Pedal for Scotland 2008

14^th September 2008

This year was the 10^th anniversary of the Pedal for Scotland event – an annual leisure bike ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It started in 1999 with just 400 riders. Last year there were over 4000 and this year around 5500 participants. This year a group from work had agreed to sign up as a team back in January as part of the early bird deal – since we were booking so far ahead inevitably some people’s plans changed as the day grew nearer and we had to find a couple of late substitutes. In the end we had 9 people doing the ride on the day - myself, Colin, Russell, Bill, Ray, Bruce, Pete and Fiona with a guest appearance from event veteran Graeme. Sandy unfortunately had to pull out late on due to having to go to Germany on business, but he plans to complete the ride on his return. (Being Sandy he plans to ride from Dunfermline to Glasgow to Edinburgh and then back to Dunfermline – a mere 115 miles. I guess that’s penance for missing the day itself.) Pedal for Scotland’s partner charity is Leukaemia Research – and thanks to donations from a number of people which were matched by Agilent Technologies, we raised about 3000 pounds.

Last year the weather was just horrible – as can be seen here. This year the omens were a bit ominous as the day before was distinctly murky and damp – and the forecast for the Sunday was for sunshine and showers – which in Scottish weather forecasting parlance means “we dinnae have a clue, but it’ll likely chuck it doon”. As it happened the day dawned without a cloud in the sky, although it was a slightly chilly 8.5 degrees C as I left the house a little before 6.30 a.m. and headed for Colin’s house before heading down to Victoria Park together to catch the bus to Glasgow.

Colin and I were first to arrive at Victoria park, so we joined the line to load our bikes onto a truck – at which point Russell arrived, followed shortly thereafter by Pete, who had “borrowed” his wife’s bike and Fiona and Graeme. Bill and Ray appeared a little while later, which meant we were left just waiting for Bruce. He duly appeared after a few minutes – apparently having taken a wrong turning on the way – but we suspect he’d actually gone to buy some extra fruit pastilles, about which more later. This year the promised bubble wrap was supplied so I took advantage and put some around my bike – last year I got a bit of a scrape on my bike frame – although I’ve now got so many scratches and scrapes a couple more probably wouldn’t matter. The loading process went pretty smoothly and buses were turning up, filling up and setting off at regular intervals – a lot better organized than last year.

1 Ray with Nuclear Furnace Installed - judging by the way he's glowing

2 Russell, Fiona and Graeme In Line to Load Bikes onto Trucks

3 Waiting for a Bus - at 7 a.m on a Sunday Morning – as one does.

The trip through to Glasgow was uneventful – at least for us – although we later heard a horror story of one group whose bus and truck drivers somehow got lost en route and ended up not starting until three and a half hours after setting off from Edinburgh. Fortunately it only took us just over an hour to get there and our bikes all made it too!

4 Bill, Ray and Bruce on the Way to Glasgow

5 We Haven't Even Got to the Start Yet and Pete is Already Bushed

6 The Route – Very Similar to Last Year

This year’s route was very similar to last year – in fact it was identical as far as Linlithgow where instead of directing us down to the school for “lunch” we instead stopped in the park around Linlithgow Palace and Loch. The other variation was around Queensferry where last year’s muddy field on the Hopetoun Estate was bypassed with a significantly longer detour! Hawes Brae was also avoided – the route instead taking us up to the cycle path behind Agilent Technologies before turning right at Dalmeny along Standing Stane Road.

7 The Vertical Profile

The profile also looks remarkably similar with the highest point coming a little before Avonbridge. It’s even the same height as last year, so at least the hills haven’t got any bigger.

8 Unloading at Glasgow Green

On arrival in Glasgow we waited for the trucks to be unloaded which didn’t take long. We then did a bit of faffing about finding toilets and making sure numbers were attached in the right places and generally doing whatever it is one does to get ready to set off.

9 Faffing About

Eventually we were ready to roll. The first challenge was finding our way to the start – we covered nearly three quarters of a mile just getting to the queue of riders being sent off at intervals. I guess we didn’t take the most direct route! There were loads of people on all sorts of bikes. The first person off this year wearing Number 1 was Mark Beaumont – the guy who recently completed a world record breaking cycle around the world in just 195 days. He cycled 100 miles every day – having just 8 days off in that time, some of which were spent transferring between continents! It’s hard to imagine getting up every day after sleeping rough, getting on your bike and doing 100 miles. Doing 50 miles once with plenty of stops along the way is enough for most of us!

