A rather blustery day

As Winnie the Pooh once said, "it looks like a rather blustery day, today". That was certainly the case for our ride taking us on a tour of bike paths and quiet roads in the south of the city, with a lunch stop at Mortonhall Garden Centre. Despite the blustery conditions, the sun was out most of the time and it even felt warm for a couple of short spells, and it remained dry. The fourteen assembled riders were a mixture of regulars and a few we hadn't seen for a while. It was great to see Mike back with us having missed most of the summer months.

Following his typically in-depth briefing, Alan led us away on our usual route to the Innocent Railway. Through the tunnel; at Duddingston Road West, the short path and King's Haugh took us through the Peffermill Industrial Estate, before crossing Peffermill Road and heading into Craigmillar Castle Park. We crossed Old Dalkeith Road, made our way through Inch Park. A short way along Gilmerton Road saw us turn right and head up Double Hedges Road and right down Kirk Brae to the traffic lights. The lights turned green, and despite an ambulance approaching, we all got safely across without impeding its progress. Leaving the busy junction behind, we rode along Blackford Glen Road and continued along the stony path once the tarmac ran out. This took us through the Hermitage of Braid which was busy with walkers, dogs and a few cyclists. After a quick comfort stop, there followed a short, stiff climb up Braid Road before we turned off and paused for a breather. Through quiet suburban streets and we were soon on Braid Hills Drive. It wasn't too blustery on this stretch, the traffic wasn't heavy, and sunshine and clear blue skies afforded us glorious views looking north-east over the city which at least one rider commented on. We turned right and took a minor road beside Braid Hills Golf Course. The road petered out to a gravel track, before returning to tarmac as we passed the Stables Bar and Mortonhall Campsite. From there it was a short ride to Mortonhall Garden Centre for our lunch stop. The majority of the riders headed to the café, with a few hardy souls opting to picnic outside.

Today's ride was shorter than usual, and with more miles before lunch than after, a relatively short afternoon's ride and early finish was on the cards. We left the garden centre and turned right along the wide footpath. Previously we've joined the fast and busy road which is not pleasant especially on hitting a drawn-out climb just before we turn off. This turned out to be a very sensible decision. Just past the Marie Curie Hospice, we crossed the road and took a quiet rural road past a farm to emerge in a housing estate in Fairmilehead. We crossed the busy Biggar Road and entered another housing estate at Swanston. We became spread out and the second part of the group missed a turning. Realising the error, they turned round and retraced the route, met up with the others and regrouped. Fortunately the group stayed together after that. Fortunately, because the twists and turns that followed were considerable. Thanks to Alan for expertly leading us through that section. It was reminiscent of twisting our way through the houses on the way to Aberdour. There followed a ride on the path that runs beside the fast and busy Dreghorn Link. We soon left that behind and found ourselves on a path that skirted Oxgangs. Through Braidburn Valley Park, across Comiston Road and we were on the quiet backroads of Morningside. Unfortunately, these are now devoid of the barriers that allowed cyclists to take the most direct route whilst forcing other traffic to meander around slowing their progress. The familiar route via Canaan Lane, Whitehouse Loan and Bruntsfield Links saw us return to The Meadows where Alan declared the ride officially over.

Thanks to Alan for leading an enjoyable ride that the blustery winds failed to spoil. Thanks to Alison for back marking.

Leader: Alan

Report: Glenn

Photos: Glenn

October ride this coming Saturday

We've got our October ride coming up on Saturday (10th). Alan will be leading us on a tour of bike paths and quiet roads in the south of the city, taking in Craigmillar Castle Park, Inch Park, Blackford Glen, the Hermitage of Braid and the Winton Estate. It won't be a particularly long ride - just under twenty miles - but there will be one or two steep-ish hills as well as at least one rough stretch where we may have to dismount.

Lunch

For our lunch stop, we will visit the garden centre at Mortonhall. There is a spacious cafe there, offering a selection of snacks and light meals. There is also space to sit outside for those of us who prefer to bring a packed lunch.

Meeting time and place

This is the same as always: 10:30 at the north end of Middle Meadow Walk. The ride will end around the middle of the afternoon, although that will of course depend on progress, punctures and other factors.

And as you don't need me to remind you, all our rides are free, with no advance booking.

One more Extra

We're also planning another ride this month - on the 17th. This will be the last of our 2026 Extra rides. I'll post details of that event in good time. Until then, note the date.

20 Milers Extra ride to Dunfermline

Unfortunately, neither of the group's two scribes could make today's ride, resulting in no report or photos. Apologies for that.

Feedback from the leader (Alan) is that a good day was had by all. It was dull as the twelve riders set out on the fifth Extra ride of the year, but the sun came out at the Forth Road Bridge and stayed out for the remainder of the ride. Most of the riders opted for a picnic lunch in Pittencrieff Park, with a small number heading for the café. The new route was a great success.

