bax the country bumpkin paid a visit to your capital city today, first time in a year
despite it being quiet, i was really struck by the dusty particulate pollution in the air
don't know how you all cope without falling down deid
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
The "I had a lovely ride today, thankyou" thread
(2685 posts)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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I went out to Harperig, Murder farm and circus farm in lunch break
Boiling if breezy
One dead pheasant having entrails scattered up the Whang by a crow. But on the plus side a big hairy caterpillar on the way back
Posted 3 years ago # -
Out up Lang Whang today via Kirknewton and Leyton. Was very warm. Took shop bike rather than my fancier one. Seat creaked a bit as rubbers have dried out.
Stopped on corner and witnessed a drive by. Large vintage Bentley. Guy leant into corner although I think the car will weigh 2 Tons at least.
Photo here.(Missed Spokes meeting... bit phobic of online chat stuff but sounds like it would work ok).
Posted 3 years ago # -
Certainly cut that corner. @greenroofer, is this the same one you saw?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Had a day off with kids in nursery and good weather for what felt like the first time in years. I didn't have to be back for a specific time. Headed out for a Round the pentlands along some favourite old roads (moor road from Penicuik to West Linton then road from Dunsyre to Lang Whang). Beautiful day. Audiobook on and spinning my legs at a comfortable pace. Dried mango good cycling food but tricky to eat is what I discovered. AWesome day out (despite westerly wind creating a situation where at no point did I have a tailwind)
Posted 3 years ago # -
@arobcomp a westerly would have been a tailwimd on the Whang
I judge was EAsterly yesterday if this is when you went to it (friday) so moor road and Dunsyre You will have had an assist maybe without realising this is why your legs were so good.?
Posted 3 years ago # -
@ARobComp - Round the pentlands along some favourite old roads (moor road from Penicuik to West Linton then road from Dunsyre to Lang Whang)
Excellent de-stresser especially if you can get a nice route back into city. Made mistake of going by Straiton once or twice on anti clockwise sortie. Using Rosslin path is good but will be busy now.
@Arellcat said part of moor road has been resurfaced.Posted 3 years ago # -
@gembo - on the assumption that there can't be that many of those Bentleys around, that is the one I saw.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Got my first decent ride of the year in today. 70 miles round Ettrick / Middleton. Sunshine all the way, fab. Some nasty side winds on the granites had me on edge, the big boxy carbon frame on my m5 recumbent seems to catch the wind a bit.
Saw a pheasant hanging around its mate that had just been killed on the road. Hoped it would move away before it suffered the same fate.
Lovely to get out and see some sun!
Posted 3 years ago # -
Went to the start of Yieldsheilds Road as a recce this morning. This is where the Gloucester old spots used to frolic in South a Lanarks. They is bacon now I fear.
Anyway T who was with me had declined the opportunity to go back home at start of adventure to put on biblongs.
So at start of Yieldshields Road instead of pushing on he said the wind was very boring.
We went to see the llamas and the puddle on Loch Road that has been there 5 years. We then had the last of the paradise slice In The Apple Pie.
Then we smashed it back along The Whang with that tail wind. The sun even emerged at Harperig maybe 11.20am
Posted 3 years ago # -
@nobrakes I may have seen you. The wind was a bit keen.
I had a similar route. Down through the Moorfoots to Inners, over to the Gordon's Alive Arms, then down the Yarrow until the turn to Ettrickbridge. Over Witchy Knowe. After Ettrickbridge, I took a short if steep diversion to see the Roman Fort at Oakwood. Then around by Bowland and Philiphaugh. Back via the old road on the parallel to the A7 (which wasn't as closed as advertised)
Posted 3 years ago # -
@amir yes we may have passed, we were going opposite ways. Cracking day to get out.
Posted 3 years ago # -
It was good. BTW I was the one on an upright bike ;)
Posted 3 years ago # -
Went out to Gladhouse via Carrington, back via Leadburn. Lovely morning for it. Don't think I've ever seen the back roads of Midlothian so busy with cyclists - the Gilmerton-Roslin cycle path as well was as busy as I've seen it. Drivers generally behaving themselves as well.
Loads of geese in the parks around Gladhouse, a few buzzards, a heron over the A703. An ex-hare and a couple of ex-frogs near Gladhouse.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Was on my own all way round to auchengray then Wilstontown up to Braehead then the esker. Over to Carnwath and that was first time I saw another cyclist.
Sounds like they were mostly in Midlothian?
There was a group of 8 arrived at the Pie but I had been served and out the door before then.
Fell in to conversation with another solo rider from Fauldhouse and he chummed me back to the west Calder turn.Was cold and misty in the morning so the benefit of shorts only came when the sun finally re-emerged on the Whangdoodle.
Posted 3 years ago # -
@gembo wind wise I think it was a dead westerly potentially veering NW as I approached Edinburgh (Wednesday). So on the moor road I had it on my beam rather than quarter and the hills seemed to be bending it more into a south westerly as I approached the bottom of pentlands. Then straight into it around past dunsyre expecting the tailwind on way back along the whang. Sadly mistaken and suffered headers all the way.
Today's tarbrax loop at 4pm had the classic SW whang wind. Quite a chill to it!
Posted 3 years ago # -
@arobcomp wind changed as you turned? I can’t remember the days but one last week was straight northerly. And one was easterly for sure. For me.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Pushed out west. Into what was mos’ def’ a Westerly wind.
