St Crispin's Day Night Ride

The first one. Because the organisation was on the same level as Dunkirk.

Without a doubt - though Dunkirk wasn't that much of a shambles was it?

Though you can imagine these organisers selling the D-Day rescue missions as a "leisurely jaunt across the gorgeous open seas, to be be met with fresh fine french cuisine and gourmet wines, breads and cheeses..."

Though for those of us (very) new to the game it did the job.

To be fair, it was one (bunch) of guys who do it regularly and thought they could expand their annual trip and make a bit of coin out of it, and I suspect when the numbers totted up it wasn't quite the moneyspinner they thought it was, and their lack of experience showed.

Just cracked up laughing at the guy threatening to sue on FB. Cripes! Not a happy bunny! Leant my mate the Daccordi to do this on and she said that, yes, there were issues with signage, and yes, it was cold and the food wasn't amazing, but all in all it was ace...

Can't believe he wants to sue for a measley £45. Will be watching that one all night!

The FB thing is turning into the best meme opportunity ever!

Boy oh boy, it really is!

Not quite the "magical and heroic adventure" it wants to be yet then.

Bless them, their hearts are in the right place but it looks as if they spent a lot of time writing a blog, building a site with far too many pages, chattering on fb etc. but didn't do enough basic ground work or research the practicalities.

Reps to those who did this though, especially as it was such a cold night.

I got coerced into doing it on a tandem (had never been on a tandem before) , and we had a blast!
We rode the 20 miles to the start, rode the ride and then rode the 20 miles back again. Got lost a couple of times, and because we had ridden ourselves off the front, there were no other riders in sight to navigate by either (in fact, I think we lead a few others that had managed to stay with us astray!) , but my pilot had taken a cursory glance on the route map so we navigated ourselves back on the route. Arrived at the Winery half an hour before anyone expected us (that tandem thing is quick!) so had it all to ourselves, microwaved food and all. Ditto for the finish, went to McDs and grabbed a celebratory coffee to kill time until Finish was fully functional.
Arrived back home 10.30 on Sunday, 140 miles later, shattered but happy. Slept most of Sunday

Oh, and that FB thread is hilarious!

As some one trying to rebuild a club's membership I was interested by this ride and who was doing it.

Clearly, it was a a good idea on the web but not so on the road. They could so easly have learnt from others. For example:
The Friday Night Ride Club rarely holds a ride this large this late.
Tween run marshalls could have told them that you need marshalls on aride this size
and Dunwich only works now due to both its size and its culture , the latter built up over nearly 15 years.

But well done to them, & lets hope they learn.

Good write ups above, all better put that what I could. One piece of vital information is missing: has anyone tried the wine yet? Is it worth saving until friends come round or only good for cooking?