Cycling in the Snow

Route – Gorebridge to Crichton to Tynehead to Heriot to Middleton to Carrington to Gorebridge. For route map click here.

See route on Strava.

• Weather – Dry, reasonably mild, some sun, some cloud, some mist and no wind.
• Bike type – road bike
• Distance travelled – 27.54 miles
• Riding time – 2 hours 26 minutes
• Maximum speed – 27.1 mph
• Average speed – 11.3 mph
• Height climbed – 1887 feet

In my previous blog I mentioned how difficult it had been to get out on our bikes this winter due to the constantly cold, icy and snowy weather. Well, at the end of February and the start of March we had a week of very heavy snow and all the roads that we normally cycle on were blocked with snow drifts higher than me. It was brilliant fun! Apart from the fact that cycling was impossible… Finally, by last Sunday, the roads had been cleared and the snow had thawed enough to allow us to go out for a ride. And with a fair bit of snow still on the hills and at the roadside, it made for one of the most scenic cycle rides we’ve ever had.

We started from the house as usual and headed out of Gorebridge along Vogrie Road, heading up the minor road to Fushiebridge. Just before Fushie the road forks in two so we took the left option and tackled our first steep hill of the day. I raced Dad up the hill and left him for dead (he claims he was admiring the remains of the snow drifts so that’s why he was so slow). At the top of the hill we got some fine views over to the Moorfoot hills on the right, still covered in large patches of snow. Then we sped down the other side to the Borthwick crossroads where we headed straight over and onto one of the smoothest roads around, heading for Crichton. The melting snow had caused a bit of flooding so we had to take it easy at times. Soon enough we were heading down the stupidly steep road into the gorge near Crichton Castle. Because of all the blind corners and the fact that the road was wet, Dad made us go as slow as possible so that we didn’t crash. I thought he was going stupidly slow though and found it hard not to crash into him… Then it was on to the 2nd steep hill of the day, the endless climb up through the ancient Beech trees until we finally reached the hamlet of Crichton at the top. We’d only gone about 5 miles but I was knackered already!

Next we turned right onto the B6367. This is a lovely road, very quiet for a B road, only a few short hilly bits and quite a nice surface to cycle on. It’s also got some nice views of the Midlothian countryside with the hills in the distance. After a couple of miles we reached Tynehead and turned right along another lovely smooth section of fairly flat road for a mile or so until we came to the junction with the main A7 road at Fala Hill. As we have discovered previously, the A7 really isn’t too bad to cycle on as it’s reasonably quiet and is nice and wide so it’s easy for cars to overtake. Today, we were only on the road for a mile or 2 and it was almost all downhill and we soon came to the village of Heriot where we turned right onto the B709. We stopped here for a quick snack of carrot sticks and crisps before heading onto one of the best cycling roads in the world. This section of the B709 is quite flat and follows a river along the valley as it twists and turns, with hills on either side. The views are amazing, especially so today with all the snow around. There were quite a few flooded parts along the way but the water wasn’t too deep and it was safe enough as long you went slow. At one point Dad also spotted a dead stoat or ferret (he’s not sure which – see picture below) lying in the middle of the road. It looked like it had quite recently been run down by a car judging by the blood that was trickling out of its mouth.

After a few miles of perfect cycling, we came to the junction with the B7007 and turned right and cycled up the gradual hill as the road took us up and over the top of the Moorfoot Hills. Although the road takes you up over 400m, it’s not steep at all, yet Dad was going so slow at one point that I had to tell him to speed up! There was still a lot of snow piled at the side of the road near the top and we saw one of the most amazing giant snow drifts as well. Thankfully the road was perfectly clear though so there was no problems getting over the hill to the other side. In fact, we saw many other cyclists on this road today – it was probably the first time any of them had managed to get out on their bikes for weeks as well.

After zooming down the other side of the hill with grand views of East and Mid-Lothian in the distance, we turned left onto the very bumpy and muddy narrow road to Middleton. There was much less snow remaining here but there is a snow gate on the road so we stopped to photograph it before having another snack (apple and Yorkie bars). At the crossroads next to the farm we turned left and skirted around the back of the Limeworks. This road was badly flooded in places and there were quite a few pot holes to avoid so we had to keep our speed down. A mile or so further along, next to Castleton Farm, the road was in a similar state so be careful if you cycle this way in the near future. After turning left for a short section along the B6372, we then turned right at the bridge and sped along the very nice, quiet and relatively flat road to Carrington. It’s the quietest village in the world – you never seem to see any people or vehicles apart from other cyclists passing through. After that it was a couple of miles downhill along the minor road to Gore Glen (watch out for pot holes here as well), an annoyingly steep hill to climb out of the glen and then another steep climb back to Gorebridge via the new Kirkhill View housing estate and Arniston Park.

As is often the case, we were home in time for lunch – carrot and corriander soup and crusty bread. Despite all the hills, it had been one of the best cycle runs I’ve ever been on and I’d highly recommend it – especially in the snow!