2009-07-04 Sat - Dunwich Dynamo 2009

tried that last year and the train wouldn't take any cyclist as there were about 40 or so waiting for a train that had three carriages. wasn't anticipating cycling to ipswich and that made me very unhappy. that won't stop me from doing it again this year, though.

Don't try the train from near Dunwich, it's pointless. In 2003, I did it for the first time. Beautiful weather, the best ever (before or since). Caught the 8:50-odd train from Darsham to Ipswich with three others. Four bike spaces, perfect. Changed at Ipswich. That year, the first riders got to Dunwich at 5:40 or so.

The next year the ride was massive, might have been because word of mouth went round about the good weather in 2003, at least double the number. Everybody had done their research, too, so apparently all the trains were overrun. I don't know this firsthand, as I took the coach. The ride started to arrive in Dunwich earlier and earlier, e.g. one bloke was there at 3:30am in 2006 with the massive tailwind. (The rain was in 2007, BTW.)

Since then, the only things that make sense are either to book on the coach laid on by Southwark Cyclists, organise your own motorised transport back, ride all the way back, or ride to Ipswich or another major town and take the train from there.