In the heat of Midlothian

 

In all these years, the group has never been to Penicuik. On what must have been one of the warmest days of the year, our second Extra ride of 2023 saw us head to the Midlothian town. The skies were overcast with the occasional spell of bright sunshine, but boy was it warm. There was a noticeable breeze, but even that was warm. We mustered just thirteen riders at the Fisherrow Harbour starting point, which was a little surprising given the weather and the promise of a new destination. The leader had a good idea of how to get from there to the Grove until he spoke to the writer, who told him of a better way to avoid busy roads. As a result, the writer doubled up as temporary leader to guide the group on a twisty route through the quiet backstreets of Musselburgh. Once at the Grove, the reigns were handed back to the leader. At Whitecraig the leader surprised the writer by taking a new route to join the usual cycle path towards Dalkeith. We whizzed through Dalkeith's parks in the opposite direction to usual, over the Maiden Bridge and through the familiar kissing gate. Past the police station and Eskbank station before a comfort stop at Tesco. At this point, Iain kindly went round with homemade cakes. Leaving Tesco behind, we joined the cycle path which took us to Rosewell. There we joined NCN 73 for a delightful ride through the lovely Midlothian countryside to Penicuik, where most of us headed to Montgomery Park for a picnic, whilst a few opted to find somewhere to eat in town.

The group came back together and we left Penicuik on the A701 - the main road to Edinburgh. A combination of inconsiderate and near-psychopathic drivers, heavy traffic, poor road surface and laughable excuses for cycle lanes made that by far the least enjoyable part of the ride. Just before the Gowkley Moss Roundabout, with great relief, we left the road and joined a shared use cycle and foot path to negotiate our way onto the road for Roslin, where we joined the cycle path towards Shawfair. Leaving the path at Lasswade Road, a number of twists and turns on cycle paths and quiet roads took us to a comfort stop at Morrisons on Gilmerton Road. Through the backstreets of Moredun, along Old Dalkeith Road, through Craigmillar Castle Park and Peffermill and we were at the Innocent Railway. The coolness in the Innocent Tunnel was very welcome on the way back to town.

At the Meadows, the leader declared the ride officially over. Despite the heat and the very unpleasant road out of Penicuik, everyone enjoyed the ride. Thanks to Mike for leading and Alan for backmarker duties. It is very likely that we'll head to Penicuik again for an Extra ride; but we'll need to find a better route out of the town.

Leader: Mike

Report: Glenn

Photos: Glenn

A Roslin ramble

Today's ride saw a welcome return to our traditional format: a full-day run of twenty or so miles with a proper lunch stop. This was after two months in which, because of Covid restrictions, we limited each ride to half a day with no cafe or pub stop. It was gratifying to see 24 riders, including many of our regulars, turn up for today's event.

The ride was led by Iain Pearce, making his debut as a 20-Milers ride leader. Our destination was Roslin, but because the direct route to that village is only about 16 miles round trip, Iain decided to add a few interesting wiggles to make up the length. It's always good when we can find unfamiliar bike routes, and today's ride succeeded in doing just that.

After the usual briefing and safety advice, we headed down Middle Meadow Walk and across Bruntsfield Links before tackling the stiff climb up to Hermitage Drive. A bit more climbing took us up to northern flank of the Braid Hills, where we paused for a few moments to take in the view over the city. The weather at this point was uncertain, with a weak sun struggling to emerge from the clouds, and while it was not actually raining, the air had a definite dampness to it.

Almost immediately after reaching Alnwickhill Road, we cut through a diminutive gap between some houses to emerge on a path running alongside Liberton Park and what used to be the Alnwickhill Reservoir, now a housing development. This was the first of several parts of today's route which were new to me, and I suspect to many others in the group.

Back doubles

After crossing Liberton Gardens, we continued on a wiggly route through the back doubles of Gracemount and Gilmerton Dykes – again, unfamiliar territory for many of us - before reaching the City Bypass at Gilmerton Station Road. From here, the route followed the more familiar Roslin bike path, which uses the old railway line through Loanhead and across the Bilston Glen viaduct. We reached Roslin a few minutes after noon. About a third of the group found some nice spots for a picnic, with most of the others heading for Dolly's Tea Shop.

