Page 134 - 2022-08-01 RiDE

BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS CITY RIDES

Getting dual
carriageway
done quickly

start the famous selection of downhill sweeps and
hairpins that head towards Jedburgh it’s fairly obvious
grip levels are high.
New tarmac has replaced the old anti-skid surface and
the Tiger’s Metzeler Tourances stick with tenacity. A
rainstorm kicks in, hammering down with seemingly
fist-sized globules, but there is still enough feedback for
fun. I’ve ridden this road enough in the dry to know that
tackled at the right time, it is still a magical ribbon.
We stop at Jedburgh for a coffee. The first major town
as you cross the border, it bears the scars of England and
Scotland’s historically troubled relationship. The sacked
but still beautiful abbey is testament to that. Jedburgh is
a quiet but charming place, and ist makes a great
destination for a stop-over with enough hotels and
restaurants to feel lively of an evening. But on this
occasion, we carry on.
The A68 gets busier the closer you get to Edinburgh
but there is still interest – and signs of man’s engineering
genius when it comes to transport. The 19-arch
Leaderfoot Viaduct near Melrose runs parallel to the A68
and you cross the River Tweed alongside it. You can’t
help but be impressed.
But even as the road gets more trunk-road-like, there
is still real joy and flow to it. This is big country and the
A68 has got bigger too – widening for overtaking lanes,
and now smashing through the landscape rather than
going over or skirting around it. By the time we’ve
reached its union with the A720 and then the A1, you

The Earl of RiDE
THE KIT contemplates the
Duke of Buccleuch
Triumph Adler Gore-Tex
Adventure Tourer £650 can’t help but feel like you’ve been on a journey, but for
(Jacket), £400 (trousers)
me it hasn’t reached its conclusion yet.
www.triumph.co.uk
The next 30 minutes of filtering and cut-and-thrust of
As you’d expect from a £1000 suit, the city traffic is less enjoyable – Edinburgh’s confusing if
Adler is wonderfully made and full of you don’t know where you’re going. During the tourist
high-end materials. Performance is season there are jams everywhere but I make it through
class-leading. Tested in everything from the traffic and pull up in the city centre. It’s beautiful
5-degree rain to 25-degree trail riding, it’s – an amalgam of old and new, overlooked by the craggy
warm when you need it and cool when you delights of Edinburgh Castle.
don’t. Resistance to heavy rain is the best It’s summer in the city and the whole place is buzzing.
I’ve used, the zip and storm cuffs kill I’ve got a day and a night to fill before the Tiger Explorer
draughts and long-range comfort is great. and I head for home and I can’t think of a better place to
Not cheap, but easily as good as do it. There’s enough culture to please any vulture but
ultra-high-end suits at twice the price. the whole place is packed with the most enticing bars,
pubs, cafes and restaurants, too. Where do I start..?

26 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS