No 15 : September 2002

Compiled, edited and largely written by MIKE HARRISON

INDEX to this issue

In Town Without My Car – Sunday 22 September in George Street Edinburgh, all day

This is the silly name for what used to be called ‘Car-Free Day’. To me it seems to suggest that it’s OK on that day to use a car provided you don’t go into the city, so people in Broxburn and Broughton don’t need to bother about it! I suppose that it does relate more to the city problems of congestion and unnecessary car use. Anyway, although it has been going for a few years now, many local authorities have not taken much notice of it. This year, at least, Edinburgh observed it in a small way. What happened was that the west part of George Street was closed to all except emergency vehicles and bicycles – no buses, cars or taxis. There were street entertainers, decorated bike competitions, sculpture creation - with lots of kids taking part. We underestimated the amount of bike parking needed - especially as there were a number of multiple-occupancy cycles there.
	Some of the Farmer’s Market moved in for the day with lots of good organic stuff on sale and the food included a lot of barbecueing wild boar and other things you won't find in the well-known fast-food chains (pity there was nothing much for the veggies). There are several cafes in the area, and now that the bookshops and the Solicitor's Property Centre also have coffee shops incorporated, there were lots of people sitting around on the pavements - and in the doorways of closed shops were there were not enough chairs.There were craft stalls and the publicity stalls for environmental organisations – Friends of the Earth, TRANSform Scotland, Spokes, CTC, Living Streets (what used to be the Pedestrians' Association), the Edinburgh Car Club, Sustrans and the rest. Hundreds of people signed the petition for the Council to do something about congestion in the city. We had hoped to have a real new tram (destined for Nottingham) for people to really see what a modern tram looks like, but had to make do with a new bus and just the models of trams.
The important thing is that from 11 until after 5 the street was full of happy people. Despite a dull start and a chilly wind all day, although there was blue sky all afternoon, there were always a lot of people around, and after packing up the CTC and Spokes stall, when I left at 5:15 the string quartet which had been playing all day (and standing up too - I've never before seen a cellist with his instrument held up with a strap!) and the string trio were still playing classics to appreciative audiences. Usually at these events they tail off dramatically at about 4 o'clock as people head off for their tea.
	When is it? This is the interesting thing. It’s on the same DATE every year, whatever day of the week it happens to fall on. This time it happens to be on a Sunday, so the impact on George Street traffic will not really affect the commercial activity of the street, but next year it will be on a Monday.

Car-Assisted-Ride 1 – Lauder 1st May

Although the forecast and early morning weather was not encouraging, five members met is Lauder and took off by Thirlestane to Westruther for Duns and were treated to the unusual sight of a stoat being chased across the B6456 by an adult hare. Swingin by Swinton, we headed for Coldstream where lunch was taken sheltering from heavy rain in a church doorway. [Ed: ‘lunch was taken’ eh? sounds posher than ‘drummed up’].

The photo shows the group in front of the Marjorybanks Column in memory of the founder of the Coldstream Guards.

Crossing the Tweed into England at Cornhill-on-Tweed, the group headed into better weather for our spell over the border before returning for afternoon tea in Kelso.

Late afternoon saw us head for Smailholm into a rising wind and heavy rain forcing a ten-minute period of shelter. Then off to Earlston where we crossed the A68 and returned to Lauder via Blainslie. An enjoyable (for the most part) 66 miles.

Car-Assisted-Ride 2 – Melrose 1st June

The Bolton CTC [Ed: Lancashire Bolton, not East Lothian] had the same idea as us and their group of 5 set off for the Four Abbeys circuit just ahead of us. Although disappointed to find the Kelso church tea-room closed as some Golden Jubilee function was given priority we found a quality café and were blessed with the warmest day of the year.

Harestanes Country Park was well-supported by visitors and later we found other relics doing a similar tour (see photo).

The Borders roads are such a joy. Just 40 miles, but a real pleasure.

Contact www.scot-borders.co.uk for free walking and cycling booklets.

Secretary's Notes

Notice of the DA’s AGM

The AGM will be held at 1930 on Monday November 18th 2002 in the Saughtonhall Community Association Hall. We need members there so that you can tell us what you want and what you think, and so that we can select a committee to represent you during the coming year. A lot of organisations fail because the members don’t communicate with the committee (or with each other for that matter). We need new people to come along to find out what we have done and what we hope to do in future, as well as the ‘old hands’.

