By popular assent the bike version avoided the disgracefully landowner-blocked Gilmerton railway cutting by taking the Fairmilehead – Burdiehouse Burn – Drum Estate alternative. This provided tolerable hazards of mud and water rather than the old mattresses and Colditz wire-tangles of the railway cutting. We collected Nick at Danderhall library as substitute guide for the Millerhill Borders Railway works diversion (Digby having absconded to London at the last minute for metropolitan art rather than live Edinburgh suburban bike-theatre in the round). The north-eastern diversion around the new Borders Railway work was surprisingly straightforward, although we missed the national car fender heritage museum, which has probably now been lost forever.
Breezy sunshine greeted us on the Porty prom where we relaxed with tea and bacon butties to while away our now substantial lead on the runners (thanks to no breakdowns). The runners arrived soon after and we had a second mass start for the eastward coastline leg to Cramond, some on the beach, others on the prom, regrouping at the Seafield sewage works, refreshingly unsmelly in the strong southwesterly.
We traversed Leith Links and the emerging waterfront through the fascinating mixture of industrial heritage and new architecture. One member was unimpressed by the heritage railway lines when, focussing on the flange grooves in order to avoid them, was hypnotically drawn grooveward and showed how well a 2in mtb tyre fits in the groove, crashing to the ground, but thankfully bruising only pride.
The Granton – Cramond prom. prompted some aggressive draughting into the strong headwind until the group fell apart with the growing pace. Cramond gave us a long lunch break before working on the lead we needed on the runners for the Pentlands. Next followed the Cramond valley obstacle course of steps, mud and ultra narrow escape passage to the Cammo estate approach road. The Cammo mud trail was particularly gluey and we were ready for some tarmac by the time we reached the Turnhouse recycling dump. The trains, planes and tram attractions followed. Jim’s early reccy of the new tram landscape was most valuable and we plunged down the tram embankment to the jaws of the new tram tunnel under the A8. Any other Euro-nation would have incorporated a pedestrian / cycle passage. At least there’s handrail and we were able to emerge from the tunnel at the new Gyle tram stop, but for how long will this be possible? Next followed the Gyle futurescape of commercial office architecture, green tram highway and water features to the culvert under the city bypass. Thus to Gogarbank House and the haul up to the Pentlands via Heriot Watt campus and the cyclists’ penalty loop to Kinleith.
We were now down to two for the end game. Clubbiedean and Torduff reservoirs were passed with a welcome tail wind. The traverse path from Torduff to Bonally car park has been engineered into safe submission rather than the interesting narrow track that was. That’s a pity. White Hill provided the usual struggle to the upper swamp, by which time ambitious earlier muttering about Allermuir summit had faded away. We sprinted down to the final boglands above Dreghorn for an unusually early pint, fish and chips, arriving just as the first rain of the day set in.
Jon W, John L, Elaine, Nick, Keith.
Keith Burns