Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Rides and Touring => Topic started by: Wowbagger on 18 July, 2022, 01:40:56 pm
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Getting in early. I had withdrawal symptoms on Saturday and Sunday, and the earlier in the month the ride falls, the better it tends to be.
I really want to ride next year.
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There is a confirmed date already? I know it’s an objective thing, just can’t remember what the reference is for setting the date.
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It was published on the back of this year's route sheet, a photograph of which I saw on Facebook.
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There is a confirmed date already? I know it’s an objective thing, just can’t remember what the reference is for setting the date.
Early July Saturday nearest a full moon - I think.
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:thumbsup: I'll keep my post PBP-qualifying events clear of late June/early July, so the DD can be part of the ongoing build-up.
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Full moon on 3rd July 2023. As long as the sky remains clear, it should be a cracker.
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I am considering this. It depends on how many gazillions of molluscs it will cost to get from THE FROZEN NORTH to THAT LONDON. Also on what's going on with teh pLaGuE and the results of my foot x-ray on Friday.
Sam
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I think we should all do it, like the C+ forum days. We'll be dead soon enough.
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I may have done it this year, except for the Mersey Roads next weekend. It is in my calendar for next year, assuming it is dry.
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Spacebadger will book a coach to and from Swinedun (useful for Bristol, Oxford, Chippenham, Bath, Cheltenham etc) like he did in 2019 if there is enough to half fill it. You get an easy journey direct to London Fields and from the beach, with a reasonably early departure so you don't get hypothermia. Please register your interest.
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I'm tempted to have a crack at it on my e-bike. Out under my own power, and then use the battery assist to get me to a working train line... dare I try back to London?
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I'd love to especially as the coach option from Swindon would work for me.
Alas with the boys birthday on the 2nd and a trip to Switzerland earlier in June I don't think I can make it work.
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This is definitely on my to do list next year
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never ridden it but its on my to do list. 2023 is the year I think. Time to drag the penny farthing out of the garage again I think, one or two of us hoping to do that. What do riders do about getting back?
I just know the first response to that will be 'ride back'
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If you don't want to ride back ;) then the sensible option is to ride to a station other than one that everyone else is riding to.
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In recent years, the local train company tends to restrict carrying bicycles on Dynamo weekend. Getting a Southwark Cyclists’ coach ticket back is probably the easiest option.
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In recent years, the local train company tends to restrict carrying bicycles on Dynamo weekend. Getting a Southwark Cyclists’ coach ticket back is probably the easiest option.
It's certainly cheap and reliable, but I wouldn't put a bike with nice paint in those vans.
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In recent years, the local train company tends to restrict carrying bicycles on Dynamo weekend. Getting a Southwark Cyclists’ coach ticket back is probably the easiest option.
It's certainly cheap and reliable, but I wouldn't put a bike that I give two shits about in those vans.
Fixed it for you.
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Did it this year (2022) for the first time and really enjoyed the whole experience so hoping to do it again next year too.
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I was enjoying the article about someone's DD ride in the current Cycling UK magazine, until I got to this: "As the evening gave way to the night, we decided it was an appropriate time to produce the single most important item for a joyous Dynamo: a Bluetooth speaker."
I stopped reading at that point.
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Ugh. Bluetooth squeakers are appropriate to use onna bike in exactly two (2) situations:
1) Critical Mass, if and only if the BFO sound system has been waylaid or suffered an unfortunate failure.
b) Playing carols and cheese at modest volume on the Christmas ride to ye pubbe.
Sleepy villages at sleep o'clock is right out!
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I would've been interested to see Barry's response to this sort of thing.
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I hate the fucking things.
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They do occasionally function as a sort of passive sonar for locating unlit BSOists. But they already had chains for that.
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It's a question of time, place and volume. They can be excellent, as can any outdoor music:
50km on the Monday night social ride, which is apparently now a thing you do when the Wednesday night pub ride is either too fast or too slow, depending which one you pick. This marks a dangerous return to socialising (party Saturday, pub yesterday) as well as riding (must have been my longest ride since July and certainly fastest for a long time). But riding back from the pub at 9:30 when it feels like 11, with Bairdy's velosound system blasting out Steppenwolf, is like being in one of those trendy gravel videos, but with a pub and without gravel, and real. Better all round!
Seeing as DD departs at midnight, time is likely to be inappropriate, though it probably doesn't matter in open countryside and is swamped by other city sounds in the urban core. High volume rock at 2am in Suffolk Parva is going to be unwelcome but apart from that, it's up to your riding companions.
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They're part of the reason that the locals put tacks on the road.
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They're part of the reason that the locals put tacks on the road.
Salient point.
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Seeing as DD departs at midnight, time is likely to be inappropriate, though it probably doesn't matter in open countryside and is swamped by other city sounds in the urban core. High volume rock at 2am in Suffolk Parva is going to be unwelcome but apart from that, it's up to your riding companions.
Depart from London is 7-8pm, so most riders will be going through the villages 10pm-6am. Even "urban" areas are pretty silent after 12, especially the suburbs, so music is going to be unwelcome.
BT speakers on bikes have always struck me as being somewhat twatty in a "look at me" kind of way. Using then at night is just plain wrong, and irks me as a fellow rider. Headphones?
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BT speakers on bikes have always struck me as being somewhat twatty
Particularly on the DD, during which surely the greatest pleasure is the complete silence that one encounters at certain stages, broken only by the sound of smoothly running bicycles. Perhaps even only one bicycle, should you find yourself alone.
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Seeing as DD departs at midnight, time is likely to be inappropriate, though it probably doesn't matter in open countryside and is swamped by other city sounds in the urban core. High volume rock at 2am in Suffolk Parva is going to be unwelcome but apart from that, it's up to your riding companions.
Depart from London is 7-8pm, so most riders will be going through the villages 10pm-6am. Even "urban" areas are pretty silent after 12, especially the suburbs, so music is going to be unwelcome.
I must have been confusing it with a FNRttC.
BT speakers on bikes have always struck me as being somewhat twatty in a "look at me" kind of way. Using then at night is just plain wrong, and irks me as a fellow rider. Headphones?
They certainly can be, but they can equally just be a bike version of a car radio.
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DD doesn’t have a fixed departure time. You’ll find riders heading off a 9pm or earlier.
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I believe legend has it that the original Dynamo was a bunch (peleton ?) or couriers, who decided to ride to the coast after an evening in the pub. Of course you can start it at any time of your choosing.
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I believe legend has it that the original Dynamo was a bunch (peleton ?) or couriers, who decided to ride to the coast after an evening in the pub.
Urban myth created by Barry Mason, to increase the alure of the ride.
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Paid-for sportive-like thing run by Mosquito Bikes, AIUI.
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Carrying a BT speaker is like having a massive 'all the gear, no idea, so please drop me' jersey on, so I happily oblige whilst muttering 'wanker' under my breath.
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I believe legend has it that the original Dynamo was a bunch (peleton ?) or couriers, who decided to ride to the coast after an evening in the pub.
Urban myth created by Barry Mason, to increase the alure of the ride.
^This.
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To be clear, thr DD departs London Fields at 8pm on the dot. Leaving earlier is cheating and much after 8 :10 pm is tardy. Having ridden it numerous times over the last 12 if say each year brings its own unique character to the event. With regard to the disco soundbox blaring away on a bike in the small hours i found it irritating so pushed on. There are bigger things in life to get really annoyed about and if someone wants to play loud music they can carry on. There are more pop up refreshment stops along the route as well as the pubs.
2000 people equals 2000 opinions and perspectives. Id recommend it even as a one off experience. Something magical bowling through quiet rural roads with just your bike lights illuminating the pitch black night. I actually do use a dynamo front light, lessis more. I do have a retina burning light as well but it biminishes my peripheral night vision.
Ps. Start when you fancy!
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I'm not quite sure if the above post is tongue-in cheek, but people can leave when they like. It's not a race. And trying to get 2000 people to go through those narrow streets and alleyways all starting at 8pm - well, good luck.
I usually aim to start between 8.30 and 9pm. That way, I try to save the annoyance of being overtaken by a load of fast people who, all too often, overtake too closely. I'm usually at the beach in time for lunch.
