Somewhere new "fore" lunch

Today's ride saw us explore some of the bike paths and quiet roads in the south of the city. We also
found a lunch venue we had never used before. As the 20 Milers enters its fourteenth year, it is
inevitable that we often find ourselves visiting places we have been many times before. So credit to
today's leader for devising a route that included some unfamiliar places weaved in amongst the sections we know so well.

The forecast had us expecting a rather wet day. In the end, we had not a drop of rain and some long spells of sunshine. Yes, it was a bit windy at times; but nothing like on the recce which had to be abandoned [in the interests of safety] when a rider was blown off their bike. Today was the first time in a while it wasn't bitterly cold or wet, or both. Given the forecast, a turnout of 25 riders was quite impressive. Following a comprehensive briefing, we headed off [in one group] towards the Innocent Railway. Onwards through the tunnel to Bingham, where we turned right under the bridge. From there we meandered through the backstreets of Niddrie and Greendykes to emerge on The Wisp. Up The Wisp on the shared use path beside the busy road, along the quiet roads of Danderhall and we came to the busy Old Dalkeith Road. Across that, through the green doors set in the wall and we found ourselves in the lovely Drum Estate - a perfect setting for a cake and sweetie stop. Leaving the estate behind, a stretch on the busy Gilmerton Station Road followed. It was here that the rider had been blown over on the recce. Fortunately, there was no drama on this ocassion. We took the path beside the road to climb the [deceptively steep] Lasswade Road. We made our way through Burdiehouse Park. From there, some unfamiliar back streets brought us out on Captain's Road. We pressed on along Frogston Road before turning into the Mortonhall Estate. We stopped to regroup outside the Stable Bar. For once, this was not our lunch venue. Some slightly muddy tracks led us to the Braid Hills Golf Centre at Liberton. This was our lunch venue; and a good one it turned out to be.

All suitably replenished, we headed out onto Liberton Drive. The leader had warned us that this, and Braid Hills Drive that followed, were very poor quality roads. She wasn't wrong! The state of the road could only be described as appalling! Past the Braid Hills Hotel, along Braid Road and Braidburn Terrace and we were in Braidburn Valley Park. We often use this route as we head towards Colinton. But it did seem strange being there in the afternoon rather than the morning. This was part of the loop out to Colinton. From there we began to head back towards the Meadows. Through the Colinton Tunnel, alongside the Water of Leith before joining the Union Canal towpath which took us back to Leamington Bridge. As we got closer in towards the city, a number of riders peeled off towards home. The remainder headed back to the finish at Middle Meadow Walk.

Thanks to Verity for leading an enjoyable ride. Good to visit less familiar places, and all credit for
finding a new lunch venue - one I'm sure we will be happy to use again.

Leader: Verity
Report: Glenn
Photos: Glenn
Map trace: Jim

Our first non-electric ride

Today's leader, Jim wanted to claim this as the 20 Milers first non-electric ride. That has nothing to do with there being no electric bikes on today's ride. Rides without any electric bikes present are the norm. No, this was our first ride where a power cut at our lunch stop almost resulted in the group going unfed. In the couple of hours before the start there was heavy rain. As the riders assembled at the meeting point, this had turned to light drizzle and it was dry by the time we rolled away from the Meadows. Considering the weather, the Festival being in full swing and it being the holiday season, a turnout of 26 riders was quite reasonable. A few new faces and a few that have only been a couple of times before were a welcome addition to the regulars. Leaving the hustle and bustle of the Festival behind, we headed off to the Innocent Railway path. At Duddingston Road West we cut through the industrial estate, crossed Peffermill Road and took the path through Craigmillar Castle Park. We had a stop where cakes and sweets were passed round, despite it seeming as if we hadn't travelled very far and us not being far from lunch. We skirted the Royal Infirmary, passed the new houses that are being built and emerged onto The Wisp. Fortunately this busy road has a shared use pavement / cycle path beside it. Through the quiet back streets of Danderhall, across Old Dalkeith Road and we were in the lovely Drum Estate. A short run down Gilmerton road and we were at our lunch stop, the pub opposite Dobbies. We seldom get to our lunch stop by 1200. This time it was a good job we did. Fortunately, everyone had been served and had almost finished eating when the pub was plunged into darkness due to a power cut. Had it happened sooner there could have been a near-riot as the 20 Milers have something of a reputation of cycling on their stomachs!

