In between spells of snow and ice this December, we found ourselves with the rare prospect of usable day for a cycle. The question was where to go.
On the evening before, as we were driving in stop-start traffic just south of Gilmerton, we caught sight of a line of new street lights heading out to our left. That could only mean that the new cycle path to Shawfair had been completed. So we decided that would be the focus of our ride the next day – to search it out and ride along it.
We set out on quite a mild morning, meaning one or two less layers were required than recently. There wasn’t much in the way of wind either, but the sky was dark and dreary. I suppose you can’t have everythying this time of year.
We headed out of the village via Borthwick, as the A7 north was a no-go, due to the thick layer of mud deposited by NWH lorries leaving the Middleton quarry. From Borthwick, we headed to Gorebridge, and as we neared the houses, we found ourselves being chased by a Doberman. As always in these circumstances, I stopped and got off the bike to show I was a human. Weirdly, the guard dog didn’t bark but just stood its ground in the middle of the road and looked on menacingly. After a respectful wait, we then remounted and rode off very slowly so that it didn’t continue the chase and we escaped unmauled. Phew!
From Gorebridge, we rode on to Bonnyrigg and went straight through the town, towards Lasswade. After Lasswade bridge, we turned left onto the Church Road short cut. That involves a steep climb to the graveyard, which slowed us down a lot. Need more climbing practice!
After the shortcut, it was back into the traffic as far as Loanhead, where we cut through the car park and onto the cycle path at last. It was a relief to get away from the traffic, which was a lot busier than we usually encounter on our rides, but then again, we normally choose our routes to minimise traffic. Today’s ride was all about getting ourselves onto this particular cycle path, which now runs from Roslin, along the disused railway line, through Loanhead and onwards to Shawfair.
We pottered along, slowing for the occasional dog walker, passing under the city bypass till we reached the bridge over Lasswade road, where the path ended before. Now, a black carpet of brand new tarmac stretched before us. It can only have been open for a matter of days, so we felt priveliged to be one of the first to ride along it.
A few years ago, we did try cycling along the same route, through the gravel and undergrowth that was there previously. We got as far as the bridge where the A772 passes above, but had to turn around, as the underneath of the bridge was blocked with cut down trees. No such problem this time – we just sailed through. The path was very slightly downhill, so even without trying, we picked up a decent speed. What we didn’t realise was that there was already a Strava segment for this path, and that we had just become King and Queen of the mountain for our efforts!
At the end of the path, we found ourselves in Shawfair, which is like a new town under construction. The question was where to go from here. After checking the signs, we decided to head to Millerhill, which allowed us to use a roadside cycle path for part of the way. From there, we headed to Musselburgh, where we got ourselves onto cycle route 1, which we followed as far as Whitecraig.
At this point, Colette asked whether we were going to pass a coffee stop. The closest place I could think of was the Restoration Yard in Dalkeith Country Park, so we headed there, via the back entrance to the park.
We spotted a lucky white unicorn as we stopped at the Restoration Yard
After a cuppa and a slice of cake, I was ready for part two, presenting Colette with two choices of ways to go back home. However, she was feeling tired, so we just went for the most direct route instead – i.e. through Newtongrange and back home along the A7.
I was a little concerned how far back Colette was slipping as we made our way back up the main road. It wasn’t till we got home that we realized that her rear wheel had a puncture, courtesy of a tiny fragment of glass.
After uploading and checking our Strava, we were tickled to discover that we were king and queen of the mountain for the new stretch of cycle path. Our reign only lasted a day or so of course, before more people arrived to check out the new path.