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I might have to give it a go in 2023 if I am free. I have never ridden the DD, despite living right on the route for the last 20 odd years.
Imho, those with Bluetooth speakers are nothing but an inconsiderate pita. Try sleeping through the dozen or more you get going through between 11pm and 2am each time when the windows are all open due to the July heat and you are used to the near silence of a small Essex village. Doesn’t make for a happy me the next day.
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I might have to give it a go in 2023 if I am free.
I would take Andy W's advice above: Go at 2000 on the dot, 2010 is tardy and 2023 is disgracefully late! :D
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I might have to give it a go in 2023 if I am free. I have never ridden the DD, despite living right on the route for the last 20 odd years.
Imho, those with Bluetooth speakers are nothing but an inconsiderate pita. Try sleeping through the dozen or more you get going through between 11pm and 2am each time when the windows are all open due to the July heat and you are used to the near silence of a small Essex village. Doesn’t make for a happy me the next day.
There have also been complaints about people calling, "Left! Right! Hill! Gravel! Hole!", etc. which can be annoying if you live near one of these road features and hear it 500 times in the early hours. But non-cyclists just hate cyclists.
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There’s noise outside your window one night of the year and it’s quiet the rest of the year? How awful.
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I might have to give it a go in 2023 if I am free. I have never ridden the DD, despite living right on the route for the last 20 odd years.
Imho, those with Bluetooth speakers are nothing but an inconsiderate pita. Try sleeping through the dozen or more you get going through between 11pm and 2am each time when the windows are all open due to the July heat and you are used to the near silence of a small Essex village. Doesn’t make for a happy me the next day.
There have also been complaints about people calling, "Left! Right! Hill! Gravel! Hole!", etc. which can be annoying if you live near one of these road features and hear it 500 times in the early hours. But non-cyclists just hate cyclists.
I am neither a non-cyclist nor a cyclist hater, I dislike inconsiderate people who feel it is appropriate to play unnecessarily loud music in the small hours when it will clearly disturb others. They are two very different things.
There’s noise outside your window one night of the year and it’s quiet the rest of the year? How awful.
Every Bluetooth speaker I have ever owned has had two simple to use buttons that, with even the most basic courtesy, could have dealt with the issue by turning the volume down / off temporarily while passing through the villages on route. My philosophy is don’t expect people to be considerate to you if you can’t be arsed to be considerate to others.
Edit: I recognise I have a particular issue with loud music. In a previous life I spent best part of a year plagued by a neighbour in a semidetached pair who played base heavy music non-stop from midday until around 3am. I worked from home, the low frequency base beat was enough to vibrate the walls and could not be got away from no matter where in my house I went. I was surviving on 3 or 4 hours sleep a night most nights. He didn’t give a toss. The local council were slow to act. His landlord wasn’t worried as long as he got his rent. I couldn’t sell the house as nobody was going to move in with that racket next door. It affected my mental health. It still affects my outlook on things.
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... is on Saturday 1 July.
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Put it in my diary for this year, as I'll probably not be doing an extended tour. Was thinking of making a shorter tour/long weekend of it and heading back west to Ely afterwards, possibly with a little coastal jaunt or something. Might be the excuse to pull my finger out and sort out the recumbent.
Is there a GPX route published at all? I know it's very much a "turn up and go, minimally organised" type of event.
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Regarding route sheets - am I right in remembering in prehistoric times (before smartphones) that I sold paper route sheets for 1 quid a time at the start, for Southwark Cyclists funds?
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Regarding route sheets - am I right in remembering in prehistoric times (before smartphones) that I sold paper route sheets for 1 quid a time at the start, for Southwark Cyclists funds?
That sounds about right.
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http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?lnk=https://peter.chesspod.com/routes/eastanglia/dunruntrk.gpx
That's the route I followed in 2008, I think. There have been some minor variations to it since, eg the official half-way stop at Lavenham, which no longer exists.
I believe the odd straight line followed by the track back to Ipswich was the occasion that Regulator, Andrij and I were given a lift by Annie. She was supposed to drop us at the station but the intervention of the boys in blue, who were unhappy about the positioning of our bikes on the back of her car, forced us to ride the last bit.
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Regarding route sheets - am I right in remembering in prehistoric times (before smartphones) that I sold paper route sheets for 1 quid a time at the start, for Southwark Cyclists funds?
I don't know if it was you -- I seem to remember buying one for a quid from a chap called Fraser 2002-2005.
Sam
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Not guilty, Sam
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:( :( This means I cannot add you to my list of folks OTP (or others) that I have verified as being a genuine flesh and bone body person (as opposed to haunted pixels).
Sam
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Put it in my diary for this year, as I'll probably not be doing an extended tour. Was thinking of making a shorter tour/long weekend of it and heading back west to Ely afterwards, possibly with a little coastal jaunt or something. Might be the excuse to pull my finger out and sort out the recumbent.
Is there a GPX route published at all? I know it's very much a "turn up and go, minimally organised" type of event.
Not officially, but here's one https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28157346 (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28157346)
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Looking forward to it, as a Dunwich virgin. Just trying to organise transport there, as I don't fancy the train from Norwich - happy to split travel costs if anyone from Norfolkshire fancies it...
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I might be in this year, having perhaps worked out a better way home than trying to fathom Greater Anglia's inability to provide consistent information about what is and isn't OK.
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Greater Anglia trains is easy for for the Dunwich Dynamo. You just assume that any station you can reach in 4 - 5 hours of easy cycling won't be taking bikes that day. :demon:
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Greater Anglia trains is easy for for the Dunwich Dynamo. You just assume that any station you can reach in 4 - 5 hours of easy cycling won't be taking bikes that day. :demon:
Ha. Before the plague I'd run up to Lowestoft, but last year - it's not that they _weren't_ taking bikes from Lowestoft, and it's not that they _were_, but they couldn't consistently state that they were or were not.
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Greater Anglia trains is easy for for the Dunwich Dynamo. You just assume that any station you can reach in 4 - 5 hours of easy cycling won't be taking bikes that day. :demon:
I can't recall who it was, but someone on here last year cycled from Dunwich to the ferry between Felixstowe and Harwich, and caught train to London from there. It seemed to work fairly well for them.
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In 2021 Despeuch and I rode back down the coast via: Buttley Creek, Deben and Stour ferries. Breakfast #1 cooked on the beach, (bacon sarnies); #2 at the café in Thorpeness; lunch at the Boathouse café in Bawdsey, while waiting for the ferry over the Deben; icecream in Felixstowe (and a nap on a bench by the promenade); pub stop at the Maybush in Gt Oakley; fish'n'chips and another pint in Walton. Bivvy at a seekrit location, then to the Colne ferry from Point Clear over to East Mersea, after a Wetherspoons breakfast in Clacton. Home for lunch. Oh and not forgetting elevenses at Tiptree Jam Factory - the treats just kept coming!
I'd be up for something similar this time - the subject of the DunRun did come up at the pub last night. Forward planning has started!
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I'm probably going to have a crack at it on my leccy bike. The battery is probably good for about half the distance, but assuming there are a couple of scout huts open again this year, I reckon I should be able to scrounge sufficient electrons to finish the job. I would then leave the bike with My Mate Terry Who Art in Sibton and drive up to get it a day or two later. Or maybe ride back again over a couple of days. That worked really well when Jane and I did that a few years back.
I'll be in my 70th year by 1st July, so I reckon I can afford to treat myself a bit...
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I'm looking at planning a route back westwards, possibly with a little northerly excursion to Southwold. The tricky bit for me will be getting across the A11 and A12, with a possible cheeky bivvy somewhere about Thetford or so leaving a nice easy Sunday morning run-in. Need to scour the maps for crossings and work back from there.
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My commitments for the w/e of July 1st have just been cancelled so I'm now free for this ride again this year. I do a round trip from near Haverhill (joining the DD at Finchingfield at around midnight) to Dunwich and back again (250km round trip). The return leg after breakfast in the Dingle tearooms returns via Laxfield (Coop open at 7am) , Debenham (Coop), Haughley (Coop), Hawstead (Maglia Rosso cycling cafe for 3rd breakfast!!). Usually get to Dunwich between 5 and 6am. Back home by around 2pm (so not a fast ride).
