Just in from a short road ride- first one really- and found it really quite nice- just a wee 15 mile zap out the A70 to Kirknewton and back along the A70. Very unimaginative though and a fair amount of fast traffic.

So… Any suggestions for a nice 20mph loop, ideally as feet-up as possible, few traffic lights etc… New to this lark so don’t really have the brain calibrated for it yet, therefore please think for me!

Druidh will know. Lanark road not too busy? No idea how to get back tho…

Ah tarnation. My post should have said “Out the A70 and back along the A71”.

Lanark road wasn’t too busy but the headwind knocked my pace right down so was pretty aware of other traffic… Gets pretty exposed out past Balerno for a long time. (the plus side being that the A71 is equally exposed and has a lovely surface so it was just top gear, head down, whoooooooosh! It’s fairly busy but it’s pretty wide too)

Could be addictive, this road bike lark.

MapMyRide might be a useful place to look, Endomondo or Strava as well – you can usually serach round about an area for route ideas.

I suppose that’s where a ‘cross bike might be handy, could nip up a couple paths and be in a different set of locations. But as to specific route advice, sorry can’t help 🙁

I generally head Into the wind low down and only use the A70 when going upwind if I can help it.

Try Currie – Riccarton Mains road – across A71 and down towards Gogaburnr; take a left just before the railway bridge then up past Suntrap, right just after you cross the M8 and down via Gogarstane to Ratho. From Ratho head for Newbridge then quiet roads past Cliftonhall into East Calder; up towards Kirknewton and right before the level crossing towards Leyden then back in the A70 and maybe the back roads through Balerno, or from KN along the back of Dalmahoy, Thats probably abou 15-20 miles.

Further afield there are loads of quiet, well surfaced roads between Livingston, Shotts, Carstairs and Carnwath.

Main “obstacle” is Livingston which isn’t very bike friendly. From Lizzie Bryce roundabout you can take the A71 W for about 500m then come off at the first exit and loop through Murieston and Bellsquarry, or you could go through Mid Calder and over the Almond under the flyover and past the new council HQ and Livingston Village and pick up the B-road parallel to the A71 towards West Calder and Stoneyburn.

Lots of good road riding to be had onc you learn to manage the wind…

Not tryin’ to get all elite on yo ass, but 20 miles is hardly worth going out for 🙂

Seriously though, I rarely make it down to the A71, preferring the A70. Regardless of any pain felt on the way out, I know It’ll be repaid on the way home.

If you head out on the A70 past the airfield at Kirknewton, you can turn right down Leydon Road for a super descent and you’ll end up just past the level crossing. Turn right, heading back into the village and then turn left to pick up the wee lanes back to Currie, passing the back of the Dalmahoy. The surfaces are generally OK.

You can skip a little bit of the A70 by turning into Balerno, up to the church, up Johnsburn Road and then through Glenbrook. That last bit is all new tarmac.

Currie Kirk Brae is handy for hill reps. The surface is pretty shocking but you’ll not care about that when climbing. Turn right at the top, pass Harlaw Farm and you pop down into Balerno and back to Currie. repeat as necessary 🙂

You can make a bigger loop by heading out the A70 then turning right after Harperrig towards West Linton. When you pass the golf course at Harburn, there are a couple of options for heading back via Brucefield and Murieston (you can practice bunny hops on the speed bumps here). Pass the station, loop back on yourself a bit, cross the A71 on the flyover towards Dedridge. When you see the school on your right, take a wee footpath which crosses the dual carraigeway. Turn right, left and you are now in Mid Calder. Go right through. When you get into East Calder, turn right at the lights, up the hill and then left. That’ll take you to the Kirknewton road again and you can work your way home from there.

When you’re ready for an 80km route, the AWESOME Col du Climpy awaits…….

The Col du Climpy? Surely that’s beyond any of us mere mortals?!?

The loop to Carnwath, Biggar then Hillend is a nice one for a Sunday morning, although there was an evil Westerly this morning that would have made it miserable…

Well Alasdair, it is true that I saw Lance pushing his bike up there a couple of years back in pre-season training…..

Talking of Carnwath – the Apple Pie Bakery……..

Cheers folks! Looks like a great start.

druidh – Member

Not tryin’ to get all elite on yo ass, but 20 miles is hardly worth going out for

If I had long enough to ride any further, I wouldn’t be spending it on a road bike

Well Alasdair, it is true that I saw Lance pushing his bike up there a couple of years back in pre-season training…..

Talking of Carnwath – the Apple Pie Bakery……..

That was the notorious North Face of the col wasn’t it? (HC)

APB is good but a bit unreliable wrt published opening hours…