Ride to the Sun 2023

Lots of recent updates on Facebook.

Ah right, thanks. I don't do FB and their Twitter feed has been a bit quiet.

@fatmax usually posts on here about it.

Been meaning to do a post for ages to generate more interest...thanks for posting!

All on - June 24th. ~1000 folk signed up or thereabouts.

I've been locked out of Twitter and we've always used it less than Facebook and Instagram.

Happy to answer any questions.

Moffat Best Pizza and Kebab House, pipers on the Devil's Beef Tub, cyclorave at the Crook Inn, and hot food and drinks at the Cramond kirk hall (fundraising for FreshStart), and free Stewart Brewing beer - all in place as per normal.

Thanks for the reply @fatmax. I’m looking forward to it.

Did the double last year as the Trains were a bit sketchy.
It was a bit moist going down,then really got going at the Beeftub on the way back up 🙂 #thepiperwasnails 🙂 .
I told some of the newbies in our club that it's a good route to choose for their first 100,I think they are expecting me to go with them for suppot. 😉🙃

Hoping to be along this year - had booked the Scouts transport last year and then got bloody Covid two days before the ride!

Hi All

Looking to do this - have already booked train ticket and bike reservation back to Carlisle but the train is not till 11am.

Possibly somewhere to store the bike? I know there is cycle storage at Waverley Station but unsure how secure it is.

I've been to Edinburgh a few times over the years but never with a bike on a early Sunday morning. Just wondering what is there to do that would use up a few hours till my train at 11am? i.e. cafes to chill out / bike shops to visit / places to visit?

Any info would be appreciated. Thankyou!

We need to be out of the kirk hall by 6am-ish, or certainly tidied up and gone by about 7am - so @farmtrackofdoom, you're welcome there until then. some folks in previous pre-covid years congregated at the Wetherspoons near the station for brekkie before trains departed. there's Alpine Bikes in Stockbridge and Edinburgh Coop on the Meadows, for shops, though not certain of opening hours. as for other cafes etc - if the weather was nice i'd head to cafes in stockbridge, then you have the botanic gardens, inverleith park and the water of leith close to hand for chilling out. an alternative would be princes street gardens in town. I'd not leave a nice bike anywhere out of sight in town to be honest.

I’m in! Me and a mate are doing it. I’ll be under prepared as normal 😬. Looking forward to a bacon roll at the end though!

The Scouts are having to make a decision on whether to book another bus soon, or just stick with current numbers - just in case anyone was pondering Scout bus options 👍

Just registered. Is the Scouts bus from Edinburgh still an option?

It is - buses at 3, 3.30 and 4pm with a fair number of slots still available.

https://www.craigalmondscouts.org/ride-to-the-sun-scout-bike-transport/

Now, how far is 100 miles? Not a roadie, closest I've done was Swanage to Bristol with my girlfriend at the age of 18. We got as far as Chew Magna before bailing, about 91 miles according to Google maps, and we were fit back then from Ten Tors.

Should probably do some training. And how much food to carry (given there's a chip stop halfway)?

Might take a bivi bag, just in case.
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Now, how far is 100 miles?

It's quite far.

It starts off fine, to moffat. Chippy will sort you out.

The beeftub is a climb but it's not hard and the views are good.

The rave at the crook in will pick you up again.

Then it all turns to shit, crook inn to penicuik sucks absolute balls. It's also the least bailable section not much choice but to slog on.

Midges are a very real prospect, have arm and leg covering and if any pals with you get a mechanical just abandon them to their fate.

The blast through Edinburgh is mint if you time it with drunk people staggering about.

I was one of those drunk people a few years ago. Had forgotten all about it until recently.

Currently bivvied in woods south of Edinburgh and the midges are real.

Agree, it's a long way from Moffat to Edinburgh and the road surface is shit. It feels worse if you've just turned around and headed back to Carlisle. On the plus side, it's lovely to see it in daylight on the way back. Drunk people in Edinburgh amazing as you would expect 😂.

and the road surface is shit.

What tyres for...? I've got some 28mm Continental Ultra Sport but could go bigger.

It feels worse if you’ve just turned around and headed back to Carlisle.

Respect.

Just getting to Cramond will be enough for me. Booked on the scout bus back.

Thanks for the midge advice, I hadn't thought about them for this.

Anyone know how likely the bike is get to knocked around on the transport back to Carlisle?

