Author Topic: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019  (Read 30045 times)

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #50 on: 02 February, 2019, 10:41:08 am »
SO basically this was a ride to join 10 years ago and right now it's more hassle than it's worth...  ::-)
I seem to remember people saying exactly the same thing ten years ago (or more) when I vaguely considered going
"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #51 on: 02 February, 2019, 11:03:09 am »
^
^
+1
My first was in 2007 (The wet one)
Since which time I've ridden it around five or six times, including four of us doing Adam's battery powered version one October.
I think the last proper one I did was 2011 or 2012, by which time the appeal had, mostly, been lost.

Incidentally, I've said this before, but it was reading the late Barry Mason's FAQs for the Dun Run in 2006 that convinced me that  I should buy a bike and get back into cycling, on the basis of 'This sounds great! I must do this before it gets too big and too out of hand, and someone with a large, decorated hat declares Risk Assesment! Method Statement! Insurance! Organisation!
And, sure enough, that's the way it has mostly panned out.

We are no longer welcome at the village hall in Great Waldingham or (latterly) Sible Headingham, for the half-way food stop where volunteers would serve up tea, cake  and hot pasta dishes and you could sit in shelter at tables to eat and drink and recover your strengths.
Someone on Sible Headingham  parish council is a petrol-head who doesn't like cyclists.
Allegedly.
Also, we left litter.
Allegedly.

Having been barred from using SH village hall as a half-way stop, (or having any formally recognised half-way stop) means that Patrick Field, of The London School of Cycling, no longer puts out the trail of lit candles in jars by the roadside, to guide you to your nocturnal feast.
The absence of these is a shame.
They were part of the attraction.

The flip side of the disappearance of the SH stop, and growth in popularity / notoriety of the ride means that each year more and more pop-up refreshment points have appeared.
From the Fire Station in Sudbury, to people serving up bacon butties or barbecues in their front gardens, to (one year, I noticed) someone had a yurt in their garden, offering massages (No, not that sort!).
Raising money for one charity or another appears to be the motivation behind this.
I'd say that this is mostly good.

In recent years, the advent of bluetooth speakers means that the attraction of the ride being mostly a silent one, is no longer there. As riders churn out their favourite motivational choons into the Suffolk night, it is little wonder that the ride is subject to some riposte from locals who's sleep is disturbed by cyclist's boom-boxes as the riders pass through rural hamlets.
IMHO sharing your fave choons, with locals who are sleeping is a bit of a shit and inconsiderate thing to do.

At Dunwich itself, The Flora Tea Rooms are now open from around 03:30 to welcome the sprinters.
The owners of The Ship pub have also got wise to the ride and these days they open early in the morning to serve a quality breakfast . They never used to open until normal licensing hours at noon. Booking your table is recommended.
And that last sentence, sums up everything about the direction in which the Dun Run has morphed.
Booking your table? Booking anything?
It is (used to be) a turn up and go ride.

Incidentally, pitching up on Dunwich Beach one October morning, when the four of us had ridden Adam's battery powered version of the ride, showed us what a totally different place Dunwich is, compared to the day when a couple of thousand cyclists descend on the place.
The car park is usually, absolutely rammed with cars belonging to dog walkers and bird watchers. None of whom get a look-in on the day we fill it with half a dozen coaches, a handful of furniture vans and numerous cars collecting spent overnight riders.


I wonder if anyone still does my Bovinger diversion to Moreton? In order to
A) Catch last orders at The White Hart or The Nags Head and
B) Catch out novices following me, causing them to miss the Bovinger left turn and career into the inky darkness of the A414 towards Chelmsford.

ETA -Incidentally, if anyone (including Wikipedia) tells you that the ride is 120 miles long, they are wrong.
If they've clocked up 120 miles it is probably because they've been lost.
It's just shy of 113 miles from London Fields to Dunwich beach.

Kim

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Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #52 on: 02 February, 2019, 12:18:48 pm »
That's about the size of it.  Of course, some people are attracted by the huge numbers.

The huge numbers, or at least the sheer diversity of the riders, is the main attraction.  Otherwise you've just got a ride that's a bit too long to be sociable but a bit too short to be an audax, that goes to the earwig-infested middle of nowhere via some of the nastier bits of That London and a whole load of places with the same name that don't have any 24 hour services.  If those are your criteria there are all sorts of more interesting, or at least logistically easier, destinations.

The flip side of that diversity is that you get all the main flavours of prats on bikes - from potheads with no lights or food, through commuters with strobe-o-vision FRIKKIN LAZERS and sodcasting phones, to the London Dynamo peloton.

All things being equal, the Fridays (and indeed YACF) do it better.  But the size of the thing gives it novelty value.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #53 on: 02 February, 2019, 12:25:16 pm »
Last time I did it (2017, my 10th I think) I certainly used the Jurek manoeuvre. But I was on my own then.

