While this renovation work is going on, the stock of bicycles available for the Saturday bike sales is not as big as usual.  If you can't find what you want this week, please come back soon, as this shortage of bicycles is only temporary. Once the work is finished, the new display space will mean that we can put bicycles on sale as soon as they are fixed by our mechanics. The Bike Station will be open for sales six days per week once the work is complete.

We will also be extending the space available for our ever-popular Fix Your Own Bike sessions and running them for longer.  For a small fee you can rent a work stand to work on your own bicycle, with a professional mechanic and expert volunteers to advise and show you what to do. Plus, we'll have dedicated teaching space upstairs on the mezzanine for Weldtech and other courses. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, our repair service reopens at the same time as the new display area – reasonably priced repairs using recycled parts where appropriate.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT – WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN OUR NEW WORKSHOP SOON!

Dr Bike is all about getting people cycling by making sure their bikes are in tip-top condition, and supporting you cycling by making sure your bike stays that way. A badly-rusted chain or slipping gears can make the difference between a pleasant commute and an arduous struggle up the slightest slope.

If we are coming to where you work, look out for the posters telling you where and when. If you aren't sure, contact your Bicycle User Group or building manager. Workplaces with bookings so far include the Sheraton, the Scottish Government, Royal London, RCAHMS and the Marriot. We'll also be at Napier University, Heriot-Watt and Stevenson College. We are at Edinburgh University's campuses every month - check their website for the full programme.

We post many of our upcoming Dr Bikes on the Bike Station website, and on Twitter, so sign up so as not to miss out.

If you would like to arrange a Dr Bike visit, booking is very straightforward. And if you know someone who uses a rusty chain as an excuse not to get pedalling, make sure they know.

Our 30,000th bicycle is an Edinburgh Bicycle co-operative Contour bicycle, from the early nineties and it's already been repaired and reconditioned. It had been well used and well looked after, proof that a well-maintained and good-quality bike lasts a long time.

Over the years, almost every conceivable type, age and condition of bicycle has come our way. The oldest dated back to 1896 and was rescued from a skip. It's been fully restored and has pride of place in our workshop. We have had Japanese bikes brought over by overseas students and with centrifugal gears, Swiss bikes with number plates, racing bikes from the 1930s, red postal bikes, a child's bike from the 1940s that the owner remebers as a child being wheeled through blitzed streets.

Bike number 30,000

Most of the bikes though, are regular bikes for travelling around town and with the growth in cycling in Edinburgh, each one we repair finds a new cyclist.

So far we have reconditioned over 13,000 bikes, just under half - all back out on the road. Those that are beyond repair, we strip for their re-usable parts - there's almost nothing we can't do something with. As much as possible, we re-use the parts to recondition the ones we do repair. At our Fix Your Own Bike sessions, anyone wanting to repair and maintain their own bike has full access to the vast stock of parts.

And the rest is sent for metal recycling - not going to waste.

Bike 25,000  Our oldest bike - 1896

This will take place on Edinburgh’s network of off-street paths as part of the Innertube project being delivered this year by the Bike Station and ELGT, funded by the People’s Postcode Trust ‘Dream Fund’. 

WHAT:   The Innertube Christmas Fun Day- A free community fun day full of activities including Christmas crafts, bulb planting, making bird feeders, Dr Bike, storytelling and festive refreshments! 

WHERE:  The Hawthornvale Entrance to the Innertube cycle path network, Hawthornvale, Newhaven 

WHEN:    Sunday 11th December 2011, 11am - 2pm  ELGT needs volunteers and families to come along to this free community drop in event to plant daffodil bulbs, listen to storytelling and make Christmas crafts with natural woodland materials.

Volunteers will be rewarded with hot chocolate, mince pies and some free daffodil bulbs to take home and plant, either in the garden or in pots. There will also be the opportunity to have bikes checked by Dr Bike and make a bird feeder to take home and keep the birds fed this winter. 

Once construction is complete, ESW will be landscaping the cycle path and the areas which surround the two new buildings. The landscaping plan uses trees and shrubs native to Scotland and, to help the landscaping establish as quickly as possible, ESW is running a ‘Tree Hosting’ project - starting from now, volunteers will host a tree in their allotment or garden for up to 2 years, until 2013, when it will be replanted on the Hawthornvale path.

