Cycling (hilly) day routes around Edinburgh - 2014

The following are a few long rides for when spring arrives and the days get longer. They are among my favourite rides: hilly, beautiful landscapes, and all reachable directly from Edinburgh.

Before heading off, I'd consult:

Weather forecasts – This is Scotland so that I wouldn't have many expectations, but it's always good to check out the forecasts, especially the wind...

http://www.yr.no/

National Cycling Network - To check out the cycling paths
http://www.sustrans.org.uk

Route profile – You can use this website to check the distance and the profile, it's always better to know in advance where the big hills are!
http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php

Scottish South Borders Cycling trip

11 to 14 July 2014

The memories from the West Coast trip were starting to fade away and we wanted more adventures to refresh the spirit. Paul's birthday was approaching and to celebrate it he prepared a 4 day cycling trip down the borders, which stood out for its variety and unpredictability.

Day 1 – Ayr to Galloway Forest – 32 miles + Merrick

That was a beautiful summer day, sunny and warm. Paul and myself got an early train to Ayr, while the rest of the group (Lauren and Tobias) would get a later one. The plan was to meet at the campsite in the Glentrool Camping Site in Galloway Forest.

Mont Blanc Marathon 2014  -
Passion feels no pain 

29 June 2014

The Mont Blanc Marathon came up in my mind the very moment I finished the Swiss Alpine the year before. I didn't know why but I was sure I wanted to run it, and sometimes you just have to follow your dreams.

Just to clarify, the course doesn't actually go up the Mont Blanc as many people are inclined to think. The route starts in Chamonix and goes up and down around the valley, + 2511m and -1490m, the highest point being at 2201m. Its name is probably more impressive than the route itself, but it is supposed to be one of the most panoramic marathons. For more information on the profile and the race, have a look at their website:

http://www.montblancmarathon.net/en/

Running routes in and around Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a great city for running, whichever side of the city you are you can find a park or a trail within a few miles and, plenty of hills to explore. I've always lived in the centre/south side of town so that my routes are mainly based there, this is a great site to explore more options:

http://www.walkjogrun.net/running-routes/UK/City%20of%20Edinburgh/Edinburgh/

My usual routes are:

West Coast of Scotland Cycling Trip


12 to 18 April 2014


Planning a cycling trip in the West Coast of Scotland, in April, requires a fair amount of optimism and craziness. The chances of even glance some sunshine are so tiny that not even my most enthusiastic side was actually believing it could happen. The first day was meeting all the expectations and warned us “there will be no miracles here” welcome to the West Coast!

Aviemore to Perth (NCN 7 and 77)– 88 miles


1/2 November 2013


Those have really been 2 wild days. On a stubborn decision to stick to my training plan I took the train to Aviemore for another solo trip, on the first of November. I am just so happy nobody was so crazy as to follow me in this one as I am not sure how I would have coped with the guilt of mirroring the feeling of rainy misery in someone else eyes. Since the start all the omens were not much promising: red morning sky, forecasts and even this mysterious woman in black coming from the dead world (or the Beltane Hallowing party as it turned out to be) wishing me good weather, but oh well, this is Scotland I though, if you look at the weather you go nowhere, sure it can't be that bad!

Berwick Upon Tweed to Edinburgh (NCN 1) – 82 miles

21/22 September

The Autumn solstice was meant to give an end to the 2013 cycling season. All my cycling mates were busy in other projects and since "if you wait for who is not coming you wait a long time" I decided to go for another solo trip, which I must admit was kind of good for a change. After a freezing week with temperatures of 5 degrees I was ready for the worst and head off as the Micheline man but it took only 30 min to realise it was summer again!

Mull to Glasgow via Tarbert – 166 miles


9 to 11 August


Cycling is addicting. Add a few good mates and heart opening landscapes and you find yourself planning new trips at every odd day. Laughs, fresh air, endorphins, you just want more and more.


This one was another 3 day route, from Oban to Glasgow. Sor and me got an early train on Friday morning and spent the day cycling Mull, 21 miles each way from Craignure up to Tobermory and back. 

Swiss Alpine Marathon K43


27 July 2013


Flat is boring. After running 3 city marathons, Edinburgh, Barcelona (highly recommended!) and Sevilla, I realised I needed something different: mountains! I had no clue of how to prepare for that, and what it would have involved, but I spent 7 months running as much as I could, everywhere.

Jon O' Groat to Inverness (NCN 1) – around 200 miles


21 to 23 June 2013


This was my first mini touring cycle, well, it was only 3 days but I did have fully loaded panniers so that it must qualify as such!


Every year I celebrate the Summer Solstice and this time I tried to go as much North as I could go, and that was, Jon o Groat. My cycling buddy, Mr Zazzu, proved to be a great and very entertaining company. That was his first “touring” experience too, and to be fair he never really heard what that meant, and how to prepare for it. He showed up with his Vintage road bike and a huge 13 kg rucksack. His sleeping bag was forgotten in the first train, and the rest of its content, among which stood out: 3 rolls of toilet paper, 1kg wet wipes, jeans and trainers (why??) is still a big question mark in my head. The only explanation I could find is, it's Zazzu, you need to take the full package :)

7 Hills of Edinburgh - Challenge 2013


16 June 2013


Now, that was a race! The chances of having muscle, mind, route, weather all working on your side are so slim that I can count such days in one hand. That was one of them!

If you are a runner, you like hills and you are in Edinburgh, you can't miss this. Don't worry if you don't know the route (there is none anyway..), you can just follow the one in front of you. For more information have a look at their website:


http://www.seven-hills.org.uk/

Cycling routes around Edinburgh - 2013

...ops, some updates need to be done ah? oh well, I believe the amount of happiness in one's life is inversely correlated with the amount of time spent on a computer, yeppa, it was 2 good years indeed!


I did take some notes along the way, and since I had a few people asking me for routes and ideas I finally found the time to put some order in my messy notes (Achilles Tendon injured = no running = lot of unhappiness and load of time on the computer )


So, let's go back in time to 2013, when my beautiful Kona Dew Drop was still a fresh second hand purchase and I had no clue how to use the shifters.


Below are a few easy day routes of about 100km, mainly flat. They are circular loops from Edinburgh, or requires a one way train ride to get to the starting point.