🚲 edi.bike | issue 55 | 26th Aug '24
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
Don’t miss 📚 20% off Cycling Books by Markus Stitz for edi.bike subscribers — below our weekly news section ⬇️
📰 News this Week
🩷 Vie Velo 'Two Bridges tour' exceeds funding goals
Thirteen pairs of tandem riders — where sighted riders act as a ‘pilot’ for a visually impaired partner — completed a 100km anticlockwise tour of the Forth Road Bridge and Kincardine Bridge, in aid of Vie Velo’s continuing work helping folks who often have little or no access to cycling due to visual impairment enjoy the benefits of being on bikes. They’ve passed their fundraising target, and the JustGiving page is still open for further congratulatory donations;
⛏️ Telfer Subway Will undergo temporary closures in September to facilitate ‘Roseburn to Union Canal’ works
The Telfer Subway underpass from Dalry to Fountainpark — along with the Fountainpark-adjacent bus stops on the West Approach Rd — is set to be closed overnight at the start and end of next month for works on the final approach of the ‘Roseburn to Union Canal (But Not Actually the Canal Yet)’ link. This work likely consists of the new Toucan crossing on the West Approach Rd, leading to a bridge that joins to the southern end of the Telfer Subway ramp to Dundee St, providing access to Dundee Street from the new off-road Roseburn link due to open in ‘Autumn 2024’ (which feels like it may have started…);
🧵 Countering Bad Takes on Floating Bus Stops
A firm thread this week from London Cycling Campaign’s Simon Munk, taking to task an assertion from EdinBUG — the Edinburgh Bus Users’ Group — that “Current Floating Bus Stop designs do not meet the needs of bus users and should not continue to be rolled out”, part of their letter to the next Transport & Environment Committee Convenor.
Of course, the evidence around Floating Bus Stops - produced by Transport for London down south - largely points to them being not only safe but a valuable strategic win when it comes to the vital implementation of protected cycleways. In personal experience of these as both a bus user and a bike user, on CCWEL and even the much maligned Leith Walk / Leith Street implementations, the general public are becoming increasingly accustomed and predictable in their observance of the space around these stops. I’m not currently disabled and any intervention in the public realm needs to have the safety of vulnerable or disabled users in mind, but I also believe there is guidance around sufficient affordances from research by TfL, Living Streets (the national organisation) and others that Floating Bus Stops - such as those featured in the detailed designs for the coming Meadows to George Street link - can be implemented and used safely.
Both EdinBUG and Edinburgh’s chapter of Living Streets would do well to look further afield than their own uni-modal and self-centric positions on this issue. There needs to be a united approach to better and safer public realm from active travel stakeholder groups, and we don’t get there with poor and ill-informed recommendations based on hearsay and scepticism.
♻️ Donate to the SHRUB Co-op crowdfunder and get rewards from The Wee Spoke Hub
SHRUB Co-op - home of fantastic community cycling resource The Wee Spoke Hub - are aiming to raise £50,000 in six weeks. Rewards for donating have recently been added by The Wee Spoke to the crowdfunder, ranging from Hub Workshop Tickets to Repair Vouchers and Servicing - see more details on their Facebook post.
Until the 31st of August any donation you make via our crowdfunding page will be doubled. For every donation up to £250 we will receive match-funding from the AVIVA Community Fund. This means your contribution will have double the impact!
Your donations will help secure the continuation of the Food Sharing Hub and all our other zero waste initiatives… Every donation will make an invaluable difference to our community and will contribute towards a sustainable future for the Food Sharing Hub. 🥖🥑🍄
You can find the crowdfunder here.
🏰 Local Bits
📺 Youtube channel Active Towns has a four-part video series touring Edinburgh’s cycle infrastructure with Emilia Hanna — Sustrans Scotland’s Head of Programme for the National Cycle Network — links below to the videos, released across the last fortnight or so:
One | Two | Three | Four | Bonus - Extended Colinton Tunnel Interview
🏠 Local charity Social Bite’s new campaign ‘100 mile challenge’ — walking, running, cycling or setting your own challenge — runs between September 1st and October 10th, looking to raise money to help break the cycle of homelessness. More details and sign up on their website;
🍏 A local campaign by Spokes members to encourage cycling, ‘Haddington Goes Dutch’, are sweetening the deal with free Dutch Apple Cake for folks who arrive by bike to the town’s Court St between 9.30-10am on the first Saturday of each month;
💬 The Edinburgh Reporter has an article with a number of quotes from the Council Leader, and the outgoing Transport & Environment Committee Convenor Scott Arthur, on the announcement that Cllr Arthur’s successor as Convenor will be named by the Labour administration at the next Full Council meeting this Thursday 29th;
👍 Belhaven Bikes have shared a flyer for ‘Cycling UK in Scotland’ on X listing the activities they’re facilitating for folks in and around East Lothian;
📸 A few photos shared by Alan Gordon of new residents secure cycle parking hangars installed by Cyclehoop around the West of Edinburgh, as the second phase of the council’s provision begins to manifest;
➕ Nationally
💰 The UK government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking routes
An excellent interview with the new Secretary of State for Transport — MP Louise Haigh — by Laura Laker this week resulted in widespread media coverage of candid, realistic and refreshing discussion of governmental plans to shelve the Tory-era culture war tactics and tackle the health and climate crises through Active Travel:
“(Active Travel) is going to be utterly essential to developing our national integrated transport strategy – it’s going to be the first time this country’s ever had one – and active travel’s going to be at the heart of it because we can’t build public transport networks that make sense unless you’re encouraging people to walk and cycle to get there.” — Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh
You can hear Laker’s interview with Haigh on this episode of the Streets Ahead podcast, read some of the follow-up coverage at the Guardian and the BBC and — in spite of Transport being a devolved issue, so not necessarily directly impacting us locally — breathe a sigh of relief at hearing there’s some passionate and well-informed grown-ups at the helm of what could be a new era in UK transport provision;
🏗️ Glasgow City Region have announced an opening ceremony date of September 6th for the new Govan - Partick Active Travel bridge, featuring a nifty testing and installation video on the announcement page;
🚸 Bike Worcester will host a Global Bike Bus Summit in April 2025:
“Building on the success and energy from Barcelona 2023 and Frankfurt 2024, Bike Bus leaders from all over the world are meeting in Worcester (UK) on 10th and 11th April 2025 to share ideas and inspiration, helping to kick start the next wave of sustainable travel for children.”
⛴️ From Alastair Dalton at the Scotsman: ”Watch unique national park steamship and cycling experience - with ‘better scenery’ than Loch Lomond” up at Loch Katrine;
⛵ Lovely wee video from Active Travel England on X showcasing the first phase of a seafront Active Travel project connecting Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, with more coming soon;
🌍 Elsewhere
“Girls have gained a lot of confidence after they began using bicycles to go to schools and coaching classes. More and more of them are going to school now. Most of them have free bicycles” — India's schoolgirls are leading a silent cycling revolution, BBC
🎨 Here’s a nice article about Cycling Advocate and Designer Tom Flood, whose bold pro-cycling work at Rovelo Creative you might occasionally have come across on social media;
📚 20% off Cycling Books by Markus Stitz for edi.bike Readers
Friend of edi.bike Markus Stitz - cycling journalist, writer, route designer and filmmaker - has been in touch with a very kind offer of 20% off the cost of his books for edi.bike subscribers. His titles thus far cover Bikepacking, Gravel Riding and Long-distance rides, and when bought direct from the author in this way will also be delivered by bike within Edinburgh! Big thanks to Markus for his generosity — you can order using the online form found here and use offer code EDIBIKE.
In addition, Markus is also an organiser of Dirt Dash, who have an upcoming event in Dunoon, September 21st-22nd:
”This friendly and welcoming overnight event is the perfect introduction if you want to give bikepacking a go, without having to worry about the logistics. We provide you with a route, a really nicely located campsite, dinner and breakfast. While you are cycling, you get to experience the rugged beauty Scotland’s Adventure Coast on some of the best gravel trails Scotland has to offer.”
Find out more at Dirt Dash »
🎒 Bikepacking Scotland (£20)
Bikepacking Scotland is the third book from Markus Stitz and features routes of different lengths which take in the best of Scotland. The book takes you on routes from the Ayrshire Alps, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders in southern Scotland, through Perthshire’s unique drovers’ roads and the grand architecture of the Central Belt, and across to Argyll’s islands on ferry-hopping adventures around Islay, a paradise for whisky connoisseurs, and to Jura and Mull to spot magnificent golden eagles.
You can also enjoy the Scottish Highlands with an epic tour of the Cairngorms National Park, home to 25 percent of Britain’s rare and endangered species. And additionally you can enjoy Markus’ own take on the North Coast 500.
🪨 Great British Gravel Rides (£25)
Markus’ second book Great British Gravel Rides pays homage to the very best gravel cycling across England, Wales and Scotland. In this book he has curated a collection of 25 routes across Britain – each a favourite route of a well-known gravel cyclist.