Rebecca, whom I first met at the start of the 2016 Dun Run and we then spent the hight together, along with Ruthie OTP, is hoping to do it again this year but starts a new job on Monday which may well impinge upon her time as it involves a lot of foreign travel. I will try to get there, and possibly ride back with tent.

Oh, R told me on Weds that she has a pal who lives in Dunwich so there may be accommodation for the first night.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Redlight

  • Enjoying life in the slow lane
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #54 on: 02 February, 2019, 02:15:16 pm »
SO basically this was a ride to join 10 years ago and right now it's more hassle than it's worth...  ::-)
I seem to remember people saying exactly the same thing ten years ago (or more) when I vaguely considered going

First time I rode it was 1997 and there were people grumbling then that it had gotten too big  ::-)
Why should anybody steal a watch when they can steal a bicycle?

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #55 on: 02 February, 2019, 03:24:21 pm »
112.7 miles, measured in 2006 with a painstakingly calibrated bike computer.  That includes the alternative route to Moreton, presumably the same as Jurek's...I go that way because it's quiet enough for a slash - on early July runs, you get a nice view of the sunset from the preferred field - and also because the official route funnels everyone into a ridiculously narrow lane, where it just grinds to a halt.

I only remember two Sible Hedingham stops - 2005 was Monks Eleigh, 2006 was Great Waldingfield, 2007 I never made it that far but I think was Great Waldingfield, 2008 was Lavenham, 2009 was Great Waldingfield and 2010 and 2012 were Sible Hedingham.  Not sure about 2011, probably Sible Hedingham again.

I think the traditional halfway stop was crushed by numbers more than anything else.  Great Waldingfield village hall, which I think was the traditional stop before I started riding them, isn't in a particularly populated area (the others are).  Sible Hedingham was a little bit hard to find, not being on the route.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #56 on: 02 February, 2019, 03:36:51 pm »
112.7 miles, measured in 2006 with a painstakingly calibrated bike computer.  That includes the alternative route to Moreton, presumably the same as Jurek's...I go that way because it's quiet enough for a slash - on early July runs, you get a nice view of the sunset from the preferred field - and also because the official route funnels everyone into a ridiculously narrow lane, where it just grinds to a halt.

I only remember two Sible Hedingham stops - 2005 was Monks Eleigh, 2006 was Great Waldingfield, 2007 I never made it that far but I think was Great Waldingfield, 2008 was Lavenham, 2009 was Great Waldingfield and 2010 and 2012 were Sible Hedingham.  Not sure about 2011, probably Sible Hedingham again.

I think the traditional halfway stop was crushed by numbers more than anything else.  Great Waldingfield village hall, which I think was the traditional stop before I started riding them, isn't in a particularly populated area (the others are).  Sible Hedingham was a little bit hard to find, not being on the route.
My bold.
'Zactly.
I have a several of ride data declaring it to be 112.8 miles.
I'm not going to quibble over the difference. ;)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #57 on: 02 February, 2019, 03:56:48 pm »
Amusingly, the drag of a hub dynamo on the Dun Run, often quoted as "only" like climbing 10 feet per mile, is like climbing Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds, from sea level, when those with battery lights get to go round it.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Kim

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Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #58 on: 02 February, 2019, 03:58:36 pm »
More random Dun Run stats pls.   :thumbsup:

whosatthewheel

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #59 on: 02 February, 2019, 04:14:18 pm »
Amusingly, the drag of a hub dynamo on the Dun Run, often quoted as "only" like climbing 10 feet per mile, is like climbing Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds, from sea level, when those with battery lights get to go round it.

As long as you don't go up via Bushcombe Lane, I don't see the issue...  ::-)

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #60 on: 02 February, 2019, 05:14:20 pm »
My first DD was last year. What I liked was being able to make the ride what you wanted it to be.

Like many things in life, a very small minority became more memorable for the wrong reasons, but I'm really looking forward to going back again in 2019.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #61 on: 02 February, 2019, 05:39:09 pm »
Like many things in life, a very small minority became more memorable for the wrong reasons
Ah, Dulwich Paragon!
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #62 on: 02 February, 2019, 06:38:09 pm »
Like many things in life, a very small minority became more memorable for the wrong reasons
Ah, Dulwich Paragon!
And London Dynamo, methinks.

yorkie

  • On top of the Galibier
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #63 on: 02 February, 2019, 07:07:39 pm »
Like many things in life, a very small minority became more memorable for the wrong reasons
Ah, Dulwich Paragon!
And London Dynamo, methinks.
They are nowhere near as bad as Dulwich Paragon! Especially the 2015 and 2016 versions! 2018 was **much** nicer in that respect. (I didn't ride in 2017, went to the French Alps instead!)
Born to ride my bike, forced to work! ;)

British Cycling Regional A Track Commissaire
British Cycling Regional A Circuit Commissaire
Cycling Attendant, York Sport Village Cycle Circuit and Velodrome

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #64 on: 02 February, 2019, 07:22:29 pm »
And, sure enough, that's the way it has mostly panned out.

Not really, some things have got worse, some things have gotten much better. Sure, if you focus hard on the negatives you can convince yourself it sucks now.

(my understanding is the Sible Hedingham hall stop ended in part because it'd become redundant due to the number of other places open. To me the most remarkable thing is the council *ever* allowed it...)

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #65 on: 03 February, 2019, 10:44:15 am »
When I rode the DD two years ago it was definitely the worst I've done. Apart from a brief spell between Great Bardfield and Bilderstone, when I had Damarell for company, I rode alone. That was rather boring. It was cloudy, so there was no lovely moon to admire, it was pretty late in July so the sun was further below the horizon, and I was hurting quite a lot from about 80 miles onwards, on account of the ride accounting for more than 10% of my annual mileage. For my final loo stop, at the 100 mile mark in Framlingham at about 9am, I was in considerable pain from almost my entire body. I stopped in Sibton for an hour or so and had a cuppa wth Terry, and then continued to the beach at a very leisurely pace, arriving some time after 1pm. I had a swim and Dez came and found me.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #66 on: 27 February, 2019, 04:14:15 pm »
When I rode the DD two years ago it was definitely the worst I've done. Apart from a brief spell between Great Bardfield and Bilderstone, when I had Damarell for company, I rode alone.

I did manage to plug around last year, perhaps by taking a slightly more sensible bike, then had a couple of pints of breakfast in the Ship and limped down to Lowestoft; I'll bring the same slightly more sensible bike this year so I might be slightly more company.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #67 on: 16 April, 2019, 05:44:49 pm »
Three months to go.  I'm bricking it ready.  Don't know whether to take the yellow Harry Quinn commuter fixie or the Moulton.  I'd really like to take the track bike but it (being a bona fide track iron) has no bottle mounts.  Not insurmountable though.  Pun intended.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #68 on: 18 April, 2019, 07:59:55 pm »
Three months to go.  I'm bricking it ready.  Don't know whether to take the yellow Harry Quinn commuter fixie or the Moulton.  I'd really like to take the track bike but it (being a bona fide track iron) has no bottle mounts.  Not insurmountable though.  Pun intended.

Why is a fit young thing like you "bricking it" when a gnarly old slowcoach like me thinks "This is going to be fun!"?

I shall be on my Bach choral course at St. Andrews Uni some 10 days after the DD. At the moment I'm toying with the idea of taking camping kit and cycling as far as I can towards Scotland in the time. Probably doable at about 45 miles per day.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #69 on: 18 April, 2019, 08:36:58 pm »
Three months to go.  I'm bricking it ready.  Don't know whether to take the yellow Harry Quinn commuter fixie or the Moulton.  I'd really like to take the track bike but it (being a bona fide track iron) has no bottle mounts.  Not insurmountable though.  Pun intended.

Why is a fit young thing like you "bricking it" when a gnarly old slowcoach like me thinks "This is going to be fun!"?

I shall be on my Bach choral course at St. Andrews Uni some 10 days after the DD. At the moment I'm toying with the idea of taking caping kit and cycling as far as I can towards Scotland in the time. Probably doable at about 45 miles per day.
Werd.

BFC

  • ACME Wheelwright and Bike Fettler
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #70 on: 23 April, 2019, 05:03:42 pm »
Three months to go.  I'm bricking it ready.  Don't know whether to take the yellow Harry Quinn commuter fixie or the Moulton.  I'd really like to take the track bike but it (being a bona fide track iron) has no bottle mounts.  Not insurmountable though.  Pun intended.
It's surprising what you can get away with on a track bike - once the sun goes down so do the temperatures - water requirements reduce a lot on the overnight sessions, assuming you are properly hydrated before setting off. Have water with you in a lightweight rucksack or saddle pack and be prepared to pause on the ride.
You will need a front brake - when mixing it with geared and other machines/riders you need to match their ability to stop. The DD is a mix of riders many of whom are not used to group riding or night rides, avoid the wandering wheels even if they are a tempting tow. Ride to a pace that your lighting supports, don't blame someone else when you ride through a pothole.
The DD runs through flint country - velodrome tyres are not recommended! - and the velodromes don't like you running flint laden tyres on their track afterwards.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #71 on: 23 April, 2019, 10:48:45 pm »
Talking of the DD, I have been cycling around the Kingdom of Fife this week. I can’t remember which day or where, but I was overtaken far to closely by some lean bloke wearing a Dulwich College cycling top. I S it something in the water there?
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #72 on: 11 May, 2019, 08:27:10 pm »
9 weeks to DD Day! Who's in?
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #73 on: 13 May, 2019, 09:04:26 pm »
Yep.

Mango Smith

  • Dawdling around Norfolk, 74" at a time.
Re: Dunwich Dynamo, 13th July 2019
« Reply #74 on: 16 May, 2019, 06:47:01 pm »
Yep. Excited Dunwich virgin here. Riding on to Cromer after.