Although it wasn't sunny, stepping out from the darkness of the pub was quite a shock. We spent a short while squinting before heading off. We took the busy road into Dalkeith. This involved negotiating the Eskbank roundabout. It is small with numerous exits, many of them with poor views of approaching traffic. In the writer's opinion this would be a front runner in the prize for the worst roundabout in Scotland. Fortunately, we all got across without incident. We cut through a housing estate and entered woods via a time-consuming kissing gate. Obviously, no one expected 26 cyclists to pass through. Through the woods, a park and across a busy road. Due to the power cut, the pedestrian crossing was out of action. So crossing the road took a little longer. But as we had arrived at lunch early and felt no need to linger with the pub in darkness, we expected to be early returning to town. Through another park, across another out of action crossing and we were sweeping past Dalkeith High School onwards to Whitecraig. From Whitecraig we took the path towards Musselburgh, cutting off to the railway station and on past Queen Margaret University to Newcraighall. From there we joined the path that took us back to the Innocent Railway for our run back into town. Middle Meadow Walk was heaving with pedestrians. There seemed to be as many walking on the cycle path as on the part reserved for them. Oh yes, it's Festival time! The next time a ride starts from Middle Meadow Walk (our Extra ride on 26th August starts from Fisherrow Harbour), the Festival will be over.
Thanks to Jim for leading us on a pleasant ride. Thanks to the weather for drying up after a wet start to the day, and thanks to the power cut coming after we had all got our lunch.

Leader: Jim
Report: Glenn
Photos: Glenn
Map trace: Jim

All paths lead to Gilmerton

Today we explored the parks and open spaces in the south of the city on our way to Gilmerton. Our route included the newly restored cycle path to Danderhall. Earlier in the week, the forecast had promised a day of heavy rain. Fortunately that rain passed through in the wee small hours, leaving us with a mild and sunny morning. A very impressive 30 riders turned up at the start. Amongst them were three who had graduated from Easy Cycle. The leader made the decicion not to split the group in two. So a group of 30 rolled away and headed through the back streets of the Grange. At this point the back marker had a minor mechanical issue with his bike. As we were passing his house, he decided to nip in and swap his bike. This being a first for the group. Nothing if not resourceful these 20 Milers riders. We went through the grounds of the Astley Ainslie Hospital and on to the Hermitage of Braid. Through there we had to keep our wits about us as there were so many runners and dog walkers to share the path with. Tracking eastwards along the glen, we emerged at the A701. From there Double Hedges Road led us in to Inch Park before crossing the busy A7 in to Craigmillar Castle Park. After a brief run around the park, we crossed on to the paths behind the Royal Infirmary. There we found several new and rebuilt paths, which we used to navigate our way to the Wisp. We meandered through the streets of Danderhall to come out on Old Dalkeith Road. After crossing that, we went through the green door set into the wall to find ourselves in the Drum Estate where we admired the woods, farmlands and stables, with its monument to the Merkat cross; before emerging right next to the Abbey House Hotel - our lunch stop.

Everyone got fed. But the impression was that they were not used to having such a large hungry group arriving en masse. On stepping outside it soon became clear that the temperature had dipped whilst we were having lunch and the sun was obscured by clouds. we headed South-east along the shared pavement of the B6392 past Dobbies Garden Centre an on to the Eskbank roundabout. We negotiated this horrible roundabout safely before entering the paths around the Newbattle Golf Club. There was a slight delay as we squeezed through the kissing gate one-by-one to emerge in the beautiful woodlands. We went through the delightfully named Waterfall Park and cut through the housing estate. From there we made our way past Dalkeith High School and on to Whitecraig. From there we took the Grove towards Musselburgh. Instead of following this all the way, we turned left and crossed the River Esk. This took us through the Fergusons and we came out at Musselburgh railway station. From there we followed the path to New Craighall. A short wait ensued before we could turn right onto the main road, which was busy with traffic heading to and from Fort Kinnaird. A quick run through the village and we were back on the quiet cycle track. This led us to the Innocent Railway for the familiar run back in to town. Thanks to Jim for putting his encyclopaedic knowledge of Edinburgh cycle paths to such good use and leading a very enjoyable ride, at a sensible pace. No idea who organised it, but whoever was in charge of the weather did us proud for November. To round off a pleasant day, a contingent of eight elected to sit outside at Victor Hugo, watching night [quickly] fall. A fine, surprisingly warm day, and maybe the last time this year we get to enjoy sitting outside in the evening; though we do keep saying that!