@crewlie the Scouts have a great reputation and feedback for how they've transported bikes, we're yet to hear of any complaints at all. I think they say on their website that they sought out professional advice on how they do it.

@gecko36 - 28-32mm tyres that can have the pressure lowered a bit - I'll be on 28mm tubeless at 60psi. As @bax_burner said the road surface is bobbly and slow...and it might be tiredness but especially between the Crook Inn and the Leadburn turn to Penicuik.

Longshot, anyone in the SW / Bristol / Cotswolds heading up for this? Liftshare?

I can drive also if 1-2 others want to split a lift.

Wanted to do this for years but the train is £190, lol pricing. Don't want to drive on my own, too far / tired on way back.

1200 signed up as of today, though travel logistics and the fact its free means we get a fair drop out rate...so maybe 800 on the night?

Was tempted but instead organised a huge piss up...

Got this email yesterday from the Scouts:

There are only 16 places left on the Scout Transport Service – so if you want a place you need to act by Friday at 10pm to book a place, and if none are left to register on the waitlist. The Scout team will be able to add an extra coach for 3.30pm if there is sufficient demand. They will make the final decision on Saturday and contact everyone on the list by Monday with an update.

You can book a ticket or register on the waitlist (see the ticket entry titled “**Waitlist) at the online booking office. As funds have been committed to secure an extra coach based on the waitlist, you will be asked to book and pay for any place offered.

Click here for information on the transport service and contact the team on ridetothesun.transport@gmail.com with any questions.

Managed to actually do some planning in advance, which means I've got cycle reservations on the trains I need for RTTS this time!

@jameso are you leaving the car at Carlisle? If so, then the Scouts might have space on the one bus going back to Carlisle on the Sunday morning?

Or can offer you a lift down to Carlisle if you're leaving the car in Cramond?

All the best

Fraser

Well, I'm hopeful (Friday morning) for a warm night and a tailwind. Fingers crossed, its looking good.

Moffat chippy, Devil's Beef Tub piper, Crook Inn rave, Cramond kirk hall hot food and drinks by Fresh Start, and free Stewart Brewing 'Dawn Rising' IPA for sunrise all in place. Cannae wait.

Midges might be horrific though 😱😳

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65939262 🤣

Please come and say hello if you're riding, and have a great one 👍

@fatmax, sorry, late reply - I was away last week. Thanks for the offer. I was looking for a few others to drive up with, was going to figure out las min logistics at that end if that worked out. Another year.. Have a great ride and hope the midges are blown away on the wind / by the tunes

See you all there. Fingers crossed for the weather!

It's looking good. I'm on the bus. Chatting with a bloke which it's his third, plus the Dunwich Dynamo twice, and he never leaves without having a pint first. That's the kind of pace I can handle.

I think my brother is doing this on his elipitigo. So if you see a chubby middle aged ot bloke crying after 60 miles on a totally inappropriate machine it will probably be him.
Call. Him Joey he really likes that.

Well that was brilliant. Sat in Cramond Kirk hall now with a cup of tea and a bacon roll. Did see your brother early doors, also a couple of tiny wheelers and a  handcycle. Moffat came much quicker than expected, as did the piper at the top of the Beeftub and the Crook Inn. After that it was a drag and I managed to take the completely wrong route through Edinburgh but was having too much fun again by that time to stop and check. Seven hours all told and a cracking way to mark the solstice.

Eight and a half-ish for me, set off with a group who were way faster than me and was going to die off early if I'd tried to stay on their wheels. Largely soloed the rest, stopping to stretch every 20km because of niggly knee issues. Piper on the Beeftub was doing ace, think it was a long night for the young lad! Sat at the rave for a little while, loving a bit of Born Slippy. Got to Cramond at 4am, watched the sunrise, had a beer, grabbed a bacon butty and a cuppa at the Kirk, then rode gently (by the least hilly route!) up to Waverley for the train back to Leeds.

Massive thanks Fraser, Gary and all of the team involved - absolute corker again!

Sounds like you timed it well. I missed the beer as it would have meant hanging around for another half an hour or so, and then another hour for the sunrise, and I just wanted my bed.

Highlight for me was the fast descents, including on roads I normally commute on empty of traffic.

