Sunday 11 November 2012

Marvellous Midlothian - the Dalkeith-Penicuik cycle route

WeansonWheels is thinking the geese (some of which we saw overhead today) are onto a good thing with their autumnal migration to the balmy south.  Midlothian was as far as we got, but it offered up another highly enjoyable route for family cycling with an almost entirely off-road cycle path between Dalkeith and Penicuik.  This follows the old railway, and gave us a ride of around 20 miles overall (out and back).

Starting from the centre of Dalkeith, head west along the High St, past a church and then the War Memorial, take a right hand turn into a lane and basically just follow the blue cycle route signs to Penicuik.  [Get hold of a Spokes Midlothian map for full details of junctions etc.]  This takes you down to Hardengreen (big Tesco's visible), round behind Bonnyrigg, then off to skirt past Rosewell.  Cross the main road with care as cars are fast (though not too frequent on a Sunday at least), and pick up the cycle route again just by the car park.  This proved a handy place for a family puncture-repair lesson as Child 1's rear tyre had gone flat.  Nice views to the Pentlands, walls to lean bikes against, and some random steps to occupy Child 2.

Head on westwards and you then approach Roslin with views to the Chapel and the country park.  The route so far has a gentle upwards incline and a good surface (watch out for horse droppings though!).  From around here there is a welcome descent (though rougher surface; still fine for novices and tag-alongs etc) for quite a way down.  The path then follows the river and rises up again to come out at houses on the south west side of Penicuik.  We nipped up to the High St and found a welcome snack in the Peni Deli cafe just round the corner on the right.  9 miles out; we returned the same way to Dalkeith (views to the sea) but interested to hear if anyone makes a nice circuit based on this path (ideally <30 miles and not too hilly).

A lovely sunny morning and nice autumn colours along the way; it's a pleasant mix of trees and views to the hills.  Not the warmest of days but the kids were fine with thermals, decent socks and decent gloves - seems that if extremities are looked after, the rest looks after itself.  Mudguards come in handy at this time of year - worth investing in!  Child 2 on the tag-along still got a bit splattered (well-used to it now, luckily), given some puddles from the rain yesterday.  If anyone knows of a decent crud-catcher for tag-alongs, please write in!

Any more Midlothian suggestions for family groups?

Two quick websites to pass on:

(a)  www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk looks like a good source of ideas [haven't had time to look through all the rides there]

(b) http://www.cyclescottishborders.com/borderloop4/ might be of interest to those up for longer rides - please send in any reviews.

Happy autumn cycling!

Saturday 22 September 2012

Not Just for Summer Holidays! Developing Skills and an Autumn trip on the Pencaitland Railway Path

Autumn is a great season to keep up cycling momentum developed over the summer, perhaps whilst doing the odd bit of cycling on holiday or just around and about home while the kids were off school.  It's also a great time to get into new routines as everyone settles back into term-time, and perhaps are able to discover how much time can be saved each day through using bikes - going from A to B to C to D without having to worry about parking, and covering the distance twice as fast as walking.

Kids soon warm up pedalling and often a bike ride at the weekend can be just as if not even more enjoyable than a walk as the days get colder - just make sure everyone has warm gloves and socks and away you go.

It's always nice to cycle on off-road cycle paths, but at some point kids need to learn road-sense too.  Obviously this should start on the cycle paths, teaching young cyclists about lane discipline, speed control etc and consideration for their own and other people's safety.  This means being aware of other cyclists on the path, whether coming from behind and wishing to overtake, or from the opposite direction.  Cycling on the left on cycle paths as a general rule can help avoid tangles and worse - as can using bells when wanting to go past other path users (adult cyclists too: it's amazing how many adult cyclists try and squeeze past children who may well not be aware of them, or undertake fast on the left-hand side).  Teaching your children the basics in a quiet environment - can give them a good start for cycling on roads and in traffic.  One particularl useful cycling skill is being able to look over their right shoulder and checking what's behind before moving out to go round pedestrians or an obstacle.  It's also well worth helping your kids to be aware of the different surfaces they're cycling on and to look out for hazards such as glass, potholes and loose gravel that may cause skidding (not to mention the inevitable dog mess in some areas).