Membership

There are still some problems with HQ and the membership lists. The most recent problems have been to do with Direct Debits. Several people had received membership cards, but their banks had not been asked for the money and so they were struck off the lists as defaulters, which meant no mailings. Others have paid by cheque, but it has not been recorded. In addition there are a lot of typing mistakes in the names and addresses. Gradually I am passing on the latter (though I have submitted some about 4 times and the records have not been updated). In the case of not receiving mailing, etc. the first stage is for you to contact the HQ (0870 873 0060) and tell them the details of when and how you paid. If you can’t get anywhere with that, then let the DA Secretary have the details and he will take it up with HQ and the company doing the membership administration.

Zoller Trophy

This is the time of year when members can make nominations for the award of the Zoller Trophy. What is needed is a written note to the Secretary by the end of September saying who you wish to nominate, and what they have done to deserve it. It can be anything relating to the DA. Once nominations are in, a small committee sifts the nominations and decides who is to get the award. Don’t just leave it to the Committee to make nominations.

Clubroom

There were warning rumblings at the last AGM, and at last the thunder has struck. Despite frequent pleas, no member has come forward to offer to manage the formal social activities of the club. At the committee meeting in June the Committee decided that as no-one was prepared to organise anything, there was no possibility of running a Clubroom evening each week during the winter, so our possessions have been moved out of Saughtonhall (and are stored under the Secretary’s spare bed!) and we will have no further Monday evening meetings. It’s very sad in a way, but we decided that the evenings had been running on a life-support system for some time and there seemed to be no signs of any improvement. Turning up for the slide shows, and latterly for the ceilidh dancing, was a matter of routine for a few members, but changing patterns of life-style among the majority of members meant that newer and younger members did not see any attraction in the clubroom programme. We have, however, arranged for the AGM to be held there.

Borders Group

Another casualty is the Borders Group. You will already have read the note by Ian Oliver in the Aug/Sept issue of Cycle Talk. It’s the same story. The DA has a few members in each of the Borders towns and some scattered in the rural areas, but not enough to form a viable group for organised activities, and the Group’s existence has been kept in being for some time by the enthusiasm of one or two people.

Falkirk Jubilee

Here’s some good news at last! The Falkirk DA is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year, as you will also have noted from Cycle Talk. As our next-door neighbour I’m certain that several of our members may have been around at the time the Falkirk DA was formed and will know many of the Falkirk people. Any Lothian members (whether you were in at the foundation of the Falkirk DA or not) will be made welcome at their celebration Dinner-Dance in the Earlsgate Social Club. It’s on October 4th, so you will need to contact Dennis Callaghan (4 Mansionhouse Rd., Camelon, Falkirk, FK1 4PS; 01324 636935) NOW to book a place. Tickets are £11 a head.

Christmas

No problems finding the venue for the DA’s Christmas Lunch. Imagine you are going on a club ride to North Berwick. Where would instinct tell you to go to meet? Peter Martin might say you could do a good ride to North Berwick from Roseburn, but most people would go to Fisherrow Harbour. Well, that’s where you should head on Saturday December 7th, to arrive by about 12:30. We have booked lunch at the Quayside, which is the pinkish building just opposite where we meet in New Street, Fisherrow, Musselburgh – right next to the harbour. The cost is only £13.00 for a 3-course meal with a choice of menu, and we have a function room all to ourselves.

Christmas Lunch

Organising a dinner is always a worrying business for the person who ‘volunteers’ to mange it – will we have enough people, will people pay and so on. You can help Anne by booking AND paying now.

Please send a note to Anne Carter, 47 Hay Drive, Edinburgh, EH16 4AG; 0131 657 2189 with your name and address and the number of places you want booking, together with a cheque (payable to Lothians DA) for the right amount. With no Clubroom meetings, this will be the only notice for those who don’t come out on the regular rides. We are hoping to have close on 100 people there.

We will also be judging the Photographic Competition at the lunch. Please bring along your entries (prints only, sorry), or let Peter Valente have them in advance. Two categories - cycling- related and non-cycling. There is a trophy as well as prizes.

