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@ddunc23
This was my second Dunwich Dynamo, having first endured it in 2010. I’d obviously forgotten what it was like when I blithely agreed to do it again this year. I thought it would be easier as last time I was riding single speed, this year with gears. I was Wrong.
I was riding in a group of eight, six of whom were serious roadies, one not so serious (me), and one who turned up in sandals on a 1970s road frame with 4 out of 5 gears functioning and a fruit box cable tied to the rear rack full of food, drink, and clothes. Despite what looked like a mis-match in equipment (and what I feared was lack of fitness on my part) we all kept together until the mid-way point, keeping a fast-ish, sustained pace, and disrupted only by some fairly aggro traffic leaving London and a puncture just after Epping. After much needed coffee and peanut butter and banana sandwiches we split into an ‘A’ team and a ‘B’ team - fast and cruising. I’ll leave it to you to guess which team I was in…
Second half of the ride my left knee started giving me alarming twinges which I put down to mis-positioned cleats. However, some judicious experimenting with gearing and cadence kept me going, and after the darkest hours between 2 and 4 the throbbing of light of the bike in front became slowly less bright as we were rewarded for our efforts with the appearance of light on the eastern horizon. Tree tunnels, bats, surprised cows, and cheers from children up past their bed-times were all high points. Being called a dickhead by a delightful chap in his motor somewhere in deepest of Essex the low.
I don’t post here often, but it was nice to speak to a couple of forumites - Stedlocks, I believe - beautiful Mercian - and someone in a forum cap in the queue at the feed stop. I was on the green Raleigh Clubman carrying too much stuff in a carradice saddlebag.
Also, props to TTM for selling me a coach ticket at the last minute - I can’t tell you how glad I am that I didn’t have to cycle to Ipswich.
Good work all round!