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Greater Anglia trains is easy for for the Dunwich Dynamo. You just assume that any station you can reach in 4 - 5 hours of easy cycling won't be taking bikes that day. :demon:
I can't recall who it was, but someone on here last year cycled from Dunwich to the ferry between Felixstowe and Harwich, and caught train to London from there. It seemed to work fairly well for them.
You suggested Thorpe-le-Soken station, which I tried and worked well last year - no problem with the bike. It's about 52m from Dunwich and a fairly pleasant route. If you buy the ticket in advance it's a lot cheaper (as I found out!).
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Coach and van tickets have gone on sale:- https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/product/dunwich-dynamo-2023/
A 4 strong Chorlton(CH) Massive are riding and we'll be joined by a Yorkista from the Friday's Edinburgh-London tour.
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Following chat at the pub last Wednesday, there are a few interested in an ACME peloton, starting 30 miles up the route, probably from my house. Then riding back or taking the Sunday night bivvy option.
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Following chat at the pub last Wednesday, there are a few interested in an ACME peloton, starting 30 miles up the route, probably from my house. Then riding back or taking the Sunday night bivvy option.
Space for another in that peloton? Could be an attractive and convenient option.
Did you mean Saturday night bivvy? i.e. ride Fri-Sat - bivvy Sat, and ride home Sunday?
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It will take me about 18 hours to complete the distance but I have always wanted to do this ride. I may try to ìntercept somewhere along the route or start in the morning rather than at night and then bivvy my way back home. I've never been to Dunwich and feel that should be rectified :)
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The ride out of London in the sea of bike lights is what the ride's all about. I'd suggest either starting an hour or two early at most or intercepting somewhere around Epping Forest while people are still around.
Getting to the beach at the same time as everyone else just means a massive queue.
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^This.
Unless you decide to ride on...
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Thanks, good advice :)
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Following chat at the pub last Wednesday, there are a few interested in an ACME peloton, starting 30 miles up the route, probably from my house. Then riding back or taking the Sunday night bivvy option.
Space for another in that peloton? Could be an attractive and convenient option.
Did you mean Saturday night bivvy? i.e. ride Fri-Sat - bivvy Sat, and ride home Sunday?
Are you setting off on Sat 1st or Fri 30th ElyDave?
I'm considering doing my first DD, with riding up to Norwich for the train to Ely. Based on last year's info, the trains may be ok from there.
Not sure my legs would be up to the entire return trip.
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Following chat at the pub last Wednesday, there are a few interested in an ACME peloton, starting 30 miles up the route, probably from my house. Then riding back or taking the Sunday night bivvy option.
Space for another in that peloton? Could be an attractive and convenient option.
Did you mean Saturday night bivvy? i.e. ride Fri-Sat - bivvy Sat, and ride home Sunday?
Are you setting off on Sat 1st or Fri 30th ElyDave?
I'm considering doing my first DD, with riding up to Norwich for the train to Ely. Based on last year's info, the trains may be ok from there.
Not sure my legs would be up to the entire return trip.
No, just having a brain fart, for some reason my mind was on Fri/Sat rather than Sat/Sun.
Up to Norwich was also an option, or possibly Thetford way for the train as well - not sure on any difference.
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Hopefully riding it this year with two of my sons. We rode it last in 2021. Bit of a faff but heres how i dealt with return journey for us three. Weekend before the DD cycle to Walthamstow from north herts and leave my bike at my sons place. Train home. Saturday morning of ride day drive to Halesworth, train back to Walthamstow. Ride the DD that eveningand Sunday morning, cycle to Halesworth about 10 miles, remove all wheels from the 3 bikes, dtive back to north herts. My boys then stay for Sunday dinner then get train to London.
When ive solo ridden the DD, ( with 2000 others), i usually cycle back and not bother planning a specific route, just head west until around Lavenham, then i know route like back of my hand.
IMO, well worth doing this ride simply as its so rare to cycle through the night.
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... its so rare to cycle through the night.
I refer you to audax, particularly longer rides ....
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Monthly rides through the night with FnRRtC.
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True, but still pretty rare to cycle through the night for most. Personally i thoroughly enjoy it. Wider society is missing out
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True, but still pretty rare to cycle through the night for most. Personally i thoroughly enjoy it. Wider society is missing out
There's nothing stopping you just riding through the night any night of the year...
J
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Feel I should be doing this, this year, and have way too many questions. But the only silly question is the one that isn't asked.
Does everyone take all their nutrition with them?
Where does everyone start?
What time does it start?
What does everyone do at the finish (is there a party or anything), or does everyone just get there then go home?
Is a route FIT file available beforehand?
Is it a charity fundraiser event particularly?
Jef
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Its not hard ..... https://www.dunwichdynamo.co.uk/
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No, there are plentiful food stops.
London fields, near the pub.
About 8pm
Party after 116 miles? Are you joking?
Same route every year, look it up.
A couple of the food stops might. Otherwise, no.
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Feel I should be doing this, this year, and have way too many questions. But the only silly question is the one that isn't asked.
Define 'silly'. (https://road.cc/content/blog/123389-dunwich-dynamo-xxii)
(https://i.imgur.com/5ltb15C.jpg)
Does everyone take all their nutrition with them?
Define 'nutrition'.
(https://i.imgur.com/9ikv2ug.jpg)
Where does everyone start?
Behind Dulwich Paragon.
What time does it start?
Whenever Paragon leave.
What does everyone do at the finish (is there a party or anything), or does everyone just get there then go home?
There are lots of things you can do. Some go swimming, lured by the sunken bells of the doomed All Saints Church. (https://www.history.co.uk/articles/britain-s-atlantis-dunwich-the-sunken-city-of-suffolk) Others start a new life on the Suffolk coast, attracted by the coastal erosion.
(https://i.imgur.com/s2UliSe.jpg) (https://youtu.be/1EccaCcC2N0)
Then there are those who simply collapse and await collection by loved ones. An undetermined number turn around and ride back, (https://road.cc/content/feature/156876-dunwich-dynamo-and-back) considering the ride to Dunwich Half Dun.
Is a route FIT file available beforehand?
No idea what a FIT file is.
Is it a charity fundraiser event particularly?
There are two schools of thought on this.
1. We're all a charity case at some point. Just give generously to yourself.
2. Never ride a bike for charity. Once you're addicted, you'll start doing crowdfunders just for a spin to the corner shop.
(https://i.imgur.com/w9TAE8q.gif)
A moment of silence please for the late lamented Dalston Dynamo. (https://dalstondynamo.tumblr.com/manifesto)
It's that time of year when you’re thinking about Dunwich. Or at least, people are telling you to think about Dunwich. But really, think about Dunwich. Sure, the ride sounds amazing, but isn’t it a lot of work. Won’t it hurt?
This year there’s a solution. The Dalston Dynamo. All the start line camaraderie of Dunwich, but with none of the pain and suffering of riding all that way to a cold, stony beach and waiting two hours for breakfast.
(https://i.imgur.com/L4wzVcd.gif)
Other resources:
(https://i.imgur.com/SkMB9QH.jpg) (https://youtu.be/wpdwL74_4Qw)
(I'd edit that – it's been a few iterations since I've left Hitler's initial shock unscripted, for a start – but as it is now an historical document, my hands are tied. Also I've forgotten the password to that account.)
(https://i.imgur.com/YQHa93W.gif) (https://youtu.be/jbsSgjdWuhU)
Truly ancient history
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True, but still pretty rare to cycle through the night for most. Personally i thoroughly enjoy it. Wider society is missing out
(https://i.imgur.com/tyK56gL.jpg)
Thank goodness wider society is asleep right now. It'll be nice to have the roads to myself. Well, me and the milkmen.
(https://i.imgur.com/IjJkfIX.jpg)
file photo of fellow night owl
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No, there are plentiful food stops.
London fields, near the pub.
About 8pm
Party after 116 miles? Are you joking?
Same route every year, look it up.
A couple of the food stops might. Otherwise, no.
Thank you grams.
Very informative.
No I wasn't joking, didn't know the mileage, but will probably swim at the finish. Then ride home.
See you all at London Fields, near the pub, at 8pm
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I will be riding the dynamo on the penny farthing with a couple of pals. I'm sorted for logistics but another penny rider is trying to figure out how to get back in to London with penny farthing after the ride. Any suggestions anyone?
