There was a big head of haar rolling up the Forth as we caught our first glimpse of the bridge tops from Dunfermline.
Our route followed two of Edinburgh’s many fab signposted cycle paths, the NCN 75 and the 1.
The city is riddled with bike paths, linked together to take you out of the centre in any number of directions, or just around it, as we were going today. I’ll be honest, we started by getting lost. Urban cycling obviously gives you much more opportunity to do this, and before we knew it we were panicking on Princes Street.
Mike’s partner, Suchi, was a little disgruntled that we’d climbed stiffly to get there but it made for a fun descent down the cobbles of Scotland Street.
Mike soon had us back on track and we cruised along to Stockbridge and the Sunday market. Normally I feel blessed to find a tea room at any point on a ride, but at no point in the whole afternoon were we more than 500 metres from refreshments, although I don’t think Mike had counted on as many stops as I made. Crepes. Brownies. Another cake. Ice cream. It seemed I’d take on more calories than I’d burn.
The Water of Leith path was gorgeous, through Dean Village, the impossibly picturesque area that once stood apart from the city. Now it’s within the urban sprawl, but it feels almost Bavarian. The path rambled on by the river, on out to Murrayfield. We had intended to go further, but time was rolling on. Back the way we came, we had a little trouble finding Route 1, but after a short, sharp push up some steps we soon joined our highway to the harbour.
Smooth, straight and lined by grand old trees, it was an absolute motorway back towards Leith. Dozens of cyclists headed back and forth in either direction. Some guys were having a barbecue on the floor outside their block of flats, and just the passing whiff of it had me hungry again.
It must have been only an hour since we last ate, but we were only a few turns away from the quayside.
A pit-stop for more grub at the Shore area seemed like the perfect way to wrap it up, though I’d spent so much on food that I hadn’t anything left to give Mike for petrol.
Never mind, we would be back out on the roads soon and I was sure we would have a chance to settle up before long.
Location: Edinburgh
Distance: 23 km
Ascent: 230 m
Maps: OS Explorer 350 & Landranger 66. It is well signposted, but if you need a map the Explorer is the better choice for the dense urban route-finding.
Parking: There’s a multi-storey at Ocean Terminal, or limited on-street parking down near the docks.
Top tip: Midweek means quieter paths, worth bearing in mind as Cycle Route 75 is quite tight in places, but Sunday does mean the Stockbridge Market is on, with all the food you could want.
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