Ride to Ratho via Currie

March ride to Ratho

We had a lovely sunny day for our ride this month. It was almost warm too, except when windy. There were about 24 cyclists today and we made excellent progress to Ratho, with a couple of soggy tyres and one flat one (made harder to fix by wheel nuts not quick-release levers, but expertly sorted anyway). The Bridge Inn were too busy again so we went on as far as the International Climbing Arena at Ratho which is very appropriate - apart from a long queue for sandwiches (which to be fair was probably of our own making) we had a good lunch there and a picnic in the sun or a good view of the climbing inside.

I have to confess that I led a break-away party back into town along the canal - very boring (so flat, no freewheeling to make things easier!) but I had somewhere to be - so I don't have today's full route. I hope to post this later on.

Note added later by Mike :

After Livia led her break-away group back along the canal, the remaining 16 of us headed south and west by Dalmahoy and on to Balerno via NCN 75. The hill up to Pilmuir Farm was a real killer, but we made it to the top with varying degrees of pedalling and pushing. After that it was a delightful run back to town by the Water of Leith path and onto the canal at the Lanark Road bridge.

With a total distance of 28 miles, it was another excellent ride. Many thanks to Alan for organising it.


View March2010 to Ratho in a larger map

March's ride

For our ride this month, Alan Davies will be leading us on an interesting route to the west of the city, taking in Juniper Green, the Heriot Watt campus, Hermiston, Ratho and Balerno. This will be a slightly longer ride than usual (total distance about 24 miles), but we'll take it at our usual slow-to-moderate pace. Much of the route will be on bike paths and the canal towpath, although there will be a few stretches on main roads. We'll stop at a pub for lunch, or you can bring your own food if you prefer to picnic.

(As always, please treat the route described above as provisional. The leader is free to vary the route, depending on the weather, the number of people turning up, and other factors on the day.)

The logistics

The meeting place is the same as ever: the north end of Middle Meadow Walk (by the traffic lights at Lauriston Place). We'll start at 10.30 (we'll try to leave reasonably punctually) and aim to return to town by mid afternoon. The ride is free and open to all. There's no need to book in advance.