CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
"even fairly shonky infrastructure like the QBC does seem to be encouraging more people to cycle"
This is wholly non scientific - not least because most people cycling in Edinburgh don't read CCE - and even fewer post.
Is there anything particularly that has encouraged you to start/continue cycling? (2010 is arbitrary shorthand for 'recently') - marketing, infrastructure, health, friends, 'turning 40', other -
Have significantly stepped up my cycling since 2010. Middle age spread advancing quickly, young kids, very little time, looking for ways to stop the rot.
Prior to 2010, used to bike/train almost all the time and found it saved me a lot of time compared to walking. 15 mins each way on the home side and 5-10 on the work side, mainly as Inverkeithing became in range and there was a far better service from there. If I missed a train there was an alternative to waiting almost 1/2 hour on the platform...
Found bike/train commute was 45 mins each way on a good day and reckoned I could cycle in to work in not a lot more than this. For a while it took a lot more, but it has stabilised around 50 mins in summer and 1hr in winter.
Therefore each 1 hr's exercise costs me a net maximum of 15 minutes. I'm getting real exercise rather than little pootles to and from the station. Continuing through winter has made a huge difference as previously I'd lost all the gains from summer.
I haven't lost a lot of weight but have lost 4" off my waist and a resting heart rate around 55 as opposed to 72. Feel healthier- less sweatiness and shortness of breath. I go to bed physically tired rather than mentally worn out.
I then started exploring one day a week, taking scenic routes and really got a huge kick out of that, sometimes arriving at my desk having spent up to 2 and a half hours mucking about on my bike. I'm outdoors and not in some horrific gym. The mental lift has been great.
I started in 2012. It was the tram works. Killed me on my bus commute; a 6 mile journey would routinely take over an hour - often an hour and a half. In all honesty, I was really forced on to two wheels - I couldn't see another viable option to deal with the problem. It's a good thing I loved it!
Got a bike cos it would make it possible to get to/from the station in 1/3 of the time at my previous work, so allowing me to get the earlier train home and sometimes being home 3/4 of an hour earlier. (Just the way the trains worked.)
My girlfriend had cycled to work already but it was something I hadn't done since I was about 12. I hadn't forgotten!
I was off work for several months recovering from illness during the summer of 2012. I sat and watched almost all of the Olympics, and the cycling events reminded me how much I enjoyed riding a bike as a kid.
I went out and bought a cheap mountain bike and started out by cycling along the NEPN and the canal. A friend took me to Glentress. I ventured out through Dalmeny to South Queensferry.
I got back to work and then realised that I could bike to the office easily. My work has good bike storage and showers/lockers, so it was all quite simple. I found out my mountain bike wasn't the best bike for the job, so got a road bike. Then a nice 3-speed. Then a single-speed.
I love cycling and get frustrated if I can't ride for any reason, whether to work or a leisure ride at the weekend. I genuinely think it has helped my recovery from illness.
My wife saw my enjoyment of cycling and decided that she wanted to learn. We bought a cheap folder from the Bike Station and within a short time she was able to ride a bike. As a reward she got a lovely town bike for her birthday. She now wants something more appropriate for cycling on country paths and tracks when we go away to the Highlands (we'll be looking for some advice soon!).
I have to say that this forum has really helped out and the genuine sense of a cycling community encourages me to get out my bike even more.
I bought a bike in 2005 and started riding to work occasionally. After the winter (where I was working away from home for months on end) I ramped it up and by March 2006 decided to give up my bus pass as it wasn't getting used enough. From then on I pretty much cycled every day.
The pressures that brought me to this were positive and negative.
Positive: desire to improve fitness and strengthen my back (had lost several stone and recovered from a couple of slipped discs in the previous couple of years).
Positive: just met a new chap who was rather into bicycles, and wanted to have something in common we could do
Positive: generally pleasant commute along NEPN (unless there was a headwind west to east.)
Negative: avoidance of cost and unpleasantness of sitting on a bus each morning
Negative: our office had recently moved from one with basically unlimited parking to one where you had to be in a car share group to get a space, or pay to park.
