Portovelo began in early 2012 when a small group of local cyclists got together to discuss plans for a friendly, community-based and inclusive cycling club. The core idea was to organise weekly rides on Sunday mornings, open to all, and to keep the club informal (with no written constitution or office-bearers). The idea was advertised locally, a website was created, and initial jersey designs were prepared. The first ride took place in April, starting at 9 am. For the first month or so we had weekly social evenings at the Dalriada bar on the Prom; these then became monthly. We also ran our first family rides and a couple of social rides at a slower pace.

In early 2013, we shifted the start-time for our Sunday rides to 8 am from March to October, reverting to 9 am in the winter. 2013 was also the year of the first weekender, which then became an annual tradition, and the first longer end-of-summer “challenge” ride.

In 2014, we started offering slower rides on the first Sunday of the month, in addition to our established “fitness” rides. That year also saw a couple of trips to the Chris Hoy velodrome in Glasgow to try out track cycling.

In 2016, we ran our first mid-week evening rides. We also did a Sunday ride with a journalist and photographer who wrote it up for Cycling Weekly’s “Ride with” feature – fame at last!

The first few Sundays in 2017 saw a big increase in turnout, which meant the slower “intermediate” ride we had been running only on the first Sunday of the month could become a permanent feature alongside the established “fitness” ride. By early 2019, that had expanded to three groups with the addition of a faster “fitness-plus” group.

All rides were suspended from March to September 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and again from October 2020 (the second lockdown). While club rides were suspended, members continued to ride individually and to stay in touch via social media and occasional social evenings on Zoom. We also organised “lockdown individual time-trials” on Strava segments in the Lothians. Group rides resumed in May 2021, and included a mid-week intermediate ride as well as our Sunday rides. In June 2021 we expanded our Sunday offering again, with a new “intermediate-plus” group, and in October 2021 we began fortnightly gravel rides on Saturdays.

Weekenders

An annual tradition, involving two nights at a youth hostel, allowing a big ride on the Saturday and a shorter ride on Sunday morning, plus a communal meal out in between. Venues are usually within about 3 hours of Edinburgh, accessible by car-sharing or a combination of train and bike.

2013 – Stirling

2014 – Aviemore

2015 – Oban

2017 – Arran (Lochranza)

2016 – Kirkby Stephen (Yorkshire Dales)

2018 – Dufton (North Pennines)

2019 – Newton Stewart

2021 – Pitlochry

2022 – Wooler (Northumberland)

2023 – Tomintoul

2024 – Helmsley (North Yorkshire)

2025 – Oban

Club Member of the Year

Awarded every year to someone who has made a significant contribution to the club. Each winner’s name is engraved on a silver quaich kindly donated to the club by the Lanterne Rouge cafe in Gifford.

2017 – Andrew Mylne

2018 – Dave Perry

2019 – David Shand

2020 – Mike Muldoon

2021 – Simon Shields

2022 – Gordon Muir

2023 – Peter Roscamp

2024 – Carol & Tim Jones

2025 – Graham Boyack