Leader: Jim
Report: Glenn
Photos: Michael
Map trace: Jim

Heading towards winter via Mortonhall

 

Heading towards the end of another good year of cycling; the November 20 Milers ride saw us head to Mortonhall by a rather indirect route. On a day when heavy rain was forecast, a turnout of 19 was respectable. This meant we only needed one group. Fortunately the rain stayed off. Instead we had a grey, coolish and slightly windy day with a feeling that winter was on its way. The impressive new cycle track made getting away from the Meadows so much easier than it used to be. In next to no time we were heading down the Innocent Railway towards Niddrie, where we turned off and made our way through quiet residential streets. A new stretch of road allowed us to cut through and emerge on The Wisp. From there we made our way to Danderhall and through the lovely Drum Estate. The new cycle path that runs alongside the busy Lasswade Road was greatly appreciated. We continued through Burdiehouse Valley Park, along Captain's Road and Frogston Road East to the Mortonhall Garden Centre. This was our lunch stop. Half the group headed for the cafe in the garden centre, whilst the remainder made their way to the nearby Stables Bar.

Reconvening after lunch, we made our way on muddy tracks to Braid Hills Drive. Whilst not the quietest of roads, it caused us no problems and we were rewarded with views to Blackford Hill and beyond despite the gloom. As we arrived at Braid Hills Road, one of our regular riders suffered a puncture. Rather than hold up the group on a cold day, he left us to make his way home, which was nearby. Another member of the group also decided to head home at this point. The remaining riders made their way through Braidburn Valley Park, Colinton Mains Park and along Redford Road to Colinton. From there we joined NCN 75 and began heading back towards town. Through Colinton Tunnel and onwards to join the Union Canal Towpath, we made our way back to the Meadows on very familiar roads.

Thanks to Verity for leading us on an interesting ride. Cleverly mixed in with some very familiar sections were some less familiar and totally new ones.


Leader: Verity
Report: Glenn
Photos: Glenn
Map trace: Jim

A damp ride to Roslin

Today's ride to Roslin was a little damp. We ran a police roadblock and had the first unicycle on one of our rides. The weather forecast suggested we would be in for a ride blighted by long spells of heavy rain. Whilst it was grey and damp with some heavy showers; it wasn't as bad as the forecast had suggested. But it had been a while since we had to endure a wet ride. This may have affected the numbers turning up today. Just 22 riders started. It was good to see a few new faces amongst them, including a unicycle rider which was a first for the group. Despite the lower than usual turnout, the leader took the right decision by splitting the ride into two groups to keep things manageable on the several sections of busy road. We left the Meadows and made our way to the new traffic signals and cycle path at Hope Park Crescent. Its nice to have the cycle path there, but they need to hurry up and get the traffic signals switched on. From there we followed a familiar route to join the Innocent Railway. Riding through the Innocent tunnel, one of our regular riders suggested that we use it so often on our rides that perhaps it should be renamed the 20 Milers tunnel. At Bingham, we cut through a tunnel which led us onto the busy Niddrie Mains Road for a short stretch before making our way through Niddrie and Greendykes to emerge beside the Royal Infirmary. From there, we made our way through Moredun and along Gilmerton Road before turning in to Burdiehouse Valley Park. This section was rough and bumpy with exposed tree roots to contend with. But it caused us no problems and we emerged on to Lasswade Road. A few cones and blown over barriers slowed us as we made our way down the soon-to-be-completed cycle path beside the road. We then joined the cycle path that skirts the edge of Loanhead and crosses the Bilston Glen viaduct for our run into Roslin for our lunch stop. The majority of riders went into the pub out of the rain for lunch, with a few hardy souls picnicing outside.

After lunch we retraced our steps along the cycle path to Lasswade Road. But this time we headed towards Gilmerton and through the Drum Estate to come out on Old Dalkeith Road. Through Danderhall and a rough track allowed us to cut through to Millerhill Road. At Hilltown, we were confronted by a police car blocking the road and a "Police road closed" sign. The police car was empty. After weighing up the situation, it was decided to make our way along the closed road as we decided the worst that could happen would be us being sent back. A quarter of a mile later we came across two police officers and a recovery truck hauling a badly damaged minibus back onto its wheels. No one seemed to mind us being there so we had made the right decision and avoided a long detour. When the second group arrived, they took the "road closed" sign at face value and did take a detour. Once clear of the incident, we found ourselves in heavy traffic on the Wisp and Duddingston Park South. It was nice to turn off and get back onto the quiet Innocent Railway for the final stretch back to the start.

Leader: Alan Orr
Report: Glenn
Photos: Michael
Map trace: David