You can join round-the-world cycling men’s record holder Mark Beaumont in East Lothian, experience a different side of East Anglia with ultra-endurance racer Josh Ibbett and GBDURO20 winner Gail Brown, or embark on a coast-to-coast trip across Scotland with round-the-world cycling women’s record holder Jenny Graham. You get the chance to see the best of Scottish Borders with diversity in cycling champion Aneela McKenna.
🚵 Big Rides: Great Britain and Ireland (£20)
The first book, co-authored with Kathy Rodgers, is an inspirational guide to the most iconic, epic and popular long-distance cycle trails in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, including two excursions from mainland Britain to Northern France.
The book features twenty-five routes that showcase the best of Britain on two wheels. If you prefer to pedal on-road, the routes take you along the historic Way of the Roses trail through Lancaster and York, as well as across Scotland’s Atlantic perimeter on the Hebridean Way. You can head off-road to Northern England’s hills on the Sea to Sea (C2C) and past iconic monuments in Southern England on King Alfred’s Way.
If you are a mountain bike enthusiast, you will find plenty to challenge you in the Sarn Helen and through the Scottish Highlands on the renowned Highland Trail 550. Or head offshore, to Ireland’s coast on the Wild Atlantic Way and from Devon and Dorset’s Jurassic Coast to Normandy’s alabaster cliffs on the Tour de Manche.
Use the online form found here and use offer code EDIBIKE.
This is not a paid feature / advertisement.
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🛣 Route Closures and Issues
There’s a series of timed full or partial road closures - including High St, St Giles St, Parliament Square(s), Cockburn St, Blair St, Lawnmarket, and Johnston Ter during the Edinburgh Festival;
The Crawford Bridge - between Albion Ter and Bothwell St off Easter Rd - is closed until the 30th of August for refurbishment;
Melville St at Walker St has some partial closures of the CCWEL segregated lanes for major works as part of the public realm improvements that recently commenced and run until December this year.
📆 Events and Happenings
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
🚸 Parents for Future Scotland are hosting a bike bus webinar covering “logistics, the science of active travel's health benefits; and why children and adults alike have fun every time they ride!” - Today Mon 26th Aug, 7pm - 8pm;
✊ Edinburgh Critical Mass is coming up this Saturday 31st August, 2pm Middle Meadow Walk; a friendly and welcoming mass protest ride, with the route — this time down to Portobello, stopping for an ice cream and to enjoy some of the Edinburgh Big Beach Busk — with the full route map typically published a few days before to their Facebook, Mastodon, X and email list. Ever want to join the ride late, but not sure where it is? You can use Critical Maps - an anonymous location-sharing app for cyclists in critical mass events, aiding coordination through real-time map visualisation. Only one or two people need to use it from the start, so that others can see where the ride is, to find and join in!
🛍️ Local Bike Shop Edinburgh Bike Coop have a ‘demo day’ coming up on 8th September:
”ABUS, ASSOS and Garmin are all bringing a plethora of products for you to try whilst out on a circular pre-planned route from our Bruntsfield shop”
There are two group rides planned, followed by pizza and beer (with non-alcoholic drinks also available) and a ‘watch along’ with the final stage of the Vuelta. Find out more and book your spot here.
✊🏼 🎭 EdFoC | Ongoing - 'Pedal Power', a free exhibition on cycling and activism in Edinburgh, co-curated by Critical Mass Edinburgh, Infrasisters, Spokes and folks running Bike Buses across the city - at the Museum of Edinburgh running until the 22nd September.
Edinburgh Council archives --- behind the ‘Edinburgh 900’ project celebrating 900 years since Edinburgh became a royal burgh --- have also asked ‘Pedal Power’ to be part of the programme and will tour the exhibition around communities in Edinburgh after it finishes at the Museum of Edinburgh in September.
🔁 Weekly Events
☕️ Active Travel Cafe is a national, weekly online active travel event; news, talks & discussion via Zoom on Tuesdays at 5pm. See their list of speakers and details;
👪 Every Friday in August; All-inclusive social guided bike rides with A Wee Pedal, 2-4pm from Bridgend Farmhouse. Check out their flyer for more;
⚡️ Porty Community Energy are trialling a weekly Wednesday evening advice drop-in [fb];
⚙️ The Wee Spoke Hub host a weekly ‘Bike Cleaning and Oiling’ drop-in session at their shop every Saturday, 2-4pm;
🛠️ Edinburgh Tool Library host a weekly Bike Kitchen providing 'tools, spare parts, and expertise' to 'learn, grow, and connect with others'; Open every Wednesday from 3pm.