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It's possible there might be space on one of the bus/pantechnicon setups. Worth looking on FB for available tickets or people selling spares. Otherwise, it might be necessary to find somewhere to leave it and go up a day or two later to bring it home.
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I will be riding the dynamo on the penny farthing with a couple of pals. I'm sorted for logistics but another penny rider is trying to figure out how to get back in to London with penny farthing after the ride. Any suggestions anyone?
Just seen elsewhere:
https://shop.islington.cc/products/dunwich-dynamo-2023-bike-and-coach-transport
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ah, thanks for that link, I will pass it on and see if it helps him.
See you all on the road :)
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It doesn't matter whether you start in front of or behind Dulwich Paragon. They are normally in such a rush that they keep getting lost. One year, the same group passed us several times. Also notorious for cutting people up and shouting abuse.
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Well, I was in - but now I am out. Next time, maybe.
I hate Bluetooth speakers.
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It doesn't matter whether you start in front of or behind Dulwich Paragon. They are normally in such a rush that they keep getting lost. One year, the same group passed us several times. Also notorious for cutting people up and shouting abuse.
And the club's Top Brass don't take too kindly to lesser mortals writing to him to tell him how badly his club treats other road users.
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So where is the London fields meeting.
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By the Pub in the Park. There will be one or two cyclists milling about...
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By the Pub in the Park. There will be one or two cyclists milling about...
Usual YACF spot? Will you be there as I would like a wow hug.
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By the Pub in the Park. There will be one or two cyclists milling about...
Usual YACF spot? Will you be there as I would like a wow hug.
I'm cheating, I'm afraid. I'll be on my e-bike and its battery is good for about 60 Wowbagger/Essex/Suffolk miles comfortably. So I'm getting the train to Braintree, cycling to Dunmow and topping up at Tomsk's house, and the heading to the Gosbeck Scout Hut (51 miles apparently) to top up with electrons again before heading to the beach and then My Mate Terry's house in Sibton, where I plan to leave the bike before getting a train home, catching up on sleep, and then driving out to collect the bike from Terry.
I could do the whole thing, but that would require something in excess of 3 hours' charging to be sure of completing the ride, and possibly a bit more. I might well had a decent kip at Gosbeck, depending on how comfy the chair are...
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The DD has been on my list for a few years now, so I’m a little jealous of those of you who have lined up a sufficiency of tuits. Next year…
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Well, I'm getting my brain into it. Have plotted my route - 87.63 miles from Braintree station - and it's very interesting how just doing that affects my attitude. I look at the map and picture great chunks of the ride in my mind's eye, and my feelings at the different bits of the ride come back to me. Some bits I clearly like better than other.
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The forecast is for a cloudless night from midnight. We are only 9 days past the solstice. It won't get dark. Moon is, at the time of writing, "86% waxing gibbous". That will be even gibbouser - or waxier - by the time we set off.
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Will the ACME lot be wearing their uniform? It would be great to meet some of you / again. I have ridden with Jiberjaber many, many times.
Also, what does your bike look like Wowbagger? I feel there is a lot we could share if we get to chat.
I am doing the full thing, and setting off from Benfleet around 5pm, so expect to start at 8pm.
Someone had the great idea of jotting down their useful stop data, and taping it to their cockpit. I have copied that idea.
(https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/_FUv-GxqX0nlyALP5o-ppgl73VMH7xy-q6kuT4onX0c-2048x1536.jpg)
(https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/Q4If_n9NOZa707ZHpTH9LR7-yT2k26Y44toTSXK4sg4-2048x1536.jpg)
(https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/_pcIQtB3Lkxq0lKVcHf0q0e-BcGXGOK2IDFrcyTgt-U-2048x1536.jpg)
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I shall be on a Riese & Muller Homage, which is a white behemoth.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaXFzY3UZj7coyxISGv28llaIUu5Ambk9JoQafcQNOFKY8wrCM5jstGzmWfPbHZIsByx2CItiBfhdnkvqNQqeVl16YTwazReZmyJ0-0njb7FNYabqtSp=w2400)
Looking forward to meeting you. I expect you will catch me up, unless you are that quick that Dunmow is already behind you at 11pm. I'm planning a prolonged stop at Gosbeck, for electrons, and from there to the beach. After brekkie and a swim I'm heading back to My Mate Terry Who Art In Sibton where I will leave it until an unspecified day next week when I will drive up to collect it. Probably Thursday. I will have withdrawal symptoms by then.
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I will look out for you Mr Wow
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Will the ACME lot be wearing their uniform? It would be great to meet some of you / again. I have ridden with Jiberjaber many, many times.
I'll be a bit 'stealth' as I'm touring back and it's not an Audax! Got the ACME mudflaps and club badge on saddlebag etc. I'm expecting we'll comprise the usual ACME/AUK peloton: fixed/recumbent/tourer/racer mix. :thumbsup:
You'd be welcome to drop in at our house in Dunmow - on the route in The Causeway, on the left after the town centre, probably a load of bikes parked outside! We're aiming for a 23:00 launch, but depends on the progress of the London starters.
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A question for those who have done this before, how frequent are the food refuelling options? Do I need to bring loads of snacks?
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You should treat it as an unsupported ride. Where there are refreshment oases, there are also pretty long queues.
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You should treat it as an unsupported ride. Where there are refreshment oases, there are also pretty long queues.
Thanks. Heads off to load pockets.
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Good luck everyone! I'm sad I'm not doing it this year, but also relieved!
Wind, lack of rain, and temperature are favourable and you should even get a clear sunrise.
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Have fun everyone.
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I'm not doing it this year. But at least I'm consistent, I've not done it every year. Ever.
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Have a good one all of you - hope to do it next year.
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You've a good night for it.
Ride well y'all.
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I was tempted - being 20 years on from last time when the C+ group did it - lots of us still here on yacf.
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Ditto and the weather looks good. Unfortunately life got in the way.
To those riding through the night, have fun out there.
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I just bumped into Andrewbr at the White Horse, Great Waldingfield. I queueueueued for a pint and now I’m in the queueue for food.
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Wandered to the start didn't see any YACF lot. Saw some ACME hats but wasn't sure
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JUst got home, having ridden from Tomsk's in Gt Dunmow to Dunwich and back. Didn't stop at any hostelries, all looked too busy for fun, so self-sufficient on the way oout with shop stops on the way back. Didn't hang around for the ACME crew as I was getting very cold at Dunwich so just got back on the road.
Definitely type 2 fun, but I may contemplate doing it from London next year, and train back.
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What were numbers like?
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JUst got home, having ridden from Tomsk's in Gt Dunmow to Dunwich and back. Didn't stop at any hostelries, all looked too busy for fun, so self-sufficient on the way oout with shop stops on the way back. Didn't hang around for the ACME crew as I was getting very cold at Dunwich so just got back on the road.
Definitely type 2 fun, but I may contemplate doing it from London next year, and train back.
My bold.
Unless Greater Angrier have a change of heart, you are unlikely to be able to put your bike on one of their trains on the Sunday which follows The Dun Run or, I believe, the Monday.
Your only option may be the coaches/furniture vans organised by LCC Southwark.
If you are precious about your paintwork, I'd give that a miss and do as I did for a few years, and get someone who owes you a favour to come and collect you by car.
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JUst got home, having ridden from Tomsk's in Gt Dunmow to Dunwich and back. Didn't stop at any hostelries, all looked too busy for fun, so self-sufficient on the way oout with shop stops on the way back. Didn't hang around for the ACME crew as I was getting very cold at Dunwich so just got back on the road.
Definitely type 2 fun, but I may contemplate doing it from London next year, and train back.
My bold.
Unless Greater Angrier have a change of heart, you are unlikely to be able to put your bike on one of their trains on the Sunday which follows The Dun Run or, I believe, the Monday.
Your only option may be the coaches/furniture vans organised by LCC Southwark.
If you are precious about your paintwork, I'd give that a miss and do as I did for a few years, and get someone who owes you a favour to come and collect you by car.
Even considering e.g. trains from the Norwich to Ely line?
I could always leave my car somewhere and take that option.