Weans on Wheels took the chance offered by the Edinburgh September holiday last week to re-visit routes in Mid- and East-Lothian, starting from Dalkeith (just by the entrance to the Country Park) and heading out along the off-road Pencaitland Railway Path to West Saltoun, then back the same way but with a loop across to Whitecraig (via the Sustrans NCN route 1 section), then back through Dalkeith Country Path stopping for lunch in the tea room there.  Around 20 miles all in, but generally flat, and we were sheltered from the blustery wind by the trees along the old railway line.  Lovely views out over East Lothian to the Bass Rock and North Berwick Law, as well as combine harvesters and the enormous Pencaitland grain silos closer by.  The path also has quite a few boards along the way explaining the mining history of the area, as well as lots of brambles for foraging and snacking on!  A nice outing for a morning or an afternoon, with lots of scope for extension or shortening depending on needs and wants.  The Spokes East Lothian map shows everything clearly, though you can also find it on the Ordnance Survey map.  [More info on the Routes page too.]  There are various points at which you can join or leave the railway path as part of other loops using the local roads.

Any route suggestions to share would be very welcome - pleas send them in!

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Everyday Holiday Cycling - Kids in the Cairngoms

Weans on Wheels Summer Holiday Special!
[OK, end of the summer holidays for those back to school this week...]

A quick diversion for this blog, to the delights of the holiday sort of everyday cycling.  Our roving reporter has been up in the Cairngorms with assorted weans on assorted wheels.  It's amazing how the kids can go when they're motivated.  These are just normal kids, new P2s and a P4, and an under 3 who has been covering miles on her balance bike while the older ones run about on foot.  Not particularly sporty and no special training, but have just been using their bikes to get around since they were able to sit on one and scoot about. 

So was it the everyday local cycling that got them so keen to whizz around the glens and woods up here, or the holiday whizzing that kept them keen to have a bit of holiday all year round by going around on bikes for school and other stuff?  [Quite literally all year round given the mild 2011-12 winter, with a 9 mile cycle acoss Edinburgh and back on 27 December.]

It really makes it a holiday when it's possible to get around on two wheels as the norm for a day out (or three if you count the tag-along).  Favourite routes up here include:
- The Boat of Garten - Aviemore off-road cycle path (Sustrans NCN 7); 6 miles of lovely views and a handy way to pick up life's essentials or start / end a day in Glenmore or Rothiemurchus, given the excellent network of paths from Inverdruie.  Unsurfaced so a bit rough in places but nothing tricky and fine for normal bikes.  Pretty flat too given that it follows the railway line, with periodic sightings of the steam train.  [The nice people who run the Strathspey Steam train will let you put bikes in the guard's van too, for those needing a rest or wanting to avoid thunderstorms!]
- Boat of Garten to Loch Garten, cutting through the woods from the junction at the main road, for blaeberry picking and a nice walk along the Osprey loch and through the woods (5 mile round trip not counting the walk)
- Boat of Garten past Loch Garten and up through the quiet roads to Forest Lodge, then off-road along the track over the Ryvoan Pass and down to Glenmore, then on to Coylumbridge, Inverdruie, Aviemore and back along NCN 7 to Boat of Garten.  Not for the faint-hearted at 27 miles, but an amazing ride.  The P4 did it with encouragement and strategically-timed Haribos, and the P2 sailed along on the tag-along.  You might want to push bikes up some of the steeper rougher sections but only to avoid skids; it's not particularly difficult.  The track down Glenmore is lovely, esp with the blaeberry bushes dripping fruit in late summer.
- Loch Morlich, across to Rothiemurchus via the Cairngorm Footbridge and back round from Inverdruie up the Glenmore bike path (or start at Inverdruie if you don't fancy a climb at the end).  Not sure on distance - 12 miles?

A good end to the summer holidays, and a good start to the new school year with cycling legs ready to go!

Thursday 9 August 2012

Good Routes - to try and to share

Have you discovered any good family-friendly routes this summer?  If you have any you'd recommend to others, please get in touchand we'll get them added to the Routes to Try section of this blog.  Contact: familycycling@spokes.org.uk, or @WeansOnWheels.

[And if anyone could help with online mapping skills that would also be great, to get the routes marked up as maps rather than just descriptions.]