For the last 6 months I have been unable to cycle and have had to do a lot more driving and bus taking. Before I finished up I got lifts or drove to work or got occasional buses, and have had to plan my city centre trips to optimise bus/tram usage. Now trying to get around with a baby and pram, which is even more complicated, although at least I can walk again. We have chosen our nursery for 2016 based on proximity to our workplaces and cycle routes. It's not far from the NEPN and is also on a bus route between home and work. Other perfectly good nurseries would have involved a steep hill or a trip along the unlit WOL.
Some lovely stories on this thread.
My decision to cycle was straight-forward: I moved house and could no longer justify taking the car to work (2 miles), but the hour commute on foot wrapping the working day was getting me down. Mr MeepMeep had bought a bike to start cycle-commuting to work again, having cycled throughout high school and uni, so I bit the bullet and bought a cheapo second hand mountain bike on Gumtree and haven't looked back since.
I started commuting by bike when I left school in 2005. No car or licence, and no bus services from my town. 5km ride to the Dublin tram to take me into town. I stopped at university because I could walk everywhere, and took it up again when I started working. Now I could drive, bus or train, but I choose the bike because it is just as quick, and saves on gym membership.
When I was young I used to love going out on my bike at the weekend, then at high school would occasionally forego the school bus to cycle in. Living out in the country it gave me plenty of flexibility for sports commitments before & after school until I learned to drive, but then borrowing mum's car wasn't always possible!
I then used to commute to uni by bike 2008/9, just from Abbeyhill to George Square. Bike got stolen and wasn't insured (only worth about £50) so I just left it - usually walked.
I moved back into Edinburgh in 2013 and toyed for ages with getting a bike again, as my typical commute was about 45 minutes. My mind was made up when I asked at work about secure lock-up facilities and was shown the section of Sheffield stands in the secure underground car park with CCTV. That was assisted by extra showers being put in in the office. The bike to work scheme my work offer (Halfords one) was recommended but I decided I would rather have something that Halfords don't stock. Still managed to dither for almost a year though before buying my bike!
I got some really helpful advice from this forum which showed me that there are plenty of supportive people out there, and that if I decide to become more serious there is plenty of scope for becoming more involved!!
I was not really inspired by any infrastructure or marketing, but rather by seeing other people cycling in the morning, passing my bus, getting to work whilst also getting exercise. I sit at a desk all day so cycling was a good way to get that exercise without eating into my evenings. As it turns out, the timing of cycling plus showering at work is exactly the same as getting the bus.
A plus is I can now fit into the suits again that I bought for job interviews when I graduated in 2012!
I now enjoy the occasional ride at the weekend, nothing serious though, and am pestering Ms Newtoit to get her old bike serviced so she can join me in pootling about exploring and visiting cafes and country pubs by bike! Don't think she'll be catching the commuting bug though.
We're now looking at buying a house and I'm apparently infuriating as I keep bringing up the suitability of cycle storage facilities, and the cycle friendliness of the commute!
Started when I got a new job in Edinburgh city centre. (Live in Glasgow) Investigated using train the whole way but costs and timetable & distance from house to station went against that, then tried driving to P&R and getting bus in but hated the bus as it wasn't that quick and once again I was tied to their timetable. Also my day was very long and I was getting no exercise so I dug out my old MB and cycled the 6.4m from the P&R into work - took me about 36min and was painful but so much better than the bus since then I have dropped about 12min from that time and routinely catch the bus or arrive as it's letting off passengers. When my car packed up I cycled Paisley to Glasgow, train to Linlithgow then cycling to work from there then train from Haymarket to Glasgow then cycling home.
I've been an occasional cycle commuter since moving to the suburbs in 2005. Firstly on my mountain bike with full off road spec. Then in 2007 it was stolen and as part of the insurance replacement I obtained a spare pair of wheels which I fitted with slicks. It was another 5 years before I started logging my distances but rarely went over 100 miles in a month.
