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!
At first I had the crazy idea of doing it all in 1 day, but the thought of me lost at night with a broken spoke put me off, so that I opted for a 2 days cycle and got a train to Berwick-Uopn-Teweed which was just a 40 min journey.
The service it's frequent and cheap but as always you would need to book the bike space before as places are limited and organisation a new concept (don't think anybody knows how many bike spaces are on trains but better have a reservation.
Overall the road is well signed. I just lost track a couple of times. Before arriving in Melrose, at the big A road intersection (the one straight after the wood bridge) just cross the A road and go straight, after a while you will see the NCN 1 sign again. Fresh of Dean Karnazes' quote "It doesn't really matter how fast you are going if you're heading in the wrong directions", I wisely waited for someone to ask for advise, who turned out to be a member of the Carnethy hill running club in Edinburgh, I have the feeling I'll meet him again, probably on some hill!
Anyway back to the cycle, if you decide to go to Galashiels as I did, you will then have to go back the same way back to the river (it looks like it's the easiest way to get back on track).
Day 1 brought me from Berwick to Galashiels. This first leg is nothing really exiting. Apart from crossing the bridge linking England to Scotland and some river views, most of it is an attempt to bypass main roads and brings you to farm roads with no much to look at.
After about 40 miles of gentle up and downs on this kind of roads you reach Melrose, which is a very pleasant and colourful wee town and a good stop to get some food and rest.
The best of the journey was definitely the 2nd leg, from Galashiels back to Edinburgh. I spent the night in Galashiels and I had to go back about 1 mile in order to keep on the NCN 1, which goes along the Tweed river on a very nice, quiet and perfectly tarred secondary road (being an early start on Sunday morning may explain the quiet part). The road went up and down by the river until Innerleithen.
The best of the route was from now on. About 8/10 miles of uphill road with a modest gradient surrounded by hills and blue sky leads you on the climax viewpoint: the sudden view of all the Midlothian was worth every single pedalling to go up there! The familiar shape of Arthur Seat from a distance was giving me the welcome back home...but the distances are tricky and from there it's still a 25 mile cycle! but, since all that goes up goes down, they started with a fast downhill section.
From here on the NCN 1 alternates villages to cycling paths, through Dalkeith, Musselborough and then back to Edinburgh through the Innocent tunnel. As usual I realised I was approaching the capital by the amount of holes in the roads, good stuff Kona is strong and managed to bring me home without problems.
That was a really good weekend trip and I strongly recommend it. Plus, the Borders Railway will be ready in 2015 (it seems like I have already heard that...really hope this timescale is more reliable than the Edinburgh Tram one...) so that it will be easy to get the train down to Gala and get back even in 1 day easy going. More info at:
http://www.bordersrailway.co.uk/project/overview.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment