I'd love to do it - I've done it - er - six and a half times previously - but the logistics of getting back are just too much these days, since I can no longer get a lift. Maybe I need to book a B&B or something.
From experience, minimising bike weight is my no.1 tip; the second one would be to have a lamp with a beam high enough to pick out road signs. You don't need a map if you know the village names; they are all signposted.
A summary of DD rides:
2005. Rode this one more or less solo. Thorn Nomad, totally self-sufficient with enough tools and spares to fix anything except a broken frame and a bivvy for the beach. It chucked it down just before I got off the train to London, which made for a misty and chilly night. Was using a photocopied road atlas with the route drawn on it - very low tech.
Set off at about 2040 with Plomesgate CC Pete & son (who happen to live near Dunwich) but could only keep up with them as far as the North Circular due to the weight I was carrying. Desperate for a slash, stopped in Epping Forest by which time it was truly dark. A104 a bit scary; have never done it in darkness since. Narrow lanes immediately after North Weald terribly slow and congested and the flashing tail-lights were giving me a headache (have done a sneaky deviation ever since to avoid these couple of miles).
The sole navigational error was in Great Dunmow when I overshot the right turn into the town centre, quickly resolved. Started to get a bit of a second wind through Essex - that short hill in Finchingfield is a shocker if you're not expecting it (sprint as soon as I you get to the hump-backed bridge, then you're up it before you know what's happening). Felt better still when I passed the Suffolk sign and rolled down into Sudbury, although there is a horrible drag up to the Tesco. Feed stop was a late one that year, not until Monks Eleigh. Got there about 1am and there wasn't much of a queue; I'd passed most of the riders on the road somewhere. Food looked horrible so ate flapjack and got a cup of coffee.
Received wisdom is that you can arrive at the feed stop more or less spent, because the second half is a whole new ride. This was true that year and I made pretty good progress up onto the plateau round Wattisham airfield. On a good night this bit is quite magical as it's fast, flat and the riders are really spread out so it's also peaceful - I rode most of the section no-hands to try and relieve my neck. This was the only time I actually saw the moon. The first sign for Ipswich, which you pass up there, is a boost because Ipswich is ON THE COAST! Started to flag a bit after Needham Market, when the terrain starts to roll a bit again, but somehow negotiated all the tricky lanes which follow...in contrast to the next few years, when I/we generally bolloxed it up completely
Started to get light at Kettleburgh, quite atmospheric in the mist. Dawn makes you feel a whole lot better in spirit, but my legs didn't have much left in them. Passed a rider having a dump in a ditch at Framlingham while his mates giggled. I had a full toilet roll with me (I'm not making this up) but completely forgot it was there! Picked up a group of other first-timers at the turn for Bruisyard and one of them (on an Airborne Carpe Diem) gave me some chocolate flapjack, which was just what I needed. We supported each other the rest of the way, barely able to make it up the small hills but not being overtaken by anyone else.
Rolled into Dunwich at about 0620 and there wasn't a queue for breakfast - straight in, sat down and ate a fry-up. Then froze my nads off on the windy, grey beach for seven hours waiting for the coaches home. That was the worst bit and I vowed never to take that option again. I even went in the crappy museum just to try and keep warm and had a horrid pint of Adnams Broadside, normally a most reliable beer, in The Ship.
Trip back was not improved by the bike lorry going to Kings Cross instead of Smithfield, which meant I missed my booked train back to Swindon and was then thrown off at Reading, along with every other passenger, because the police thought there was a pervert on the train (not me) and stopped the service there. My mother collected me from Reading in the car and drove me home. It's amazing that I returned for another year...to be continued.