Isolation Cycle 41; Garleton Ridge Road Descent....

The dry days continue with high pressure and riding daily close to home is a pleasure on bone dry mud free trails, up on the small local group of hills -The Garletons give rewarding views of the County and out across the Firth of Forth Estuary to Fife and beyond...

Were averaging  16 -18 miles daily staying close to home and going where we can stay safe and away from other folk out exercising, so avoiding narrow trails, and near farms with gates etc...

Wee film,descending west from Barney Hill, Song is `Actium` by Apex Twin


Isolation Cycle 41; Garleton Ridge Road Descent, May 2020 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

The Ridge Road - Garleton Hills...

Repost from 2009...

This is the main road to Edinburgh near where i stay....




Well it was until around 150 years ago...,its on the maps beside  a road side ruin which was a fortified house named `The Vaults`...



This historic old road is still ride able today...




Though its history goes back way before the bicycle as we know it today (with pedals) was invented here in Scotland.
English armies once marched along this road into Scotland to do battle with the Scots and the Pict's before then on more than one occasion including one of East Lothians most famous battles at prestonpans in 1745... hence this roads local name of `The Johnny Cope road` after the English commander in Scotland sir John Cope,
Scotland won that day after the classic highland charge!!...,but in true Scottish tradition greed and betrayal got the better of some of our nations Clan chiefs...
The nearby village of Athelstaneford is also birthplace of our  saltire flag

`They may take our freedom but they will never take our bicycles`...



More soon...