CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
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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.
I'm looking for an alternative extended commute, as I can't be bothered with winter traffic on my usual.
The office is handy for Porty prom - but how to get from there to Flotterstone?
Cyclestreets suggests this but I want it to go along the old rail line to Dalkeith I think, I'm just not sure where to join and leave.
Length is not critical since that's the point of an extended commute, but crappy traffic (like riding over Sheriffhall) is a definite no-no. Rough surfaces no problem.
Thanks!
Can't say I know the area, but getting onto the path at Auchendinny (see 'quietest') and following it into Dalkeith seems reasonable.
Then NCN1 into Whitecraig, Esk path into Musselburgh and along the main road for a mile to the Prom.
I reckon Auchendinny is the best place to join too.
There is an A702 avoiding (almost) alternative to the start of Klaxon's route. You'll not get a CycleStreet route as some of the tracks still aren't on OSM.
Basically you turn right out of Flotterstone (using the old bridge) then turn left just after the first house. It's a bit of a hill, but you could just use the pavement.
Here's the route on Google Maps or look at an OS map (Bing Maps my current favourite for online OS maps).
cycle.travel does have quite a nice drag and drop interface. Was this the kind of route you were looking for? http://cycle.travel/map/journey/16511
I just went to have a look at adding the missing tracks to OpenStreetMap - and Farside has already taken care of it. https://overpass-api.de/achavi/?changeset=34512954
I'll assume that Farside is reading the forum?
It would be useful to also populate the access and surface tags on these "new" tracks!
Farside=cb. Edit made just after the post above. I'd done some nearby bits earlier in the summer after a visit, but haven't been on the bits above for a while and was conscious that it was all a bit mucked around due to the water works.
Well, I tried to do this in reverse for this morning's commute (from Currie to the shore), setting off extra super early so I'd have plenty of time. Alas it took me over 45 minutes longer than my worst case scenario!
Doing it on my MTB probably made this a doomed venture from the start, in retrospect. I also got badly lost in gnarly singletrack soon after Flotterstone which cost a lot of time :(
However, I was amazed to discover that apart from the short section on the Penicuik side of Rosewell, *everything is paved*. I was expecting mile upon mile of surface as bad as the Water of Leith but by and large mid / east lothian are showing CoE council how to do it right.
Can definitely see myself doing this from time to time over winter.
Hmm, this looks like a useful leisure route too for family riding. Away from traffic is good! :-)
what was the route?
@steveo - you should be able to see it via this Strava link?
Three bits I'd improve next time:
- after Flotterstone, avoid the mudbath / singletrack maze somehow, as it took 15m to do 1.9 miles from the pub to the railbed.
- don't experiment with the curious cycle gates to nowhere after QMU, as they go to a missing bridge (another 7m wasted)
- maybe consider riding straight to the prom from Brunstane station instead of riding over the railway, jinking to the Innocent then over to the endless footbridge.
Overall it was cool. Apart from one bit of slightly busy road around Dalkeith, then a couple of hundred yards at Flotterstone, you could easily ride with kids from Portobello to the Pentlands off road, but 95% paved.
Rather than go Brunstane just continue on the Esk path and then to Porty on the road - much quicker, although granted it's "on the road".
Yeah, there are quite a few ways to go more directly to the shore, but I can get my fix of traffic jamming on other days :)
My tubeless 29x2.4 tractor tyres were pretty grim this morning! I'm gradually building a replacement drop-bar commuter with 27.5 rims. I should be able to cross the Pentlands on that, but shave half an hour off the path network on the other side.
Based on all too many experiences, really don't want to mix it with the crappy East Lothian drivers if I can possibly avoid it.
https://goo.gl/maps/qMfhC65yMas
The bit where I went on an unwelcome adventure. How can it not be a cycle path? Yet it ends in a missing bridge (stanchions there, bridge itself removed). Had to double back through extreme vegetation. Sucky.
I think Kaputnik referenced this recently in terms of developers putting in cycle infrastructure.
This they did, sticking exactly to the letter of the agreement, but without it actually joining up with anything at all...
I'll let K fill in the actual details which may differ from my above mis-remembering!
Robert
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