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Hi,
I currently live and work in Edinburgh but my gf and I have recently (in the last few days) been considering the possibility of selling up and moving to Stirling. As I see it:
Pros:
* Bigger and better selection of houses, more affordable
* Decent amount of riding on the doorstep (Pentlands are ok but much more variety near Stirling afaict)
* Up to ~40 mile each way commute would make me pretty steely fit
* Her friends and family are closer
Cons:
* Commute - I'm realistic and I know I'm not going to be able to bike the full distance all the time. It would consume loads of time. I'd also have to take the train on bad weather days. I'm fortunate that I have the facility to work from home when I want though.
Does anyone commute from Stirling to Edinburgh atm? Is it horrific?
Cheers,
SandyThePig - not what you asked, but I drove it the other way for 3 years - I used to live in Juniper Green (as east as you'll get in Edinburgh) didn't have to get out of town or cross the city bypass and it took 40+ mins driving. Didn't enjoy that, but didn't want to move to Stirling, Stirling would be good for the hills and being Central it's easy to get elsewhere in Scotland quickly, but I thought it was a bit of a dull town and was happy to driving away form it every evening. Tho that might have had something to do with the job. On the plus side, the train service to Edinburgh is good, but would start getting mighty expensive.
Anyway, to your question, you would be a helluva lot leaner a SandyPig if you rode that even twice a week - not sure of the best route - probably Stirling to Linlithgow, Kirkliston and in by Barnton. Very busy roads I would think. Where about is your office in Edinburgh? Working form home and riding in the Trossachs and Aberfoyle would be the way to go!
Move to Peebles ? 80 miles a day on a bike will kill you ! And if you crack and drive you have to deal with M9/M8/A720.
Have you done much working from home? I do, and I know it suits me, but for some it all gets a bit stir crazy.
Peebles? - good call! But is it further from the op's gf's family?
I live and work in Stirling. I commuted from Edinburgh to Stirling for about a month and found it tough going, but that was by car, so to answer your question, yes you are insane! Stirling is a good place though with great cycling. Let me know if you need any info about Stirling.
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Closest trails? 5 metres. Commute to work? 50mins by bike. Distance to Stirling 27 miles but much quicker to drive.
Fife?
Easier commute, lots of housing choices, easy to get north or south and LOTS of excellent riding within half an hour (Pentlands, Ochils, Lomonds, Pitmedden, Blairadam etc, etc.)
I'm not even a Fifer but I love it here.
Cheers for the replies. I guess I would probably consider driving half way (30 mins down M9) and commuting the remaining 20 or so miles into Edinburgh by bike. I could shorten or lengthen the commute depending on my mood.
Not too keen on Fife - got a few mates who live there.
Peebles - In an ideal world, but even worse transport links. Also would be a nightmare for SO, as she works near Falkirk.
At the end of the day, if I was to actually go for it, I think I'd actually trial the commute for a week or so and get a feel for how bad it is.
When we came to Scotland we picked Stirling to live in. It's nice - but the Edinburgh commute by train was a real pain (that was 14 years ago tho). Driving (to the Gyle) was surprisingly ok 99% of the time - but in bad weather / accidents etc obviously it sucked.
We left Stirling (after 3 years) to move to Edinburgh for the commute reason and also we didnt enjoy it as a town - even though we both love the outdoors - walking, biking etc. It's hard to describe why - but possibly the cliquey nature of folk, the relative lack of nightlife / entertainment, the "roughness", getting mugged, and eventually always choosing to go out in either Glasgow or Edinburgh.
That may all be different if your SO is from there. Personally I wouldnt consider going back.
Of course that's all IME etc etc, and not meant to slag the town or it's folks off. We have many happy memories and friends there.
Not too keen on Fife
Oh well... I tried.
I do 30 miles each way, only twice per week, and to be honest I've started to car share on those days because 1) training is better going 1-way fast as possible rather than more gently both ways, and 2) it was too time consuming! two days a week should be perfectly fine in my experience, but then if I didn't work so many hours more days would be do-able. If you finish work then go home with no more work to do until tomorrow, do more riding!
I think the commute will drive you insane - it would me.
the train is slow, at rush hours getting into edinburgh by car can take an hour or more as the roads clog up. Its a heck of a distance to cycle
I did it from Edinburgh(ish) - Stirling for a few months several years back, it wasn't too bad to be honest (I lived out in Kirknewton at the time so could avoid the worst of the traffic!). I think using your mix of drive/train it could be okay - I know a few people who used to do that and they found it reasonable.
Still - better than my subsequent commute of Stirling to the Lake District. That was a bit of a killer (and hence why I relocated after a few years of it!)
So, you work in Edinburgh, gf works in Falkirk, have you thought about Linlithgow and thereabouts ? Good train service. Agree transport links to Peebles a bit rubbish although if you are a 9-5er there is a good express service that misses out Penicuik and the guy floors it on the A703.
P.S I would have thought partners family was a good reason to avoid a town, sounds like she is lining up babysitters to me !!!
You could drive in with your bike, ride home, ride in the next day, drive home etc.
I'd do it by motorcycle personally - then you can cut through any snarl ups.
Agree with hels: 80 miles a day on a bike will kill you ! That's seriously over training, you'll be constantly tired and your gf will leave you - hang on a minute 😀
>Up to ~40 mile each way commute would make me pretty steely fit<
Daftest notion I've read on here this week. Move to Linlithgow - equidistant to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling
There is of course another flaw to this plan, which is that most of Stirling is really a bit of a hole.
I know several people who commute from the Alloa/Sauchie area to Inverkeithing and then into Edinburgh over the bridge. I also know several people who've been driven mad by the commute - either by car, train or bus.
couldashouldawoulda sums up Stirling nicely, but some of us like it that way!
Hiya Capt.Kronos! 😉