Breezy
swung behind me on the Rig road which was a welcome breather before the Beech Avenue climb then upwards and onwards to the shoulder before west Kip. Quite dry and yet the drained Rezzy is filled up again
Some sheep on the path on way up which I was intent on remembering on the way back down. As it turned out a Walker appeared just before I was set to encounter the sheep so was braking hard anyway.
845 at top, 900 back at work desk (having put the neighbour’s bin back in for him)
Glorious start to the day
Posted 3 years ago # -
Tour de Pentlands clockwise this afternoon. Out via Penicuik and the Moor Road to West Linton, then Broughton, Biggar, Carnwath and back on the Lang Whang.
Out was a brutal demoralising struggle against a strong headwind. Once at Carnwath I was blown home: I managed from the top of Auchinoon Brae to within sight of the junction by the airfield without turning the pedals. I might have made it all the way to the junction but had to divert for a jogger on the road and that cost me the dregs of my potential energy.
Passed a chap on a recumbent bike climbing away from the A701 towards West Linton.
Really didn't enjoy the first 30 miles, and I must confess to being a bit shouty and sweary at the Universe at some points. However the last 25 miles made up for that, and all was forgiven by the time I got home.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I flogged into the headwind on the Lang Wang as far as the West Calder turn where the gusts were knocking me about to the extent that it felt dangerous. I had had notions of going to Carnwath but decided against it and ended up almost cycling past my office in Livingston, which I have not seen for a year...
Nice rainbow at East Calder.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Was boiling out there today
Posted 3 years ago # -
its all a bit february out there today innit, but that's me up and over 2000 km for the first quarter, so its all good
Posted 3 years ago # -
Nice one Aunty Bax
Early on was temptingly summery so put on shorts. Was ok. Still had shoes covered though.
Was overtaken by fellow on ribble titanium bike nice and cheery top. I noticed he was coming back to me on the hills so I bided me time until Auchinoon brae.
Later up by Murder farm cheery wave from the polis.
Going out again later with The Iwrats we are seeking the source of East Cairn Hill
That will require wrapping up
Posted 3 years ago # -
so its you thats keeping iwrats under wraps, eh..
you do know i'm not your real aunty, right ?
i just like to dress up at weekends
Posted 3 years ago # -
What an astonishng evening of cycling in the rain with the man called IWRAts. We found a deer fence but we unpicked the lock. We found another deer fence. We came back from East Cairn. We didn’t find the source of East Cairn.
Posted 3 years ago # -
After a busy week and with a long weekend looming I decided to clock off slightly early and go for a longer pre-dinner ride out to Humbie and back.
Deliberately took the hilly route out via Carberry and Cousland and have to say the new bike (all 12Kg of it's steel frame) coped admirably.
Almost perfect cycling weather (sunshine, touch on the cold, a light north-easterly breeze) made it a pleasant experience particularly off the main roads. Popped along to Humbie Kirk for some photos but respected the sign about the graveyard being closed due to COVID.Posted 3 years ago # -
I do like Cousland. Wise to go east yesterday and indeed today
I trespassed slightly on the gun club and Colzium farm. Stayed on tarmac and did not go near the houses. They have just put up a lot of annoying signs, probably had drivers parking on their property which is annoying but not exactly criminal.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I picked the wrong evening to have to pop out to South Gyle Crescent to deliver our postal vote application before the deadline, but the way back was very quick.
Posted 3 years ago # -
On Friday we got a Car Club car and took the mountain bikes out. Parked at Deepsyke forest on the "Moor Road" - had a bit of an explore of that, then took the track to the southern end of the forest and followed the dismantled railway as far as Cowdenburn on the A701. Took that as far as Lamancha and then picked up the tracks up the hill and over the Cloich Hills summit. Had and "interesting" descent through the forest and eventually had to heave the bikes over a wall to get out!
Picked up the Cross Borders Drove road to Romanobridge and then took the road to West Linton. From there we took tracks to Carlops and attempted to follow the track shown on the OS map from Kitleyknowe to Harlowmuir - to does just about exist but is very boggy and involved quite a lot of hike-a-bike!
I know we can be criticised for driving to take exercise, but it was really, really nice to go somewhere different - we've been very disciplined about taking regular exercise in the past year and the result is we've got bored with the same routes over and over and over again.
Sunday I did cycle somewhere different - I flogged into the headwind all the way to Linlithgow and then went over the hill to Bo'ness (picking up some Veloviewer squares en route). Was then blown all the way back along the coastal path, which was nice - even the off tarmac bits were OK!
Posted 3 years ago # -
Dragged the kids out on adventures yesterday...
Late start due to not having any bread to make our sandwiches, so it was nearly lunchtime before we set off, with the calls for lunch starting at Cammo. Managed to put them off til we got to the pump track at Queensferry.
A bit of a battle into the wind to get along to Blackness Castle which was proper windy. After a few goes on the flying fox and with dark clouds gathering we turned for home.
Compulsory stop in Queensferry for Ice-cream (& to buy some emergency fudge) & back through Dalmeny estate.
As part of the ''MissAdventures' challenge we were attempting we needed to dip a toe in the water. The tide was a long way out but a wee cycle across the beach at Hound Point and photo taken.
Emergency fudge deployed for the remaining hills home and 3 tired cyclists made it home in time for the Roast lamb.
Cracking day out but tired bears today.
Posted 3 years ago #
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