Spokes

My Favourite Bike Ride: #SpokesComp results

For many people, a favourite ride is a weekend cycle to and through places of great natural beauty or historic interest. But our entries showed that it can also be your daily commute, taking your mind off work; or a school bike bus with its amazing enthusiasm and hope for the future. Our lovely entrants showed just how much cycling can mean to people in so many different ways.

We were also delighted to get a good range of entries from the Lothians, with West and East Lothian entries winning 3rd and 4th positions.

[Latest – July 2026 – the infamous Clubbiedean big puddle (see final Themes bullet point below) has gone, following path resurfacing. See pictures in our bluesky]

Continue reading My Favourite Bike Ride: #SpokesComp results

West Lothian #SpokesMap – 5th edition!

[special offer ends 31 October – see below]

The 5th edition of our highly praised West Lothian Cycle Map was launched on 11 October by Kirsteen Sullivan, MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow and Cllr Peter Heggie, Council Deputy Provost, at West Lothian Bike Library / Crofthead Community Centre.

The whole county was surveyed in detail by Spokes volunteers, together with a new area covering Falkirk, Bo’ness and the Kelpies. The map was then completely redrawn and revised by our maps group’s skilled volunteer cartographer, using new software which enables simpler future updating.

Continue reading West Lothian #SpokesMap – 5th edition!

Tram Granton to Bioquarter – Spokes early draft response, as of 6 Oct

With the consultation now well underway, the Spokes draft response is developing well. You can find it here [1.9MB pdf]. We strongly stress that this is a work in progress and there are likely to be considerable further edits, particularly to the second part of the response, dealing with individual sections of the route.

Continue reading Tram Granton to Bioquarter – Spokes early draft response, as of 6 Oct

Tram Granton to Bioquarter – initial Spokes thoughts

With the consultation underway, we are publishing some initial thoughts from Spokes and welcome any feedback. You may also wish to consider our points in your own consultation response.

Basically, Spokes supports the principle of the tram, but we have identified some problems and some missed opportunities on the integration of cycling. We urge a fuller treatment of cycling in the forthcoming stage of more detailed planning, and we urge that complete details on cycling provision are included in the next round of consultation.

For a very brief summary on the controversial Roseburn/OrchardBrae options, see here (more details below). We are of course aware that some Spokes members very strongly support each of these options.

Continue reading Tram Granton to Bioquarter – initial Spokes thoughts

Cargobikes in Edinburgh – #SpokesMtg report

Our public meeting on 2 September – which attracted at least 6 cargobikes, inside and out, in addition to the audience! – was an inspiring demonstration of the enthusiasm and effort which is bringing cargobike opportunities to the Edinburgh public. Several cargobike hubs/libraries are already operational, lending to local residents, and The Bike Station hopes to establish 2 new hubs in 2026/27 and create a shared maintenance service for all hubs.

Continue reading Cargobikes in Edinburgh – #SpokesMtg report

#SpokesComp 2025 : My Favourite Bike Ride

Stop Press: Due to holidays, judging will not be until early October. We have therefore extended the closing date for entries to Sunday 21 September. [Please repost our bsky post about the extension].

For our 2025 summer competition we’d like to hear about your favourite local bike ride, in Edinburgh and/or the Lothians. It may be a leisure ride, or your daily commute or perhaps the school ‘run’ with your kids.

Continue reading #SpokesComp 2025 : My Favourite Bike Ride

Edinburgh Bike Network saved!

Today, 4 September, the TRO Subcommittee finally approved making permanent the Experimental Traffic Orders (ETROs) which enable the main-road Travelling Safely routes in the East, North and West of the city. Orders for the South will come to the Committee at a later date. A rolling programme, for which funding is allocated, will gradually upgrade the existing bollarding infrastructure to more permanent materials and to incorporate useful improvements.

Continue reading Edinburgh Bike Network saved!

Tram, Granton to Bioquarter

The 12-week consultation on the new tramline has begun, ending 17 November. This article is intended purely to summarise facts hoped to be relevant to our members from the hugely extensive consultation materials.

Continue reading Tram, Granton to Bioquarter

Cargobikes in Edinburgh: #SpokesMtg

Cargobikes are seen more and more in Edinburgh, and the potential is massive, as in many European cities and elsewhere around the world. Our public meeting on 2 September will feature the 90-minute documentary film MOTHERLOAD – a mother’s experience of how cargo bikes can be an antidote to the increasing isolation, disconnection, and planetary impact of life in C21. The meeting will then hear from local organisations in the forefront of cargobike development in Edinburgh

Continue reading Cargobikes in Edinburgh: #SpokesMtg

Spokes West Lothian map – offer!

The new, fully revised Spokes West Lothian map is expected in the next 4 weeks, and will retail at £7.50. However, we still have a few hundred left of the existing version (pictured). We’d rather these were used rather than pulped, so a very special offer…

Continue reading Spokes West Lothian map – offer!

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