Brilliant event, as evidenced by the number of people who'd done it before. Lots of serious roadies but I didn't see many people using the drops, which seemed curious. Will Not Get Sucked In.

https://twitter.com/darwendashers/status/1672956823559720962?s=46&t=We7m9sBVLviPIp_wY7u5lQ

https://strava.app.link/4EXPdFwbVAb

https://strava.app.link/U8ktJhzbVAb

Just woken up after a well- deserved sleep. We got a bit overexcited due to the good weather forecast and smashed the first section. Actually stopped for chips in Moffat rather than trying to live off the londis like last year- great decision. Fab to hear the piper as we missed them last year due to all the frightening thunder and lightening. Jaeger bombs at the rave and a good dance to loosen the shoulders, then it was a great run all the way to the sea for sunrise. Fantastic logistics by the Scouts. Thanks to the organisers for such a perfectly pitched event!

@Pyro - great to meet you!

@singletrackmind - spoke to your bro and passed him early on. Lovely fella, weird taste in kit for a bike ride - god it looks awful and hard work!

Everyone else - glad you all enjoyed it and thank you for the kind words, much appreciated 😀

June 22nd 2024

He did it. Took 10hrs mind and he missed the sunrise. 10hr on an Elipitigo with no saddle. Think he enjoyed it despite being one of the last to finish, and i bet there were people who didn't finish at all

An ex-work colleague who I follow on Strava did this. He posted a bit of video of your brother @singletrackmind.

May well set this as my cycling goal for next year. Few more miles practice on the road bike after summer I think.

@jeffl - Go for it, it's a lovely ride. While there's a few sections of crap road surface it's actually a relatively easy century - the first half to Moffat is easy rolling, relatively flat and decent surface; the Beeftub climb itself looks shocking on a Garmin graph but is actually just a long steady spin without any horrible steep ramps; the run down to the Crook Inn is a blast, best part of 20km mainly downhill to be greeted by a rave and a resupply; most of the crap surface patches come between the top of the Beeftub and Penicuik but it's all pretty easy road otherwise. There's a really lovely long descent after that and then you're at the Edinburgh Ring Road (and the 24hr garage if you need a top-up) before the last couple of cheeky rises and a long run down through Embra to Cramond and the grassy knoll.  Aside from that, all the 'extra stuff' that Fraser and Gary get laid on - Scouts transport, Moffat chippy, Crook Inn cyclorave, beers on the beach, Fresh Start bacon butties - make it a really awesome atmosphere and experience.

It really is a great friendly event and as mentioned a relatively "easy" century, especially with the other riders on the road and hopeful tailwind.

I did the double for the 2nd year in a row, riding down to Gretna from Fife and turning back at the border, rather than the extra 24miles return to Carlisle. Meant I still got the 200miles in by the time I got over the Forth bridge and home.

The headwind down wasn't as bad as last year, think it was off the west so more a cross head/cross wind at times. Still tough going though.

We're moving to Inverness soon so someone jokingly said I could do Carlisle to Inverness next year instead. Actually quite like the idea now, 262miles, think I'd need at least 20mph southerly to get me to Inverness by the Sunday dinnertime...

Think I'm sold. Furthest I've ever done was 75 miles a few years back, so no reason 100 miles can't be done.

May well set this as my cycling goal for next year.

Same here! I didn't realise the finish line is about a mile from my house 🥳

I didn’t realise the finish line is about a mile from my house

That's got to be a chunk nicer a finish than chilling at Cramond Kirk for a while then riding up to Waverley to join the small crowd of both riders and drunkards snoozing in the main waiting room...

Hopefully this will link to the video of Mr elliptigo.

Cracking event!   Very friendly, met some amazing people and loved the ride itself.

Felt good to get back to it again this year, relatively last minute only decided I was fit enough to get through it last week.  6hrs 20 moving about 8hrs 30ish in total.  Usual chips, piping and raving stops with the bonus of a puncture in the final few km.  Longest ride since 2019 .  Saw the sunrise but missed a bacon roll at the Kirk hall.  Felt a bit quieter on the first leg to Moffat but I was also a bit later than usual setting off.  Was a bit surprised about how warm it was over night.

Folks

There's a great wee video here from Simon Willis of Always Another Adventure -

- he captures the event really nicely if you haven't seen it before.

Eshot coming in the next week and then we'll open entries for June 22nd 2024. All the best and thanks again for the positive comments.

Fraser