20-Milers Extra to Bo'ness this coming Saturday

 We've got the fourth of this summer's Extra rides coming up on Saturday (24th). Details below.

Please remember that these Extra rides are longer and faster than our usual "second Saturday" runs, with fewer stops - and therefore fewer opportunities for stragglers to catch up. This week's ride in particular will be nearly twice as long as our usual runs, with an inevitable increase in speed. Please keep that in mind when deciding whether to join the ride.

Route and destination

Our destination on Saturday will be Bo'ness Station on the preserved Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway. Alan will be our guide. We'll be heading out on a mainly inland route, by way of Kirkliston, Niddry Castle and Philpstoun. This part of the ride will follow a variety of roads and paths, including four miles of canal towpath and a couple of stretches on main roads. Most of the paths will have good surfaces, but there will also be a couple of rough stretches. We'll have some gentle climbing throughout the morning, followed by a nice down-hill run towards lunch time.

For the return leg, we will take a very scenic route along the the Firth of Forth and through the woods of the Hopetoun Estate. This part of the route can best be described as undulating. Again, there will be some rough patches.

The total distance will be 38 - 40 miles.

Lunch arrangements

Bo'ness Station has plenty of picnic tables and a well-stocked cafe. However, because there will be steam trains running on the day of our visit, the cafe is likely to be busy, so you might want to avoid the queue by bringing a packed lunch. Another option would be to pick up a sandwich at the large Tesco next door. Note that, because more than half our mileage will be in the morning, lunch is likely to be on the late side.

Meeting time and place

Our meeting point for this ride will be the path junction at Craigleith  (see here if you are not sure where that is). We'll set out at the earlier time of 10:15. It's hard to say what time the ride will end, but I think it unlikely that we will get back to Craigleith before about 16:00.

Other information

As always, please bring a spare inner tube, and - if you don't have quick-release hubs - whatever tools are needed to remove your wheel. If you are not sure what you need, your favourite bike shop should be able to advise.

Because this is a particularly long ride, I suggest you also bring plenty of water and some snacks to keep up your energy levels.

There are, of course, toilets at the lunch stop, but we will also have a toilet stop part way through the morning.

Finally, the ride will go ahead even if the weather is bad. Light rain or a stiff breeze won't put us off. But if the conditions are particularly atrocious, we might opt for a shorter ride and perhaps a cafe visit. But the meeting time and place will still be as stated above.

I think that covers everything - except a reminder that our next "second Saturday" run will be on 8 October.