10 Ready to Roll – Bruce, Pete, Colin, Fiona, Eric, Bill, Ray, Russell and the Invisible Sandy

The route out of Glasgow was excellently marshaled with the help of the local constabulary. They held up the traffic to let a continual stream of riders safely navigate the initial junctions. The early pace was fairly slow as we made our way towards Drumpellier Country Park, due mainly to the sheer number of people. At one point we were passed by an ambulance – one of four we heard or saw during the day. As we turned onto one particular road the marshall on the corner warned us about the speed bumps – with good reason - and it appeared that at the bottom of a hill a little further on a couple of girls had hit one and come a cropper and fallen off. As we passed they were being picked up and appeared to be not too much the worse for wear. This was followed by the first steep albeit relatively short uphill – which inevitably lead to some people walking up and a bit of congestion as others weaved around them in an attempt to keep going. The biggest danger throughout the ride was from cyclists in front changing position without checking if there was someone behind first – it was necessary to keep one’s wits about one throughout. From there it was a straightforward run to the first rest and refreshment stop at Drumpellier Park at a little over 8 miles.

11 Fiona Tucks into a Banana at Drumpellier

Bill’s bladder was giving out at this point, so we stopped to admire the view while he joined the queue for the toilets. We sent Pete to suss out what food was available and he returned with a selection of Smartie Bars and Bananas. This may be the only cycle ride in the world where it is possible to end up weighing more at the finish than at the start! There are plenty of stops along the way and way too many goodies to be had!

12 Scenic View at Drumpellier – But Where Did The Fisherman Go?

There were a lot of people taking a break at this point – it was a beautiful day and beginning to warm up, so those of us that were wearing them took our jackets off for the next and longest stage to Avonbridge. The only problem was recognizing each other when we were on the move again J.

13 The No Entry Sign Says “Except for Official Business”

From Drumpellier we headed for Coatbridge and then Airdrie. The roads at this point were fairly busy – any car drivers caught up in the event must have been cursing – although there were no particular problems. One benefit of there being a lot of cyclists is safety in numbers. As we were going through Coatbridge Bruce suddenly took off as if someone had strapped a jet engine to his bike. We did eventually catch up with him again. This turned out to be a bit of a pattern for the rest of the day. At first we thought it was perhaps a bit of youthful exuberance but we later discovered that he had a secret supply of high energy fruit pastilles – as soon as he popped one he got a burst of high octane fuel that caused his legs to do twenty to the dozen in high gear. We are checking whether or not they are already on the Olympic Association banned substance list – more to the point the rest of us want to know where to get some!

14 Bruce After One of those Pastilles

From Airdrie the route followed the NCN 75 path to Caldercruix. We paused just before it to regroup – Fiona was having a bit of trouble with her saddle – she’d put her bike in for a service before the event and they’d kindly greased the seatpost, such that it kept slipping down, so she kept having to stop and adjust it. Graeme eventually applied some masculine force to the tightening bolt which helped a bit but didn’t completely solve the problem.

15 Just Before the Path to Caldercruix – Is Ray Wringing his Shirt Out?

16 Fiona and Graeme Approaching the Path to Caldercruix

17 Eric Reckons it's Hard Going! Russell and Colin Express Little Sympathy.

18 But He Recovers Enough to Chat with Fiona

The path was a bit narrow – not really room for more than 2 abreast – and again a little haphazard with people switching from one side to the other without warning. At least this year the gates were open, so there were no great holdups along the way. As we emerged into Caldercruix it was interesting to see the changes from last year – the burnt out pub from last year had been cleared and there was a nice shiny new pub on the opposite side of the road – although it did have roll down shutters protecting it. The entertainment was provided by a guy appearing from a side street waving a can of Tennents and yelling “there’s ****ing thoosands o’ them”. This was at a little after ten in the morning. From here we joined the B825 and started the longest climb of the day – up to the top of the hill above Avonbridge. I went on ahead a bit and stopped to take photos of the others as they passed. This was my favourite part of the route – there was a bit more space and it was possible to get up a bit of speed for a few miles going up the hill. I even overtook Bruce! Unfortunately I missed him coming past as I took photos – he must have been going too fast to register on the camera J.

19 Colin Sporting Colourful Glasses – He’s the One Behind

20 Bill, Ray, Pete and Russell Heading for Avonbridge

21 Ray and Russell

22 Fiona and Graeme

From here it was downhill all the way to Avonbridge – a nice easy descent that culminated in the Primary School field. We sent Pete off to find out what food was available here – this year there was home baking on offer as well as fruit. The Smartie Bars seemed to have disappeared – probably just as well really. We scoffed sandwiches and bananas and got ready to resume our steady trek towards Edinburgh.

23 Pausing at Avonbridge

24 Fiona Refuels With a Lion Bar at Avonbridge While Graeme Looks On Nonchalantly

We set off again – turning right at the church and heading up a series of short sharp climbs that had a few people walking up them – definitely worth it for the long descent down into Linlithgow and yet another refreshment stop beside the palace. We had to dismount and walk our bikes through this part. This time there was soup as well as pasta and sandwiches available. Bill could hardly contain himself and at the mention of soup headed straight for the marquee, reappearing a few minutes later with packs of sandwiches as well.

25 Bikes Abandoned in the Rush for Food

26 Bill Rushing Off For Soup - While Graeme Looks Menacing!

The view of the loch in the sunshine was very pleasant and there were a lot of cyclists relaxing on the grass. Needless to say Pete in his role as chief gourmand also checked out the eating facilities J.

