On a Bicycle, you always ride home

"Ma maison c'est votre maison
Entre mes quatre murs de glace
Je mets mon temps et mon espace
À préparer le feu, la place" ~ L'hiver, Gilles Vigneault

Thanks to everyone who turned up. 21 turned up for this first ride of 2009, when we went to East Lothian. This was probably due to the lovely weather, cold and dry, and the promise of Mince Pies. Another cold, fresh, sunny, day to be out on the bike. The sun appears as a cold white object lighting the way, but offers no heat. The sky is the light blue that only seems to occur in Scotland in winter. Isn't it nice that in these "Credit Crunch" times that you can have fun for a small amount of money.

It's a bit nippy out there

The route will be an easy one, no big hills in the morning, and only one in the afternoon. The westerly wind makes the riding out easy, and the company makes the cold vanish as we take the innocent railway path out of Edinburgh. The occasional grey and white patch of ice is avoided, and last weeks glassy ice rink, at the Milton Link underpass near the soon to close forever Woolworths shop, no longer exists.

At Fisherrow harbour, the boats are resting for the winter, a land locked hibernation for the warmer months to come. Along the coastal path, the horizon is grey, making Fife look like some far off foreign country. This is a ride in a figure of 8. It's too cold to stop, too windy to go too far east and too nice to stay indoors. The Firth of Forth looks flat as we cycle along the coastal path, then head inland. Heading out is a nice quiet A road, allowing time for people to catch up. The return trip is a surprise. Passing the monstrosity of the power station, it's no wonder that we have global warming. You can feel the heat as we cycle pass. Not that it's gonna help. The wind cools shoes, and the cold nips the toes.

Back in Musselburgh, a large flock of small birds, fly high, and north, surely the wrong direction. It is still, protected from the wind by the trees along the River Esk. The sun is white and cold, the blue sky is white. On the path beside the River Esk, we pass a ploughed field. Frozen water in the furrows, with the sun reflecting off the ice, gave the impression that a giant mirror had been smashed here. Large jaggy shards of ice mirror strewn across the field. As we reached the lunch stop, high cloud have hidden the early blue sky, leaving it light grey. The lunch stop is warm.

Mince Pie Time

After lunch was the short ride back to Fairmilehead led to the group being split in to a steady group, a slow group and Mark's group. Unfortunately most of this part of the trip is up hill and in to the wind. At least everyone knows where I live, but if they didn't, I'm sure the small of mince pies would have guided the cyclists in like a lighthouse guides ships to the safe harbour. The sky is much greyer now, we all made it, spots of rain leave no mark.

By the time the last group arrived, the Mince Pies were out of the oven, and the kettle was in full hot water production mode. There seems less room this year, although there's less people??? There was lots of conversation, adding to warming effect of Mince Pies and coffee or tea.

Suddenly it's dark, and time to go. The rain has just started. Time for cyclists to go home. The kids go to the Panto. The house is quiet, empty, huge. Weird!!

Spokes Ride Reports

Thank you to everyone who has given feedback on my Spokes Ride Reports. I hope that you can see that cycling is something more than just a sport in the Olympics, more than just a hobby. Rather you should use it to move around. When you do get to your destination, you've achieved something. And there's more, there's all this beautiful country there before you just waiting to be explored.

Warm Regards,

Explore, Dream, Discover

"Mon chemin ce n'est pas un chemin, c'est la neige
Mon pays ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver" ~ L'hiver, Gilles Vigneault

Ride Statistics

Distance:       51.8km (32.2 miles)
Average Speed:  17.7km (11 mph) Max 39.5 km/h
Total Climbing: 354m (1161 ft) Max 170m
Time:           2 hours 54 minutes
Max. Temp.:     4 deg C (39 deg F)

Route Description

Start:  Usher Hall
Out:    Tollcross, The Meadows, Innocent Railway, Bingham, Brunstane, Joppa, Fisherrow, Musselburgh, Prestonpans, Port Seton, Cockenzie, Prestonpans, Musselburgh, River Esk Path, Cowpits, Craig House Hotel
Return: Craig House Hotel, Cowpits, Whitecraig, Dalkeith Country Park, Monktonhall, Danaderhall, Gilmerton, Mortonhall, Fairmilehead
End:    Fairmilehead

Interactive Route Map

The map below shows the route that we took on the January 2009 Spokes Ride.