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JUst got home, having ridden from Tomsk's in Gt Dunmow to Dunwich and back. Didn't stop at any hostelries, all looked too busy for fun, so self-sufficient on the way oout with shop stops on the way back. Didn't hang around for the ACME crew as I was getting very cold at Dunwich so just got back on the road.
Definitely type 2 fun, but I may contemplate doing it from London next year, and train back.
My bold.
Unless Greater Angrier have a change of heart, you are unlikely to be able to put your bike on one of their trains on the Sunday which follows The Dun Run or, I believe, the Monday.
Your only option may be the coaches/furniture vans organised by LCC Southwark.
If you are precious about your paintwork, I'd give that a miss and do as I did for a few years, and get someone who owes you a favour to come and collect you by car.
Even considering e.g. trains from the Norwich to Ely line?
I could always leave my car somewhere and take that option.
Dunno.
The last few times I did it I rode on to Diss and caught the train back from there to LST without issue.
Not sure whether or not that would be the case these days.
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JUst got home, having ridden from Tomsk's in Gt Dunmow to Dunwich and back. Didn't stop at any hostelries, all looked too busy for fun, so self-sufficient on the way oout with shop stops on the way back. Didn't hang around for the ACME crew as I was getting very cold at Dunwich so just got back on the road.
Definitely type 2 fun, but I may contemplate doing it from London next year, and train back.
My bold.
Unless Greater Angrier have a change of heart, you are unlikely to be able to put your bike on one of their trains on the Sunday which follows The Dun Run or, I believe, the Monday.
Your only option may be the coaches/furniture vans organised by LCC Southwark.
If you are precious about your paintwork, I'd give that a miss and do as I did for a few years, and get someone who owes you a favour to come and collect you by car.
Even considering e.g. trains from the Norwich to Ely line?
I could always leave my car somewhere and take that option.
Dunno.
The last few times I did it I rode on to Diss and caught the train back from there to LST without issue.
Not sure whether or not that would be the case these days.
I got told that I shouldn't be allowed on the train by the guard. Great Yarmouth to Thetford. I actually got back with no issues, but ridiculous overkill of a policy when I've nothing to do with the dynamo and nowhere near it!
(https://i.ibb.co/WgMfgd7/image.png) (https://ibb.co/2gCdgLR)
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I could always leave my car somewhere and take that option.
Driving any distance after an all night cycle ride strikes me as not a wise move at all .
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^
This.
We've at least one instance on record of an RTA fatality where the driver was on his way home following an overnight bike ride.
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Quite. Which isn't to say that the leaving the car somewhere strategy isn't a reasonable one, iff the somewhere includes facilities for a decent amount of sleep.
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Which is what I did today, load up, get coffee, sleep 30 min while coffee kicks in
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I started from Tomsk's abode (many thanks for the hospitality, by the way) at the same time as Ely Dave (good to meet you!), Jellylegs (likewise) and (I think) 4 other people whose names went in one ear and out the other. I didn't see any of them again.
I kept up a decent pace, stopping in Castle Hedingham for half a peanut butty that I had taken, and again at the White Horse in Great Waldingfield, where being Billy No Mates was suboptimal, because I had to joined one queueueue for beer (a very good pint of Yard Ale, if I recall correctly) and then another for calories. I had a very tasty jumbo sausage in a bun with onions (wasn't that a Beatles song back in the day?). It didn't take me all that long and I was soon on the road again. I was in GW around 2.30, I think, and away again by about 3.20 so at least 2 hours ahead of my normal schedule.
I plodded on towards Gosbeck, all the time realising that the pain was increasing, mostly in my wrists - I haven't had a rheumatoid arthritis attack for quite a long time - but also my arse. I stopped at Needham Lakes, where the bogs were open, but there was a large queueueue for the gents. I had had the foresight to pack my radar key so used that one, had a natter to a few people, and arrived at the community centre at 5.20, with 23% of my battery still showing. I plugged it in, bought a "meal deal" (egg & bacon bap, Snickers bar and a cup of coffee) and sat outside in the cold dawn light thinking that this wasn't such a great idea after all. I needed at least 2 hours on charge, I thought, to be able to get to the beach and back to Terry's, but my hand was forced by the community centre closing at 7.30. As I progressed it became increasingly clear that the first of those two objectives wasn't going to happen. I was relying more and more upon the electric motor to get me up hills, I was feeling distinctly queasy from a surfeit of greasy food at an unaccustomed hour, I didn't fancy a swim and there was no way I could to justice to a Flora Breakfast. At 9am I rolled up at Terry's house, where he provided tea and offered calories, which in the first instance I declined, but accepted an hour or so later when his wife Janet had returned from her standard Sunday Morning activity of scavenging at a car boot sale. After a good natter, Terry dropped me off at Darsham station for the 11.44 and we'll go back in the car on Thursday to pick my bike up.
So that's it. My Dun Run days are over - I think that's 10 completed, and a cut-down version DNFd. Anno domini have caught up with me. I'll be 70 when next year's is on, and I shall stay in bed and think of everyone else.
I met a few people I knew - Andrewbr and another guy who recognised me from the Simon Legg era of FNRttC, at Great Waldingfield, and a few other people I nattered to who had seen my posts on Farcebook. I'm not entirely sure of the distance because I left the computer on the bike at Terry's but it was at least 125k, which must be my longest ride since my last Dun Run with Kim and some poor chap called Brian, who was recruited as a stoker but just wasn't rated for more than 50 miles. Poor Brian has since contracted Parkinson's disease, but I note from FB that he completed his 5th DD this morning, starting at 5.30pm and arriving at the beach at 8.30am.
It's a totally different ride now, and I blame Bradley Wiggins. Since 2012, lots of people have gone out and bought respectably good road bikes, and have become respectably good at riding them. The food stops are running out of customers long before a putative Team Slow would put in an appearance. When I cycled through Peasenhall high street, I didn't see a single cyclist, and in the Old Days there would have been lots coming through at that time. I think it had been at least 20 minutes since I saw my last one.
So long, and thanks for all the milk.
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Great to put a face to a name Wow, and shame the plan didn't quite work out for you.
I my case, with about 250km in around 13-13.5 hours elapsed it's a great confidence booster that 200 Audaxes are within my range. I've been very trepidatious since my SMIDSY 4 years ago.
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Well done, Wow.
Chapeau! :thumbsup:
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Oh, it seems that the only trains going through Ipswich for which bikes were banned were the Norwich Expresses. I saw two guys putting theirs on in any case. Anything starting at Ipswich, it seems, were OK.
I believe that the stance adopted by the station staff was at odds with the pre-ride publicity, but of course a punter isn't to know this in advance.
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It's a totally different ride now, and I blame Bradley Wiggins. Since 2012, lots of people have gone out and bought respectably good road bikes, and have become respectably good at riding them.
I've had similar thoughts about the FNRttC. The higher level of organisation means that the barrier to spontaneity is higher, so the class of newbies is broadly the same as ever, but they're more likely to be on a decent road bike (or of course Brompton) than a sturdy hybrid or commuterised MTB these days.
I'm sure the DunRun still picks up Hackney randoms as it always did, but they don't seem to make it beyond Epping Forest in any kind of numbers. Possibly the proliferation of GPS is a factor. A decade ago, it was the stuff of nerds and audaxers (at least the ones who weren't routesheet or paper map purists). These days the respectably good road bikes are all adorned with some sort of Edge (Garmin make no other GPS receivers) or the Whaoo equivalent, and everyone else has Google Maps on their phone for times of need. So you don't get people coalescing into groups around someone who seems to know the way like you used to, and the fast people aren't kept in check by their inability to navigate.
Anyway, well done. I'm not saying never, but I'm sick of carrying full touring kit because of the train shituation.
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I started from Tomsk's abode (many thanks for the hospitality, by the way) at the same time as Ely Dave (good to meet you!), Jellylegs (likewise) and (I think) 4 other people whose names went in one ear and out the other. I didn't see any of them again.
I kept up a decent pace, stopping in Castle Hedingham for half a peanut butty that I had taken, and again at the White Horse in Great Waldingfield, where being Billy No Mates was suboptimal, because I had to joined one queueueue for beer (a very good pint of Yard Ale, if I recall correctly) and then another for calories. I had a very tasty jumbo sausage in a bun with onions (wasn't that a Beatles song back in the day?). It didn't take me all that long and I was soon on the road again. I was in GW around 2.30, I think, and away again by about 3.20 so at least 2 hours ahead of my normal schedule.
