I joined Edinburgh's Dawn Patrol with a world champion for a stunning 19-mile cycle ride at 5.40am

I had joined half a dozen fellow riders in the darkness of St Andrew Square in the centre of Edinburgh for the latest of the twice-weekly early morning spins round the city launched last September by cycling author and round-the-world rider Markus Stitz.

Inspired by the original rides in Oslo, which leave at 5.40am every Tuesday and Thursday, Edinburgh’s Dawn Patrol - believed to be the only one in the UK - sets off at the same times and also follows a 19-mile set route round the city, ending with coffee and chat. The route is on the Edinburgh Dawn Patrol Instagram page.

For my cycling companions, who included round-the-world record holder Mark Beaumont, it has become an addiction they say sets them up for the day. One man was so excited about a previous ride he stayed up all night.

Over the past few years, I’ve found cycling has produced among my best and most memorable experiences - and the Dawn Patrol did not disappoint.

The route took us north to Newhaven and Leith, then along the Portobello waterfront to meet the sunrise at 6.20am. The ride then continued south east as far as Musselburgh before turning south west to Millerhill, then north west back to the city centre.

I was rewarded with the most unexpected and spectacular part of the ride - a gentle, snaking descent through Little France Park beside the Royal Infirmary, with Craigmillar Castle and Arthur’s Seat gloriously illuminated in the early morning sunshine.

Nicknamed by regulars as the “swoopy bit”, freewheeling down the winding path past frosty parkland, it felt like the cycling equivalent of gliding down a ski slope.

Returning via Holyrood Park for coffee and pastries at a cafe near the start of the ride at 7.30am, the others were buzzing.

Bob Spetz, a 52-year-old writer who joined the rides in December, said: “It’s a unique experience to get up before most of the rest of Edinburgh and cycle around with other people to see the dawn. Any day with Markus on a bike is a better day than it would have been otherwise. Every Tuesday morning is a good day.”

Mr Spetz enjoys the rides even in the middle of winter when it stays dark throughout. He said: “There’s something otherworldly about setting off in the dark and finishing in the dark - it’s so different to a normal cycle.”

Geo Camp, 42, a “professional volunteer and house husband”, said: “You start off with so much momentum for the rest of the day. It has been game changing as far as how my day goes. It’s a really nice way to wake up.”

Meanwhile, Rachel Marsden, a 50-year-old dentist, said she had tried to think of an excuse not to join the ride when first encouraged to take part, but now joins every Tuesday.

She said: “I said that I worked, but when I heard it started so early I realised I could still do it. It niggled at me as I left it while it got darker and darker. But when the clocks went back an hour in October, I realised there was going to be at least a little bit of dawn on the ride and the forecast was for a beautiful morning, so I said I’d do it once.

“I was with quite a fast group and it nearly killed me - it was really hard work. Just before we got to Little France Park and I didn’t know how far there was to go, I thought ‘I’m done, I’m so dead’.

“But then we did the ‘swoopy bit’ and I knew where we were. By the time we were having coffee afterwards, I was hooked - it was just such a pleasant experience. It became a personal challenge, measured by filling the coffee stamps on my cafe loyalty card.”

Despite the early starts, Ms Marsden said: “Paradoxically, I feel invigorated and ready for the day. It’s always a good day at work on a Tuesday.”

The set route has proved handy for people living nearby to be able to join. Mr Spetz said: “There’s also the comfort of the routine, and of getting to know the roads well enough, so I know where all the major potholes are in the dark.”

Mr Stitz, whose latest book, Gravel Rides Cairngorms & Perthshire, is published in May, said he had found the Dawn Patrol rides in Oslo, where his partner lives, to be an “amazing social thing”.

He said: “I based the route on the one in Oslo - about 30km, with some hills and stretches along the water, and some bits of Edinburgh you wouldn’t normally come through.

“Oslo and Edinburgh are quite similar cities - Oslo is on the Oslofjord with mountains rising as a backdrop. Edinburgh has the beach at Portobello and the Pentlands in the background.

“It’s great because you ride the streets of Edinburgh before all the car traffic appears. It’s really handy for most people because you can do it before you start your job, or if you’ve got kids, you may be back before they wake up.”

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Hans Flensted-Jensen, who started the Oslo Dawn Patrol in 2018, said the ride now attracted about 20 people in the winter and up to 150 in the summer. Sir Richard Branson took part in the ride in 2023 and others have been set in Bergen and other parts of Norway.

He said: “The main reason so many people join is it is an open community with no commitment required - no fee, sign-up or membership - just show up and ride. Established cycling groups can often seem a little intimidating at first for new joiners.

“Oslo Dawn Patrol has become a key part of my life where I have made lots of friends and built a quite incredible network.”