2010-07-24 - Dunwich Dynamo DD18

I bet she didn't think the consquence of laying down tacks will be catastrophic, "oh it'll puncture some silly cyclists tyres down, and they have to stop" "their pride only going to get hurt".

it bother me hugely that there are some people who get incredibly bothered by a yearly event to actually do this.

bit like the Tweed Run when we were threatened by a raging taxi drivers who didn't want to wait 10 minutes.

Well, Ed, so far we haven't heard very much about it that would allow us to conclude for certain what happened, so let's not jump the gun. I'm still curious, though.

That really sucks ... disturbed by a yearly event. They can move to my place and put up with the close proximity of New Cross Gate firestation and Peckham Police station going up and down Queens Road all night, then they'd shut up.

WRT the train hassle, I think this might explain it a bit

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12718160

Apparently the spitter wasn't a DunRunner. But now everyone in Norwich thinks he was, which is great for people who live in the city and get trains with bikes a lot. Like me.

That's what I meant--'Did you see someone who you later conjectured must have been a/the person who spread tacks?'

I'd really appreciate a more detailed report on this--if this happened before Castle Hedingham, we came across a victim and might have seen another.

Okay Oliver, certainly no-one I was with or met later saw her put anything in the road so it's rumour and conjecture at this point.
I remember her being around the Leaden Roding/Dunmow area and this was relatively close to where a friend suffered two tack related punctures which we heard of when they got to the feed stop.
She could be entirely innocent but drew attention to herself near the incident and did seem pretty worked up.

Does this sound like the right location?

Cheers,
Ivan

Thanks--no, I meant somewhere completely different (more than 20 miles away). It doesn't mean it didn't happen, as a few people reported drawing pin punctures, but without further reports it may just have been a few unfortunate coincidences.

Got abused by an old man on the bridge at about 54 miles in - he nearly punched my mate. Bizarre. Was complaining about noise. The noise of me and Dan eating a biscuit. Proceeded to scream at us and get yelled at by his neighbours, who then apologised to us. Weird.

I wonder if it was the charming gentleman we met on the bridge just before Sudbury.. started having a go at us about the noise (what noise?), and almost threw a punch when I suggested that shouting at us might be waking his neighbours..

Just seen this on the Southwark Cyclists Newsletter. Same guy?

Hello,

My name is D....

I live on Ballingdon Bridge in Sudbury, Suffolk, which is part of the
route that the Dunwich Dynamo takes.

I heard a commotion outside our house sometime after midnight on the
morning of the 25/7/10. i looked out of our window ( we live directly
on the river stour at ballingdon bridge ) to see a neighbour of ours
abusing, swearing and physically threatening a small group ( about 3 )
of cyclists, who were obviously part of this event.
There were several other cyclists witnessing this situation.

The neighbour in question was pulling punches and the cyclist he was
threatening had to move away from the man who was becoming more and
more agitated. He eventually gave up and the cyclists went on their way.

At approx 0230, he then reappeared and proceeded to threaten and abuse
another group who had stopped like many others to take on water and to
rest.

I saw a lone female cyclist walking briskly away from the abusive
neighbour looking extremely worried and frightened. It was then i made
the decision to call the local Police.

This neighbour has a reputation for extremely bad anti social
behaviour and i have reported on several occasions to the district
council.

He is 66 years of age, white male, bald, usually wears no top and is
covered in tattoos.

The police did attend his house and i am in contact with the Anti
Social Behaviour Officer for the Sudbury Town. His actions that night
have prompted the Police ( A.S.B. Officer ) to investigate this matter.

I would be extremely interested to hear from anyone who was part of
the event that was affected by this mans behaviour.

---

I would also like to express my, my partners and my friends opinions
and say that, we enjoy this fantastic event that you organise, and
welcome all cyclists that take part. We would be horrified to think
that the abusive and threatening behaviour displayed would in any way
mar this event.

I have a crime reference and contact with Sudbury Police if you need
it for any reason.
If you wish to contact me and speak about this situation then don't

hesitate to ring my mobile no : 07905......