In 2012 my epiphany came when I succumbed to N+1 buying my CX bike. I suddenly had a bike which was 20% faster and suitable for long distance rides. I signed up for a charity sportive through work and took to riding on a daily basis come rain, shine or snow. Having the freedom of the bike broadened my commute horizons as commuting was no longer dead time and so taking a job in Fife was a possibility. Now it's the cheapest way to commute and the easiest way to fit exercise into a busy schedule.
It was only after I had been cycling daily for some time that I realised how much of a toll getting the bus home on a daily basis was taking on me. Although of course it also coincided with the tram works so the bus was slower and less reliable than ever before.
tl;dr: Started cycling daily after trams made the bus intolerable and continued because it was the fastest/cheapest way to work.
I really got back into cycling after volunteering to join a works charity ride in 2012. It was from Edinburgh to Brighton in 6 days (taking in the London to Brighton BHF event on the last day, my employers the title sponsor).
Talk about a baptism of fire, I completed it in 6 days on a flat bar road bike, a broken man (despite having a reasonable level of fitness). However I loved it, every minute, and as soon as I came back bought a posh carbon fibre chap from Evans which is my pride and joy.
I still have the flat-bar (it's my pub bike) but now have another road bike for commuting (Dunfermline to St Andrews Sq daily)and hard tail and full suss mountain bikes. So n+1 and all that.
As well as regular commuting I also organise our employers annual charity rides raising thousands for various charities (we've even made the chipwrapper a few times!)
So all in all it's been a complete life changer.
I started cycling in 2011, when a change of jobs took my workplace from Livingston to Broomhouse.
Shortly before this I had gone on holiday to San Francisco, where my wife and I rented awful creaky slow mountain bikes and cycled around like maniacs all day. It was the first time I had cycled for ten years, and reminded me how utterly joyful it was (although the sun and outstanding American craft beer helped somewhat). Thereafter I resolved to start cycling as soon as possible when I got home, but it was only when I was considering my commute from Stockbridge to my new job that I realised that I could do the whole thing almost completely off-road. I bought a bike in the fallow week between jobs, and cycled the new commute a few times before starting to find the best route.
And that was it. I cycled through that winter, and every day following. When our family was expanded to the tune of one screaming, sleep depriving infant in 2013 I bought a trailer, and the last year has been spent book-ending my commute with the nursery run which she absolutely adores.
When we moved house right next to one of the Inverleith access points to the NEPN, it was the final nail in the coffin for my once integral-to-lifestyle car, and it was scrapped (much to the utter amazement of everyone I told: "how can you have a child and not need a car??"). Almost a year into that particular experiment and we are richer and healthier for it, supplementing our walking / cycling with weekend rentals as and when needed (which at the moment are once every 3 months).
Maybe I was always predisposed to loving cycling, but it took a hold of me almost immediately. Like I said, it is truly and utterly joyful.
I started cycling in at the end of June last year, after moving to just outside Balerno on the ncr75, I noticed a lots of bikes going past my house.
When living in Edinburgh I almost never used my car at weekends, so was in the habit of using the bus in to town as easier no parking issues. Initially I would walk 30 minutes to the bus stop or 50 minutes to the train then decided a bike would be better for going to the train station.
Now I almost never cycle to the train station I nearly always cycle in to town. In summer I would also cycle home but in winter have been getting the train home quite often. I have lost a lot weight cycling but this was not my motivation, just seemed a nice way to go the station or in to town.
After finding so many cycle paths in town, it seems and ideal way to travel, did not know of the old rail lines and how far the canal went out, can cycle all over Edinburgh with barely using the roads. I can go to Leith from my house with barely using roads or can go the Lothian road Lothian road on the canal.
Although I largely had to learn to cycle I practiced near my house on the single lane roads, if had known about all the paths in Edinburgh I would have got a bike years ago.
A holiday cycle tour of central Berlin in autumn 2007 reminded me that cycling is good fun, especially when it is actually t-shirt and shorts weather in November.
