Loch Fitty & the Fife Earth Project

Join Aba-Sah on a loop to visit Loch Fitty and explore the Fife Earth Project at St. Ninian's. Please turn up at 09:50 for a briefing before the start at 10:00 prompt. Route summary below👇

DIFFICULTY/DISTANCE This ride is for confident cyclists with good handling skills, able to sustain on average 10-12mph on flats and mixed surfaces. Distance 45 mi.
There is the option to shorten the ride by about 12mi on the return by catching a train from Dalgety Bay or Inverkeithing. Please note you MUST still be able to maintain the same speed even if you opt for this.

ROUTE - We'll start at Craigleith Junction (on the Edinburgh North cycle network), head out toward Dalmeny and the Forth Road Bridge, and on through Rosyth and Dunfermline. We'll skirt Duloch Park and cycle along the Linburn Path to Queen Margaret Hospital. We'll continue to climb to Kingseat, from which we'll access Loch Fitty. We'll take a short break here along its banks before crossing the causeway to St Ninian's. We'll cycle the spiral up to the Fife Earth Project - please bring a picnic lunch with you - we'll take a longer break here, where you can wander round the exhibit or find somewhere to sit and have lunch while enjoying the views over Fife.

We'll return on a predominantly downhill route, round the Hill of Beath and onto the shared pathway at Crossgates. This will take us on down to Hillend, Dalgety Bay and Inverkeithing, before we cross the bridge back and retrace our steps to Craigleith Junction.

The majority of the ride is on shared, segregated pavements and traffic free paths, with a couple short stretches on quiet B roads. There are two sections, in Dunfermline and Inverkeithing, with normally quite light traffic. This is the route.

WIND WARNING Crossing the Forth Road Bridge may be uncomfortable in even moderate wind. Please check the event page the day before for contingency plans if wind gusts exceed 20mph. Monitor wind speeds on the Forth Road Bridge.

TYPE OF BIKE NEEDED Gravel or hybrid. No big bulky bikes like Dutch bikes, and no road/ skinny tyres.

SURFACE While the route is predominantly paved, there will also be a mixture of packed dirt, gravel, mud if recent rain and tarmac paths at Loch Fitty and St Ninian's - which is why skinny tyres will not be suitable.

OTHER STUFF We recommend not having anything on directly afterwards, just in case we’re held up for any reason.

RSVPs will open on Sun, 22nd Jun. If there is a forecast for atrocious weather, the ride will be cancelled, postponed or amended. Please check the Meetup site before setting off in the morning!

If you have a place or are on the waiting list, PLEASE do update your RSVP to let us know if you can no longer make it, and so others on the waiting list get reasonable notice.

WHAT TO BRING ON THE RIDE
• Two spare inner tubes (right size for your tyres)
• Water (plus extra)
• Snacks for the ride, a packed lunch and money / card
• Waterproofs, gloves and layers
• Sun screen/sunglasses
• Any medication you might need (e.g. an inhaler or epi-pen), if you wish to let the ride leaders know by DM or on the day See you there 👋

DONATIONS

Belles is a completely volunteer-run group, but we do have running costs of approximately £400 a year. Please consider donating either directly to our bank account:

Account name: BELLES ON BIKES EDINBURGH

Sort Code: 83-18-25

Account Number: 18849509

Or through this link -
ko-fi.com/bellesonbikes

By chipping in, you’ll be able to help us power future rides across Edinburgh and the Lothians.