Next year we hope to see my sister going over the bridge and will
offer to take pictures of the many lights that flash past us in the
early hours of the morning !!
My sister is a member of the Addiscombe Cycling Club.

Kind Regards

D

A few photos of the wacky racers end of the spectrum at http://www.dailycrank.net/185km-ride-through-the-night-the-2010-dunwich-dynamo/

I definitely remember seeing these guys

@pascalo

Yep, that was the fella. Not at all surprised to hear he had a go at others too. Glad to hear the authorities know about him. The man obviously had a violent streak.

Hi all

Below is very helpful note about Suffolk neighbour from hell who upset cyclists on Saturday night. I've only chopped contact details. Any evidence etc. direct message to me please and I'll ensure it is forwarded to 'D' and the local police. Thanks. Alex

Hello,

My name is D....

I live on Ballingdon Bridge in Sudbury, Suffolk, which is part of the
route that the Dunwich Dynamo takes.

I heard a commotion outside our house sometime after midnight on the
morning of the 25/7/10. i looked out of our window ( we live directly
on the river stour at ballingdon bridge ) to see a neighbour of ours
abusing, swearing and physically threatening a small group ( about 3 )
of cyclists, who were obviously part of this event.
There were several other cyclists witnessing this situation.

The neighbour in question was pulling punches and the cyclist he was
threatening had to move away from the man who was becoming more and
more agitated. He eventually gave up and the cyclists went on their way.

At approx 0230, he then reappeared and proceeded to threaten and abuse
another group who had stopped like many others to take on water and to
rest.

I saw a lone female cyclist walking briskly away from the abusive
neighbour looking extremely worried and frightened. It was then i made
the decision to call the local Police.

This neighbour has a reputation for extremely bad anti social
behaviour and i have reported on several occasions to the district
council.

He is 66 years of age, white male, bald, usually wears no top and is
covered in tattoos.

The police did attend his house and i am in contact with the Anti
Social Behaviour Officer for the Sudbury Town. His actions that night
have prompted the Police ( A.S.B. Officer ) to investigate this matter.

I would be extremely interested to hear from anyone who was part of
the event that was affected by this mans behaviour.

I would also like to express my, my partners and my friends opinions
and say that, we enjoy this fantastic event that you organise, and
welcome all cyclists that take part. We would be horrified to think
that the abusive and threatening behaviour displayed would in any way
mar this event.

I have a crime reference and contact with Sudbury Police if you need
it for any reason.
If you wish to contact me and speak about this situation then don't

hesitate to ring my mobile no : 07905......

Next year we hope to see my sister going over the bridge and will
offer to take pictures of the many lights that flash past us in the
early hours of the morning !!
My sister is a member of the Addiscombe Cycling Club.

Kind Regards
D

sorry - just seen pascalo posted already.
contact us direct if you have evidence.
thanks,
alex

I forgot to put this in my earlier post. A massive thank you from myself and my pal goes to VB and TSK. You boys did good! You realise the same has to happen next year, right? :)

Wools pal says:

Muchos Gracias for the pit stops allowing my spine to re-align!

Enjoyed it all the way despite the pain, hope to see you all again next year or sooner!

Nick

Not sure what I can add, other than to confirm that was surely the guy. No physical assault took place - although there was plenty of threatening behaviour - so probably needs to go no further. Would someone PM me the number of the neighbour though? I'd like to just say thanks for his support. He yelled at the bloke and told him to leave us alone.

Thanks, I made that post as I worry that one year it will be too big . I thought that might happen the year a cyclist died.

wat?

Thanks, I made that post as I worry that one year it will be too big . I thought that might happen the year a cyclist died.

cyclists die all the time, just like everyone else.. doing everything else.

the year the cyclist died was because of a van coming round a corner on the wrong side of the road. an idiot. nothing to do with the size of the dynamo.

There's our funbus!

... so much for prompt posting.

My most enjoyable DD yet!

