A short ride for Christmas morning

Some of you have asked me if we will be running a 20-Milers ride on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, this has not proved possible. However, one of our members, Jim Cameron, has stepped in with an offer to lead an unofficial half-day ride on that morning. (Many of you will know Jim as the driving force behind EasyCycle.)

This won't be a 20-Milers event, but Jim tells me that anyone who cycles with us will be welcome to come along.

Details

Wednesday 25th December.  Meet at 10:30 in front of Sainsbury in Middle Meadow Walk. The ride will finish near Surgeons Hall at 13:00 at the latest, with the option of an earlier exit point at about 11:30 for those who need to get away earlier.

The route will include parts of the city centre, Calton Hill, Lochend Park and Leith. After the ride, the Mosque Kitchen in Nicholson Street will be open for those who would like to go for lunch or a snack.

As with our own rides, this one is open to all with no advance booking and is free of charge.

Further information

Jim Cameron  07760 455819,  Easycycle@JimCameron.Co.uk.

Whether or not you can make it for this event, our next 20-Milers ride will be on 11 January. As usual, I'll post details a few days in advance.

A mid-winter meander

For our last ride of 2024, we enjoyed a bright dry day– albeit a very cold one, with the thermometer struggling to get above zero. Despite that, 13 riders turned up for our half-day ride to Cramond and Silverknowes.

The highlight of the ride came early: our first use of the spanking new Canal-Roseburn cycle route. The name is a bit of a misnomer because this much-needed route doesn't actually start at the canal, but rather from the Telfer Subway, about 300 metres to the north west. So we still had to cross Dundee Street and negotiate the rounded steps (affectionately known as "the bumps") leading down to the subway.

But after that, the route was a delight to use. A new toucan crossing took us safely over the West Approach Road and into a revamped Dalry Community Park, with its impressive sports arena and play area. There is a new bridge over Dalry Road and another over the Mid Calder railway line. The whole route is wide, well surfaced and well lit, with easy gradients and gentle curves – not to mention some interesting views across the city. In short, it is a splendid addition to Edinburgh's cycling infrastructure.

After leaving the new route in Russell Road, we were soon in the more familiar territory of the Roseburn and Blackhall paths. At Davidson's Mains, we headed north for a short distance along Cramond Road South before entering the grounds of the 16th-century Lauriston Castle. We took a short breather here while chocolates were handed out.


We had another quick stop – a comfort break – at the mouth of the River Almond, then continued along the Silverknowes Esplanade. Then came the only work of the day: a steady climb up Silverknowes Road back to the Blackhall Path. We then retraced our outward route back towards  the start point.

By the time we reached Bruntsfield Links shortly before 1 pm, all but five  of the group had peeled off, so the ride was officially declared over. At 14 miles, it was just about the right length for a mid-winter run. We'll have another short ride in January and then return to our normal full-day programme after that.
 
Leader, report, photos: Mike

New cycle route links Roseburn to the Union Canal

 A brand new cycling route, linking the Roseburn area with the Union Canal towpath, opened today.

Here are some photos taken soon after the official opening.

Half-day ride this coming Saturday

We will be having our last ride of the year this coming Saturday (14th). As is now customary, both this ride and January's will be shorter than usual: just half a day each, finishing at around 13:00.

The route

This month's route promises to be particularly interesting as it will be an opportunity for us to try out the brand new Roseburn-to-Canal cycle path, due to open today (9 December.) This will allow us to reach the Roseburn Path without having to negotiate the steep zig-zag in the Telfer Subway, a busy stretch of Dalry Road and the the awkward right turn into Murieston Crescent.

The rest of our route will be on the more familiar NCN 1 as far as Davidson's Mains, and then down to Cramond and the Silverknowes Esplanade. If time permits, we'll  have a quick stop at Lauriston Castle and/or Cramond Kirk. From Silverknowes, we'll retrace our outward route back towards the Meadows.

The total distance will be about 14 miles. I don't foresee any difficulties except for the fairly steep - but short - climb up from the Esplanade.

We'll set out from our usual spot at the north end of Middle Meadow Walk at 10:30. We'll aim to finish the ride at or near the Meadows. There is a good choice of  cafes, pubs and sandwich shops near the finish point for those in need of post-ride refreshments, but that won't be part of the official programme.

And finally ...

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has led our rides in 2024 as well as those who have helped the group in other ways. We've had another successful year with a full programme of rides - not forgetting the celebrations to mark our twentieth anniversary.

Looking ahead, our first ride in 2025 will be on 11 January, and that will be another half-day run. We'll get back to our normal full-day format in February. In the meantime, happy pedalling.