For those not already familiar with the Sustrans website, there is a collection of "Pocket-sized family rides in the UK".
www.sustrans.org.uk/freerangekids/families/cycling-with-kids/where-to-cycle/pocket-sized-family-rides

Worth looking at (especially if you're on holiday elsewhere in the UK), with two so far in Scotland, below (with printable pdf pages too).

1. Dalkeith - Musselburgh Esk Valley route - mainly a shared-use path for walkers and cyclists, with some short on-road sections
www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/free%20range%20kids/families/map%20activity%20sheets/frk_esk_web_6.pdf

2. Union Canal - Linlithgow - Falkirk - flat tow path
www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/free%20range%20kids/families/map%20activity%20sheets/frk_union_canal_scot_final.pdf

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Edinburgh Skyride - Saturday 8 September - Cycling for Fun!

Edinburgh is holding a SkyRide event on Saturday 8 September - join hundreds if not thousands of others for some family-friendly cycling.
 
Open to all.  Everyday bikes and everyday clothing welcome!  (You can hire a bike if you don’t have one.)
 
Final details of the roads to be cleared of cars will be revealed on the SkyRide website (below) but in total are expected to be over 8km in length, centred around Holyrood Park.  The roads will be free of motor traffic from 10-4, and people of any age can come along and try cycling in a traffic free environment throughout that period.  You can come and you can leave at any time and at any of the official locations – or anywhere you like on the route!  Prizes too!

There will be entertainment and stalls at the start/end of the route (near the Parliament) and at key locations along the route.  Stalls will include bike-related, e.g. Dr Bike, bike shops, hopefully a Spokes stall, etc; but there will also be plenty more general entertainment.

See http://www.goskyride.com/EdinburghSkyRide for more info, and to register your interest.   See also www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2012/07/edinburgh-skyride-8-september/ for updates.

Sunday 22 July 2012

Summer Competition - Favourite Places by Bike

Every year Spokes (the Lothian Cycle Campaign) runs a summer competition, open to everyone interested in cycling (all ages).

This year’s one has the theme "My Favourite Place by Bike" - which ties in nicely with WeansOnWheels' aim to put together a collection of nice rides for families and others to do (see the 'Routes' page).


Spokes wants to know where you love to go, or be at, or pass through, with your bike.   It must be somewhere or something you can do, visit or experience in Edinburgh or the Lothians.  It could be a downhill swoop, a picnic spot, somewhere with a lovely smell, a cafe, something unusual, maybe something more abstract, or doubtless loads of other things.

Great prizes! - including a ScotRail 1st-class return for 2 between any 2 Scottish stations;  and prizes from Edinburgh Bicycle,  Kalpna Indian Vegetarian Restaurant, Camera Obscura & World of Illusions, Scottish Seabird Centre, Sustrans, Peter’s Yard, Velo Ecosse, Reiss Hairsalon and [to be confirmed] the Bridge Inn at Ratho.  

The competition closes on 9 September so you’ve plenty time to work up a really excellent entry and win a top prize.    Details of how to enter and where to send entries are on the Spokes website.

Children Are the Future of Cycling

Some summer reading!

1 - an article that appeared in the Guardian article on "Reclaiming the Streets for Kids": two Bristol mothers decided it was time to banish traffic from their road and replace it with scooters, skateboards, hopscotch and bikes. 



..... Let us know if you get something similar going in your area.....


2- "Children are the Future of Cycling"  article by John Pucher (eminent cycling researcher) on the European Cycling Federation website, see

Now on Twitter

You can now follow this blog on Twitter - @WeansOnWheels.

Monday 25 June 2012

Sunday 1 July - Cycling Treasure Event

Postcode Challenge Event on the North Edinburgh Cycle Paths
 
Sunday July 1, 2012 from 11am to 4pm
 
Take part in a free and fun Cycling Treasure Hunt, run by the Edinburgh Bike Station! 

Explore the "Inner Tube" network (the North Edinburgh cycle paths, running between Roseburn and Leith) by bike or on foot, collect stamps and have the opportunity to win prizes.

This is an exciting cycling and walking treasure hunt open all ages and abilities, just come along, join in and get exploring! 

- Explore the innertube network to find all ten stands at the ten different postcode locations. 

