The Lost Shore: Take 2

The plan for June's ride had been to head out to the Lost Shore surfing centre near Ratho. Unfortunately, heavy rain led to that ride being shortened and an alternative [more sheltered] route was taken by the six brave souls that did turn up. Today we did make it to the Lost Shore. The weather was kinder to us, but strong gusty winds made the ride harder than might have been expected in August. Perhaps it wasn't too surprising as it was just five days since Storm Floris had battered Scotland. With the Festival in full-swing, the Orange Order walk and Oasis concert taking place today, we were expecting to get caught up in one or all of them; but we were very lucky to escape largely unaffected.

Although strong winds were forecast and there had been rain earlier, it was bright and sunny as we met at the start. A turnout of just 12 riders was far from impressive for an August ride. A combination of the festival, holiday season and the weather probably all played a part. Our leader, Alan did point out that it made for a more manageable sized group. Every cloud has a silver lining? With the briefing over, we rolled away from Middle Meadow Walk towards Leamington Terrace. The improvement since the road was resurfaced has to be ridden to be believed. One rider said they were having to get used to not swerving all over the road in an attempt to avoid the worst of the potholes. From there we headed to South Gyle station via Roseburn Park, Carrick Knowe and Broomhall. The road bridge beside the station has restricted access forcing us to squeeze along a narrow section shared with pedestrians, before taking a detour to arrive at South Gyle shopping centre. By looping around the outer edge of the car park, we avoided the worst of the Saturday morning shoppers traffic. Through Edinburgh Park, out of the subway and on to Ratho village via Gogarbank. A combination of some quite steep hills, a lack of shelter and strong gusty winds made this section the hardest part of the ride. It was a relief to arrive at the Lost Shore for lunch and a rest.

We enjoyed our picnic lunches in a spot which offered some shelter from the wind with views of the surfers tackling the waves. With lunch over, we took the back path away from the surfing centre to the top end of Ratho. With the wind behind us, we whizzed down through the village, over the M8 motorway, past Gogarburn Golf Club and on to Roddinglaw where a short off-road section took us to the road back towards Gogarbank. We were delayed briefly by traffic lights on the narrow bridge across the railway. As we have found on previous rides, the lights will recognise a single car [and change promptly], but not a group of cyclists. With everyone safely across the bridge, we soon found ourselves back at Edinburgh Park. Going via Bankhead Drive, Broomhouse Drive, Stenhouse Drive and the cycle path alongside the tram line we were soon riding past Murrayfield Stadium. Fortunately, it was too early for us to get caught up in throngs of Oasis fans. Yes, there were a few milling around, but not enough to delay us at all. After that, we followed our outward route from the morning back to the Meadows where Alan declared the ride over.

It's always good to complete a ride that didn't happen on the planned date. Everyone enjoyed the ride, despite the gusty winds that had made some sections more challenging than expected, and it had stayed dry. Thanks to Alan for leading (and having gone out on his own mid-week to check the situation with the South Gyle station bridge), and to Mike for back marking.

Leader: Alan

Report: Glenn

Photos: Glenn

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

Festival escape to Dalkeith

Our regular meeting point at the top of Middle Meadow Walk was heaving with people courtesy of the Edinburgh Festival. Today's ride to Dalkeith was something of an antidote to the hustle  and bustle of the city in August. A bright, sunny and pleasantly warm morning greeted the 24 riders that turned up at the start. One unicycle and one recumbent made for a more eclectic mix of cycles than usual. It was nice to see some new comers in amongst the regulars. Numbers meant we could manage with one group. It's always nice to have a big turnout; but it becomes more challenging when a second group leader and back marker need to be pressed into action. Following the customary leader's briefing we headed off. A one way system in operation around George Square forced us to take an alternative route. For once we rode up, rather than down Middle Meadow Walk. Going round the Forrest Road and Bristow Place triangle soon had us back on the right road. From Potterow we turned into West Nicolson Street and made our way into Holyrood Park. Due to the volume of traffic, it took a couple of minutes to get all of the  group safely across Queen's Drive and onto the cycle path at the other side. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few pedestrians about on this shared path. But we made good progress and were soon climbing the steepest hill of the ride up towards Dunsapie Loch. The hill wasn't too steep, and we turned off before too long to head onto the quiet residential back streets of Willowbrae. We crossed the busy Willowbrae Road quite easily, before heading through Northfield and into the delightful Figgate Park. A quick whizz through the park and we found ourselves rattling down the bumpy cobbles of Brighton Place. We were soon heading along the Portobello prom. Despite the sunshine and games of beach volleyball, it would take some stretch of the imagination to think we had magically arrived in Rio! The coast road took us to Fisherrow Harbour where we had a brief comfort stop. From there we headed out past Tesco and onto the Grove and onwards to Whitecraig. As it is no longer possible to ride through Dalkeith Country Park free of charge; we opted to take the busy A6094 into Dalkeith. That really is not a pleasant road to cycle along. The way some drivers drive along it making it quite a dangerous option. Fortunately, we made it safely into Dalkeith in time for lunch. Part of the group went to the pub with the remainder heading to King's Park. For a cycling group renowned for riding on it's stomach; there was nearly a major incident when the leader inadvertently ate someone else's lunch in the pub! With the situation rectified and everyone fed, we hit the road again.

