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

ooh also mega thanks to skully - I don't remember much of the ride there, but spinning with you (and jenny!) was a sanity-restoring pleasure. you're a gent.

which also reminds me of our light discussion. sorry about my helmet red, didn't appreciate it was obnoxious (thought the angle would negate the intensity), was happy to remove it. dude with a white flashing, rear facing, strobe = not cool.

Just want to add a big hello to everyone I saw/did not see on the ride. Big thanks to KatieCoo for organising the coach and John for running backup (was a comfort just to have a number in the phone in case of emergency).
Bike was as reliable as ever due to my meticulous servicing of the beast.

Too few were fixed, I rode on a 74" which was perfect for this, keeps a good speed on the flats/descents without needing to spin like a hipster and forces you to attack every little incline or come to a dead stop. The latter was made more fun by slow wide barred people riding two abreast on narrow lanes.

Temperature on the coach was perfect for catching a quick nap without feeling the cold but it did make a mild summers day in London feel like winter in siberia when we got off he coach.

Not read all the comments but has anyone mentioned watching James dressed like the lost member of the village people organising the putting of bikes on a lorry at the beach? In fairness the Rapha high viz is good at making you very visible and clearly not about to quote for repairing your soffits.

Well done all! Very special ride, too much to mention right now although by the looks of it Iain's covered most of it already!

My neck and back ache but strangely enough my ass and legs are ok?!!?

Thanks to John and Katie for organising the coaches/us - apparently it's "worse than a bunch of 6 year olds..." Pointing at you Iain leaving your stuff on the coach ;-)

See you all soon!

Thanks to Tom and Nick for getting me started and taking my mind off matters with such a blistering opening 10 miles. Needless to say I couldn't keep up, but was happy on my own from then on. It wasn't nice seeing a cyclist go into an ambulance a few miles further up. My thoughts are with that DP (?) rider. Is there any news on them ?
Great to see and ride with Skully, Jennie, and a few other forum faces.
Good to see Sam et al at the pub stop.
Thanks to the 5 riders who I gracelessly drafted for miles 60 - 80 and then massive thanks to the bloke I met, Paul, who made the last 30 so fast and fun with it.
Also, thanks to Adrian for waiting for me to re-fuel before heading to a train at Ipswich.
Left at 10, arrived just after 5.

This ride was for Dean, Tanya, Nat and Jon
x

For those that are interested :
http://www.justgiving.com/thebobbydazzlers

This was the first DD that I've done without doing any night riding. I'd long wanted to help out at the food stop with a vague idea of 'giving back' to my favourite ride--I'd done seven DDs up to that point and the food, especially the soup, was always such a pick-up that I felt really grateful. The problem had always been that I wanted to have my cake and eat it, and that would never have been possible. It only clicked when I got an idea I should have had a long time ago--I'd combine helping at the stop with a Daytime Dynamo, riding out earlier and then riding on to the beach when all (known) riders had been through. I set two goals: Firstly, I wanted to do a ride without consuming any energy food, and I wanted to have a swim at the end no matter what the conditions. Happily, both goals were met.

The ride out was marvellous. I started out at about quarter to three or three and arrived at Sible Hedingham at 6:15, which was about the only time I looked at my watch all day. Apart from a brief downpour at Epping, which left me considerably less soaked than I thought it would, I had blazing warm sunshine all the way. It was beautiful up on the Essex plateau--I could see very far down to Suffolk out east, where vast quantities of rain were coming down, and further west, where all was dark clouds. Imagine a large sunlit island surrounded by walls of dark blue/grey bad weather a long way away. Combined with the pleasure of riding, it all left me in high spirits.

At SH, I had to wait for more than two hours for the other helpers to arrive, as there had been a slight problem, shall we say. No doubt the full story will be told somehow. :) They got there at about 8:30, I think, and we started to set everything up. We didn't have much time (the first rider through was a PBPer at ten minutes to ten, who had probably not set off at the regular time and was riding back), and there were only four of us, although at the start we got a lot of great help from three of the locals who look after the village hall, and later in the evening Pete from Southwark Cyclists was a star for helping serve for several hours. The excellent Isobel, Patrick Field, and some others went around picking up rubbish.

For those who have commented on the place looking like a tip--there were hardly any bins (we didn't put any up) and apart from discarded rubbish and a very used kitchen, the place was actually remarkably clean once we'd cleared away the tables and chairs--not many food stains and just a few crumbs--as far as I could see. So I would say that that wasn't really a problem--people had to put their rubbish somewhere. I didn't see much rubbish on the route itself, either. It made it easier to leave before the whole hall was cleared completely.

The crowd was lovely and easygoing even as we variously ran out of small change (most cyclists seem to travel light right down to carrying coins, but we should have brought more to start with) or had soup delays as we hadn't got another pot going in time. Thanks for your patience! No-one snapped and everybody was friendly. Some lovely clubs riding in large groups came in--first in were Horsham CC, and CC Hackney also made an appearance later.

I'll avoid making a list of whom I saw at the feed, as I invariably forget someone when I try that--there were just too many people to remember. We must have served a number in the high hundreds. Owing to unexpected demands, we ran out of flapjacks very early and were struggling to keep up at times. I was told that last year numbers had been fairly low as too many people missed the feed. The village hall at Sible Hedingham has very good facilities for preparing and serving food, but it is much more out of the way than the one at Great Waldingfield, which is right on the route. Sadly, the rising numbers of riders make it impossible to go back to the hall at Great Waldingfield, which is just too small. Sible Hedingham is closer to the halfway point, though, and I expect that it will remain the feed for the foreseeable future.

Sean, Halim, Danny, Patrick, Walter, and I set off at around 5:30 or 6, I think, although again forgot to check the time, and as Sean, Danny, and Halim roared off, I waited for Patrick and Walter, as I had no interest in trying to keep up with Halim. The three of us then had a lovely relaxed ride to Needham Market, where at the lake we caught up with Danny. As we rode on, Danny and I left Patrick and Walter. We then met Sean again in Framlingham after he'd lost Halim. The three of us then rode together for most of the rest of the way.

The last bit down to Dunwich after crossing the A12 was a blast. On arrival, I immediately went down to the beach, as the previous year's experience had shown me that it was a mistake to have breakfast first and get too comfortable. The sun was out and the beach looked very inviting, so I went into the water as quickly as I could. It was slightly too quick, as I nearly threw up from the cold at first, but then after a few moments the water felt wonderful and I paddled about for what seemed like twenty minutes, although the time may have felt longer than it was. Hugely refreshing. JackT later compared it to professional athletes' cryotherapy. :)

After getting changed, I had breakfast and caught up with a good few people, sadly not many of the forumoton--I suppose the coach had already left? yasi333, TheorySwine, jcgarcia, betty, JackT, and moth were also on the beach.

I was in no mood for riding back, as I was just too tired (I don't like sleeping on the beach as I always want to make the most of being at Dunwich) and it just wouldn't have been enjoyable. Another time. Southwark Cyclists did a great job organising the return coaches. I saw Vanessa and Bill working particularly hard to make sure everything went smoothly.

All in all, a lovely edition of the DD with surprisingly good weather and a great atmosphere. The route still works for me every time I ride it! I love reading the ride reports. Sorry to hear about opiumia's crash! Heal up soon.

After I’d stopped seeing people I started flagging a bit, and after an attempt to stem it with energy bar I decided to go sit by Needham Market Lake to rest for a bit, but this went a bit wrong when I decided to use the public toilets there and somehow fell asleep in them for an hour. Classy Bendix.

Ha, I bet you were sleeping in them when we went past Needham Market and likewise had a stop by the lake! I was wondering why I didn't see you going back.

actually maintaining a descent pace

Thor Hushovd-like? :)

Yay. Bailey is hardcore. I felt massively guilty for abandoning her at the beginning and then I totally failed to stop when I saw her on my way back (was going down a hill and was a bit worried we were going to cause a cyclist pile-up if we stopped) but it sounds like she really enjoyed it. Muybien.

Well done Iain. You're riding back with us next year, right?
Bailey is hardcore. When i passed out she decided to read her book like it was any given sunday... She had done a 120 miles and thought nothing of it... Amazing.

Rosie, i am going to start training now.

BWT, after many conversations with you, and reading your many posts, you must realise you are a strong rider. In fact i think youre one of the strongest cyclists i know. You got to the beach way before me (even though you said you would be there hours after me) and still did it back (no ways i could do it this year, doubtful i could do it next.) I am in awe of your ability

surely they'd be there and back by now????

Screwed up my lighting. Had one blinder of a rear light (sorry!) which I couldn't attach or divert any other way and no reflectors at all (completely forgot... left them on my commuter kit). Front light lasted all night without a change. Though doing 34 mph down hill with 15m visibility = 1 second to impact should something appear out of the night.. not very wise.

Cheers all but particularly a massive thanks to John and Katie for organising everything you did - it was all so smooth and made my first dynamo super enjoyable.

Awesome rides by all but especially by those who did the return journey (next year?) and I'll never look at a boris bike in the same way again...

Next year we won't leave quite so early but it was magic seeing the sunrise and the beach slowly fill up. Claud the tandem rocked downhill and on the flats beating his previous outings to the pub by about 160kms with no mechanicals (phew!)

Good luck to Olly with the new adventures and will give you a shout in Oz if Claud takes us that far!

I laid out a powerful high five for those guys too.

me too. they were in the spirit!

Ha, I bet you were sleeping in them when we went past Needham Market and likewise had a stop by the lake! I was wondering why I didn't see you going back.

Ha! Timing-wise that sounds about right. That's funny.

Thor Hushovd-like? :)
Must remember to proofread posts in threads Oliver is likely to read...

Good work with the riding combination and food stop helpage, that sounds far more like hard work than riding there and back.

Low point would be the fucking cyclo-cross bit at the end, trying to climb a hill on loose mud with idiots with huge handlebars wobbling around the road in front of me.

That bit (New Road) is my least favourite part of the ride. Luckily, when I did it there wasn't anyone else on it any more, and it was light, but I've done it in pitch blackness and it was very difficult. Given how much crap had been washed onto it this time, it really did feel like cyclo-cross, although it's normally cleaner (and more gravelly).

Thanks to Tom and Nick for getting me started and taking my mind off matters with such a blistering opening 10 miles. Needless to say I couldn't keep up, but was happy on my own from then on. It wasn't nice seeing a cyclist go into an ambulance a few miles further up. My thoughts are with that DP (?) rider. Is there any news on them ?
Great to see and ride with Skully, Jennie, and a few other forum faces.
Good to see Sam et al at the pub stop.
Thanks to the 5 riders who I gracelessly drafted for miles 60 - 80 and then massive thanks to the bloke I met, Paul, who made the last 30 so fast and fun with it.
Left at 10, arrived just after 5.

It was nice to see you, J. The rider involved in that crash has posted up thread - broken collarbone, but seemingly in good spirits!

I'm not surprised you were reluctant to discuss, last night... Best wishes to you all, and especially those still recovering.

That was incredible. Feel surprisingly good today. Only stiffness I've got has come from my well earned kip on my too hard sofa-bed.

Too many moments to recapture, but seeing 6pt and (I now know to be) Friday on their way back as they passed Yas and I still heading there, Tom shouting 'do a skid' as they did, was just lovely. High spirits in action. Then getting to the free tea/coffee place a few miles out of Dunwich and having easily the finest sausage sandwich I'm ever likely to have, as Ludwig and Ollie stopped on their return journey too - I have nothing but admiration for those who chose to arrive and turn right back again. And cracking the can of Holsten Pils which I kept until the end - it was well worth it. Glad to find the shop by the beach had more cans up for sale. I had quite a thirst by that time.

And I read one of Henry's posts where he mentioned hallucinations. I had some mild ones out there, but that'll have been the LSD most probably.

Superb stuff, epic day/night/day, stupendous loss of time, who am I, where am I, what am I doing this for moments. We should feel very proud of our achievements.

Wildlife:
Bunnies! millions of them.
Bats
Enourmous fallow deer doe
Plenty of red deer
lots of ace birdsong/calls
Heron (calling, which I've never heard before)

No owls, stoats or the fabled marsh harrier :(

Most of this was in mid and southeast suffolk (I and jenny accidently led a small alternative group off piste, ended up approacing Dunwich from the south. The last four miles around fantastic Dunwuch forest and an area reserve I'd never been to before... )

That is Minsmere Nature Reserve...its lovely.

Props - thanks for fixing.

gave you a wave at the end j - good to see you rolling in. the ambulance was a bit of a mood-kill, but as sam says, upthread somewhere is mention of it all being ok. my dulwich paragon mailing list stalking suggests upbeat discussion as to the properties of titanium plates vs heavier stainless. all about eking out a performance advantage. spirits are good :)
another just remembered moment is the two guys nick and I met at the pub upon our return to london fields, one of them lurking on here, who'd managed to get the train back hassle free and had an ace ride. meeting normal human company in our near-delirium was far more helpful than I think they realised.

Screwed up my lighting. Had one blinder of a rear light (sorry!) which I couldn't attach or divert any other way

I think that rear light is still burned into my vision :D

Amazing ride, the longest ride I had done before that was around the 50km mark so I was hugely daunted by the idea of 200km. In the end though it turned out to be one of the most amazing things I've ever done - so much fun and although it was hard, and I'm hurting today, it wasn't nearly as hard as I had expected.

Thanks heaps to Oliver and others for the half way soup stop, the hot soup was absolutely perfect at that point in the ride.

Ha! Timing-wise that sounds about right. That's funny.

I didn't see your bike, but I wasn't looking for it, and I don't know where the public toilets are. There seem to be two accesses to the lake from the road the DD goes along. We were at the bit just after the railway bridge.

Must remember to proofread posts in threads Oliver is likely to read...

I like funny typos very much, and in this case of course it inadvertently revealed the secret of the TB turbo: All hills for you are like downhills. :)

Good work with the riding combination and food stop helpage, that sounds far more like hard work than riding there and back.
Thanks, but the ride wasn't very hard at all, and the busy time at the feed was only for a couple of hours. It only meant that I didn't have an afternoon nap on Saturday.

Couple of photos from the morning:

Arrival

DOGS!

Naptime

Naptime redux

"What time is it? What place of man...?"

And everybody who enjoyed the DD should clear their diary for this:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread59098.html

It's great, a bit like riding the Dynamo must have been when it wasn't so popular yet.

Thanks to everyone at LFGSS and especially Jaitch and Katie for being so generous with their time.

Had an amazing ride overall, though I really struggled with sleep deprivation at times.

Highlights included high-fiving drunk teenagers, wayfinding by chap-nav, a billion twinkling red lights, a sea of high vis (including mine - sorry!) and the sunny beach at the end.

The only lowlight was the thoughtless twerp who stopped suddenly to collect a dropped light and nearly caused a serious pile-up. Luckily I stopped daydreaming just in time to apply my brakes.

Looking forward to seeing you all next year and hopefully joining another forum ride before then.

I didn't see your bike, but I wasn't looking for it, and I don't know where the public toilets are. There seem to be two accesses to the lake from the road the DD goes along. We were at the bit just after the railway bridge.

I took my bike into the ladies'. Heh. Think I must have gone in the other entrance; the toilet block's pretty much the first thing you see (well, after the lake).

I like funny typos very much, and in this case of course it inadvertently revealed the secret of the TB turbo: All hills for you are like downhills. :)

Ah, if only that were the case. I might actually be getting vaguely closer to being this mythical strong rider that people keep talking about if I wasn't so crap at hills.

The kilnmobile was hot...

i didn't notice, but now that you mention it!
;)