2009-07-04 Sat - Dunwich Dynamo 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/jul/07/bike-blog-dunwich-dynamo

^^ I saw Wobbly John several times on the journey, most memorable was him sitting having a rest at a bus stop in the arse end of nowhere, with a big smile on his face.

Apparently there was a reporter participating and a photographer taking photos from the FT magazine so guess there'll be a story on the DD appearing there soon

Got a quote from a coach company i have used before (they are the official England Rugby Team coach as well). 49 seater from Dunwich to Hackney £539 or £11 each :)
They have quite a large fleet so this could always be doubled / tripled for FGSS peoples. Just need to find a van for the bikes now.

Took a long wheelbase LDV up to North Wales with at least 50 bikes in it once. As long as bikes are de pedalled and have the front wheel dropped you can pack them pretty well. As I don't intend to ride this again I could, potentially, agree to drive a van up to somewhere like Monks Eleigh, hand out preprepared food to the needy and then head down to the coast to load bikes, brew up coffees and teas etc and then haul back to London.

Did you do it in the end, John? I can't remember seeing you.

He did it, had a chat before he loaded into his van and headed home. Apparently the arm and shoulder muscles really ached.

Matt (middleofnowhere) in the news:

http://londonist.com/2009/07/in_pictures_dunwich_dynamo_2009.php?gallery0Pic=1#gallery

He's in the second photo aswell!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/jul/07/bike-blog-dunwich-dynamo

Oh dear, I'm famous. From comments:

"Because of the good weather there were more participants and therefore longer queues for food. Particular highlights: the drunk woman in Great Dunmow remarking on the "loads of effing cyclists", the man who fell flat on his face on the wobbly floor (and in his SPD shoes) in Great Waldingfield hall but still stood up to graciously accept the ironic cheers, and the people avoiding the rain and sleeping on the toilet floor at Dunwich literally inches from people waving their extremities about! Special big respect to all the children who rode through the night to complete this ride."

Feck it, all publicity is good publicity, right?

Woo-hoo, I'm famous(ish).

Haha, Olly - throughout the entire conversation we had on the beach I couldnt for the life of me remember who you were in my brain addled state, it wasnt until about 2 hours later whilst lying on the beach that I suddenly sat up and shouted Olly! Jaygee and VeeVee gave me some well funny looks.

http://londonist.com/2009/07/in_pictures_dunwich_dynamo_2009.php?gallery0Pic=1#gallery

Last pic, out of focus woman in black getting changed by the shoreline on lh side, that's my gf, who didn't do the ride but did graciously drove me home as closed my eyes and pretended to be the Churchill dog.

Ride comedy moment came about a minute later when someone pointed out a topless woman on the beach to which I replied " yeah, that'd be my girlfriend". Look on their face - Priceless.

Ha ha Clefty I reckon our conversation was well funny, we were both ruined and yet hyped up on caffeine, alcohol, and ice cream (well I speak for myslef really), and kinda jabbering half sentences at each other. Nice to see a familiar face though!

It's Wednesday and my poor arse hasn't recovered from what I did to it at the weekend. I have learned that sitting bolt upright for fifteen hours, whilst pedaling 30Kgs of recalcitrant steel up and down hills isn't particularly good for you.

But what a ride it was! I think I must have been passed by pretty much every Dunrunner, which was brilliant because everyone was giving me so much encouragement. Not only that, but I had a load of friends who stuck with me, looking after me in the badlands of Essex and then keeping me awake and motivated in the wee small hours. By the time the sun came up, I still had half the ride to go and despite having had a lot of experience with long-distance riding, I'd not quite imagined how tough the DD was going to be on my penny.

I had to have a snooze at about 8am in Needham Market because I was a bit shot away. Twenty minutes power nap, followed by a strong cup of Joe sorted me out and I was good for the last stretch. I strongly recommend taking a little camping stove and the makings of your own coffee and hot food, by the way. Even if it's only instant coffee and dehydrated camp grub, everything you need to conjure up a meal can be packed into a little saddle bag and it's such a boost to the morale to know that you're not dependent on the official feed stop.

We did a little better than this as we were carrying fresh coffee, pasta and a load of really nice food. My friends Andy, Phil, Duncan and David were absolute stars for sticking with me throughout the ride. Andy and David deserve special mention for their daft bikes - a three speed Brompton and a similarly geared 1950's Triumph gents' roadster!

Arriving at Dunwich was really special for me. We got in at almost exactly noon, to find my partner Liz was waiting with a stove and sausage sandwiches, which we had after a fabulous swim. If you've not experienced the sheer bliss of jumping into the cool sea after a Dun run and feeling your muscles relax and start to heal, you really must try it next year.

Anyway; Phil was wearing a head-cam as we rolled into Dunwich. Here's the footage:

YouTube - Arrival at Dunwich on my penny farthing

Brilliant Charlotte, just brilliant. Well done!

I did shout a cheery "hello Charlotte" on the rode to Epping, I did wonder how you got on.

PS Love the round of applause at the beach. Truely deserved.

A staggering effort Charlotte.
God knows how you negotiated the winding descents

Absolutely amazing

Awesome, truly awesome Charlotte, that brought a bit of a lump to my throat.

Amazing.

well done Charlotte.. I was one of those that shouted 'do a skid' at you :D

Excellent, Charlotte!

Brilliant film! I was applauding ouside the cafe. Fantastic effort, well done.

Charlotte: wonderful! Shame about those silly cars on the roundabout leaving London

That looks like such hard work Charlotte, absolutely amazing.

I was very disappointed not to have spotted the ordinary, not sure how I missed it, must remember not to ride with my eyes closed.

Incredible effort, Charlotte. Absolutely amazing!

My Demons have got the better of me.
I was determined to ride Dunwich and back this time, but thanks to the route not actually being on my Garmin like it was supposed to be, and then it dying on the start of our return leg it just wasn't gonna happen and we only managed 135 miles in total...so we've decided we're gonna do it all over again this weekend.
This time Tricity Bendix and I are riding there AND back, no matter what...i just uploaded 2 routes onto my Garmin and now have an AA powered battery charger for it, so we should be sorted.
I haven't even washed the dirt off from last weekend yet :)

This is definitely the best idea we've ever had.