Through a new housing estate and an obstructive gate and we were in the grounds of Newbattle Abbey. Leaving the estate behind, we made our way to Dalkeith High School via quiet residential streets and cycle paths. At the school we joined NCN 1 for a pleasant run to Whitecraig. Much nicer than the busy A6094 we had encountered earlier. Remaining on NCN 1 we made our way down the Grove back towards Musselburgh. Just before the bridge that carries the East Coast mainline, we turned off and crossed the bridge over the River Esk. This path took us past the golf course, under another railway bridge and through a housing estate, bringing us out at Musselburgh station. A run down the quiet path to Newcraighall was followed by a short spell on the busy road through the village. We soon left that behind and most of the remainder of our ride back to the Meadows was on the delightful Innocent Railway. Our respite from the busyness of the  Festival was clearly over when we arrived back at the Meadows. Thanks to Michael for leading a pleasant ride that allowed us to escape from the Festival for a few hours.


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

A summer ride to Dalkeith

Following a spell of changable weather; today's ride was blessed with sun shining down from a lovely blue sky. The temperature may have been slightly below the average for the time of year, but it really was ideal cycling weather. A relatively low turnout of 25 riders was a touch disappointing. But it being holiday time for many and the start of the Edinburgh Festival may have had something to do with it. Despite that, it was nice to see more new faces. We headed off in one group. Road closures brought about by the Festival meant we headed off up [rather than down] Middle Meadow Walk and took a detour to get onto the road we needed. A short while later we stopped and waited upon realising that four riders were still at the start point. A minor mechanical issue had delayed their start. It was quickly fixed and they caught us up. There was much more traffic on the road than usual and this delayed us for the early part of the ride. Leaving the traffic behind, we took back streets and paths to make our way into Holyrood Park. Despite quite a few pedestrians to contend with, we were soon climbing Queen's Drive. Turning off half way up the hill, we took a path and climbed a few steps to emerge in the back streets of Willowbrae. We whizzed down to the busy Willowbrae Road. A fortunate break in the traffic meant all of the group managed to get across in one go. We made our way to Northfield, where a few quiet roads led us into the delightful Figgate Park. Once through the park, we were soon navigating the bumpy cobbles of Brighton Place on our way into Portobello. A couple of twists and turns and we were on the busy Portobello Promenade. One rider commented that on a day like today, we could have been beside the Mediterranean. We must remember that when riding along it in January, freezing cold and being lashed by horizontal sleet. Once at Joppa, there was no alternative but to join the busy Musselburgh Road for the run to Fisherrow Harbour where we had a comfort stop.


From there we took a less familiar route through Musselburgh to join the Grove near Tesco for our run towards Whitecraig. At Whitecraig we joined the busy A6094 to reach the outskirts of Dalkeith. More twiddling through unfamiliar back streets brought us to the lunchtime pub stop. A small number of the group availed themselves of the pub's facilities, whilst the rest of us headed to the park opposite Morrisons supermarket to enjoy a picnic in the sunshine. This finally felt what summer should be like. Suitably replenished, we regrouped and headed off towards more new cycle paths through a new housing estate. The paths were great, but a difficult-to-negotiate gate delayed us as 25 riders had to get through it. Not really what you'd expect on NCN 1. All through, and the unfamiliar paths led us back to Dalkeith High School and the familiar path towards Whitecraig. Yet another detour through an housing estate cut off a stretch of busy road and we were soon back on the path to Musselburgh. Instead of following it back into town, we turned off for Musselburgh railway station. From there we made our way through Newcriaghall and Brunstane to join the Innocent Railway to return to our starting point.

It had been a good day and the weather had been kind to us. Thanks to Michael for planning such an interesting route. Its always nice to be surprised by new ways through areas you think you know well.

Leader: Michael

Report: Glenn

Photos: Michael and Glenn

Trace: Julia