Melrose to Edinburgh
Today was a “Best dressed non club kit” day, unfortunately we forgot to ask our photographer to make the selection. Secretly though I think we all agreed it should go to Heather although Mark made a good impression of “Stylo Italiano”. Despite the copious amounts of wine followed by Disaronno in the “snug” by reception, there were no signs of any after effects. The profile for today’s section looked a little daunting with the first 25 miles uphill but then it was “all downhill from there”. 🤔
Our first objective was to get to Innerleithen where we planned to have our lunch stop. Although it came early in the ride, there was no alternative until reaching Dalkeith towards the end of the ride. Setting off from Melrose we picked up the “Black Path” cycleway (which was an old railway line running from Tweedbank to Galashiels), before heading along Boleside road, a virtually traffic free road following the River Tweed. On meeting the main A7 road we continued on the cycle path by the road before it deviated onto one of the best cycle paths we’ve seen.
On returning to the road, our route continued to follow the River Tweed before crossing to the south side over the Ashiestiel bridge near Caddonlee. Our route then carried on along the south side of the Tweed before recrossing to the north side again at Walkerburn.
When we arrived at Innerleithen the town was festooned with garlands. Turns out we arrived during the UCI World mountain bike championships.
It was only around 18 miles from Melrose to Innerleithen so not too long since our cooked breakfast so coffee and cake was the popular choice especially the Anzak biscuits which we managed to consume the complete supply.
After returning to our route, we headed north following the Leithen Water on a gentle upward incline. The terrain became somewhat steeper when we reached the confluence with the Glentress Water. We were a little dismayed to see another cyclist heading downhill with a rain jacket on and a misty looking cloud in the valley ahead. There was no need to worry though, by the time we reached the top the sun had returned.
The first “peak” came after about 6 miles climbing with a gradient of around 2-3% then followed a lovely downhill run for the next 3 miles. The second “peak” came after a further 3 miles of climbing and another 3 miles descent. I don’t think we saw a single car along the whole road and the stunning scenery made it one of the most enjoyable segments.
After regrouping, we resumed our epic journey towards Middleton. The road surface deteriorated and at one point Iain unfortunately hit a pothole causing a puncture and almost throwing him out of the saddle. We only found out when he didn’t appear at the next junction. Matt valiantly decided to head back up the hill to check he was OK. When they eventually returned we set off towards Cockpen and Bonnyrigg.
The final leg of the journey consisted mostly of varying types of cyclepath as we wended our way through the housing estates of the outskirt towns of the city. By this time many of us were running out of water and feeling a little hungry. “Let’s stop at the first shop we come to” we suggested. Eventually we spotted a Sainsbury store in Dalkeith and a chance for a refreshment stop.
Suitably refreshed we carried onto various cycleways which skirted the river Esk from Whitecraig into Musselburgh before picking up the “Innocent Cycle Path” which ran through numerous parks and woodland areas before becoming the “Innocent Railway” running past Arthur’s Seat. Along the way, we encountered a long tunnel which as we approached provided a welcome cooling blast of air. Leaving the warmth of the afternoon heat, it felt like we’d gone into a large fridge. Of course “boys will be boys” and couldn’t resist a holler (WOO HOO!) to check the “acoustics” in the tunnel.
Eventually we emerged onto the busy Edinburgh City streets made even busier due to the ongoing Festival. It was an amazing feat to find ourselves so close to the city centre using mainly off road tracks and trails. Coming off the Mound onto Princes Street we had to dodge taxis, buses and trams to reach our pick up point and the end of an absolutely fabulous three days of cycling.