I plodded on towards Gosbeck, all the time realising that the pain was increasing, mostly in my wrists - I haven't had a rheumatoid arthritis attack for quite a long time - but also my arse. I stopped at Needham Lakes, where the bogs were open, but there was a large queueueue for the gents. I had had the foresight to pack my radar key so used that one, had a natter to a few people, and arrived at the community centre at 5.20, with 23% of my battery still showing. I plugged it in, bought a "meal deal" (egg & bacon bap, Snickers bar and a cup of coffee) and sat outside in the cold dawn light thinking that this wasn't such a great idea after all. I needed at least 2 hours on charge, I thought, to be able to get to the beach and back to Terry's, but my hand was forced by the community centre closing at 7.30. As I progressed it became increasingly clear that the first of those two objectives wasn't going to happen. I was relying more and more upon the electric motor to get me up hills, I was feeling distinctly queasy from a surfeit of greasy food at an unaccustomed hour, I didn't fancy a swim and there was no way I could to justice to a Flora Breakfast. At 9am I rolled up at Terry's house, where he provided tea and offered calories, which in the first instance I declined, but accepted an hour or so later when his wife Janet had returned from her standard Sunday Morning activity of scavenging at a car boot sale. After a good natter, Terry dropped me off at Darsham station for the 11.44 and we'll go back in the car on Thursday to pick my bike up.
So that's it. My Dun Run days are over - I think that's 10 completed, and a cut-down version DNFd. Anno domini have caught up with me. I'll be 70 when next year's is on, and I shall stay in bed and think of everyone else.
I met a few people I knew - Andrewbr and another guy who recognised me from the Simon Legg era of FNRttC, at Great Waldingfield, and a few other people I nattered to who had seen my posts on Farcebook. I'm not entirely sure of the distance because I left the computer on the bike at Terry's but it was at least 125k, which must be my longest ride since my last Dun Run with Kim and some poor chap called Brian, who was recruited as a stoker but just wasn't rated for more than 50 miles. Poor Brian has since contracted Parkinson's disease, but I note from FB that he completed his 5th DD this morning, starting at 5.30pm and arriving at the beach at 8.30am.
It's a totally different ride now, and I blame Bradley Wiggins. Since 2012, lots of people have gone out and bought respectably good road bikes, and have become respectably good at riding them. The food stops are running out of customers long before a putative Team Slow would put in an appearance. When I cycled through Peasenhall high street, I didn't see a single cyclist, and in the Old Days there would have been lots coming through at that time. I think it had been at least 20 minutes since I saw my last one.
So long, and thanks for all the milk.
:thumbsup: Nice one Peter!
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The further thought occurs: At some point, possibly within a decade or so, e-bike batteries with enough range to do the whole ride are likely to become a Thing. I wonder if that's going to cause another demographic shift?
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The further thought occurs: At some point, possibly within a decade or so, e-bike batteries with enough range to do the whole ride are likely to become a Thing. I wonder if that's going to cause another demographic shift?
With enough money they already are. If I could have been arsed to shell out another £1120 and add my name to a waiting list, I could have bought a Homage with two batteries, therefore a Wowbagger/E. Anglia range of >120 miles.
I met a guy on the train from Southend who had an e-bike with drop bars and a slightly enlarged down tube, and he was doing the Dun Run. But he said that his was worth 100 miles with him riding it. He only used it for a little assistance on the hills because a previous injury had made climbing difficult, but on the flat his default speed was about 16mph, so the motor just wasn't engaged.
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As Wowbagger says, it was a good night for putting faces to names / YACF usernames. Nice to meet Wowbagger, ElyDave, George and several others that my lack of sleep means I can now remember faces but neither real or user name - sorry!
Despite living right on the route for the last 26 editions of thhe Dynamo, this was my first ever attempt. I rode the few miles to Tomsk Towers for the formation of several ACME peletons that set off over a 20 minute period. Joined the 11:45 Peleton made up Tom, Joss, Linda and George for a promised leisurely ride to Dunwich, several food stops, maybe a cheeky beer and a planned arrival of around 7am.
What is it they say about best laid plans? Before we even reached Great Bardfield, we seemed to collectively forget the “leisurely”, the “plenty of stops” , the “beer” ( can it have been a true ACME Peleton if it forgot beer?), and the “7am target arrival”. The pace increased as our two fixed riders attacked the hills and we soon got into the habit of bouncing some very busy pop up and official food and drink offerings. Somewhere around Wethersfield we passed Wowbagger making decent progress on his eBrute.
Not long later 5 became 4 when we dropped George on an uppy downy section and couldn’t find him when we realised he wasn’t the front light on our wheel. I can’t remember where exactly but on one of the steeper sections we encountered 3 penny farthings inching their way up hill (chapeau to them!). Our one stop at a busy Needham Lakes got a bit of food on board and we were soon back on route, picking our way through a never ending stream of fairy light clad bikes and riders. The weather was near perfect, a clear, moonlit night, a slight tailwind and only a few cold spots in the lower lying areas before dawn.
The sky began brightening while we were at Needham Lakes and soon we were making our way through some slumbering but picturesque Suffolk villages in that pre sunrise clarity of light. This section alone was worth the entry fee. The sun rose above the horizon as we were at Darsham and the last few miles were spent enjoying some great views across the countryside and acknowledging the real quickies who were passing in the opposite direction already on their way home.
We pulled onto Dunwich beach at 05:20 to see a stunning sun just above a calm sea. One of our number took a dip, the other three grabbed a few snoozies before we went our separate ways. Tom and I met up with Raymond and rode to Snape Maltings for breakfast before Tom set off for a leisurely tour home via 3 ferries and a bivvy somewhere on the Essex Sunshine Coast. I set off to ride a slightly more direct 130km route home via Ipswich but the dozies and a stiff headwind plus a dearth of open shops after Ipswich saw me bail at Bures and get a lift for the last 40km.
My thoughts as a dynamo virgin? There were some great lighting displays, a couple of mobile discos and, although there were plenty of road bikes, there was an array of more traditional steeds including Bromptons, at least one cargo bike, the 3 penny farthings and more. The atmosphere was something different, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience . Thanks to all the ACME bunch for their usual warm welcome and to the others from ACH and more that I met along the way. No doubt I will see a few of you again next year. I am genuinely sorry to read above that Wowbagger won’t be one of them.
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The further thought occurs: At some point, possibly within a decade or so, e-bike batteries with enough range to do the whole ride are likely to become a Thing. I wonder if that's going to cause another demographic shift?
With enough money they already are. If I could have been arsed to shell out another £1120 and add my name to a waiting list, I could have bought a Homage with two batteries, therefore a Wowbagger/E. Anglia range of >120 miles.
Well yes, but it's not going to make much difference to the ride until it's the standard option on something reasonably popular amongst the commuterati. The floodgates will really open when the Deliveroo specials can do it.
Of course, the only thing worse than being knackered in Dunwich with a bicycle is being knackered in Dunwich with a bicycle with a bat flattery.
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There were certainly some whose ability to read a Garmin exceeded their ability to think about interaction of bikes at speed. I was restraining the S40 on many occasions, particularly downhill as other riders would just womble around randomly, which is not great with downhill recumbent speed
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As Wowbagger says, it was a good night for putting faces to names / YACF usernames. Nice to meet Wowbagger, ElyDave, George and several others that my lack of sleep means I can now remember faces but neither real or user name - sorry!
Despite living right on the route for the last 26 editions of thhe Dynamo, this was my first ever attempt. I rode the few miles to Tomsk Towers for the formation of several ACME peletons that set off over a 20 minute period. Joined the 11:45 Peleton made up Tom, Joss, Linda and George for a promised leisurely ride to Dunwich, several food stops, maybe a cheeky beer and a planned arrival of around 7am.
What is it they say about best laid plans? Before we even reached Great Bardfield, we seemed to collectively forget the “leisurely”, the “plenty of stops” , the “beer” ( can it have been a true ACME Peleton if it forgot beer?), and the “7am target arrival”. The pace increased as our two fixed riders attacked the hills and we soon got into the habit of bouncing some very busy pop up and official food and drink offerings. Somewhere around Wethersfield we passed Wowbagger making decent progress on his eBrute.
