Snowy January Ride

It just goes to show that you can't keep a cyclist inside on a lovely sunny January day, even if there's an inch of snow on the ground and the temperature is hovering around freezing. Nine of us turned up for today's ride (although one dropped out with brake problems early on). We changed our original intended route (out to Riccarton and Colinton) in favour of a short ride mainly on roads (which were generally snow-free) down for coffee etc. in Leith.

Snowy January ride to Leith

Andy Hunter led us down Chambers Street and down the Royal Mile, pausing in front of Canongate Kirk to view the stag's head with a cross between the antlers on top of the church. We then detoured slightly into Holyrood Park, where the Bupa Great Winter Run championship was going on (which mainly seemed to consist of an amplified keep-fit class (or perhaps keep-warm class, given the conditions) and lots of banners. We stopped outside Holyrood Abbey for a quick story (King David and the Stag) before carrying on to London Road and Easter Road to Leith Links and then to the Shore, where we found Mimi's Bakehouse (newly opened and full of very yummy cakes). The party then headed back up Leith Walk - a very short ride in total but in glorious sunshine, and leaves us with daylight still to enjoy the snow.