@Greenroofer
More than one slippery slope there. Have you stopped shaving or bought a bripe?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
The "I had a lovely ride today, thankyou" thread
(2685 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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The 37 miles and a wee smidge out to Tinto Hill into the wind was not so lovely, although the descent from Carmichael round the hill to the Tea Room was lovely as ever. Fair amount of Llama and Goose action too.
The tearoom has the wood burning stove and the verandah for the bikes. Coffee good. Even the luxury of a cludgie.
Soon Apple Pie will have this in the tearoom. The workies have drawn an invitation to the opening in the whitewash stuff on the glass doors. Free cake and tea plus Lewis Capaldi opening. (Could be fib). We noticed this on the 25 mile return which was very lovely indeed with big tailwind
Posted 4 years ago # -
Investigations of the slippery slope continue. Currently sitting at a deserted NBW waiting for the train home having just missed the previous one due to a dawdling driver in North Berwick.
I have just completed the Go East Lothian Trail which was rather splendid. Very little road riding. Lots of tracks across field and through woods, including some quite fun single-track paths. Nice views. Would be lovely in summer. Good for kids too: very little on road.My'gravel bike' (aka the road bike with 32 mm Gravel King tyres) handled it very well.
I may spend the rest of the hour until the train arrives picking mud out of the crevices of the bike...
Posted 4 years ago # -
Steampunk cafe about 5 mins from station is nice
Posted 4 years ago # -
First cycle for 20 days! Fantastic!!!
Posted 4 years ago # -
was good coming in today but will be tuff into the windy woo
Posted 4 years ago # -
Stiff cycle yesterday along Baltic/Salamander street since they knocked down the wall on the sea side of the road. Really exposed, unsurprisingly!
Posted 4 years ago # -
Not really lovely, but I've managed to train myself up to an hour on my spin bike so far this year. That is the minimum time required for me to start contemplating riding one way into or home from work again.
Will be really challenging to get to my full commute distance, but still a good start.
I've found doing other training, including pilaties, and Judo, has meant I have a higher VO2 max than when I was only cycling before (but still below average for a normal human my age given my asthma), and made the journey to an hour much quicker.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Cheated. Got the train to Linlithgow. Tailwind home.. Wheeeeee!
Posted 4 years ago # -
Lecky bike took me over craigmillar hill then up over Braid Hills. ‘Twas bonny. Alas all power diverted to dynamo at Colinton so had to climb that hill then flat into wind on heavy mutha. Actually was ok, if slow. Cars seemed mostly to overtake me slowly tho some Canutes it has to be said.
Posted 4 years ago # -
With the fear of ice, I took the MTB today and so decided to mix it up and take the land rover track round the back of Edinburgh Gateway. I forgot what lovely views it has of the Pentlands and how peaceful it feels away from all the traffic.
It was especially lovely with the frost and the chance to crack all the icy puddles - probably shouldn't have been in civvies though...
Posted 4 years ago # -
I'm going to miss those fields when they go.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Elected to cycle to drop off bike for @nobrakes to review.
Had an excellent ride round Pentlands last week on it but today's ride was closer to the norm certain forumers ride to go to work and back! Today was calm but so cold at top that my phone died. Screen very faint but guessed a few images.Minto St, Gilmerton Rd, A7, Middleton onto The Granites and turn left to Heriot. Follow old coach road via Fountainhall watching out for potholes, mud and sheepdogs at bottom of every hill.
Drop bike (no contact) and take train home from Stow.
(Noted the huge jump in price if you actually used train to Edinburgh Park or Slateford. Gateway is less oddly)Conti Gatorskins on this with a 2 x 11 XT set up. Slower than an M5 CHR but most things are (velomobiles excluded).
Posted 4 years ago # -
Granites looking good.
Love the Heriot route nd coach road to Stow is fab
Posted 4 years ago # -
Out to apple pie today. Was fun on way home with tailwind.
Cycling club trip to Spain gubbed
Posted 4 years ago # -
Out to apple pie yesterday. Wasn't much fun on way home with headwind*.
Walking trip to Wales not gubbed yet.