- Collect your Postcode stamp at each stand hand in your completed Challenge Card at Fiveways Junction before 4pm see if you're a prize-draw winner.  The challenge is for bikers to get to all ten stalls and for walkers to get to five stalls.  These stalls will be positioned in secret locations along the North Inner tube cycle path network.

- You can start the hunt from any location along the North cycle paths.  Just explore the paths to find your first stall, they will give you a Challenge Card with your first postcode stamp and from there the hunt begins!

More info: http://innertubemap.com/blog/post/451

Tuesday 19 June 2012

New Factsheet for Parents - now available!

The brand new Spokes factsheet for parents, "How to Get Your Child Cycling", is now available!  

A significant proportion of parents who participated in the Spokes Weans on Wheels project last year asked about support with getting their children cycling independently, for transport ultimately as well as for fun.  The new factsheet focuses on the practical aspects of everyday cycling with children old enough to cycle on their own bikes, and aims to encourage more families to think about everyday cycling.  

It's available in electronic and printed versions:

(a) - From Spokes stalls at summer events (e.g., the Bike Breakfast on Wed 20 June, and every month at the Edinburgh Farmers' Market (Saturdays at Castle Terrace)

(b) - Direct from Spokes: email familycyclingATspokes.org.uk, or send an SAE to Spokes, c/o St Martins Church, 232 Dalry Rd, Edinburgh EH11 2JG.

(c) - Download it from the Spokes website [prints as 4 A4 pages] - see http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2012/06/factsheet-how-to-get-your-child-cycling/#more-4076

Feedback and suggestions for further topics to cover would be very welcome - email familycyclingATspokes.org.uk.

If you have good ideas for using the factsheet - e.g., with a youth group keen to get children cycling, or through a school - please do contact us.

Monday 18 June 2012

It's Bike Week 2012 - Happy Pedalling from Weans on Wheels!

Lots of events on, inckuding the annual SPOKES BIKE BREAKFAST at the City Chambers next Wednesday, 20 June, 8-10am.
- Free Spokes maps for the first 20 arrivals, 

- free breakfast on your way to work / school, 
- bike chain cleaning by Edinburgh Bicycle, police bike security coding, 
- plus a big range of stalls. 
New Transport Convener Cllr Lesley Hinds will speak briefly around 8.45 on what the new Council has planned for cycling, introduced by the new Council Leader, and transport convener 2001-6, Cllr Andrew Burns.

More info at:

There are Breakfast Bike Rides from various parts of the city to the Breakfast as well, and Edinburgh councillors will be joining several of them.   Check out the website to see if there is one from your area...  http://breakfastbikeride.org.uk .  For more info or to help organise a ride contact Mike: lionfishy[AT]gmail dot com.  07779527004.

ALSO on Wed 20th, from 11am-2pm there will be a cycling event at Festival Square, including a Spokes stall and a heavy goods vehicle you can sit in to see (or not see!) the blind spots experienced by HGV drivers. 

Saturday 14 April 2012

Spokes 2012 project - Cycling for Kids

The Spokes Weans on Wheels project in 2011 aimed to support parents in cycling for everyday journeys with children too young to cycle independently. Working with the Bike Station, this included parent training and bike try-outs at schools and elsewhere.

Spokes is currently (spring 2012) developing a new project to encourage everyday cycling for families with older children who might be able to cycle to school as well as for other local journeys. A significant proportion of parents who participated in the Spokes Weans on Wheels project last year asked about support with getting their children cycling independently, for transport ultimately as well as for fun.
 
The aim is to produce some information materials focusing on the practical aspects of everyday cycling with older children, with two separate audiences in mind: parents, and young people themselves.


The factsheet for parents should be available in May / June 2012 (in the meantime, see the 'How to Get Your Family Cycling' tab) and something aimed at young people later this year.

Involving young people is vital to ensure that the content and format both appeal!  Fortunately, a group of S-S pupils from the Firrhill High School Environment Group have been working with Spokes,  and have come up with a brilliant project name - the "Wheel Deal" - and some creative ideas for presenting the information.

Please do contact Spokes if you would like to get involved in the project in any way - for example developing materials, or getting them out to young people and/or parents and encouraging their use in other schools and youth groups.   
Email familycyclingATspokes.org.uk