Join us to Pedal on Parliament!

After a gap of a few years, Pedal on Parliament is back, with a mass ride in Edinburgh to call for better conditions for cycling in Scotland

The emphasis year is on local authorities and delivery – a pretty key issue round here, where so many plans for active travel suffer delay after delay. As it’s the council elections on May 5th, it’s time to send a strong message to our own local politicians that this is something that matters here in Dumfries, not just in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

We normally get a good few people heading up to Edinburgh with or without their bikes to take part, but this year a few of us are going the extra mile and running a Dumfries to Edinburgh Feeder Ride. The route is here (or click on the map below)

Proposed route, with an overnight stop around Innerleithen. Click on the map to explore the route in more detail

We’ll be riding over two days, setting off from Dumfries on Friday 22nd April (8:30 from Dock Park), stopping at Eskdalemuir for lunch, and spending the night around Innerleithen. We’ll then make an early start to ride the final 30 miles into Edinburgh in time for the mass demonstration at 1pm.

As with our Pedal on COP ride, we’re doing this to show it’s important to us, and that cycling isn’t just part of the urban solution to climate change. Indeed, with public transport being the way it is locally, in a largely rural area like Dumfries and Galloway, sometimes cycling is the only sustainable transport for some or part of our journeys.

On our way to Glasgow last year

We invite anyone who feels the same way to join us – either at the start of the ride, or for some of the ride along the way, or just in Edinburgh for the demo itself.

If you’re interested in taking part in any way, please email cyclingdumfries@gmail.com or contact us through Twitter or Facebook.