Then I started seeing my girlfriend, who was already a regular cyclist, in early 2008 and we enjoyed a cycle along the canal/Water of Leith into the Pentlands when she bought a second bicycle sometime during that year.
In early 2008 I also started working at Heriot-Watt Uni again and quickly became fed up with the 45 bus service, having previously driven when I worked there a few years earlier but having since ditched the car.
In early 2009 I bought my first 'adult' bike, a decent low-end MTB from the Bike Co-op, with which I expected to head out at weekends now and again, and maybe cycle to work, although I decided to wait for the clocks to change for the latter... After a tentative start to commuting I quickly found myself cycling to work more often than not and ended up upgrading my bike clothes and equipment, and hybridising the bike substantially.
Now, I cannot really imagine not cycling on a regular basis and would rate it as being one of the best parts of the days I do, espeically after a kingfisher spot!
After upgrading to a 'proper' commuter bike last year I'm about to succumb to the temptations of n+1 again...
I picked up cycling again in about June last year with the aim of trying to reduce my commuting costs (£1440 to Scotrail). I quickly realised that I probably wouldn't 'save' much money but I have gained in other ways.
I went everywhere on a bike as a teen (paperboy too) but then that went when I got a car. Tried to pick back up in mid-20s whilst working at Dounreay but had a 15/16 mile commute and for some reason seemed to struggle (was doing it on an MTB). When I moved back to Dunfermline for a job in Edinburgh (another 16 mile commute) I thought I wouldn't be able to do it given my previous efforts.
began looking at this forum and took the advice of 'do your first commute on a nice hot summer day' so I borrowed my brother's hybrid and I was smitten; fantastic ride to work and back and had a friend to accompany me.
when my annual season ticket ran out I got a C2W bike and haven't looked back. Could do with a couple more bikes (road for summer; hack for winter) but otherwise happy. even planning weekend rides with friends now :-)
so in a nutshell....money saving (or so I thought) prompted me to start but health & enjoyment is keeping me going.
I should add that having a reasonably 'good' cycle route from fife to Edinburgh (IMO) has also helped. I have only been cycling less than a year but notice two upgrades to the A90. i'm guessing some guys have been commuting fife to edin (or vice versa) for many years and been frustrated at the lack of improvements on the route.
Just re-read this thread - some wonderful stuff!
Any updates or contributions from other people?
I've been cycling to work since 2012. I'd been fortunate up to that point since I started uni and then work in 2000 never to have needed to take the bus or drive as i worked in the centre of town and walked everywhere.
In 2012 a new job took me down to Leith and as I live on the south side, walking would have taken too long. After initially being nervous about the hassle/danger of cycling, after the first day, I've not looked back.
The joy of motion, of having a workout while commuting and generally enjoying nature/fresh air along the canal or NEPN, really are one of the best parts of my day, rain or shine. I cycle every day and my commute is about 28 mins - Craiglockhart to Leith. I can't beat that in the car or on the bus. For me it's a no-brainer. Fitness and enjoyment at little or no cost, versus frustration, cost and having to find a workout elsewhere in my day.
3 days a week I drop my daughter at nursery on the bike and she loves it too.
2011 after moving to Blackhall. Commute to work in Leith via the cycle path seemed like a no brainer, plus I had 2 young children and didn't want to die at a young age due to a heart attack. Now I'm a complete cycle convert and militant! Viva la revolution!
I've been cycling off and on since I was little, even completing an epic crossing from the east coast to the west and back again with my Dad when I was fourteen.
When I got a job after University my parents offered to get me either a suit or a bike. Opting for a EBC rigid fork MTB, I explored the numerous secret off-road tracks that Edinburgh has to offer and commuted to the Western General on the NEPN. It even came with me to Glentress on numerous occasions before they really had proper trails!
Numerous changes of job and flat meant that it was less desirable to commute by bike for a long while (shorter distance/busy roads) but when we were looking to buy a house three years ago, one of the things high on my wish-list was that it would be commutable by bike, partly to save money but mostly that I didn't want to become a slave to a car or bus.
