Lots of useful information helping you to get the most out of cycling in and around Edinburgh

Want a great day out for yourself, your friends or your whole family? Then try cycling! There are plenty of fantastic options for cycling in and around Edinburgh...

NO FLIES ON ALAN AND HIS SON DAN Alan Hume and his 11-year-old son, Daniel, pictured below, both cycle regularly. Daniel cycles to school every day and father and son cycle together frequently. “What I enjoy about cycling is the accessibility and freedom,” said Alan. “I can travel quite a distance in a short amount of time, and there are the physical rewards as well.” Alan has ridden a bicycle all his life. “There are times when the flies are at your face or the rain on your back, but it’s not often,” he joked. One of Alan’s favourite rides is up the Roseburn cycle track, and then back down to Silverknowes and Drylaw.

Check out the ride section at: www.trycyclinginedinburgh.org.uk.

They offer free cycling trips on the last Sunday of every month.

The enticing ride described below is just one of the many free activities offered throughout the year.

Date and time:
Sunday 29 July, meet at 9.45am for 10am start. Three-hour leisurely cycle ride including coffee stop and rest breaks.

Starting point:
The Royal Commonwealth Pool, Dalkeith Road (front steps).

Route summary:
A nine-mile route from the city to Newhailes House, a National Trust for Scotland property near Musselburgh.

Details:
A gentle cycle on a completely car-free route from the Royal Commonwealth Pool through the Innocent Tunnel as it skirts Holyrood Park on the way out to Duddingston and Brunstane Burn.

Another useful website www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk summarises all the rides available around Edinburgh, helping you choose the best ride for you.

There’s some terrific websites to help you explore by bike or foot. For more on the Pentland Hills, see: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/phrp

The website cycling.visitscotland.com (leave out the www!) advises that cycling across the Forth Road Bridge on the cycle tracks is an unforgettable experience.

The excellent site also provides 148 routes in Scotland, including 11 in Edinburgh, providing useful ‘easy, varied, hilly, moderate and difficult’ ratings for all.

... cycling along the banks of the Union Canal, below, is a favourite with local enthusiasts. Click on the map thumbnail to see a larger version.

CYCLE OF LIFE FOR ANDREW Andrew Smith, pictured below at the Water of Leith, has cycled since he was a youngster, but did it even more often after he had a stroke eight years ago. His left side was paralysed and walking made his back and leg sore. Cycling was much more comfortable. “I’m fortunate that I live in the north of Edinburgh where there are a lot of cycle paths. “You see a lot more when you’re cycling rather than driving and you hear the birds singing,” he said.

Are you worried you won’t be able to handle the hills of Edinburgh? Then take the popular, leisurely ride along the Union Canal (see the map above).

As the website www.cyclinginfo.org explains its appeal: “It’s FLAT, starts in the centre of town (Tollcross) and goes all the way to Falkirk (although few people get past the beer garden at Ratho).”

If you’d like a day out of the city, how about taking your bike out to the country?

If you reserve ahead of time, you will have a guaranteed space to bring your bike on First ScotRail services for free.

So why not take the train out to North Berwick, then ride back to Edinburgh along the coast?

Or head to Bridge of Allan and cycle back to Stirling for some lovely scenery.

Call First ScotRail on 08457 55 00 33 to reserve a place for your bike.

There are many lovely cycling and walking paths in Edinburgh – but how do you know where to start?

For maps of the Braid Burn, Burdiehouse Burn, east Edinburgh, north Edinburgh, South Queensferry, the Union Canal and the Water of Leith, go online to: www.edinburghpaths.info or call 0800 23 23 23 to request that the map leaflets be mailed out to you.

On a damp and dark morning last November, Spokes, the Edinburgh cycling institution that began way back in 1977, did a rush-hour traffic count northbound on Lothian Road. They found that bicycles formed 13.9 per cent of all vehicles.

See www.spokes.org.uk for more information on cycling, including regular Sunday organised cycle rides.