Not long later 5 became 4 when we dropped George on an uppy downy section and couldn’t find him when we realised he wasn’t the front light on our wheel. I can’t remember where exactly but on one of the steeper sections we encountered 3 penny farthings inching their way up hill (chapeau to them!). Our one stop at a busy Needham Lakes got a bit of food on board and we were soon back on route, picking our way through a never ending stream of fairy light clad bikes and riders. The weather was near perfect, a clear, moonlit night, a slight tailwind and only a few cold spots in the lower lying areas before dawn.
The sky began brightening while we were at Needham Lakes and soon we were making our way through some slumbering but picturesque Suffolk villages in that pre sunrise clarity of light. This section alone was worth the entry fee. The sun rose above the horizon as we were at Darsham and the last few miles were spent enjoying some great views across the countryside and acknowledging the real quickies who were passing in the opposite direction already on their way home.
We pulled onto Dunwich beach at 05:20 to see a stunning sun just above a calm sea. One of our number took a dip, the other three grabbed a few snoozies before we went our separate ways. Tom and I met up with Raymond and rode to Snape Maltings for breakfast before Tom set off for a leisurely tour home via 3 ferries and a bivvy somewhere on the Essex Sunshine Coast. I set off to ride a slightly more direct 130km route home via Ipswich but the dozies and a stiff headwind plus a dearth of open shops after Ipswich saw me bail at Bures and get a lift for the last 40km.
My thoughts as a dynamo virgin? There were some great lighting displays, a couple of mobile discos and, although there were plenty of road bikes, there was an array of more traditional steeds including Bromptons, at least one cargo bike, the 3 penny farthings and more. The atmosphere was something different, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience . Thanks to all the ACME bunch for their usual warm welcome and to the others from ACH and more that I met along the way. No doubt I will see a few of you again next year. I am genuinely sorry to read above that Wowbagger won’t be one of them.
If you guys arrived at 0520, I've no idea how I missed you as I was there just before 0500, and breakfasting, I even wandered onto the beach at one point before leaving around 0600
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I suspect at Waldringfield that I was stood in the vicinity of several riders on this thread, as AndrewBr was around at the same time.
If anyone saw the orange clad cyclist (pretty much head to toe) on an orange bike with orange lit LED wheels, that was me!
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Left Hackney about 2020 with a much faster friend who zoomed off at the 24h garage. Didn't see anyone familiar. I haven't ridden more than about 5 miles at a time since the plague started and after about 70km it was sheer murder. Pints around 35 and 50km but too late in Finchfingfield and foolishly did not have one at White Horse at 102km. As Wow says, everything is shut now before Team Slow, but I did have food of my own. Eventually limped in about 1130, to my surprise not quite the lanterne rouge, although the last of the fast-but-disorganised had got ahead of me around 160km. In a B&B in Yoxford, train from Diss next.
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So many people set off very early now. My strategy has always been to start at 8 (there's practically no-one left in the park at 9 now, the "official" start time) and ride like hell to the halfway stop, beating the queue. I don't think that would work any more, although it was pretty successful up to 2012, except in 2009 when my mate had a puncture and the queue was snaking around the car park at Great Waldingfield. In 2019 the queue at the fire station was only just tolerable despite a very fast run - we were in Sudbury before midnight, a first.
I haven't managed to get food at the Flora Café since 2006, though - that's been overwhelmed ever since. In 2005, a group of us rocked up around 6am, queued for about 30 seconds, and got a table inside.
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The further thought occurs: At some point, possibly within a decade or so, e-bike batteries with enough range to do the whole ride are likely to become a Thing. I wonder if that's going to cause another demographic shift?
I get 300km from my 13 aH battery so they already exist - you just have to fit them into a velomobile!
-
The further thought occurs: At some point, possibly within a decade or so, e-bike batteries with enough range to do the whole ride are likely to become a Thing. I wonder if that's going to cause another demographic shift?
With enough money they already are. If I could have been arsed to shell out another £1120 and add my name to a waiting list, I could have bought a Homage with two batteries, therefore a Wowbagger/E. Anglia range of >120 miles.
I met a guy on the train from Southend who had an e-bike with drop bars and a slightly enlarged down tube, and he was doing the Dun Run. But he said that his was worth 100 miles with him riding it. He only used it for a little assistance on the hills because a previous injury had made climbing difficult, but on the flat his default speed was about 16mph, so the motor just wasn't engaged.
Sounds like a bike with a Fazua motor - I have the Boardman drop bar model . . . and yes to just riding with the motor engaged for the hills, it's comfortable riding unassisted on the flat (I've just invested in a 2nd battery to overcome range anxiety on longer or hillier jaunts)
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You're getting perilously close to doing the DD on a Ducati by then!
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Set off from Benfleet at 16:48.
Rode to daughter's in South Ockendon, arrived around 6pm. Daughter and I then rode to South Ockendon Church, which is the closest round tower church to London.
There are only half a dozen round tower churches in Essex, I am making a point of visiting all of these. The lady that looks after the church invited us in, as she saw we were taking photos, which was very nice of her as she had just locked it up. We declined, then Daughter and I went separate ways from there, and I enjoyed the Boris routes into London. I got to London Fields at 7.45pm made use of the toilets, refilled my water bottles.
Set off again at 20:05.
Thoroughly enjoyed the route out of London. Never realised how close I was to Hackney when in Leyton (where my grandparents lived, my Dad was born, I was born and lived for the first 20months, before moving to Benfleet). Recognising the rail bridge over Lea Bridge Rd, I diverted round to 37 Lily Rd where all that happened. Took a photo of my red Claud Butler leaning against the wall there. The last time I cycled to Lily Road was 50 years ago and my Claud Butler was a much newer yellow one.
I did look out for the E-Brute, but alas I think it must have been stopped when I passed it.
I never saw any ACME uniforms until I was at the beach.
The Fyfield stop was absolutely brilliant.
Cooking and Serving - brilliant - Burger - brilliant - Cheese - brilliant - Lemon Drizzle cake - brilliant - coffee - brilliant - money collection - brilliant - water service - brilliant.
In fact the only thing more brilliant than the Fyfield stop, were some of the rear lights, which were blinding. I did ask the riders with the brightest rear lights if they could dim them at all, but they are all apparently "really good rear lights" and you "can't dim them". Berks.
And, I had a real go at one group which passed me for the second time, without the necessary energy to get past far enough to pull back in safely, so found myself on the brakes and heading for kerb / potholes etc. again. It really isn't difficult. You keep going fast until the person you are passing isn't still alongside you, and if you don't have the energy for that, you slow down again without forcing them to slow down too. Jeeez.
I am not actually all that grumpy, usually... Just 9 hours sleep spread over the period between 00.01 Thursday and 00.01 Sunday morning possibly heightened my grumpiness. The lack of sleep also completely naffed-up any chance of riding back to Benfleet. The campsite stop and the camping pod were both great ideas. Too far from the Beach end of the ride though. 28 miles (45km?) was too far in the brisk headwind, and I simply could not sleep when I got there, around 7.30am. That is not true, I did drift off. Woke for a bladder alert an hour later (round trip 400m to the loo and back), snoozed for another 45mins. Then I started worrying about getting home in the daylight, so couldn't sleep because of that. Campsite shower was good. Repacking seemed to take ages. Went to the pub and got my dinner around 1.30pm.
Riding with less than 11hours sleep between Wednesday midday and Sunday midday against a brisk and persistent headwind, soon ate away at my sense of humour. After just 45 minutes I stopped and asked an elderly couple the way to the nearest station. Unfortunately, they said "left at the main road" instead of "right at the main road"... Lovely a tailwind! Down hill too! When I saw a sign for the village where I had camped, I realised there was something wrong. I stopped. My phone refused to tell me where the nearest station was. I sat and deliberated over cycling back up the hill into the wind... It was a huge mental barrier... along came a couple of cyclists, on ebikes. One of them put me straight. Yes, I needed to get myself back up the hill, into the wind... but there was a nicer route than the main road. They were going that way... we rode, we chatted, they told me where to go when our routes diverged, and I carried on into Ipswich. I cycled up a ruddy big hill, when I got to the top, I asked the way to the station. Yep. Back down the hill take the road on the left.
