Midnight, the witching hour, or perhaps, the gangs of scantily clad noisy young girls wandering the streets hour, and I’m out for my latest exciting turfing adventure, an attempt at the infamous Bonnyrigg Ferret Run. So infamous that few have ever heard about it. The sky is crystal clear, the stars are twnkling, so no chance of rain but it’s a tad on the chilly side, though I won’t be chilly for long after I start pedalling like a cartoon character to take those 10 zones and see what time I can achieve. I don’t expect to better my 7:45 from the Loanhead Ferret Run but you never know until you try.
Without further ado, off we go. The run starts at zone HopeBridge to the west of Bonnyrigg and follows the cycle path downhill and westwards. Next zone is BonnyriggPath, carefully avoiding the nasty root ridges across the path and onwards to the third zone, CockpenBypass. Here we turn right for a fast downhill to zone NaeWatter, located slightly off to the right on a small footbridge. I should say at this point I’m riding my single-speed Ribble CGR; a normal bike compared to the Brompton used on my previous Loanhead Ferret Run.
I then continue following the footpath through the Hopefield estate for zone AuldCoal, opposite the primary school. Only a couple of seconds delay at the road crossing to allow a vehicle to pass. Thought it would be quiet at this time of night. Then onwards following the twisty path before slowing right down for a 90-degree left and along to zone AuldChester. By now I’m beginning to notice where I’m losing time, having to slow down for bends. Acceleration away from the zones is fine on the single speed but I am also spinning out on the straights. Will be interesting to see the difference when I try the same run on the Sonder with its 12-gears.
Next section is a flat run to zone RobinAndTuck; however, I had to join the road to avoid a slight detour at the road junction with Auld Coal Medway. More time lost. The next problem was that same gang of scantily clad noisy young girls wandering the streets I’d seen earlier. However, maximum use of the bell and they cleared a path for me, accompanied by considerable drunken shouting and comments which I could not make out, what with the wind rushing by and the blood pulsing in my ears from the effort.
Only three zones still to take, starting with SignsOfHumans. And again, having to slow down for obstacles such as metal barriers and another road crossing. Crossing the main road at SignsOfHumans was easy enough, no traffic, then pedal like a mad thing for the final two zones, WaverlyPath and WillamsWalk. Lost more time slowing to negotiate another metal barrier. And that was the run complete. Had to wait until home to see the results.
As you can see came in at a reasonable 8:10, not bad for a less-than-ideal series of zones. Looking at my average speeds between zones, I was generally slightly slower than the Loanhead Ferret Run, no doubt due to slowing down for road crossings, metal barriers and tight bends. This might only second or so each time but there was around eight different instances so it all adds. I’m going to try again with a geared bike to see what difference that makes, though cannot see me dropping another 25 seconds to equal or better the 7:45 of the Loanhead Ferret Run. But worth a try!
Now, before we leave this page, a suggestion. In addition to trying to better our times for taking 10 zones, how about trying to see who is the quickest at taking only 2 zones? Okay, it won’t be on any listing anywhere but will be fun to try. A quick look finds a couple of likely pairs. Zones SouthHall and DixieZone at Pollck Halls in Edinburgh with the other being zones WhyMurderDean and Newtogrange in Newtongrange. You could try the last one when you’re bike is in for service at Mutts Cycles! Back soon.
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