ESW will supply the trees in pots which will can be put straight into the ground, allowing them to be more easily replanted in two years time. The trees will take a little bit of care but as they are small should be easy to cope with - and no blame will be attached if your tree fails to thrive for whatever reason. 

Would you like to host a tree which will be used in ESW’s landscaping of the cycle path in 2013? If you would like to be a Tree-Hoster please get in touch as soon as you can so we can arrange a collection date for your tree.  Contacts: Irene Kernan (irene@edinburghsculpture.org) or Andrea Geile (ESWmembersrep@googlemail.com)

There is hot soup from Midday!

All welcome, under 16’s should be accompanied by an adult

For further information please contact Esperanza Martin on 0131 445 4025 esperanza@elgt.org.uk

The event is part of ELGT's and the Bike Station People's Postcode Lottery Dream Fund project to improve and promote Edinburgh's traffic-free path network.

At Fiveways Junction, on the Haymarket to Ocean Terminal/the Shore path, we recorded a 26% increase in the number of cyclists compared to November 2010. This section of Edinburgh's paths has been a key part of the Edinburgh Bike Station's and Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust Innertube project to promote and improve the paths, supported by the People's Postcode Lottery Dream Fund.

On Causewayside, we recorded a 15% increase compared to last November. Causewayside is the main corridor between Edinburgh University's two largest campuses and will soon see major improvements to become a cycling corridor.

The third location we surveyed was North Bridge, where the number of cyclists compared to last year has dropped by 1%.  With the increases seen elsewhere, the North Bridge result is probably more to do with increased car traffic and congestion on that route due to the closure of the Mound and Princes Street for the tramworks, so many cyclists have sought alternative routes.

Both counts were carried out on the third Tuesday of November, and the weather was almost identical on both days, allowing a meaningful comparison.

These results prove what is visible - ever more cyclists on Edinburgh's streets.

"There are big similarities between Oxford's well-established 'dual network' approach to encouraging cycle use and Edinburgh's Active Travel Action Plan, both of which feature a 'family network' aimed at the less experienced or less confident cyclist, alongside an 'onroad network' aimed at using a bike for everyday utility and commuter purposes.  Both cities also have excellent bus services which help provide a car-reduced environment (in addition Lothian Buses trains its drivers in cyclist-awareness).  The speakers will explain the approach of their own city, and the audience will then get the chance to ask questions, make comparisons and suggest lessons that each city might learn from the other.  Further details on www.spokes.org.uk".

Time: 7.30-9.30 [open 6.45 for coffee, stall and chat]

Where: Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh

Speakers: 

Cllr Gordon Mackenzie, Edinburgh City Council Transport Convener

Richard Mann, sustainable transport consultant and member of Cyclox, Oxford Cycle Campaign 

RCAHMS (the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Scotland), the people who look after Scotland's collection of buildings, monuments and history, recently did a survey of the historic milestone and half milestone markers on the Union canal by bike. In three hours, using bicycles loaned by the Bike Station through a Better way to work, they found some twenty markers. This was probably the first they had used bicycles for fieldwork since 1908. By bike it took half a day - by car it would probably taken a whole day.

RSTO, based in Leith have just started the process of becoming a Cycle Friendly Employer, and their first step was for the Bike Station to install cycle parking. Through the Bike Station's CFE Service Centre, NHS National Services and Edinburgh Airport have all been awarded Cycle Friendly Employer Award status.

The People's Poscode Lottery, with their offices on Leith Links, had the Bike Station in for Dr Bike, encouraging some 12 staff to cycle in especially.

People's Postcode Lottery bikes with Dr BikeOn the Bike Station's ScotBUG website, some 40 companies have now registered new Bicycle User Groups to promote and increase cycling in their workplaces.

With increasing numbers of cyclists on Edinburgh's streets, and with winter now upon us, it's more important than ever for cyclists to be aware of the basics to make sure they are visible and legal, to keep themselves safe. And as well as lights and reflectors, it's vital to keep your bike in good condition to make winter cycling easier and to make your bike last longer. The mobile Bike Station bike mechanic will be able to give you advice and top tips.

The hi-viz jackets are supplied by Lothian Buses as part of their commitment to road safety for all road users. "We are proud to be supporting this initiative from the Bike Station. As part of our Safety and Awareness programme, Lothian Buses is committed to enhancing our relationship with cyclists in and around Edinburgh. We hope these hi-viz jackets help to keep cyclists safe on the roads this winter".