If you’ve been reading Singletrack for any length of time, you’ll know Markus Stitz. The Edinburgh-based German has been one of our most distinctive voices for years — whether he’s been putting himself through the wringer in the Highland Trail 550, extolling the virtues of singlespeeding, riding the John Muir Way at deliberately unhurried pace, exploring the Isle of Jura (his photography from that trip won our Best Image of 2023 reader vote), or disappearing into the Mississippi Delta in search of gravel roads and the birthplace of the Blues. He also cycled 34,000 km around the world on a singlespeed mountain bike, unsupported, between 2015 and 2016, which tells you everything you need to know about the kind of rider he is.
Now he’s written his fifth book, and this time he’s gone hyperlocal. Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & the Lothians collects 15 gravel bike adventures around Scotland’s capital city — the place he’s called home for the best part of 17 years. Published by Vertebrate Publishing and out on 21 May, it covers Edinburgh and its surrounding regions, crossing the Firth of Forth into Fife, with routes ranging from 17 to 89 kilometres plus a 244km bonus route for those who want something more substantial.
The rides take in fishing villages and the industrial heritage of the Fife coast, follow Scotland’s oldest railway (the 1722 Waggonway in East Lothian), and venture into the Pentland and Lomond Hills. One longer route tracks the Edinburgh bypass on off-road paths, co-created with round-the-world record holder Mark Beaumont. There’s also a multi-day bikepacking adventure inspired by the Rough Stuff Fellowship, and visits to the Great Polish Map of Scotland and Rosslyn Chapel — properly eclectic stuff that only someone with Markus’s deep roots in the area could pull together.
Each route includes Ordnance Survey maps, directions, timings, difficulty gradings, photography, refreshment stops, and downloadable GPX files.
I want this guidebook to be relevant for people who are lucky enough to call Edinburgh, Fife or East Lothian their home. Almost all my book deliveries in Edinburgh are done by bike, and I wanted to write a book for all the people I have met on those journeys.
Markus Stitz
Gravel Rides Edinburgh, Fife & the Lothians is available to pre-order now, priced £15.95, from bookshops nationwide, bikepackingscotland.com/books and adventurebooks.com. Signed copies are available direct from Markus.
If you’re in Edinburgh, Markus is launching the book at Gamma Transport Division on 20 May, with a joint talk alongside Lost Lanes Scotland author Jack Thurston at Alyth Cyclery on 22 May. Contact markus@bikepackingscotland.com for complimentary tickets.
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