For the return leg, we retraced our steps as far as Gilmerton Station Road. The bike path here is well-surfaced and almost completely flat, and with the wind behind us it made a pleasant start to the afternoon. After crossing back over the bypass, we stayed on the path for another four miles or so, heading towards Shawfair (lots of new housing) and Newton Village. Until a few years ago, this path was little more than a muddy track alongside a field, but it has been upgraded into a wide, well-surfaced path with good lighting. As a bonus, this part of our route was gently downhill the whole way.

Leaving the path, we followed the road through Danderhall, and then through Little France Park and Craigmillar Castle Park. At this point, we were hit by two minor inconveniences: a sudden heavy rain shower, and a mechanical problem involving a recalcitrant chain. Fortunately, the rain stopped almost as quickly as it started. The mechanical problem took a little longer to sort out, but before too long we were on our way again.

The final leg took us across Peffermill Road, through the Peffermill Industrial Estate and on to the Innocent Path. After heading up the Innocent Tunnel, we made our way back to the Meadows. At 21 miles, it was a very pleasant run, with several innovative sections of route, a good lunch stop and a successful debut for the leader.

Leader: Iain

Report: Mike

Photos: Glenn

 

A wet ride to Roslin

Heavy rain was the order of the day for today's ride to c. Fortunately, the heaviest rain came down when we having lunch in the pub. After lunch, the rain wasn't as heavy; but there wasn't a dry spell on the whole ride. We were able to ride on some new paths, like the one that took us all the way from Danderhall to Roslin.

A turn out of nine riders was better than expected given the heavy rain and the forecast promising more of the same. The only places where we didn't get wet on the ride were in a tunnel, under bridges and at the lunchtime pub stop. We left the Meadows and made our way to the Innocent Railway, where a brief respite from the rain was had in the Innocent Tunnel. Out the other side and the rain hit us again. Clutching at straws for positives on such a day, at least it wasn't particularly cold. We left the Innocent Railway and cut through the industrial estate and crossed Peffermill Road before heading into Craigmillar Castle Park. As we ventured off the surfaced paths, even the lightest of braking resulted in squeals of protest from mud-caked rims and discs. We passed Craigmillar Castle, which we could just about make out through the rain and gloom. Close to the Royal Infirmary, through the new housing estate, before emerging onto The Wisp. Across the road and the shared path kept us off the busy road. Leaving The Wisp behind, quiet suburban roads around Danderhall led us to new houses forming part of the huge Shawfair development. Following a few twists and turns, we were on the new path that would take us all the way to Roslin for our lunch stop. On this path we stopped under a bridge which carried Gilmerton Road. Sweets were passed round, and for a few brief minutes we stopped getting wet. At the next bridge, a couple of graffiti artists were at work decorating the walls. It was interesting to see they were wearing face masks to protect them from the fumes. Good to see them taking health & safety seriously. From there it was a short ride to the pub in Roslin for lunch. Our group of bedraggled cyclists were ushered into the conservatory. Once we had spread around our wet kit to dry, it looked like a refugee camp. It was lovely to be out of the rain and tucking into much needed hot food. This was when the heaviest rain of the day came; we could hear it bouncing off the conservatory roof.

Lunch over, we endured that inevitable pulling on of wet clothing before venturing back out into the rain. It was not raining as heavily as before but felt cooler as we retraced our inward route back to Danderhall along the new path. At The Wisp, we took another new path into Little France Park which then joined up with the path that took us back to Craigmillar Castle. A slight variation on our outward route added a little variety before arriving at Peffermill Road. By now riders were beginning to peel off and head home. Frequently the post-ride coffee stop is a great attraction; today a hot bath or shower usurped that option. So it was a very depleted field that joined the Innocent Railway for the run back into town.

Thanks to Jim for leading an interesting ride and showing us some new paths. Everyone enjoyed the ride; but how much nicer had the weather been better. Next time perhaps?

Leader: Jim
Report: Glenn
Map trace: Jim