samwell said:G'day,
I'm moving to Edinburgh from Melbourne, Australia in about 3 months. I was just wondering how cycling-friendly the city is. I have no idea at all about the place as I have never been there before. Some things I would like to know is:
* Are there any particular areas where people ride i.e. places where you can find a lot of cyclists on a weekend or weekday morning consistently??
* Is it relatively easy to commute to and from work if it was in/around the city??
* Does anyone know of any cycling clubs and/or recreational rides in the city??
Any other info you can pass on would be much appreciated. In the meantime I'll be buying as much cold-weather kit as I can find!!
Cheers,
Sam
Alright mate. Don't be scared off by the posts! Weather's not like Oz, but its not too bad - same rainfall as London and Paris. Much sunnier than London - we tend not to get the weeks of thin high grey clouds. 40 mins less dalight than London in mid winter, 40 mins more in the Summer, when there's more to do!
You are going to get cold though. (That's "cold" in whinging pom terms, not "cold" in, say, Icelandic - christ, we sometimes even get snow). At its coldest, you get a few days where its -5oC overnight and around freezing during the day. Anyone who tells you otherwise probably hasn't been anywhere truly cold and/or out of misguided patriotism tries to hide the fact that we live in a fairly bland, benign temperate climate, call hills mountains and farmland "wilderness".
Road manners - don't know what you are used to. I lived in N.America and UK drivers are generally more alert than there, but more agressive. However, if you are going to cycle anywhere in the UK, it should be as far away from the home counties (London area) as possible. Its comparative bliss up here - except that people habitually run red lights for some reason.
Only bad thing is the road surfaces. There's 3 local authorities around Edinburgh and none of them seem to have a budget for tarmac. You know when the road surface is going to be horrific when you pass a sign inviting you to report road defects.
If you are a roadie, you may need one of two things - a new saddle or a new bum.
Cycle commuting is good. The main routes have bus lanes that are pretty clear and there are lots of cycle paths to cut through.
Edin road club is okay, lots of members. they also do mtb. Not too many beginners and a "slower" ride might get testosteroned to about 35kph average. You might find one of the clubs just out of town a bit less "wannabe" (Musselburgh maybe?), but I don't know.
Just outside of the city (which is a small city) there are miles of good open roads - if you are okay on derestricted UK A-roads - you have to be to get to the lanes. We don't have too many long hills, its more rolling countryside. But you don't have to go that far to get variety.
There are also a plethora of mountain bike trails within 20 miles, a good few within biking distance (Pentlands, Moorfoot Hills).
