http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Forum: Commuting - Recent Posts en Mon, 09 Nov 2026 01:32:27 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386259 Sun, 25 Oct 2026 18:05:37 +0000 gembo 386259@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I was through in Glasgow last night to see Fat White Family at the old porno cinema on Jamaica St [called the Classic Grand now no sign of raincoats] Twas blowing a hoolie. I cycled back today on canal and some bits of road whence the canal does that mad 270 loop on itself at Broxy. I mean when I wasnt dodging huge puddles or climbing through fallen trees I was FLYING. German person called me Hardcore at the shut Falkirk Wheel. I stopped at the Park Bistro right on the canal after Linlithgae. It was just what the doctor ordered. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386247 Sun, 25 Oct 2026 08:21:32 +0000 Arellcat 386247@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Worth reposting this live graphic from the King's Buildings weather station:</p> <p><a href="https://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/~hcp/metar.png"><img src="https://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/~hcp/metar.png"></a><br /> (click to embiggen)</p> <p>Gusting to about 22mph at mine. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386244 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 18:45:12 +0000 chdot 386244@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Quite nice out there now</p> <p>No rain, not too much wind, feels a bit warm as it’s not a cold wind</p> <p>But</p> <p>After 9pm… </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386242 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 17:12:15 +0000 wingpig 386242@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It looks like Dock Place market wasn't on today, or finished early. There were a lot of large tenty marquee things in Inverleith Park the other day... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386239 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 13:47:03 +0000 chdot 386239@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/traffic-and-travel/storm-boelo-edinburgh-9307171" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/traffic-and-travel/storm-boelo-edinburgh-9307171</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386236 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 11:39:21 +0000 chdot 386236@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/storm-boelo-edinburgh-attractions-announce-closures-as-strong-winds-expected-to-hit-9306789" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/storm-boelo-edinburgh-attractions-announce-closures-as-strong-winds-expected-to-hit-9306789</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386207 Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:32:46 +0000 chdot 386207@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Storm Boelo will impact Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England over the weekend. </p> <p>Warnings have also been updated for Storm Austen which impacts the south of England and Wales on Thursday night and Friday. </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/storm-boelo-named-as-strong-winds-forecast-for-northern-uk" rel="nofollow">https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/storm-boelo-named-as-strong-winds-forecast-for-northern-uk</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-386167 Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:56:56 +0000 chdot 386167@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>Storm Austen has been named by the Met Office with disruptive wind and rain for some from late Thursday and into Friday. </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/storm-austen-named" rel="nofollow">https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/storm-austen-named</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-386147 Sun, 18 Oct 2026 10:47:50 +0000 Frenchy 386147@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Cycled to Glasgow yesterday, on a mixture of off-road cycle paths, protected cycleways, on-road cycle lanes, back country roads, quiet streets, busy main roads and dual carriageways. I try and take a different route each time I cycle through.</p> <p>It was a genuinely enjoyable afternoon. But it really brought home to me how utterly pathetic some, or even most, of the available options are for cycling.</p> <p>The canal path is narrow, and has a tree root or an awkward bridge every 100m. The most direct roads are filled with hostile drivers (although, in fairness, I didn't have any bad experiences yesterday). The protected cycleways are parked in, or bus boarders which cause flooding (Royston Road). The quiet streets are longer, slower and harder to navigate. The back country roads are strewn with plastic bottles and just enough broken glass that you need to be constantly vigilant. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-386034 Sat, 03 Oct 2026 17:00:01 +0000 gembo 386034@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Was through in weegee land helping to paint pal’s flat. And going to gig to see the awesome The Delines (playing Edinburgh March 2027) cycled back the canal towpaths. Such brilliant autumnal colours , Campsies, Ochils, etc. Sublime. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-385940 Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:07:45 +0000 chdot 385940@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A LOT of rain overnight, mostly in last couple of hours </p> <p>Expect some local flooding and loose surfaces washed away </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385904 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 11:29:43 +0000 gembo 385904@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>TookShandSkinnymalinky so yes classic road bike butstill a tight squeeze. Had Carradice Super. c on loan from Bill which worked well </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385901 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 07:52:13 +0000 LaidBack 385901@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@gembo "coos being mooved"! :-)</p> <p>Did well getting on the TP train. Cupboards work ok for classic road bikes but unusable for offroad 29r's I think?</p> <p>Local economy got a boost it seems. Trycyclists mentioned will be of upright kind I assume? These need a lot of skill to ride I think.</p> <p>Wamphray - Mrs LB's mum lived in farm near there and went to the primary school before going to Lockerbie High. