Inchcolm Island and Dalgety Bay

Spokes Ride went to Aberdour. There were thirteen of us turning up on a grey morning. It felt quite cold, and as we head out of Edinburgh along the cycle path, there was a little light rain.

It doesn't last for long, and by the time we get to Cramond, the light rain has stopped. It stays grey though. We cross over the A road, along the Kirkliston Rd and then up Standingstane Rd to Dalmeny, and on to the path to South Queensferry. Here we meet a lost cyclist. He also wants to get to the Forth Road Bridge, so I tell him to follow us for a while. It is a bit of a maze, but as we turn off to the viewing point,we point the way to the now not lost cyclist.

we cross the Firth of Forth and my feet feel a little cold. Once off the bridge, there is the climb up to Inverkeithing. The climb warms you up, and it is more sheltered. We drop down to the coast, and follow the path to Dalgety Bay.

Here there is a mixture of road and path to St Colme Drive and on to Beech Avenue. The first part of Beech Ave has a line of daffodils, most of which have flower buds.there is only an occasional burst of yellow. Beech Ave takes you past St Colme House. It still has quite a carpet of snowdrops. The path gets a bit rough from here, and its a bit muddy by the golf course. It doesn't take long to get to Aberdour, and lunch is at the Woodside Hotel.

After lunch we follow Beech Avenue back to Dalgety Bay. The sun has come out, and the clouds are clearing. At the end of Beech Ave, we head down to St Bridget's Kirk. We follow the coastal path along bay to the Ross Plantation. While we regroup, I get my blip of Inchcolm Island, looking across the bay. The bay itself is closed because of radioactive particles from the dials used in WW2 aircraft.

The path is quite muddy here, but soon we are back on tarmac roads. We follow the cycle network back to Inverkeithing. A climb up to the centre, where we regroup, then descend. and climb up to the Forth Road Bridge.

To mix it up, when we get to Dalmeny, we follow the cycle route along Main Street, and the traffic free path to Burnshot and Cramond Brig. From here we retrace our steps along the Edinburgh Cycle Path network to Russell Rd and the end of the ride.