February ride this coming Saturday

Our next ride will be this coming Saturday (8th Feb). Livia will be leading us on an interesting tour round the southern outskirts of the city, with a lunch stop at the Mortonhall Garden Centre café (soup, sandwiches, baked potatoes and light meals available).

From what I've seen of the route, it should be a very pleasant run, with some fine views. Apart from just a couple of short sections on rough tracks, we'll be on good surfaces most of the time. We won't be able to avoid hills, but these will be fairly easy - certainly no killers this time. The total distance will be about 19 miles.

As always, we'll set out at 10.30 from the top of Middle Meadow Walk. You don't need to tell us in advance if you are planning to come. Just turn up on the day.

Two groups

You probably know that we're now getting very high turnouts on most of our rides. This is good, but it can cause difficulties for the ride leaders. To help keep things manageable, we now plan to split a ride into two groups whenever the leader thinks it necessary.

So, at the start of the ride, you might be asked to decide whether you want to go with the first or the second group. The first group will cycle slightly faster, perhaps with slightly shorter breaks. The second, slightly slower, group will leave about five minutes later. Note that there won't be a great difference in the speed of the two groups. The aim is simply to keep them separated.

Both groups will follow roughly the same route, and will meet up at the lunch venue. You will be free to switch groups for the afternoon leg if you wish.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this arrangement. We plan to try it on the next couple of rides (depending on the turnout), and to review the arrangements after that.

What to bring

This week's ride should end well before dark, which is currently about 5 p.m. So you probably won't need lights, although it might be prudent to bring them anyway, especially if you live some distance from the end point.

However, I do suggest that you bring a spare inner tube if at all possible. This can save a lot of time if a puncture strikes. If you're not sure what size tube fits your wheels, your local bike shop will be happy to advise. If you don't know what to do with the tube, don't worry: many members of our group have had experience in dealing with punctures (unfortunately), and will do their best to help if needed. 

That's all for now. I hope we'll be seeing you on Saturday. Meantime, happy pedalling.