on his way to victory in the Isle of Man TT!

The wind returned with a vengence as we struggled into the village of Middleton. At least the snow gate there was open. A delightful rural underpass svaed us having to cross the busy A7. On towards Borthwick and Crichton we hit the toughest climbs of the weekend. Fortunately the wind didn't join in to make it even harder. On this section we crossed a bridge over the soon-to-be-open Borders Railway. We pressed on to Pathhead where we crossed the busy A68 quite easily. As we were about to start our final climb of the day up to Cousland, we realised we had lost Michael. He had stopped to take a photo and missed the turning. A phone call saved the day. But he had made rapid progress in the wrong direction. So we had to wait a while as he retraced his steps. The final climb over, we got back on the cycle path to Whitecraig and headed back to Musselburgh the same way we had left some 28 hours earlier. Riders began to head for home after this with the leader handing over the reins to those heading back into Edinburgh. Those returning to Edinburgh had clocked up 52 miles, some 6 more than those who finished in Musselburgh.

So there ended the second annual 20 Milers weekend away ride. A thoroughly enjoyable trip that had been made more challenging by the weather conditions. For those that completed the first day or [especially for those] that completed both, give yourself a big pat on the back for completing ninety-five challenging miles. Where to next year?

Leader: Glenn

Report: Glenn

Photos:Michael

Trace: Jim