Spring into Summer

"Lethargics are to be laid in the light, and exposed to the rays of the sun for the disease is gloom." - Aretaeus

Thank you to everyone who turned up on Sunday. It was very nice to see you, and explore the wonderful West Lothian countryside with you as company. It was a warm, slightly fast, and quite fantastic. Hopefully, summer will be like this. Details of all rides I will be doing are shown in the calendar in the right column of the website.

A Month is a Long Time

You couldn't get a bigger contrast. In April, we had snow in the morning and spring in the afternoon. In May we had a taste of summer. Hopefully it will last a lot longer than it did last year! 15 souls came out on a ride where the forecast was rain, but the happy mood drove the rain clouds away, and the sunshine nearly came through.

We went to Linlithgow, as the original destination of Mid Calder was not possible as the pub would have been too full. A good mixture of people, not only in terms of ability, but in nationality and character. It was a truly wonderful ride to lead, and I hope the participants enjoyed it too. A tad fast, but only because one person had hired a bike from BikeTrax, and the shop closed at 5pm. Fortunately, the ride was a little short of 45 miles I had planned, and the fast ride back was brought to us courtesy of the West Lothian hills.

That doesn't mean to say people were rushed, Spokes rides always wait for stragglers. And the wait gives people time to get a breather, a quick snack, arrange layers, or even take a few photos. And with all Spokes Rides, you can guarantee not only wonderful company, but also wonderful scenery.

Never Mediocre

"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular...it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre." - Uta Hagen

To avoid getting too regular and mediocre, I will be doing some extra rides as well as the normal Spokes Rides over the summer.

I will be doing the Lepra Edinburgh - St. Andrews ride this year, on Saturday 21st June, starting at 8:45 am. Wonderful scenery and wonderful people make for a wonderful atmosphere. Let's hope for some wonderful weather.

At the request of several people, I will be running the longer rides again this year. They start earlier, we meet at 9:30, on the third Sunday of the month in 20th July, 17th August and 21st September.

For all summer rides, if the weather's gonna be good, bring a picnic, and we may sit on a beach, or on a high hill. Dates for all of these events are on the website's calendar to the right.

However, if you'd like to go on a bike ride before then, try a 20-miler. There is one this weekend, the 10th May and one on the 18th May (actually a 38miler, but we'll let them off). You never know how long this weather is going to last :-). Check Mike Lewis's website, http://www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk/ for more information.

And if you don't feel like cycling, why not come up to Pentland Primary on the 24th May, and take part in some cycling games (bring the kids if you have some, steal some kids to bring along if you don't!!!). Starts at 10:00am, I'll be there helping with the cycling (you may get there in time to get a Spokes free springy thing to keep trousers clean.

So why don't you stetch your body, mind and soul. What can you achieve? Sail away from your safe harbour, and join me on the next Spokes Ride on the 1st of June. If the weather is good, please bring a picnic.

Warm Regards,

Explore, Dream, Discover

Ride Stats:

Distance:       69.4km (43.1 miles)
Average Speed:  19.5km (12.1 mph) Max 59.1 km/h
Total Climbing: 723m (2372ft) Max 163m, max climb 8%
Time on bike:   3 hours 34 minutes
Max. Temp.:     20 deg C (46 deg F)

The Route:

We headed down to Fountain Bridge, down Dalry Road, along Murieston Crescent to Russell Rd and on to the cycle path to join National Route 1 at Roseburn. No punctures this month, At New Burnshot, up the cycle path from Cramond Brig, we turned off route 1 to follow a minor road to access the Railway Path to Kirkliston. From Kirkliston, we went past the new Estate built on the grounds of the old Drambuie factory, turning left just after the motorway bridge to take the minor road to Niddry.
We stayed on the road through Niddry, turning right on to the B8020, then left just as we entered Winchburgh. We turned left on to the road through Faucheldean, following it to the end. Here we turned right on to the B8046, and almost immediately left on to another minor road. At Wester Ochiltree farm, we continued straight on, following this road, passing the turn off for Beecraigs, to reach Linlithgow at about 12:30pm, Lunch was at the Four Marys.
We left Linlithgow at about 13:45, and headed back the way we came to Niddry. Instead of tuning left to Kirkliston, we turned right just after crossing over the railway and headed down to the cycle path between Broxburn and Newbridge, heading for Newbridge.
We went though Newbridge, where you could wave to airplanes as they land at Edinburgh Airport, along Old Liston Road, right on to Cliftonhall road, the left on to Harvest Rd and Baird Road. This route took us to Ratho. Here we joined the canal to take us back to Edinburgh (in time, hopefully, to return the hire bike back to the shop)