Despite the atrocious weather …

… our January ride went ahead. And what atrocious weather it was. Heavy rain, getting steadily worse throughout the morning, and winds gusting to 40 mph and more. Four riders turned up for the run, our first of 2020. All things considered, that was a surprisingly good turnout.

The original plan had been to follow a circuitous route through the west of the city, taking in Hermiston, Gogar, Turnhouse and Cammo, with a lunch stop at Craigie's Farm. After some discussion, our leader, Alan, decided that we would go ahead with the ride, but we would take a more direct and less exposed route to Craigie's. This was a sensible decision, given the conditions.

But even that curtailed route proved too much for your scribe, who bailed out soon after passing the Craigleith path junction. The other three bravely continued for a while. By Cramond Brig the rain had turned into a deluge, forcing the riders to take shelter in the tunnel under the Queenferry Road. At that point, the leader decided to head for home.

With just two riders remaining, Graham takes up the story:

"Exiting the tunnel, the rain was still falling, but not as intensely as ten minutes earlier. Out along the Kirkliston road, there were streams of water criss-crossing the road and at one point, the whole width of the road was at bottom bracket depth. Up the hill, we reached the sanctuary of Craigie's Farm. After a nice lunch, we re-dressed in our dripping jackets, wrung out our gloves and headed for home, retracing our earlier route. We were now at a point where we couldn't possibly get any wetter, and with the weather slightly improving, we decided to extend the ride. We turned left at Whitehouse Road and headed for Cramond. A whiz down School Brae took us to the waterfall, whose normally sharp edge was radiused with the huge volume of water. We then cycled downstream to the estuary, took in vistas of Cramond Island and Fife before heading along the esplanade to Granton. Here we climbed up through Forth Quarter and back on to the cycle path to return to Craigleith, where we parted company."

We can now look forward to some good rides in the coming year. Surely the weather cannot be this bad again?

Leader: Alan
Report: Mike, with help from Graham
Photo: MIke

March ride to Currie, Riccarton and the Gyle

It would have been ideal cycling weather if it hadn't been for the bitter cold 25-mph winds. But that didn't stop around 32 of us gathering at the Meadows for today's run, which was a second attempt to do the ride that we abandoned in January because of ice.

Because of the high turnout, we decided to split into two groups. Alan Orr led the first party, which headed out to Balerno via Morningside, Craiglockhart, Colinton, and Woodhall, before doubling back along the road to Currie and Riccarton. The second group, under the leadership of Jim Cameron, followed the same route to a point just beyond Colinton. But our progress was slow - probably because of the strong headwinds - so we decided to cut a corner. At Woodhall Farm, we dropped down to the more sheltered Water of Leith path, then on to Currie Kirk, Curriehill Station and the Riccarton campus.

The two groups joined up at the Gyle shopping centre, where we had lunch in the spacious food court. This is not exactly gourmet dining, but it did enable everyone to get fed and watered reasonably quickly. There are around a dozen different food outlets there, so everyone managed to find something they liked.

For the afternoon leg, we followed the path to South Gyle Station, then on to Meadow Place Road and Broomhouse Drive, where we picked up the excellent new cycle path that runs alongside the tram line. This took us quickly to Murrayfield, at exactly the time that several thousand rugby fans were arriving for the Scotland vs. France match. But we were soon clear of that, and it was then just a short hop back to the Meadows, where the two groups re-united for coffee in Peter's Yard.


View March 2014 20-Milers in a larger map

Leaders: Alan Orr, Jim Cameron
Report and map: Mike

A shortened ride to Craiglockhart

For today's ride, we had a beautiful sunny morning with clear blue skies, but conditions under-wheel were treacherous. The temperature had earlier fallen below zero, and there was still black ice on many of the paths and pavements. Three members of our group had falls on the way to the meeting point - one of them suffered bruises and cuts to her face.

In spite of the bad conditions, 35 cyclists turned up. We split into two groups, and set out very cautiously towards Currie, Riccarton and The Gyle. But progress was slow. We were forced to dismount for several particularly slippery stretches, and a couple more riders had falls.

By 11.30, we had only got as far as Craiglockhart. So our leader, Alan Orr, wisely decided to call it a day. Several people had already peeled off at this point. The remainder of us cycled slowly back to town along the canal towpath. At Fountainbridge, we invaded Loudens café, where we warmed ourselves on hot drinks and snacks.

It was a pity to have to abandon what promised to be a very nice ride, but it was right to put safety first. We did at least manage to cycle 6½ miles, albeit at an average speed of less than 5 mph.


View Shortened ride to Craiglockhart in a larger map

Leader: Alan Orr, assisted by Alan Stalker
Report and map: Mike

Extra Ride to Dunfermline

For our second Extra ride of the summer, 22 of us headed for Dunfermline. The glorious weather of the last few weeks continued (the temperature reached 23C), and unlike several of our recent rides, this one was completely puncture-free.

 Alan Orr led us out along NCN 1 from the three-way path junction at Craigleath. Just past Cramond Brig, the path was closed for improvement works, so we followed a signposted diversion through the Dalmeny Estate. This was on a pleasant well-surfaced track which provided better cycling than the official NCN 76 route through the estate.

The diversion ended by the estate's main gate near Dalmeny village. From there we continued on NCN 1 to the Forth Road Bridge, pausing at the observation point on the bridge's southern approach (see photo). It was here that the Queen officially opened the bridge in 1964, and it provides an impressive view of both the road and rail bridges.

Once into Fife, we headed up Ferry Toll Road and Hilton Road past the Navy Dockyard. This was followed by a short stretch on a busy main road, before turning off up an undulating - mainly uphill - quiet road into Dunfermline.

Our lunch stop was the excellent Pittencreiff Park. Some of the group made for the café, with the majority opting for a picnic on the lawn.

For the return leg, we retraced our steps as far as Dalmeny, from where we took Standingstane Road and the road past Carlowrie Farm back to Cramond Brig. We finally arrived back at Craigleath around 4.30, after a total of just under 35 miles. Another highly successful ride on a beautiful sunny day.

Leader: Alan (Orr)
Report: Mike

April 13th's sunny ride to Ratho

More photos from today's ride

After weeks of frequent rain and freezing winds, the weather changed just in time for today's ride. About 20 of us headed out to Ratho, under a warmish sun and with only a slight breeze in our face.

Rather than taking the obvious (and somewhat boring) out-and-back route along the Union Canal, our leader, Alan Orr, conducted us through the streets of Morningside and across the northern slopes of Easter Craiglockhart Hill. After crossing Colinton Road, we took a handy cut-through to reach the canal at Allan Park.

After a fast three miles along the towpath, we left the canal at Hermiston House Road (see photo). A couple more road miles took us into Ratho. Then came the only hard work of the day: hauling our bikes up the double flight of steps to our lunch stop at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena.

The EICA is always a good choice for lunch. The café has a spectacular view of the 30-metre high climbing wall, which is built right into the face of an old quarry - the largest facility of its kind in the world. There are also plenty of picnic tables; these have a somewhat less spectacular view of the Union Canal.

For the return leg, Alan led us back through Ratho village and then across the Ratho Park Golf Club. I don't know if this is an official bike route (were those golfers shouting at us, or were they just being exuberant?), but it certainly makes for pleasant cycling. After a nice freewheel down Gogar Station Road, we passed under the City Bypass into Edinburgh Park, and then headed for home via South Gyle, Corstorphine and Roseburn.



View 2013 04 Ratho Twenty Milers in a larger map

Leader: Alan
Report and photo: Mike
Map: Jim