Alison Fulton has been attending Women’s Hour at the West Lothian Cycle Circuit, and after a summer of coaching at the circuit she’s got the confidence to venture further afield with her son Rhuairdh

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With a bike mad family, I’ve always dabbled with riding; but I’ve struggled with the confidence and the fitness. With the West Lothian Cycle Circuit (WLCC) opening earlier in the year and road wheels on my trusty gravel bike I decided to give women’s hour a shot and to my surprise fell in love with the tarmac.

WLCC has been a game changer, not having to worry about traffic was huge and having a set time and knowing exactly what I was riding gave me the confidence to put in more effort in each week.

With the coaching I learnt how to corner faster and spend less time hitting the breaks. With newfound confidence I flippantly mentioned I would be keen to try the 2 bridges routing around the forth, and last Sunday with my 13 year old navigator and mechanic we completed a 75km route starting at WLCC and finishing near Livingston.

2022 me would never have believed 2023 me would have the road riding skills or the fitness to undertake the challenge and I’m now looking forward to continuing riding at WLCC over the winter to see what I can challenge myself to in 2024.

Women’s Hour at West Lothian Cycle Circuit, Mondays

Aim: continue to develop a community of women cyclists.
Sessions are designed to develop a skill, have fun, get a workout.
Sessions led by fully qualified cycling coaches
No need to be a member of Clarion, please share with friends and family or come along yourself.
Book (and pay if appropriate) via Spond https://group.spond.com/VSVTM

Group 1 – 6:30pm to 7:30pm, arrival time 6:15pm. Free session to boost confidence and encourage women onto bikes. Funded by UCI Cycling World Champs & Community Cycling Fund, via Eventscotland
Group 2 – 7:30pm to 8:30pm, arrival time 7:15pm. £4 per session. Focused on developing group riding skills
Group 3 – 7:30pm to 8:30pm, arrival time 7:15pm. £4 per session. A bit like an outdoor spin class, for those who can confidently ride in a group

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has lodged a motion in Parliament highlighting the official opening of the West Lothian Cycle Circuit on Saturday, 27th May and congratulation the Linlithgow Community Development Trust for their work in creating and completing this excellent site.

The 1KM floodlit Cycle Circuit began construction in September 2022 and will be ready and open in time for the UCI World Cycling Championships taking place in Scotland this summer.

“I have been a keen supporter of the new cycle circuit since plans for the site at Kettlestoun were first announced, and I was pleased to convene a meeting of national funding bodies to help them see the potential in this community led initiative, which also received Scottish Government Funding as part of the upcoming UCI World Cycling Championships later this year.

“I am really delighted to see the completion of the Cycle Circuit, having watched its development over the last eight months. The cycle Circuit will be accessible to all and there will be activities and cycling opportunities for all ages at the official open day on Saturday 27th May.

“I want to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to the Linlithgow Community Development Trust and to the Clarion Cycle Club for their vision and determination in making the West Lothian cycle Circuit a reality.”

For more information about the open day visit: West Lothian Cycle Circuit – A world class facility: let’s get more people cycling

We can’t wait to invite you all to our brand new world class cycle circuit. There’s a jam packed programme of activities, for all the family

9.00-11.00am
Free Adult coaching
Various groups and levels

Sign up here
https://tinyurl.com/2p93csb7

11am Gates open
12.15pm Opening Ceremony starts
12.30pm Linlithgow Reed Band and Cycling without Age lead the procession around the first loop of the new circuit
1pm Kids entertainers inc facepainting, balloon modelling and circus tricks
1.30pm Experience the Worlds in association with Scottish Cycling register at the West Lothian Clarion tent. Aimed at 6-12yrs old but can be older (bring a bike!) to do a skills test around our specially built course
4pm Event finish
5pm Bicycle racing with the The Cycling Academy Criterium

There will be hot drinks, bakery and sandwiches available to buy from our onsite vendor ‘Ptarmigan’ from the Horse Box!

We were on site last week checking in on the progress of this amazing facility. The circuit has now been fully dug out so you can see the shape

RJ Macleod are on schedule for their new year completion.

We’ve been working on plans for some technical features inside the loops using the excavated soil.

It was exciting to actually walk round the whole circuit and get a good idea of what to expect.

Photo by Malcolm Clapperton

#Letsbuildit

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Construction has started, now it’s time to plan the weekly time table. Register how you or your club, community group or business would like to use the Cycle Circuit when it opens in March 2023.

How will you use the West Lothian Cycle Circuit?

Fill in this form to explain how your organisation will use the circuit.

https://forms.gle/b7V2gdMpM4jKpLsU9

And don’t forget!

Open forum: 7.30pm, 5th October Xcite Linlithgow (McGinley Way EH49 6SQ Linlithgow)

RSVP by October 3rd cyclecircuitwestlothian@gmail.com

Thank you!