2011-07-16/17 Sat/Sun - Dunwich Dynamo DD19

Picked this message up from twitter:

@christianprice "Fingers crossed for the Dulwich Paragon rider who left the #DD19 in ambulance, looked bad"

:( Fingers crossed indeed.

This was me. I think my front wheel hit a light that someone had lost on the road and I hit a pothole as I was trying to avoid the light. Have very swollen face around a very black right eye but the real bugger is a collarbone broken in three places.

Just got back to full fitness after post-collision knee surgery too.

**I know who the winner was, LFGSS! **
I met a selection of you lot on route, what a great bunch!
If some people out there are confusing this with Le Tour can I suggest Skully gets the maillot jaune for being so bl**dy cheerful at 100miles when I was ready to ride into a hedge and have a kip; Or Skydancer for charging along on a fixie while I struggled on my gears?
Thanks to Jenny as well for being part of our mini peloton (including a scenic Skully detour at the end ), all in all a great night for me and my fellow Dunwich Dynamo virgin, Richard.
Thanks for sorting the coach as well!

First of all big shout out to the gyal Katie and the bwoy Jaitch, you guys did an amazing job.

Leo not only the feat, but your unbridled enthusiasm and good spirits while doing it were inspiring.

Guys that rode back...you're beasts!

Lastly a big shout out to the Party Peleton (I know you're lurking)! We drank hard, smoked harder, rode mediocre, swam hardest and commandeered the back of the bus on some Jim Crow shit!

Peace

**I know who the winner was, LFGSS! **
I met a selection of you lot on route, what a great bunch!
If some people out there are confusing this with Le Tour can I suggest Skully gets the maillot jaune for being so bl**dy cheerful at 100miles when I was ready to ride into a hedge and have a kip; Or Skydancer for charging along on a fixie while I struggled on my gears?
Thanks to Jenny as well for being part of our mini peloton (including a scenic Skully detour at the end ), all in all a great night for me and my fellow Dunwich Dynamo virgin, Richard.
Thanks for sorting the coach as well!

Oops, sorry my first ever post seems to have gone up twice!
Can I blame the severe pain in my arse (80's turbo saddle wasn't so comfy) for making me
post double.
I was out of my saddle the whole time for the ride from the inferno coach to SE London.

This was me. [/IMG]

ouch. get well soon mate. that sounds nasty.

Left home at about 5.30 and after finding a new way to circumvent Worksop the ride got really good. The anticipated cross wind was a tail cross and despite a hefty downpour about an hour earlier it was sunny and the roads were pretty dry.

I had a good run through Clumber Park and across the Sherwood Forest before picking up the quietish main road down to the Trent Levels and Newark. As usual I'd not started off with much food to popped into Waitrose to load up on supplies and water. After that it was back up the hill eastbound and onto the A17. I'd been worried that this was going to be a bad road but there was almost no traffic, a brilliant surface and lovely views combined with the nurturing warmth of the setting sun. I diverted briefly through picturesque Leadenham before pulling into the Little Chef outside Sleaford for coffee, cake and extra layers of clothing before the temperature drop. Not a big fan of Little Chef but staff here were really nice and encouraging.

After that the real main road work began as the light faded and the commercial traffic was on the increase again. Feeling quite vulnerable near pub traffic and high velocity logistical behemoths I took a handful of short diversions. Quite cold being low down on fens as well. I ran into the usual night service at a petrol station in Long Sutton. No we don't do coffee at night, nor do we use the microwave. Packed a can of coke and a sausage roll in my jersey pockets to warm up until I found a nice sheltered bus stop in Clenchwarton.

Unsure of fueling options ahead I popped into a garage in King's Lynn for more food and water.
"I suppose a coffee is out of question"
"Not a problem, I can give it to you through the night shute"
"I'll take a big black one please" (Oh dear).
Very happy to huddle up and enjoy a warm drink.

Finally the last stretch of main road along the A47 where I kept getting buzzed by emergency service vehicles before bailing out in Swaffham. Picked my way down to Watton where, as I left town, someone called out a car window "It's bloody three in the morning". After that the light started to creep up slowly, taking ages until I cold distinguish colours. A bad time of the morning for me as I often feel sleepy around this time. Also some navigational paranoia but miraculously I never set a foot more than 20m wrong.

Peaceul sleepy Norfolk melted into peaceful sleepy Suffolk and I enjoyed having the microcosm all to myself, giving me exclusive close sights of heron, deer, rabbits, a tawny owl, gargantuan hare, some late bats and a couple of stoat. Finally I came down the back road through the heath to the beach arriving at aout 7am, 13.5 hours and 160 miles after starting. Naturally I completed my ride a bit later by dipping my feet in the water and toasting Barry with a dram of whiskey.

Good to met a few new faces and much kudos to jaitch, katie, econodog for legendary efforts. My return trip was too much solo tacking in and out of a headwind so I ended up bailing at Thetford and getting the train home in time to see the Tour highlights. However, despite a few low moments, that was a really enjoyable ride.

So, who actually rode this fixed? I was riding a White Mercian with American Classics. Bonked hard after the feed stop, but hi-5 caffeine gels and sunlight helped enormously with energy...

I rode it fixed but low geared (66"). Descents weren't ideal but not too bad, made all the climbs comfortably. Will be doing the next one fixed (unless I acquire a roadbike before then)

^ blimey, epic ride, makes our 116m DD19 sound a bit feeble!

Had a most enjoyable ride. I've been a dun-runner since 2005 and this was the clearest sky I can remember. From late evening till about 3am there were no clouds, just stars and a bright silvery moon. There seemed to be even more riders than ever - despite Saturdays deluge - I was certain would put off so many.

Nice to meet some long unseed faces and to make new aquaintences. Well done Katie and Jaitch for organising stuff and chapeau to Leo for his epic long-distance-boris-bike efforts!

Could have done without the hills on the ride back from Smithfields. Started to whatch TdF, but only managed a couple of minutes before I slipped into a deep 3 1/2 hour sleep. Have set the alarm for the TdF highlights but I reckon I'll end up sleeping through that as well.

oh yes, I also rode fixed, 50x19 about 71gi. Perhaps I'll try a slightly lower geering next time.

Congrats yourself! I would never want to ride one of those things again if I were you.

come to swains lane on thursday eve...

This was me. I think my front wheel hit a light that someone had lost on the road and I hit a pothole as I was trying to avoid the light. Have very swollen face around a very black right eye but the real bugger is a collarbone broken in three places.

Just got back to full fitness after post-collision knee surgery too.

oh you poor thing. Heal up quick. Sounds pretty nasty. xxx

I rode it fixed but low geared (66"). Descents weren't ideal but not too bad, made all the climbs comfortably. Will be doing the next one fixed (unless I acquire a roadbike before then)

I rode around 70s, some of the climb were unbearable, but the descent was just about fine.

i suppose it's a personal choice of mashing it or spin to win.

Fine ride and good to see old and new faces. By the way, who was that shouted "Spin those wheels, Brucie" as I took off down a hill, about two thirds in?

Me. You were FLYING!

I rode around 70s, some of the climb were unbearable, but the descent was just about fine.

i suppose it's a personal choice of mashing it or spin to win.

Or middle it ...
67 is a good compromise
Worked fine for me. Could handle the down hills pumping front brake to save legs

Respect to the 2 guys brakeless (lazerboy and a blond bloke on a carlton who was made some sterling brakelss descents)... maybe next year:$

Who was on a blue pompino with the whizzy freewheel?

Don't forget the bloke with the cream/green Harry Quinn too, brakeless too.

No way i'm going brakeless, I like my pair enough to enjoy the descent.

'twas a pleasure, really and truly, and Jaitch did all the hard work anyway!

http://www.justgiving.com/londoncyclehiretodunwich

http://www.peasenhallpeafestival.co.uk/

Peaceul sleepy Norfolk melted into peaceful sleepy Suffolk and I enjoyed having the microcosm all to myself, giving me exclusive close sights of heron, deer, rabbits, a tawny owl, gargantuan hare, some late bats and a couple of stoat. Finally I came down the back road through the heath to the beach arriving at aout 7am, 13.5 hours and 160 miles after starting. Naturally I completed my ride a bit later by dipping my feet in the water and toasting Barry with a dram of whiskey.

Loved this. Hats off to you TSK for riding to dunwich your own way, and great to meet you.

brakeless? that's faaaar more mental than boris bike shenanigans. well done. i couldn't do that.

thanks katie!

Big up kate and jaitch for helping make it happen.

we didnt make it happen. all you lovely people who decided to ride to the coast and allowed me to tag along and enjoy that beautiful sunny morning on the beach. YOU all made it happen. we were just the conduit through which all that lovely energy and enthusiasm was allowed to flow.

highlights/oddities. (because we all love a list right?)
that beach. it was so serene i felt so peaceful.
being able to help both bobbo and an unknown cyclist whose knee had blown.
the feed station, the people manning that deserve big rep. and a lot of the cyclists using it deserve massive neg. when i rolled out of there the place was a tip. the volunteers were awesome.
the camaraderie. rolling alongside the forumites. you all made me feel part of the family. all the thousands of other cyclists didnt seem to have the same connection.
seeing the two huddled girls with a sheared dropout at the side of the road who were waiting till 5.30am before calling their parents to come pick them up because they considered that time of the morning to be respectable compared to the 4 am it actually was.
Iain, good to finally meet you and edscoble is right you are totally flamboyant.
everyone i met was amazing actually.
big props to those that rode back. (it helped us as we actually accidentally overbooked the coach, good accountant arent i?)
following all those twinkly lights on the way out of london and in all those little country lanes was both magical and exciting.
thinking we were off route then going round a corner and seeing a flashing light in the distance. so glad i didnt actually plan the route on my satnav and relied on leaning out the window and asking people/ following the lights. made it much more of an amazing adventure. fully recommended to anybody contemplating it next year. (actually am already contemplating again already.)
meeting TSK on the beach. big props for his advice from last year. good to meet you sir. hope your ride back was pleasant.
im sure there was more but its going to only be remembered over the next few weeks as bits come back to me.
oh yeah was there a fool on one of those big heavy boris bikes? or did i just imagine it in my sleep deprived hallucagenic state ;-) big props Leo for getting it all the way there with no problems and for kate for staying with him on that last stretch.

tl;dr ^

"I suppose a coffee is out of question"
"Not a problem, I can give it to you through the night shute"
"I'll take a big black one please" (Oh dear).

I'm going to quote it, so I can use this chat up line myself.

soo tired right now, trying to prepare my body for a 12 hour shift tomorrow :/