Any single-track round Edinburgh

I'll be up in Edinburgh for a stag-do in a few weeks time and was
toying with the idea of filling up some day time with hiring a
mountain bike from Biketrax. Not being too familiar with the area, I
was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack that we could
get to from the city centre (without car)?

I found this you-tube link on google http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eizxi_JPzJ0
but to be honest, it looks a little bit lame...

Many thanks,

Duncan

On Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:18:23 -0700, Duncan Smith wrote:

I'll be up in Edinburgh for a stag-do in a few weeks time and was
toying with the idea of filling up some day time with hiring a
mountain bike from Biketrax. Not being too familiar with the area, I
was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack that we could
get to from the city centre (without car)?

I found this you-tube link on google http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eizxi_JPzJ0
but to be honest, it looks a little bit lame...

It looks nice and fun but I know what you mean!

Have you tried websites like Bikely?
The tags are subjective - difficult for someone might be a walk in the
park for someone else - but you could look at the satellite photos of
routes to get a bit of an idea of what it is like.

peter

Duncan Smith wrote:
I'll be up in Edinburgh for a stag-do in a few weeks time and was
toying with the idea of filling up some day time with hiring a
mountain bike from Biketrax. Not being too familiar with the area, I
was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack that we could
get to from the city centre (without car)?

I found this you-tube link on google http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eizxi_JPzJ0
but to be honest, it looks a little bit lame...

There's a variety of trails in the Pentland Hills. To get there from
Biketrax, you can head out along the canal then the Water of Leith, and
up the hill at Bonaly (this should mostly by signed as NCN route 75).
Probably about 5 miles to get out of the city.

Official map of the Pentlands available here, which indicates what the
paths are like for cycling:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/phrp/biking/biking.html
There's quite a few more less obvious tracks that aren't shown on that
map, some of them are nice for cycling.

--
Craig Wallace
http://craig.neogeo.org.uk
http://www.neogeo.org.uk

On Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:18:23 -0700 (PDT) someone who may be Duncan
Smith wrote this:-

I'll be up in Edinburgh for a stag-do in a few weeks time and was
toying with the idea of filling up some day time with hiring a
mountain bike from Biketrax. Not being too familiar with the area, I
was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack that we could
get to from the city centre (without car)?

There are the occasional complaints about the Pentlands being cut up
by people on mountain bikes. There might be something suitable
there.

Alternatively if there are only one or two people then there are big
things on steel rails which will transport you further. No great
idea about suitable locations, it is not my thing. However, I am
told some people like cycling round the forests of the west of Fife
and Clackmannanshire, which can be reached on the train to Alloa,
change at Stirling.

The best I can suggest is asking on the Spokes forums
http://www.spokes.org.uk or perhaps CTC could point you in the
right direction
http://www.ctc.org.uk/events_guide/events_guide_frontend/local_groups/lg_area.aspx.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

On 22/06/2008 19:09, David Hansen said,

There are the occasional complaints about the Pentlands being cut up
by people on mountain bikes. There might be something suitable
there.

I can't comment on the Pentlands specifically, but from other places
I've been too it seems that mountain bikes cause the least amount of
damage (when ridden responsibly). Just look at the way popular
footpaths are eroded by walking poles, and green lanes churned up by
4x4s and motorbikes.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

"Paul Boyd" wrote in message
...
On 22/06/2008 19:09, David Hansen said,

There are the occasional complaints about the Pentlands being cut up
by people on mountain bikes. There might be something suitable
there.

I can't comment on the Pentlands specifically, but from other places I've
been too it seems that mountain bikes cause the least amount of damage
(when ridden responsibly). Just look at the way popular footpaths are
eroded by walking poles, and green lanes churned up by 4x4s and
motorbikes.

At the risk of sounding like Mike Vandeman, I reckon at least part of that
is nonsense. Judging by tyre tracks and the amount of mud which ends up
splattered around, bikes make more of a mess than feet.

Popular footpaths do suffer significant wear, but that's because they're
popular - the numbers involved are really rather large.