I bought a ticket and eventually got on a train back to Chelmsford. Didn't have too much resistance from the railway people, in fact it was very easy. I was about to miss the 16.11, but there was a Costa coffee emporium, so chatted to a young oriental couple who were deliberating about how to get back to London, having also done the Dun Run, and we ate some of my fig rolls. They were both on hybrid bikes, had virtually no gear with them at all... oh the joys of being so young!
Got into Chelmsford then cycled the route that Garmin decided upon, including much abrasion of stinging nettles and bramble, on quite good tracks I had never used before, to cross the A130 and get onto the road to Rettendon, where my loving wife had driven my car to collect me. Total mileage 206 (329km), I think.
Slept well last night. No aches, slight tingling around little fingers.
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There's a Fyfield stop now? I'm surprised, as it's less than 30 miles out. Probably takes a lot of overflow from the pub in Moreton, though.
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In fact the only thing more brilliant than the Fyfield stop, were some of the rear lights, which were blinding. I did ask the riders with the brightest rear lights if they could dim them at all, but they are all apparently "really good rear lights" and you "can't dim them". Berks.
I've had similar trouble; I'm still using halogen bulb dynamo lights, which I find quite adequate except when someone with a really bright headlight is on my wheel and I'm riding into my own silhouette. I avoided this problem this year by being so slow no-one wanted to be on my wheel.
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There's a Fyfield stop now? I'm surprised, as it's less than 30 miles out. Probably takes a lot of overflow from the pub in Moreton, though.
It was very well organised by the Scouts, easy ordering system, someone on water bottle refill duty - good cake and hot food too.
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I was the twat with the dog. Because of long stops for her benefit we didn’t reach the beach until 9.
We definitely encountered a group of stragglers who were waiting at each junction for someone to show them the way.
Morton isn’t actually a great stop as it’s only a pub. A lot of groups end up stopping there for ages because one person wants a beer/toilet/etc or just see the crowds. A lot of them would be better off with an event-specific pit stop.
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I was the twat with the dog. Because of long stops for her benefit we didn’t reach the beach until 9.
We definitely encountered a group of stragglers who were waiting at each junction for someone to show them the way.
Morton isn’t actually a great stop as it’s only a pub. A lot of groups end up stopping there for ages because one person wants a beer/toilet/etc or just see the crowds. A lot of them would be better off with an event-specific pit stop.
Was it you I saw at Gosbeck with a small spaniel-type thing, some time between 5.30 and 7.30am?
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As Wowbagger says, it was a good night for putting faces to names / YACF usernames. Nice to meet Wowbagger, ElyDave, George and several others that my lack of sleep means I can now remember faces but neither real or user name - sorry!
Despite living right on the route for the last 26 editions of thhe Dynamo, this was my first ever attempt. I rode the few miles to Tomsk Towers for the formation of several ACME peletons that set off over a 20 minute period. Joined the 11:45 Peleton made up Tom, Joss, Linda and George for a promised leisurely ride to Dunwich, several food stops, maybe a cheeky beer and a planned arrival of around 7am.
What is it they say about best laid plans? Before we even reached Great Bardfield, we seemed to collectively forget the “leisurely”, the “plenty of stops” , the “beer” ( can it have been a true ACME Peleton if it forgot beer?), and the “7am target arrival”. The pace increased as our two fixed riders attacked the hills and we soon got into the habit of bouncing some very busy pop up and official food and drink offerings. Somewhere around Wethersfield we passed Wowbagger making decent progress on his eBrute.
Not long later 5 became 4 when we dropped George on an uppy downy section and couldn’t find him when we realised he wasn’t the front light on our wheel. I can’t remember where exactly but on one of the steeper sections we encountered 3 penny farthings inching their way up hill (chapeau to them!). Our one stop at a busy Needham Lakes got a bit of food on board and we were soon back on route, picking our way through a never ending stream of fairy light clad bikes and riders. The weather was near perfect, a clear, moonlit night, a slight tailwind and only a few cold spots in the lower lying areas before dawn.
If you guys arrived at 0520, I've no idea how I missed you as I was there just before 0500, and breakfasting, I even wandered onto the beach at one point before leaving around 0600
George here, I think I had been dropped well before that point as I was on my own when I passed Wowbagger, but by that stage I was starting to feel the dozies and stood no chance of keeping up with Tadej and Jonas on their fixies ;D
Thanks again to Tomsk for the hospitality, and to Linda for spotting me on the beach as I tried to spot them. I got there at 6:30, after several stops for coffee along the way. From the beach I rode to Stowmarket and had no problem getting me+bike on a train from there to Ely.
I've only done the ride once before (2016), some random observations:
There are now cycle lanes (and one pedestrianised street) on at least the first 10miles of the route, and using them in big groups got tricky in places. Still better than mixing it with the traffic though.
In 2016 there seemed to be a lot more random folk with random bikes having a go at the ride - not far from the start I stopped to help one rider on a shopper bike with a slipping seatpost. Now I'd say it looks more like a sportive with a party atmosphere.
This time I only saw one true pop-up stall, the guy in Monks Eleigh selling home-brewed coffee outside his house using real mugs to serve it. His two sons were run ragged with all the kettle boiling and mug washing, but it was very popular. The other stops were all the well organised pubs/village halls plus the food trucks at Needham Lakes. The one in Brandeston looked good but seemed to be getting no trade at all, I hope it was worth their effort.
There were definitely quite a few lost riders between Framlingham and Dunwich, on my way back west I used several roads that weren't on (and were quite far from) the 'official' route and still came across riders going the other way. I guess the tea lights don't work quite so well after sunrise.
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In 2016 there seemed to be a lot more random folk with random bikes having a go at the ride - not far from the start I stopped to help one rider on a shopper bike with a slipping seatpost. Now I'd say it looks more like a sportive with a party atmosphere.
That's a lot of it, not so many funny bikes. The first couple of times I rode it on my 60s? Triumph roadster it barely registered with anyone (admittedly, the first time I had Charlotte's Ordinary providing cover). Now it's a conversation piece.
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There's a Fyfield stop now? I'm surprised, as it's less than 30 miles out. Probably takes a lot of overflow from the pub in Moreton, though.
I stopped there last year. Best food on the route in my opinion, which I was quite glad of having started light on calories. I doubted a Tesco meal deal was good for 160km and thankfully didn’t test that!
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Was it you I saw at Gosbeck with a small spaniel-type thing, some time between 5.30 and 7.30am?
Yes, we stopped there with the small spaniel-type thing, about 6:20.
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(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AJFCJaVsDFZVGIr1NDd78jJzaOByp1mEOuKXeAkwEljjq9ap8ry-y0n7V1iUGXxBebrixewh7P3uqpJZ0Ox-G_f3J8ylmE_bqY3XXHW6XNQsb7-ALefrL-t0=w2400)
I decided to take that selfie at Gosbeck after some guy with dreadlocks came up to me and said "You're the coolest dude on this ride. You know that?" That's where I was sitting when you and the spaniel were getting food.
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I thought I would miss getting the gang back together this year, but from the sounds of things the reality of the modern ride just wouldn't hold a torch (or a dynamo) to my memories of the Dun Run at its best. It does make me want to resurrect the Dumb Run, but I doubt I could persuade many folk to come north for a completely unsupported bimble from Dumbarton to St Andrews.
Even if Grangemouth is utterly spectacular at night, in a Bladerunner kind of way.
Sam
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I thought I would miss getting the gang back together this year, but from the sounds of things the reality of the modern ride just wouldn't hold a torch (or a dynamo) to my memories of the Dun Run at its best. It does make me want to resurrect the Dumb Run, but I doubt I could persuade many folk to come north for a completely unsupported bimble from Dumbarton to St Andrews.
Even if Grangemouth is utterly spectacular at night, in a Bladerunner kind of way.
Sam
That actually sounds pretty interesting, could be done by train easily enough, and could offer some semblance of a tour back down through/to Edinburgh and trains the other side. And yes, Grangemouth is a real sight at night, though I'd rather it be doing something else these days.