*Was fine. Not much wind really. Just chilly. Patches of snow along the way didn't warm me up.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Walking trip in Wales should be ok. Pubs and restaurants will be closed. Maybe depends on your accommodation?
Posted 4 years ago # -
It wasn't a completely lovely ride yesterday, but any time spent on a bike is time well-spent.
Got the 0622 ex EDB to HLC and then rode home along the John Muir Way.
It was wet and misty for the first half of the ride, so the views weren't great, but at least the wind was behind me the whole way. Lunch was in Kirkintilloch McDonald's, where I also had two punctures in 30 minutes. While fixing the second I had a long chat with a fellow who was coming back to cycling having just bought a new electric mountain bike. He was interested in how to fix punctures, as he had no idea.
The quality of the path wasn't great: some bits were completely unrideable, and I got so fed up with opening and closing gates. There was generally a sense of something being built (without really taking account of what people on bikes need) and then there not being the money to maintain it.
At Loch Lomond Shore the path was totally flooded, so I ended up pushing through bramble thickets and across a swamp to get back on track. I'm still picking bramble spikes out of my legs...
The positives were bombing along the towpath with a tailwind; my gear working well (almost exclusively Decathlon!); the feeling that this route might be worth repeating (once) in the summer when things are drier and the views better; and a moment of peace on the Hopetoun estate in the calm of the evening where the waves were lapping quietly on a sandy short and it was truly lovely.
88 miles in just under 11 hours, so not breaking records for speed. Would I do it again? Once more, I think, with a view to doing the whole thing from Helensburgh to Dunbar in one go, now that I know what's involved for the first bit.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Good effort @greenroofer
Posted 4 years ago # -
I'm still picking bramble spikes out of my legs...
That's you entirely lost to the dark side. Welcome.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Did a 200km ride yesterday. We had rain at the start and a headwind to the half-way point at Ponteland. The rain returned as night fell in Kielder. The one blessing was that it was mostly a tail-wind; when the road turned west we got the full force of the rain and hail and we'd some sketchy moments with side winds near Bonchester. So pleased to get back to Hawick. Probably a mistake, all things considered but we survived.
Posted 4 years ago # -
@cyclingmollie, ever the optimist. 100km of headwind?
Posted 4 years ago # -
@gembo In Audax terms we had a headwind to the half-way then found our form for the return.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Yes I had a similar shorter 70km experience yesterday where combined with the Quickening atop Hareperig, despite feeling under the weather I appear to have come into some astonishing form.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Ah, the quickening. That happened yesterday. When I caught up I explained I wasn't slow, I was self-isolating at the back.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Yes peloton etiquette of peeling to the back to fire your snot rocket now being insisted upon.
Wonder what those Germans who just pee beside you will be doing this year in Mallorca, oh wait no Mallorca this year. 312 was still gamely holding the line yesterday.
312 now that is an audax I would love to spend six months in Mallorca training for. Should I marry a millionaire.
Posted 4 years ago # -
long trundle to 5 Sisters zoo yesterday, found a far better (zero traffic but slower) way from when leaving the canal for the last 50%, but really need to find an alternate for the canal part - its mind-numbing.
also found lots of muddy tracks that didnt go anywhere.
Posted 4 years ago # -
Out for a 30km CX bumble. I've had some stomach issues and a bit of heartburn recently. Lots of stress at job etc and not been able to ride much. Feel about 80% better than I have in 2 weeks after an hour and a half out around the hills. Climbed up to the top of Red Road by 9 mile burn on the new sanitised path and then had fun shooting back down with the wind behind me.
Cycling is the tonic.
Posted 4 years ago # -
#arobcomp yes the red road highway is a blast early morning when it is quiet. Did it a couple of times over Xmas. How is the surface bearing up?
Posted 4 years ago # -
@Iain McR since my workplace is on the way to Five Sister zoo and only 2 miles away (but somehow you manage to avoid going past it) I can recommend my commuting route through Ratho. The roads are nice and quiet, especially on the weekends. You can take the paths again along River Almond once in Mid Calder.
Posted 4 years ago #
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