Extra ride to Dunfermline this coming Saturday

We are planning another of our Extra rides for this coming Saturday (26th). Under Alan's leadership, we will be heading over the Forth Road Bridge and into Fife, with a lunch stop in Dunfermline. Alan has worked out a route that avoids the worst of the busy roads that we have faced on this ride in the past, although there will still be a few short stretches where we will encounter some traffic. For the most part, though, we will be riding on quiet roads and well-surfaced paths. There will be a number of hills in the morning but no real killers (and some nice free-wheeling in the afternoon). The total distance will be 30 - 32 miles.

Please remember that these Extras go at a faster pace than our normal rides, with fewer stops. They are suitable for those of our riders who find our usual runs well within their capabilities. Those who are less fit or who haven't cycled for a while might prefer to avoid this one.

Lunch arrangements

Our lunch stop will be in Pittencrieff Park in the centre of Dunfermline. This is a lovely park and an ideal spot for a picnic, so I suggest you bring a packed lunch. Alternatively, there is a cafe in the park, serving a soup of day and a good range of snacks and hot and cold drinks.

Meeting time and place

For this ride, we'll assemble at the Craigleith path junction (see here if you need directions). Please aim to get there in time for a 10:30 departure.

Looking ahead, our next 20-mile ride will take place on 10 October. As usual, I'll post full details here nearer the time.

A rather blowy ride to Roslin

Not far into today's ride to Roslin one rider was heard to say, "it's rather blowy today". That turned out to be a perfect description. There was a noticeable wind that stayed with us all day, we endured a couple of showers, but the temperature was probably about average for early September. The forecast had suggested we would have a mixture of light rain and showers all day, so it was better than that. Roslin has been a regular destination over the years, but whoever is leading always seems to manage to shake up the route just enough to make it a little different. The same thing happened today courtesy of Alison who was leading her second 20 Milers ride in as many months. Given the weather forecast, a turn out of twelve riders was neither unexpected nor disappointing.

With the briefing over, Alison led us away from The Meadows and into the Park via Holyrood Park Road. A short distance along Duddingston Low Road and we dropped down to join the Innocent Railway. We remained on it as far as Bingham, where we turned right under the bridge, up Hay Avenue and across Niddrie Mains Road. Edinburgh Council Quiet Route 61 took us through Niddrie and onwards to the Royal Infirmary. Having crossed Old Dalkeith Road we rode through Mordun, Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park and emerged on Lasswade Road. The shared use path then took us down to Gilmerton Station Road where we joined the Gilmerton to Roslin path. Near Loanhead we stopped to don waterproofs as we now had heavy drizzle to contend with. The writer [as an Englishman who has lived in Scotland for over 35 years] still can't get used to that uniquely Scottish phenomenon where there is rain and bright sunshine at the same time. We carried on across the impressive Bilston Glen Viaduct to arrive in Roslin. The heavy drizzle continued, but soon eased and gave way to blue skies. We spread out between the pub and tea room, whilst the picnickers settled on the benches on the grassy area beside the road.

We regrouped after lunch with those that had been to the tea room telling us that the service had been very slow. We retraced our outward route as far as Lasswade Road. The blue skies had given way to grey, and light rain came and went. At Gilmerton Dykes Road we headed into the new housing estate, where a mixture of quiet roads and paths led us to a sharp steep climb up Ellen's Glen Loan. Following a pause to regroup and get our breath back, we continued along Ellen's Glen Road before turning left onto Gilmerton Road for a short distance. Another left turn onto Double Hedges Road, down Kirk Brae and up Mayfield Road. We turned off and made our way through King's Buildings, crossed West Mains Road, through The Grange and returned to The Meadows where Alison declared the ride officially over.

Thanks to Alison for leading an enjoyable ride that had taken many to places they had not been before. Thanks to Saqib for back marking.

Leader: Alison

Report: Glenn

Photos: Glenn

September ride this coming Saturday

 We've got our September ride this coming Saturday (12th), when Alison will be leading us to Roslin.

This will be a fairly straightforward run. We'll be using a mixture of quiet roads and off-road paths, with just a few not-too-difficult hills. The total distance will be about 21 miles.

Lunch choices

At Roslin, there is a nice quiet spot near the chapel and castle where we can eat our picnics. For those who prefer to have lunch indoors, Dolly's Tea Room offers a range of soup, sandwiches, toasties and panini at reasonable prices. A third option is the Original Rosslyn Inn, but keep in mind that this is more expensive than the tea room and with slower service.

Time and place

We'll set out from our standard meeting point at the north end of Middle Meadow Walk at the usual time of 10:30.

As I hope you know by now, there is no advance booking for our rides. Just turn up on the day.