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385896 Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:34:39 +0000 gembo 385896@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Took the 0812 Manchester airport train this morning. Two bike cupboards. Four bike spaces in total. Alighted at Lockerbie. Took B723 out of the town, turned right before the M74 at the huge sawmill. Road to Boreland, five miles up that road hang a left sign posted Wamphray 5 Moffat 12. There is then some climbing for sure. Had to stop for coos being mooved. Descended to the old Carlisle Rd to Moffat, stopped for excellent Espresso at the Moffat Distillery which was on my route. Bought some rather pricey “whisky” for the great guy putting a new roof on the CTC hut. With anothe4 great mate of his both tricyclists. As was the chap the hut was built in honour of. There is a social media blackout tho there is a big CTC SIGN. Anyhow, great grind up beeftub and tremendous descent. Wind mental at Broughton. Main Biggar to Carnwath road shut beyond Liberton but options there. Laying New Tarmac is what is causing the south llanarkshire closures at the Mo. usual shit driving on the Whang. Many types of weather, mainly tailie. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385828 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 20:44:46 +0000 Greenroofer 385828@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Murun - very true. Last time I did it involved pushing the bike up the final ramp (in the dark) because the wind was too strong to ride against. It didn't help that I had ridden from Edinburgh via Lowther Hill that day, so the tank was quite empty...</p> <p>I'm planning to start from Penrith this time (missing out Lowther Hill beforehand) so I hope it's a bit less of a battle. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385826 Sat, 12 Sep 2026 22:16:40 +0000 Murun Buchstansangur 385826@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>GDF is a lot more brutal than Lowther Hill :( </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385820 Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:31:26 +0000 Greenroofer 385820@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I planned to go to Lowther Hill on Thursday and spent Wednesday evening prepping the bike, but woke up feeling a bit bleurgh and decided against making the trip. It was good decision: the weather was pretty grim.</p> <p>On Friday I was full of beans and decided to go for it, but had an appointment mid-morning, so didn't leave the house until noon. The weather forecast suggested a breeze in my face on the way there and a good tailwind for the return. I got as far as Colinton before realising that the 'prepped' bike didn't have any water bottles on it...</p> <p>I left the house for the second time (this time <em>with </em>water bottles) just before 1pm.</p> <p>I trundled to Lowther Hill on the usual route: A70 to Carnwath, Libberton, Quothquan, Thankerton, A73 to Abington, Leadhills, Wanlockhead. There was a headwind much of the way, but nothing too onerous. Coming into Thankerton, I caught up with a chap who opened the conversation by asking if he could get a tow off me (which was surprising as I wasn't going quickly enough for a tow to be worth having, and I definitely wasn't going quicker than him). We had a brief chat about my bike and where I was headed, and he turned right and I turned left.</p> <p>By now it was 4pm, and the A73 was less busy than I'd expected so the leg from Thankerton to Abington village, which I always find a bit stressful due to number and speed of passing trucks, wasn't too bad and passed unexpectedly pleasantly. I noted some very chunky bulls in a field.</p> <p>Through Abington it was a steady grind up to Leadhills and Wanlockhead and then a stiff climb up to the golf ball at the top of Lowther Hill. I took it as gently as I could, conscious that the top was only halfway through the ride.</p> <p>The view from the summit was the best I have seen there: the Southern Uplands faded off into the distant haze and lowering sun in shades of grey. As usual, I had the place to myself.</p> <p>Heading back down, having taken the obligatory photo and added a layer or two, I was surprised to hear a voice beside me. A Wanlockhead resident called Clive was on his way off the hill too, and we completed the descent together, while he talked how he'd been to a concert with songs in Cornish and Welsh. At the bottom he shook my hand and wished me luck for the return to Edinburgh.</p> <p>The 10-mile descent to Abington village wasn't as good as I remembered: I didn't need to use the brakes and had to pedal more than I expected, so there wasn’t much opportunity to recover from the hill climb. A sandwich stop in a bus shelter in the village came to an abrupt end when the midges found me.</p> <p>Heading out of Abington, I saw a rider coming towards me and prepared a conventional and courteous wave, but as they approached I realised it was @bill, on a mission (it later transpired) to review motorway service stations. (It also later transpired that @bill stopped to chat with me, but I didn't stop to chat with them. Sorry!).</p> <p>The rest of the ride home was very lovely. There was no headwind (and perhaps a gentle tailwind, but not the promised stiff breeze). The sun was setting and the traffic had died away. By the time I was back on the familiar A70 it was properly dark, but the passing traffic was all well-behaved and the bike (slowly) ate up the miles homeward and I pondered the infinite in a pleasant bubble aboard it.</p> <p>I was back home just before 10pm, tiptoeing in to a slumbering household after a very pleasant day out. Just over 100 miles, 6,000ft of ascent and Scotland's highest paved road.</p> <p>Great Dun Fell awaits... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1587&page=91#post-385435 Sat, 15 Aug 2026 13:40:57 +0000 gembo 385435@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Wind slightly. Gentler than yesterday when the block headwind back from Elsrickle to Carnwath was brutal. </p> <p>Went down Macbiehill from the west Linton Moor Road, that is what I call a. Descent. Then up Shiplaw to the Observatory Then along the cycle path which removes a horrible bit of road. The left at Eddleston and over the beautiful Meldons and along to Stobo and over Dreva to Broughton Stores. Then back via Biggar and Kaimend onto Lang Whang. Was a grand day out. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383795 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 20:48:51 +0000 Greenroofer 383795@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The difference is because of the different likelihoods.