When we moved from Leith Walk to the NW of Edinburgh, the very aged EBC bike was back in service but didn't last long. It was replaced with a second hand EBC hybrid which made the commute quicker and more pleasant.
I cycle to work every day which is far quicker than catching the bus and means I fit in a bit of exercise I would otherwise not have time for. I recently bought a second-hand trailer which has meant that I can take my eldest to nursery along the Cramond Foreshore every day without worrying about the weather. Unlike getting into the car, there are no tantrums about taking the bike, and we get a lovely trip by the sea with boats, ducks, swans, dogs, various sea birds, which she absolutely loves.
For me cycling is a kind of freedom which you don't get with any other form of transport.
I started cycling in August 2012 (like a few others it seems) after having a few sporadic conversations over a period of about 3 years with a colleague who lives nearby and regularly cycles to work. I did have a bike but it was seldom (...never) used.
Finally, I set a date, planned a route and having set out to start with one day a week and build up to more, I enjoyed it so much I just didn't look back.
I mostly use canal towpaths/cycle paths etc as I still find main roads can be pretty hostile and I find my commutes are usually tranquil affairs. I know that my journey will take exactly x minutes and is not going to be affected by roadworks, event traffic or any other impediment. Except, perhaps, a puncture. But even that does not frustrate the way a traffic queue can.
I love that you can get around Edinburgh quite well on a bike and enjoy finding new routes to take. My first venture into town on two wheels coincided with finding this forum as I'd googled a cycle route planner and the site journey planner came up. The route was mostly road though, so I joined and asked for advice. Must check back to see who it was that replied!! (edit: cb)!
I don't necessarily cycle to get fit but I'm definitely fitter as a result so that's an added bonus. I'm glad and thankful that I'm able bodied to be able to do it!
"after having a few sporadic conversations over a period of about 3 years
...
Finally, I set a date, planned a route and having set out to start with one day a week and build up to more, I enjoyed it so much I just didn't look back."
I think there are a lot of people who don't quite get round to setting a date!
"My first venture into town on two wheels coincided with finding this forum as I'd googled a cycle route planner and the site journey planner came up. The route was mostly road though, so I joined and asked for advice"
This forum has really helped me gain confidence in cycling (finding routes, mechanical advice, general tips on cycling in traffic). Thanks to everyone who contributes!
I could have put this into the "lovely ride" thread but here seems a good place as it encapsulates the spirit of this one better.
Glorious ride in the sunshine this morning and a new PB for me.
Passed one of the Newbies I had accompanied on their first trip a few months back who was still cycle commuting.
Bumped into @greenroofer in the changing room who had buddied a new start in this morning, who seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
I then get to my desk to find this post on our BUG.
Just wanted to pass on my thanks to HankChief for his route advice at the BUG event last week. I've been trying various routes from Leith Walk that avoid cobbles (small wheels), traffic and hills (my name is not Pantani), so his suggested route (and tips for negotiating Gogar Roundabout) was great:
McDonald Road, St Mark's Path, Chancelot Path, Ferry Road Path, Blackhall Path, Roseburn Path then Route 9 to the Gyle.
My ride in this morning was very pleasant and a vast improvement over previous effots (despite being slightly longer); I didn't swear once, I saw some wildlife and didn't run over any dogs.
And to cap it off I get home and read the uplifting stories above. Definitely a day to warm the soul.
Yes 'we' just need to show this thread to some more 'thinking about it' people - to shortcircuit the 'three year deliberations'!
"...to shortcircuit the three year deliberations!"
Haha! Absolutely!
Related thread...
Bumping this thread for any newer members, and also to lift the spirits of all.
I think it was 2010 that I started cycling properly. I'd been walking to King's Buildings from various flats in Newington for the first few years as a student, but I was getting fed up of spending an hour a day walking, and then moved a wee bit further north as well, which added another 10 minutes each way. Getting the bus every day seemed like a waste of money, and the free university shuttle wasn't much quicker than walking by the time you factor in getting to the queue early enough to make sure you actually got on the bus. A couple of flatmates were also cyclists, so cycling seemed like an obvious choice.
