Capital Trail 2015

More pics and bikepacking info to add later...

The Route;
The Capitail Trail is a 2 day self supported bikepacking event that starts and finishes in Edinburgh, The event organised by Markus covers approx  150 miles (327km) and takes in cycle routes, trails, rough roads and mountain passes as it leaves Edinburgh's suburbs and  East Lothian to cross the Lammermuir Hills into the Scottish Borders and the scenic hills and river side trails of Lauder, Melrose, Innerliethen, Peebles, West Linton, and crossing the Pentland Hills to enter Edinburgh by the Water of Lieth and through the old town via the Royal Mile to finish on the beach again at Portobello. with around 6100 meters of climbing it would be a good challenge.


A challenge indeed;
It`s surprising how far you can cycle off road in a day if you put your mind to it. When i entered The Capital Trail i was unsure about managing to complete such a distance in 2 days. Friends Colin and Sanny said they would enter, then Mike who had to pick up his Surly Krampus that has been here said with a week to go he was up for it too. Then Dave from Skye phoned to say he had entered, So a group of 5 Forth Fat regulars would ride together, along with anyone else who joined us along the way.

Bikes used;
Knowing most of the route having ridden it at various times over the years on mountainbikes i reckoned the 29+  bikes would be ideal to give an average/tired rider a bit comfort  while being fun on the trails and rough roads the route would take in,

So i rode my Surly ECR 29+;

Mike rode his Fox forked Surly Krampus 29+
Dave his Titanium Salsa Mukluck with Hugo 29+ wheels
Sanny brought the full blown Surly Ice Cream truck! , and wowed many he passed pushing on climbs as he kept going with the traction of the huge 5" tyres on 100mm rims-Sanny is also a fit rider mind!,
And to mix it up Colin left his Pugsley at home and brought his trusty Cross bike which he has ridden for years and has completed the classic 3 Peaks Cyclocross race so is no stranger to drop bar offroading,

Friday Evening;
Bikes done and packing sorted Friday  seen Dave and Mike arrive at my house and  rationing the catch up boozing we ate and ate and ate!...

Booze for the return - if we make it on Sunday evening...

Garden relaxation...

A Rum before early bed...

Lol...

Saturday morning and were at Portobello for the 7am pre ride sign in, breakfast and coffee, thanks for the lift Francis!...

As we rolled up to the Tide Cafe many were already there, there would be 89 starters...

8am and were off!...
Following a briefing by Markus there was a group pic on the beach before heading off,  Oh don`t be fooled by the pink socks!, Markus had set out a real testing 2 days riding  for us lot!...
Pics by Ian for Markus;

Through East Lothain;
We spun alongside the river Esk and up to Carbury Hill through the woods and along the old railway line to Winton Estate and Saltoun Woods to Longyester and the first big climb of the day...

Across the Lammermuirs;
Great to be riding local trails with loads other folks!, we climbed up and over Lammer Law, sadly the views behind over East Lothian were shrouded in low cloud but never mind, i was chuffed to clean the climb and we all teamed up again as the field now grew thin as the fast guys sped ahead and some folks stopped for a breather...

pic by Mike...

Lauderdale, Melrose, Tweed trails and the 3 Brethen;
Into the Scottish Borders now as we rode the ace woodland trails of Thirlestane Castle, refilling with water, then stopped by the bakers in Lauder for a quick feed.  Top Shop! offering water refills if you missed the blue hose by the trough at Thirlestane!.
Then it was on following some of the Southern Upland Way and the old Roman road at Bluecairns down to the River tweed and more sweet riverside trails to Melrose where we stopped for coffee and an ice cream . We were all feeling good as we settled into our own pace, with loads of banter and laughs!...
More ace trails as we followed some of the Borders and Abby Way to the big climb up to the 3 Brethen Cairns. tired now after a days riding i opted to push up the final part of the climb. Mike and Colin rode up!...

Minchmoor, Cheesewell, Innerliethen, Minchmoor Bothy, then on to break the halfway point;
Through the cool mist and drizzle we rode on along the ridge to Innerliethen trail centre, then a descent to stop at the Cheese Well natural spring to refill bottles and leave some money for the fairies...
Stopping at the Bothy we need to refuel ourselves now and got the stoves out. i know i was real tired by this point. Only 7pm we pushed on to get to the Glen House Bivi spot at Glenshiel Banks...

Camped for the night;
Many riders passed by as we set up camp and Colin got a big fire going, a real moral lift to tired riders who also stopped to camp,  and many riders keeping going before dark and stopped for a quick heat at the fire and we shared a whisky with them from our hip flasks before they disappeared into the mist up Stake Law.
I think a lot of folks liked the fire and could have stayed quite easily as the nip of whisky kicked in...

pic by Mike...

Sunday morning, early rise, the big push up, then more food at Peebles!...
We got up at 6am, i had slept like a log since 11pm, and we fired up stoves for breakfast no1.
Then packed up we headed for the big push of the day up Stake Law...
It was hard to get going with a tired body and here our friendships talked each other to keep going...
After 83 miles to our campsite this was the most Mike and i had ever cycled off road in 24 hours and we still had to get back to Edinburgh!, we grinned through tired dirty faces and pushed on with Dave, Colin and Sanny...

Drove Road to Peebles - and Hot Food!...
As the rain came on and the body struggled to do anything but keep on track i did not take  any pics in the wet with my non waterproof compact but did shoot some film,  the old drove road is an amazing old trail between walls that descends to Gypsy Glen and into Peeble Town where only 9am we sought out a seat and hot food out of the weather,  The Cross Keys Hotel came to our rescue and after i enquired towels were fetched for tired dirty cyclists to rest and await full cooked breakfasts and steaming hot tea and coffee, Mike had two breakfasts!... Top Stop!...
Sitting there i knew i deft felt better after an hour in the warmth and started to believe i can do this and complete the return leg from Peebles, Glentress, Kirkhope Law the Meldons and on the West Linton for more food...

pic by Mike...

Tea and Scones at West Linton!, then the big push for the Pentlands!...
We found an ace wee cafe -a former Toll house where tea was served in China Cups form old teapots and the Scones tasted amazing,  what a moral booster!... Top Shop!!!
Time to get going and more trails lead to the Pentlands and the climb up Munks Rig which seen a lot of pushing again and onwards as the Forth Estuary came into view the sun came out form a sky that broke up to big fluffy clouds as we descended to the Water of Leith... it was like a welcome home  to the Fatbike posse!....

Into Old Reekie and the beach...
Nearly home and with no more climbs on draining reserves the speed and moral lifted as we spun along the Water of Leith and even a few members of the public out walking shouted encouragement!, i am sure loads more were in front but we just wanted to finish what we set out to do, which for myself was a personal challenge with friends...

Made It!
We rolled onto the sand at Portobell and i could have kissed it!, well maybe not!,  but we all felt great what we had achieved, a quick photo then time to go get a well earned pint!!!

Markus was there waiting along with a few other finishers and i could not thank him enough for organising an amazing weekend...

We deserved these!  :D

I shot some film with the Go Pro mounted on the handlebar where i could easy reach it to disconnect to pan views etc... There is not much footage of either side of Saturday night due to the weather, and having to compress 55 minutes of footage into 6 mins i did not see the point of loads of films of long pushing or descents. The song my big Brother wrote on Stormcloud, named `Capital trail`...

Capital Trail 2015 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

Updates;

Markus`s blog page on the event

Flickr pics of Capital Trail links