</p> <p>Further south it's 'medium likelihood/medium impact' whereas up here its 'low likelihood/medium impact'</p> <p>Looking at Ventusky there's a really sharp dividing line just south of Edinburgh (in the Ventusky model, at least) between total chaos and relative calm, so presumably the Met Office models show something similar and affect their assessment of the likelihood. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383793 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:55:19 +0000 ejstubbs 383793@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>And where the wind warning in Scotland isn't amber, it's yellow. 60mph+ gusts forecast overnight tonight for Fairmilehead which is in the yellow warning area. At time of writing that's actually pretty much the same as the forecast for Dumfries, which is in the amber warning area. Go figure. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383792 Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:21:25 +0000 chdot 383792@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>The Met Office has issued a yellow severe weather warning in Scotland for heavy snow and blizzards causing some travel and power disruption. Up to 30 centimetres of snow could fall. An amber weather warning for wind has been issued for parts of northern England, Scotland and Wales on Saturday evening. </p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/04/uk-weather-storm-dave-travel-easter-england-scotland-wales" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/04/uk-weather-storm-dave-travel-easter-england-scotland-wales</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16102#post-383651 Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:00:42 +0000 mcairney 383651@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The problem is that without enforcement drivers will still go at the previous speed limit (and if anyone is foolish enough to actually follow the posted limit they will be tailgated and overtaken until they conform).</p> <p>So hopefully part of that £1.6M budget is the installation of average speed cameras. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16102#post-383649 Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:21:45 +0000 neddie 383649@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Let's hope it gets delayed into oblivion.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the council can implement a speed-limit reduction, fOr saFteY (which was all that was needed in the first place) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16102#post-383642 Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:31:55 +0000 chdot 383642@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-a71-dalmahoy-junction-improvement-faces-new-delay-6219586" rel="nofollow">https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-a71-dalmahoy-junction-improvement-faces-new-delay-6219586</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383154 Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:48:18 +0000 LaidBack 383154@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@bakky - thanks! More soggy highlands and bus adventure shots on @laidbackbikes on Blue Sky (as you know!). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383124 Sun, 08 Feb 2026 23:50:14 +0000 bakky 383124@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Gorgeous shot, @LaidBack! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383123 Sun, 08 Feb 2026 23:14:33 +0000 LaidBack 383123@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/66067108@N08/55078306881/in/datetaken/" title="Typical 2026 village weather"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55078306881_c595a0f054.jpg" alt="Typical 2026 village weather" /></a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-383121 Sun, 08 Feb 2026 11:32:13 +0000 chdot 383121@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>It has rained every day for the last 37 days in the UK, while Aberdeen has had zero hours of sunshine since 21 January and Sheffield has had no hours of sunshine so far this month, Sky News reported.</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/07/no-end-in-sight-to-britains-wet-weather-as-dozens-of-flood-warnings-issued" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/07/no-end-in-sight-to-britains-wet-weather-as-dozens-of-flood-warnings-issued</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=21860#post-382728 Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:14:05 +0000 Arellcat 382728@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>For anyone twitchy about GDPR (or such like it) not being much mentioned in the introduction page, Sam replied to me:</p> <p><blockquote>I have no plans to make survey respondent's names or contact info more broadly available at any point; there would be no good reason to do so. It would have been better for me to make this explicit at the outset, I now realize, but in drafting the survey I suppose I'd hoped that providing the 'anonymous' option would have been sufficient.</blockquote> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1115&page=250#post-382707 Fri, 09 Jan 2026 12:05:36 +0000 chdot 382707@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>In Aberdeen, Ian Yuill, co-leader of the city council, said that on Thursday there were 17 road gritters out, ploughs, 14 pavement gritters, 90 road staff, about 240 environmental services staff, and 31 diggers hired from contractors all shifting snow and treating roads and pavements.</p> <p>According to the PA news agency, he told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast on Friday</p> <p>It’s a huge job. Our staff can’t be everywhere but they are working incredibly hard, and we have been gritting roads pretty much around the clock since this started.</p> <p>One of the challenges that Aberdeen city council has had is because of the repeated snowfalls, our gritters and ploughs have had to go back time and time and time again to the priority routes in the city, and that has meant they haven’t been able to get on to secondary routes and side roads.</p> <p>Hiring these diggers has allowed the council to move snow on side roads and start to tackle that problem.</p> <p>There is still a long way to go. There is still an awful lot of snow lying on the streets and pavements of Aberdeen.</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2026/jan/09/storm-goretti-live-news-updates-uk-weather-snow-latest-met-office-warnings?page=with%3Ablock-6960e30f8f082ca1183f406d#block-6960e30f8f082ca1183f406d" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2026/jan/09/storm-goretti-live-news-updates-uk-weather-snow-latest-met-office-warnings?page=with%3Ablock-6960e30f8f082ca1183f406d#block-6960e30f8f082ca1183f406d</a> </p>