So I went along to the Bike Station and got a Dawes road bike. It cost £130, which seemed like an enormous amount to spend on a bike (!), but I wanted to minimise commute time. Put a new saddle on it, and some plastic mudguards as soon as winter kicked in.
I do remember I fell off on my way home the first day of commuting, whilst trying to filter outside the Tesco on Causewayside. I think that remains the only time I've fallen off my bike without the "assistance" of a motor vehicle (I've cursed it now, haven't I?)
Unfortunately, the maintenance requirements of the Dawes outstripped my ability to fix it after a few years, and I upgraded to a new road bike (Revolution Audax) in Spring 2013. I made sure this one had mudguards, and could take a pannier rack. I can't believe I went three years carrying a rucksack on my commute every day. I didn't even think to take photos of the Dawes before I donated it back to the Bike Station.
The Audax lasted six months, before I rode into the side of a supermarket delivery van which had pulled out in front of me. Luckily I'd joined British Cycling just the day before! Their free legal help ensured I was able to get a replacement and some compensation without much fuss. Although the bike shop told me the frame was bent beyond repair, and the insurance was happy to pay for a new one, a friend was happy to take the old one from me and it's still going strong. The replacement Audax is also still going strong, and will have done about 10 000km by now.
I spent some of the compensation money on a fancy camera, and I'd learned about Strava not long before, so I splashed out for one with a GPS tracker. Having something keeping track of exactly how far I was cycling sparked the change from being an almost purely utility cyclist to someone who spent their weekends cycling as well. Did my first 100km trip last summer, to Innnerleithen and back, and the first 100 miler to Glasgow and back in April. Couple of 100km audaxes in there too, and hoping to do reach 200km some time this year.
I moved to the top of a hill a couple of years ago, and descending the occasionally icy roads were the excuse reason to add another bike to the collection - a very sensible upright bike with a kickstand, wide tyres, dynamo lights and a Dutch-style O-lock. I expected to do a few hundred kilometres on it a year, but it's already done 1000 km in six months. Cycling downhill on an upright is far more fun than I'd ever imagined it could be - instead of staring at a spot a few yards in front of my front wheel, I'm looking at Arthur's Seat as I head to work.
Discovering CCE a year or so ago (I think whilst looking for somewhere to vent about taxi drivers...) also lead to me taking a far greater interest in local cycling issues, finally joining Spokes, being a marshal at PoP, etc.
I'd been cycling when I lived in Norway (2007-2012), partly because I could and partly because my home-nursery-work run was hopeless with public transport and so much faster on the bike. The problem was that (a) the place was essentially a mountain sticking out of the sea, which I had to get over, and my physique doesn't really agree with that; (b) it's hunners of miles above the Arctic Circle and I never worked up the commitment (and gear) needed to cycle during the 7 months that it snows, so it was strictly a May to September thing. We then moved to Belfast, where I never got round to servicing my bike (although it would have been a nice commute of 11 miles along the river and the then lough), so I really only started cycling more or less every day when we moved to Edinburgh. Luckily my commute is between Shandon and George Square, so apart from the dodgy bit between Lower Gilmore Place and the Meadows it's positively inviting! Plus I feel that having started to cycle in Norway, where drivers do tend to be quite polite and understanding (well that and there being at least shared use paths along major roads) I got very used to the idea of being on the road, so I never had the fear factor of mixing with traffic (I'm actually getting *more* horrified by it the more I cycle in this place). Anyway, cycling is really a no-brainer for me — on top of it being good for you and pleasant and so on it's just the quickest way of doing my particular commute anyway. Oh and I finally got myself a bike above the most basic entry level (a Ridgeback Velocity) last autumn and it's really made a huge difference. Since I got it last November I'm pretty sure I've not gone to work by bike literally once, because it was in the shop getting a fix for a popped spoke!
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