Mid Lothian - Any good scenic rides ?

[toroddf]

I am living in Paisley and is branching out a bit towards MidLothian this year.
Some advice on good 100 - 150 km rides (including return to Paisley) with jump off point from Airdrie/Drumgelloch Train is appreciated.

I have done the A 70 to Lanark and that is mainly my only foray. I am doing the Campsie Fells circuit (Milngavie - Stirling - Denny - Kilsyth - Paisley) tomorrow, but is looking for something more funny to do. Milngavie to Stirling bores the shoot out of me and I am just doing this ride to bag it and display it in my trophy cabinet. Yes, I am sad.

Any good country lanes with some good rolling terrain and no murdering traffic machines ? Any good viewpoints ? Anything recommended ?

 

[HLaB]

I am living in Paisley and is branching out a bit towards MidLothian this year.
Some advice on good 100 - 150 km rides (including return to Paisley) with jump off point from Airdrie/Drumgelloch Train is appreciated.

I have done the A 70 to Lanark and that is mainly my only foray. I am doing the Campsie Fells circuit (Milngavie - Stirling - Denny - Kilsyth - Paisley) tomorrow, but is looking for something more funny to do. Milngavie to Stirling bores the shoot out of me and I am just doing this ride to bag it and display it in my trophy cabinet. Yes, I am sad.

Any good country lanes with some good rolling terrain and no murdering traffic machines ? Any good viewpoints ? Anything recommended ?

There's plenty of beautiful lanes if you get down to the Moorfoot/Lammermuirs (the Midlothian/ Borders border). I particularly like the Golf course road (B709) to Innerliethen. I think your best bet logistic wise would be the Airdrie-Bathgate line and getting off at Haymarket or Waverley but you'll have to navigate the toun and traffic to get south.

 

[toroddf]

I actually decided to scrap the Stirling tour and rather go for the train to Airdrie and a nice 50 miler with start from there. That took me on a freezing cold morning, 9 hours ago, from Airdrie to Caldercruix, Slamannen and down to Falkirk where I visited the Falkirk Wheel (impressive !) and then went back over Kilsyth and the A803 to the Clyde Tunnel and home again to Paisley. A truly brilliant ride which is up there among the best ones. The train ticket from Glasgow to Airdrie is around the four pounder mark and worth every penny as a jump off point for bikerides.

I will explore this area a lot more in the future.

 

[HLaB]

Apart from Cumernauld that's a great area. I had an debate with one of the council their who reckoned the roads weren't fit for cycling! Yet there local plan shows them as cycling roads and I've been along them a few times and they are about as good as it gets.

 

[toroddf]

Thanx for these advices. Your impressions of these roads is also shared by Google Earth, btw.

I will be back in Airdrie and do the B803 from there again towards Slamannan with return over Falkirk and the small roads (B816, Dullatur, B8048, B812) again. Yesterday's bikeride is at http://www.toroddfuglesteg.com/falkirkwheel.html