✴️ Other regular events on at The Wee Spoke Hub - follow their schedule here including a Bike DIY Session this Thursday 29th, 5pm - 8pm;
🫂 Help Needed
🛠️ Scottish Cargo Bike maker Ariel Bikes are looking to get 1,000 responses to their e-cargo bike market survey, and if they do they’ll give away a bike:
“Win an Ariel e-cargo bike worth £5600, with ZF 112Nm motor system, plus Magura, Shimano, Halo, Schwalbe, Suntour and Spinner parts and components. All on a hand built 4130 chromoly steel frame fabricated in our Scottish workshop. Finished in glorious orange metallic fleck powder coat.
We want to understand the UK e-cargo bike market better. So we’ve created a short survey. Fill in the survey and if we can get to over 1000 responses, we will give away the bike.”
🛠️ SW20 and Edinburgh Tool Library are looking for project volunteers:
”We are looking to expand our team of amazing volunteers and offer additional services -- if you are interested, please complete this form and we'll get back to you”;
🚸 Parents for Future Scotland are looking for more volunteers to help with organising Kidical Mass rides:
“We need volunteers to help promote and organise Kidical Mass cycle rides. Just one or two hours a month will do - help us contact local media, spread the word on social media and recce the routes. Contact rosieparents4futurescotland@gmail.com if you're interested in helping out”;
Ongoing:
🚴🏼 Friends of the Skelf bike park and pump track just off Holyrood Park are raising money currently;
💁 Help Fund a New Specialised Active Chair for Porty Community Energy Activist Roseanne Sinclair at her campaign page;
🚌 Volunteer to help marshal a local school Bike Bus - see the Bike Bus Hub Directory;
🙋 Sustrans seek volunteers for their ‘I Bike’ school programme: teaching kids, maintaining a bike fleet or marshalling rides with pupils;
🗨️ Spokes are in need of new members for their Planning and Resources groups;
🤝 SW20 are a Co-op Local Community Fund Cause - support them via this page;
🆘 Support Bikes for Refugees with an SMS donation 🐦or on EasyDonate;
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
🌉 Longstone Link Progress
A brief update on the Longstone Link bridge - over the Water of Leith at Longstone - from Longstone Community Council on X:
“The Active Travel team has recently commenced work on a feasibility study to deliver a new active travel bridge and connection over the Water of Leith linking the new development to New Mart Road. We expect the feasibility study to be finalised by the end of 2024 & set the foundations of the project to progress into further design stages. We expect to engage with the local community & key stakeholders as the project develops, the team is already working with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust.”
📋 Travelling Safely Schemes
The ETRO for City Centre ‘travelling safely’ schemes recently concluded as highlighted by Spokes on X. The other schemes have various end dates (barring ‘South’, which is not yet published) and can be found for comment at the Council’s Travelling Safely Commonplace microsite;
⚒️ Work ongoing, August to November - Lasswade Rd Cycleways
Spokes shared [x] the project page for a partial resurfacing of Lasswade Rd that includes a stretch of segregated cycle lane at each side, close to Gracemount High School. Spokes’ response makes mention of various interesting aspects and suggests changes.
✍🏽 ‘Spaces for People’ Lanes in East of Edinburgh - ETRO
This ‘East Area’ Experimental Traffic Order (ETRO/21/28A) covers a number of Covid-era parking suspensions used to facilitate bollarded cycle lanes around London Rd, Willowbrae and Duddingston, including cycle routes used by school pupils, teachers and parents to and from multiple primary and secondary schools. It is currently open for comments until 28th October by emailing TRO.Consultations@edinburgh.gov.uk quoting ETRO/21/28A.
👣 Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal
⚓️ 'Signs of life' [x] - planned cycleway construction works starting around the end of September (TBC) for 10 months - on the 'Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal' protected cycle route as part of Leith Connections, which promises to be a great continuation of the segregated routes slowly taking root in the city centre;
🌷 Just closed: Midlothian’s Active Travel Strategy
🚴🏼♀️ Nearby Midlothian Council have just concluded ’On the Move Midlothian: Our Active Travel Strategy for Everyone’, consisting of two parallel consultations on Active Travel (both of which have now closed) and also wider transport concerns across their council area:
The active travel draft strategy, which includes measurable and achievable targets, focuses on making Midlothian a place where getting around in a way that makes you physically active, such as walking and wheeling, will be an easy, convenient, cheap and realistic option for all.
📄 You can view the draft strategy online [PDF] and the 'Active Travel Survey'.
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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