Snowy Ochils

At the beginning of the week I wasn't sure if the Spokes Ride would go ahead. However during the week Edinburgh missed the worst of the weather, and on Saturday there was a considerable melt of ice and snow.

So 6 souls turned up for a very cold bike ride to Linlithgow. It was quite hard cycling out of Edinburgh. We head out of Edinburgh along mainly off road cycle route to Cramond Brig. We seem to have the wind in our face most of the time, especially along Carlowrie Road. There was a little respite cycling in to Kirkliston, but at this time of year there's not much vegetation to slow the wind down. The road from Winchburgh through Faucheldean was quieter, and a little easier, but then again, it is up hill.

Above Faucheldean I stopped to take a few pictures. The Pentlands were very dark and the snow didn't really stand out. The Ochils on the northern side of the Forth were quite dramatic in the sunshine. From here, there was a fairly flat road before the final rollercoaster road to Linlithgow.

Lunch was a nice affair. We were pleased to get warmed up, and probably spent a bit too much time there. But it is winter.

After lunch, we took a fairly flat route back to Edinburgh. With the wind at our back, it didn't feel that cold, then I realised that the temperature had, for a short while, had reached 2 deg C. So it was quite pleasant cycling through Philpstoun and the nicely named Bullyeon Road, which runs alongside Swine Burn.

It didn't take long to reach Kirkliston, and so we headed down the old A9 to the Airport, then north to reach Carlowrie Rd. From there it doesn't take long to get back to Cramond Brig and the cycle network back in to Edinburgh. All in, just over 61km. The route is here: Spokes Ride to Linlithgow