RUNS

	So here are five pairs of diametrically-opposed scenarios and while most of us would be able to state our preference for each of these, I’m prepared to bet that we all have days when we would make a choice different from our normal one.
The problem for our Runs Committee is that we recognise the validity of all of these attitudes. If we had 50 people on average turning up for, say, our Sunday rides, then it would be easy – we could pre-arrange 2 or 3 groups, set the parameters, and in general people would be happy that they could find something that nearly matched their ideal. The reality is that most runs have between 4 and 14 riders and we can’t offer a range of options. We’ve talked about it a lot, and can’t find any better solutions than what we do now.
Of course we try to avoid problems – like dropping people (the Tuesday night leader did manage to lose two out of five riders between the Commonwealth Pool and Holyrood Park one week, to say nothing of two who might still be somewhere on the Balerno Path).
	The Runs Committee decided to keep the 10:30 ‘easier-paced’ rides on the third Sunday of the month at least until March. For the next Spring/Summer season we might try to look at ways of getting completely new riders out on special, separate rides which will not try to merge with the traditional existing rides – this tactic seems not to have worked up to now.

Winter’s coming on –

what’s the weather going to be like this winter?

Over the last couple of years there has been a change in the habits of some of the regular Wednesday riders. Three years ago all the runs on Wednesdays from October to March stopped at a café for lunch. One or two eschewed the steamy warmth and hot soup and usually drummed up in the traditional way out-of-doors. Last winter, on most days, the number staying outside was more than those going to the café. Part of the reason is the generally warmer and drier weather, but a part is also that eating a piece outside is considerably cheaper than buying the food in some of the cafés.

We have come up with a new idea for the winter of 2002-3, for Wednesdays only, of using community halls. This has the advantage of providing shelter, warmth and tea-making facilities (without the paraffin fumes of the Primus stove!). You will have to get up five minutes earlier to make up your piece, but it will save you money. The cost of hiring these places is very reasonable, and the club will pay the charge and recoup it by asking for a levy of £5 from each of the regular Wednesday riders. This modest levy will cover the whole period Oct-March. We hope that an informal collection of this will be acceptable to our members. Those who come occasionally will be asked to make a small contribution on the day.

Where are these places?

Eddleston Village Hall	on the A703 just south of the turning to the Meldons on the right-hand side of the road	NT242470
Bolton Village Hall	On B6368 on the west side of the road at the south end of the village	NT505699
Harburn Village Hall	Just next to the railway line at the cross-roads of Harburn-Linnhouse/Whistle Lodge-Broadshaw	NT047620
Hopes Hall, North Berwick	Forth St. (north side, near Church St)	NT552854
Low Port Centre, Linlithgow	On Blackness Rd., opposite Tesco. It's the wooden hust on the right-hand side of the school green, not the new 1980s building!	NT005772
East Calder Church Hall,	Main St, East Calder - from Edinburgh direction just past the Co-op on the left	NT086679

Doors Open Days

In England they have European Heritage Day when many places which are not normally open to the public can be visited free of charge by the public. They are a great success. The English do seem to like to all do the same thing on the same day – as with their Bank Holiday weekends! Scotland is much more friendly to its public. As with Scottish public holidays, the Doors Open Days are on different days in different Council areas, so you can visit places in Falkirk on one Saturday, places in East Lothian on another day. One year I took my bike to Glasgow and managed to visit 15 places in one day – which I could not have done by any other means of transport. In some places 5-10 minutes is enough where you just want to see the inside of a place you have always wondered about. In others, there are guided tours which can last for an hour or more. In 2001 Peter Hawkins and I ‘did’ Midlothian. We started at Arniston House where we had a full tour. This is a popular place and numbers in each tour are limited so it’s a case of arriving early and collecting a ticket as you do at a deli or at Waverley station. This gave us time to have a bite to eat first. After that we went on to Borthwick Castle, and finished up inside Crichton Collegiate Church. On another day we went to East Lothian and saw the churches in Cockenzie and Prestonpans, the chapel of Loretto school and had an extensive guided tour of Pinkie House – including the famous painted ceiling in the Long Gallery.

The idea this year (and some of these may have happened by the time you receive this) is that some of the runs may try to fit in some of these open places. As I say, in some cases the stop may be no longer than you would want for a little leg-stretching, in others you may be able to benefit from a full tour. Apart from Fa’side Castle where they take advance bookings, you just turn up and go in.

Email contacts

We are planning to reduce issues of Cycle Forth to 2 a year, but would be happy to email out snippets of news or information between issues – if we had email addresses for members. Please respond to this if you use email. Send an email to the Secretary giving your name and either membership number or address with subject-line ‘Cycl-E-Forth’. Non-members, and those outside Lothian are welcome to ask to be on this list. If you are a CTC member, please give your membership number.