27 Linlithgow Loch

It was almost a shame to leave Linlithgow – but there was still around 20 miles to cover, so we mounted up again and headed for Queensferry. There was a longish climb out of Linlithgow – not too steep but a reasonable amount of traffic on it before we eventually crossed the A904 and headed down toward the Hopetoun Estate – and the opportunity of yet more refreshments. Bill had promised himself coffee and cake at this point, but even he was too full to partake. Fiona in the meantime had received a phone call which meant that she and Graeme were going to have to divert via her house in South Queensferry – so much like in the Fellowship of the Ring we parted company – the rest of us carrying on our way. Actually, we didn’t really part company for a couple of miles, but don’t let a few facts spoil a good story! The diversion around the Hopetoun Estate was a bit cruel – a steep hill immediately after the rest stop, followed by going in completely the opposite direction to the one desired before descending back down into the estate and along the waterfront into South Queensferry. As we followed the route, we passed Fraser cheering on his dad, Russell.

28 Fraser Cheering on Russell

At this point Bruce popped another pastille and took off again – this time I decided to chase him – fool that I am – and we went through Queensferry at a fair rate of knots, passing our place of work and joining up with a path I know well from cycling to and from work. The gate at the end was even open. A right turn at Dalmeny avoided the cart track that is the excuse for the main road into Dalmeny and more to the point the overly narrow cycle path beside the A90 – I genuinely think it would be impossible to get a few hundred cyclists up that route let alone the few thousand that were travelling today. The road along past the army base has been repaired since last year, which was a pleasant surprise as I haven’t travelled that route this year – what a difference a bit of smooth tarmac makes. (Am I ranting? For anyone that cares the road through Dalmeny towards the A90 is absolutely appalling – and the attempts at patching it are laughable. This is part of the National Cycle Network No 1 route – and it is just dreadful on a bike.) It was noticeable that much of the pedaling crowd were getting rather weary by this point – the average pace had slowed considerably. The weather had also started to cloud over at this point and it got distinctly cooler – it even seemed like it might rain – something of a reverse of last year – but fortunately it held off.

From here we joined up with the cycle route into Edinburgh at the top of the Cramond Brig – the marshalling and signing at this point broke down a bit – with some people accidentally getting onto the dual carriageway. The most exciting thing at this point was Ray (deliberately) taking the dual carriageway route and then turning left onto the cycle route just as I emerged from the “correct” path. Fortunately a high speed collision was narrowly avoided. From here we made the last climbs of the day up Barnton Avenue West, dropping down between the Barnton and Bruntsfield Golf Courses (which both started life on Bruntsfield Links) and then up Barnton Avenue East – navigating around the appalling potholes on the way (Edinburgh council take note,) then onto the cycle path and downhill all the way to Victoria Park and the finish, where we were met by people handing out medals and goody bags – which this year contained a cycle computer!

29 Colin Making off With the Goodies While Ray takes his Shirt off again!

30 Russell and Eric Wonder Just Why Ray Keeps Taking his Shirt off

Apparently Grant Stott of Radio Forth and the annual King’s Theatre Pantomime had done part of the route from Hopetoun Estate and then awarded the David Carmichael Quaich to Scott Donaldson, who was diagnosed with Leukaemia five years ago and won’t know until February next year whether he is clear of the disease. Grant apparently said that he intends to do the whole thing next year. (Actually, that might be something of a mis-quote according to a source close to Grant.)

31 Well that was a good laugh

Bill got someone to take a photo of all of us at the finish – minus Fiona and Graeme who it turned out had solved the minor emergency and were now on route – but unfortunately we left just a few minutes before they arrived. A minor blemish on an otherwise excellent day.

32 We Made It!

33 And so did Graeme...(is that a smile?)

34 ... And Fiona

The Vital Statistics

Total Distance – 54 miles (from leaving the truck).

Total ascent – 2650 feet approx

Total descent – 2750 feet approx (so it really is downhill from Glasgow to Edinburgh!)

Total Cycling Time – 4 hours 40 minutes

Total trip time – 6 hours 15 minutes

Average speed moving – 11.6 mph

Average speed overall – 8.6 mph

Max speed – approx 31 mph

This year I learned my lesson from last year and cycled home with Colin through the town instead of going back up the path – which also turned out to be considerably shorter.

Unfortunately normal service was resumed on the weather the next two days – rain, rain and yet more rain – but at least it stayed nice when it mattered.

For anyone interested in doing the event in the future, see the official site – www.pedalforscotland.org

As a postscript - since this account was written the Dalmeny road has been completely resurfaced as has Barnton Avenue (East and West). They are now some of the smoothest cycling roads in the area!

Thanks to Bill, Russell and Fiona for additional photos

The following are photos of me taken by the official event photographers what I paid for. They are copyright Marathon Photos.