Looking ahead, we've got another of our Extra rides planned for the 26th of this month. And our next standard ride will be on 10 October. Look out for details of those rides in due course.

How Merryhatton became Athelstaneford

Today's Extra ride to the Merryhatton Garden Centre (well, it was originally, but more on that shortly) has become an enduring late August date in the group's calendar. The original route was instigated by a stalwart of the 20 Milers, our much-missed friend - the late Logan Strang who passed away in 2017. It has been my pleasure to lead this ride every year it has run since 2017. In 2024 a sinkhole closed off part of the route, and we were unable to come up [at short notice] with a way round it, so were unable to run the ride. By the following year we had altered the route to bypass the sinkhole, which remains. Another snag cropped up when we were recce-ing today's ride a few weeks ago. We discovered the Merryhatton Garden Centre has changed hands and the reasonably-priced café with relatively speedy service is no more. As a result, we decided that going there for lunch was no longer a viable option. So we needed an alternative lunch venue or we would need to consider scrapping a long-standing and popular ride. As the ride takes us out into the depths of the East Lothian countryside, no alternative lunch venue sprang to mind. But we all agreed that we didn't want to scrap such a wonderful ride, especially with it being Logan's legacy. On the recce we discovered that there are picnic tables and a bench in Athelstaneford Village Park. We had a plan. So long as the weather played ball, it could work. As it happened, we were blessed with weather that was bright, sunny at times, dry, with a very light breeze and pleasant temperatures.

With a compliment of 13 riders and a promising sounding weather forecast, things were looking good. During my briefing, I mentioned that we would need to contend with stretches on two quite busy roads which would necessitate staying in smaller groups. I'm pleased to report this is what happened, and made those stretches less stressful and safer for us all. We left Fisherrow Harbour, crossed the River Esk by the Electric Bridge and made our way to the path beside Musselburgh Racecourse. We then made our first off-road excursion of the day through the trees to emerge beside the coast, and onwards to Prestonpans. We left the High Street at a sign for the "John Muir Way". This section of raised road beside the sea is much nicer than the main road through the town, and was new to many of the group. We re-joined the coast road for a while before taking the shared-use path running alongside, before taking quiet backstreets past Cockenzie and Port Seton harbours. Along the seafront, we paused to look at the new water fountain that one of the group had flagged up. They said they had used it on several occasions to top up their water bottle when returning from rides in East Lothian. A shared-use path took us to the entrance to Seton Sands Caravan Park where we re-joined the coast road. The road was busy in places, but I've seen it a lot worse. Riding in smaller groups was definitely the right approach. After the section where the road hugs the coastline at Gosford Sands and then heads inland, we stopped at the entrance to Green Craig where Iain passed round his delicious homemade cakes. I then gave riders the choice of taking the busy road or the delightful path that runs alongside through the woods separated from the road by a stone wall. All but one opted to avoid the road. In Aberlady we took a quiet back road to join the A6137, before taking the busy B1377 to Drem. Once again, we split into smaller groups before regrouping on the quiet road beside Drem railway station. Quiet country roads then took us to the Merryhatton Garden Centre, which we swept past without stopping and onwards to Athelstaneford Village Park for our picnic lunch stop. We spread out in the sunshine making use of the picnic tables and a bench whilst others opted to sit on the grass. With lunch over, a couple of riders had a go on the play park zip-wire, having first checked that there were no children about.

We left the park and rode a short distance up the main street to the National Flag Heritage Centre in the grounds of the parish church. Having found out a little about the history of the Scottish flag, we left the village on the quiet B1343. The road climbs very gradually which is only noticeable due to the headwind; but today was so calm it was like riding along a flat road. We crossed the Haddington road and regrouped. On this road past the Hopetoun monument, several riders commented on the beautiful views across farmland down to the sea. We then joined the A6317 for our only significant climb of the day. The climb was soon over, we crested the brow of the hill, turned right and were on another lovely quiet East Lothian road. There followed a fantastic steep descent that was enjoyed by all. Relatively flat roads then took us to the level crossing near Longniddry. For once, the barriers were up and we all got across, but only just as they came down behind us. We carefully crossed the busy A198 dual carriageway to join the shared-use path alongside. Another steep descent took us into Cockenzie, where we had a comfort stop. From there we rode past the harbour, through Prestonpans and onto the path beside the coast that took us back to Musselburgh. At the Electric Bridge, I declared the ride officially over.

Everyone enjoyed the ride; the weather had been kind to us and the new lunch venue met with approval. Some on the ride went to new places they had never been before. I find that to be one of the most satisfying aspects of leading a ride; whether it's a route that is new to everyone or just to a few - it makes it all worthwhile. Thanks to Saquib for back marking. And thanks to Logan for leaving us with such a fantastic ride as his lasting legacy.

Leader: Glenn

Report: Glenn

Photos: Glenn