Sunday 10th October : Cycle 10-10-10 Charity Ride
A ride from Edinburgh to Dunbar in aid of Love Ghana, an organisation that raises funds for humanitarian aid in Ghana. Choose between a fairly flat 37-mile coastal route and a more challenging 40-mile hilly route inland. The ride will start at 10.00 from Holyrood Park (from the grassy area to the east of Holyroodhouse Palace) and finish at Winterfield Park, Dunbar. There will be a support vehicle to help with minor mechanical problems, a first-aid vehicle, and refreshments. Transport back to Edinburgh after the event will be arranged if there is sufficient demand. Cost and registration: Advanced registration is preferred, but registration is also possible on the day. £10 per person (free for under-12s) plus sponsorship money. Register on-line, or send a cheque to Love Ghana, 9 Elphinstone Road, Tranent EH33 2LG. Further information: Phone 01875 824988 or email contact@loveghana.org
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.
Edin>Dunbar 10th Oct
(17 posts)-
Posted 14 years ago #
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So are you up for that then? 10am start too.
Posted 14 years ago # -
and back again? :)
Posted 14 years ago # -
Ride sounds fab; That'll be a week 'til my due date...maybe I'll try it :)
Not at all sure that Ghana needs 'humanitarian aid' though. Development aid maybe. Obviously there are issues of poverty etc but.... Anyway, checking with contacts to see what they know about the organization.
Posted 14 years ago # -
My colleague who is probably the top expert (outside of Ghana) in Ghanaian history and pols, says he's never heard of them.... the funny thing is, he lives in Tranent too.
Posted 14 years ago # -
One can always cycle to Dunbar for free. No one can stop you :) well, apart from the usual numskulls on the road
Posted 14 years ago # -
This is getting closer peeps! but Dunbar still remains as far away as ever!
Posted 14 years ago # -
My new joymachine arrived in the post today. I'm all for going to Dunbar and back (if it's a nice day).
If it's miserable I might use the tourer and find a train or something home.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Trains from Dunbar to Edinburgh are ridiculously infrequent. You'd have better luck cycling to Drem and getting one from there.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Not at all sure that Ghana needs 'humanitarian aid' though. Development aid maybe.
Always a worry with any of these events. What's the 'overview' ? I need to get more sponsors for spending longer on my bike the other Sunday. Surely the longer you're out, the more you should raise? ;-)
Posted 14 years ago # -
Surely the longer you're out, the more you should raise?
Next time get people to sponsor you by the hour, you've got a humanitarian incentive to go slower then!
Posted 14 years ago # -
If anyone's going to do this then I may see you there. Look out for black Cannondale with yeller bits, that'll be me.
Posted 14 years ago # -
The other problem with trains from Dunbar is that you'll need to book the bike on. I'd cycle all the way back or back to just North Berwick and get the train from there.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Planning on doing there and back as the forecast is for a wind-assisted ride home. If it holds like today's winds in East Lothian then it will be just fine
Posted 14 years ago # -
Did anyone go??
Posted 14 years ago # -
Our Botswanan rep tried constantly to phone the organiser number for several days (a church in Tranent). So no we didn't go 'cos we couldn't get info about return transport etc. shame it might not have been better organised? :{
Posted 14 years ago # -
Yes. I went with a fellow ERC-er. More for the sake of not having to bother to come up with a route for a Sunday ride.
Thoughts and observations;
* I think 56 people took part
* £10 entry fee was fair enough, however they suggested you got 10 people to sponsor you £10 = £100 each. I didn't manage to get that much for 100 milers over big hills, so I don't think a 36 miler is going to lubricate the seals of people's wallets to that extent
* There were 2 routes, "coastal" (basically down to Musselburgh then along past Prestonpans, Aberlady and North Berwick to Dunbar) and "inland" (turning off at Musselburgh, up by Cousland via Pencaitland, Saltoun, Gifford and Garvald to Dunbar). Inland route obviosuly a bit hillier and was 3 miles longer. However the roads are significantly quieter so I wouldn't have pitched the coastal route as "beginner". Also, the headwind all the way to Dunbar wouldn't have helped anyone who isn't used to such things.
* It started climbing back up the hill towards the Innocent out of Holyrood Park from the Scottish Parliament roundabout. Even though the road is shut they marshalled the 50-or-so bikes up the offroad cycle path which was predictably quite busy with walkers, dogs and joggers on a Sunday morning. We decided to peel off back onto the road as the convoy of BSOs ground to a walking-pace climb.
* A significant minority of participants had obviously never ridden in a group before. Eejit on a fully bendy, disc-braked, rock climbing machine decided to cut between me and my companion going though one of the narrow gates in the Holyrood Park, almost missed the turn, slammed on his brakes and burnt some rubber in the process with me almost running into the back of him. A little bit of pre-advice to such persons would have been useful.
* At the end of the Innocent they marshalled the bikes across the pedestrian crossing and told us to cycle down the pavement then join back on to Milton Road. Not only did that obviously not conform to the Highway Code, it was dangerous as the traffic island there only has space for about 3 bikes and bikes ended up backing up onto the road against the lights.
* The route was very lightly signed. Fortunately we were quite familiar with the area so it didn't trouble us. If you weren't them it would have been easy to miss a turn. The instructions were directions only - no map.
* I think most people turned inland. We went at pootling pace into the wind and got to Dunbar in a slovenly 3 hours but were first to the end over the coastal route. I overheard from the marshalls that there were some riders still in a pub in Aberlady at this point so their broom mobile was still waiting down there
* They had plenty of nice food available but perhaps with an emphasis on starchy things over sugary. Personally that didn't bother me as I had my own and hadn't been putting in any effort, but if this had been a "big event" for me I may have been hankering after easy glucose...
* It was their first event and they admitted that they didn't know what to expect and it was a bit of a trial run and were very keen to give feedback. I pretty much gave it as above.
* I think they'll struggle to turn a profit
* I think they'll struggle to attract people to it. It's not a big challenge like a 100 mile sportive and it's not got the big name of pedal for scotland and the finish in Dunbar on a sunday doesn't help their cause. They could easily have laid out a route of the same distance ending in North Berwick where the ride or train home is easierPosted 14 years ago #
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