I've not noticed any special wear caused by walking poles, though the huge
numbers of crampon marks on ridges sometimes annoys me.

OTOH 4x4 and motorbikes are worse, and hooray for the national parks
authority round here and their policy on TROs etc. Those places have
definitely got rather better since the restrictions were put in place.

cheers,
clive

Duncan Smith wrote:
I was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack
that we could get to from the city centre (without car)?

Depends on what you can get to I would recomend the Pentlands (about 7
miles fron City Centre) there are a few tracks around and about the
hills, be carefull/aware of lambing season, there is a bit of a problem
with path erosion (not going to get into the whole; are walkers causing
it or is it bikes)what seems to have happened is a lot of
shale/rocks/gravel has been put down to give some sort of hard surface
to these trails/paths.
This :-

http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/soup950875531768.JPG

Gives some sort of idea of the terrain (on a "landrover" track;
military/shepherd?) this is actually part of a recognised trail in the
Pentlands.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/69qfb9 Some of it is trickier than the photo
suggests but there is nothing a novice couldn't handle.
--
'S rioghal mo dhream
www.cheesesoup.myby.co.uk

On Jun 23, 7:04*am, soup wrote:
Duncan Smith wrote:
*I was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack
that we could get to from the city centre (without car)?

* Depends on what you can get to I would recomend the Pentlands (about 7
miles fron City Centre) there are a few tracks around and about the
hills, be carefull/aware of lambing season, there is a bit of a problem
with path erosion (not going to get into the whole; are walkers causing
it or is it bikes)what seems to have happened is a lot of
shale/rocks/gravel has been put down to give some sort of hard surface
to these trails/paths.
* This :-

http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/soup950875531768.JPG

Gives some sort of idea of the terrain (on a "landrover" track;
military/shepherd?) this is actually part of a recognised trail in the
Pentlands.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/69qfb9*Some of it is trickier than the photo
suggests but there is nothing a novice couldn't handle.
--
'S rioghal mo dhreamwww.cheesesoup.myby.co.uk

Thanks all, sounds like the Pentlands is do-able!

Cheers,

Duncan

Clive George wrote:

"Paul Boyd" wrote in message
...
On 22/06/2008 19:09, David Hansen said,

There are the occasional complaints about the Pentlands being cut up
by people on mountain bikes. There might be something suitable
there.

I can't comment on the Pentlands specifically, but from other places I've
been too it seems that mountain bikes cause the least amount of damage
(when ridden responsibly). Just look at the way popular footpaths are
eroded by walking poles, and green lanes churned up by 4x4s and
motorbikes.

At the risk of sounding like Mike Vandeman, I reckon at least part of that
is nonsense. Judging by tyre tracks and the amount of mud which ends up
splattered around, bikes make more of a mess than feet.

certinaly when wet, MTB tires bite in as they are supposed to.

Popular footpaths do suffer significant wear, but that's because they're
popular - the numbers involved are really rather large.

I've not noticed any special wear caused by walking poles, though the huge
numbers of crampon marks on ridges sometimes annoys me.

OTOH 4x4 and motorbikes are worse, and hooray for the national parks
authority round here and their policy on TROs etc. Those places have
definitely got rather better since the restrictions were put in place.

most forms can be bad, depending on ground etc, horses can really churn
the ground up etc.

cheers,
clive

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

On 22 Jun, 18:18, Duncan Smith wrote:
I'll be up in Edinburgh for a stag-do in a few weeks time and was
toying with the idea of filling up some day time with hiring a
mountain bike from Biketrax. Not being too familiar with the area, I
was wondering if there were any decent rides/singletrack that we could
get to from the city centre (without car)?

I found this you-tube link on googlehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eizxi_JPzJ0
but to be honest, it looks a little bit lame...

Many thanks,

Duncan

Hi,

you might try glentress.

http://www.thehubintheforest.co.uk/

It is out beyond Peebles, so a little further from Edinburgh, but it
has has bike hire facilities on site. They have some pretty reasonable
trails, graded according to difficulty.

Graham