Had a very enjoyable DD this year. Usually I go hell for leather till the feed stop (so I don't have to queue in the rain for 45 mins. like I did one year) then take it easy for the rest.

This year, I took it easy till the feed stop and then went quite fast for the 2nd leg.

All together a much more enjoyable experience! I went virtually the whole journey with Oliver who was doing his first long ride since the elbow incident 5 months ago. He kept saying how un-fit he was, but this meant I was able to keep up! We stopped at 3 pubs (last one was way past last orders so it was only soft drinks) and many other stops to chat with people. When we got to the feed stop there were very few people there but there was still some food and we both enjoyed a tomato soup & roll. The second half was quicker but still with pleanty of stops to chat, pee, enjoy the surroundings which I have to say are a lot more picturesque in day-light. We arrived at the beach about 8am which was 3 hours later than I normally do, 5 hours later than Oliver normally does, but it was a more leisurely, sociable and enjoyable ride.

What really rounded the day (& night) off was the fantastic coach and van. Chapeaux for the organisation and effort from all envolved.

PS. another chapeaux to all at the feed station. I'd never really considered just how much effort goes into "the feeding of the 1400"

... so much for prompt posting.

My most enjoyable DD yet!

Had a very enjoyable DD this year. Usually I go hell for leather till the feed stop (so I don't have to queue in the rain for 45 mins. like I did one year) then take it easy for the rest.

This year, I took it easy till the feed stop and then went quite fast for the 2nd leg.

Well, it is true what the old veterans say, that it's best if you savour it and make it last. Definitely confirmed that this year! I suspect next year I'll be back to blasting it, but it's good to have done the 'Lance Armstrong' option at least one year. ;)

It was brilliant to do it with you, Ian.

All together a much more enjoyable experience! I went virtually the whole journey with Oliver who was doing his first long ride since the elbow incident 5 months ago. He kept saying how un-fit he was, but this meant I was able to keep up!

Haha, yeah right, you only dropped me on every hill by miles and would have ridden away if you hadn't waited every time! I may moan constantly, but I really was unfit!

We stopped at 3 pubs (last one was way past last orders so it was only soft drinks) and many other stops to chat with people. When we got to the feed stop there were very few people there but there was still some food and we both enjoyed a tomato soup & roll.

PS. another chapeaux to all at the feed station. I'd never really considered just how much effort goes into "the feeding of the 1400"
It was totally amazing that they still had food at that time. I didn't expect that. I think a lot of people missed the feed, though (as it was off-route), so maybe that was part of the reason. The food volunteers rock. If the ride keeps growing like this, there will definitely be a need for more volunteers, though. It's incredible to think that there seem to have been around 400 more riders this year.

The second half was quicker but still with pleanty of stops to chat, pee, enjoy the surroundings which I have to say are a lot more picturesque in day-light. We arrived at the beach about 8am which was 3 hours later than I normally do, 5 hours later than Oliver normally does, but it was a more leisurely, sociable and enjoyable ride.
Ah, I thought we'd got there at about 9. I normally get there around 4. Apparently, the first people this year were there at 10 to 2--that's just silly.

Ah, I thought we'd got there at about 9. I normally get there around 4. Apparently, the first people this year were there at 10 to 2--that's just silly.

jeeeeesus! 10 to 2?!!!

I was not implying it was the fault of the DD; I was one of the party accompanying that cyclist but did not realise what had happened till I got to Dunwich.

No, the DD could go either way.It's being stopped is perhaps less likely to happen now , but there was some naive behaviour by cyclists in the past which did threaten its existence so that the Essex and Suffolk police became "interested" in the DD .

What I would like to see it become some thing more like P B P, which It might need to do if it gets any bigger.

What I would like to see it become some thing more like P B P, which It might need to do if it gets any bigger.

Which bits?

Pay to ride? Qualifying rides? Bike inspections? Mandatory hi-vis? Or the obvious language difficulties in Essex and Suffark?

Sadly, the bit (apart from Paris and Brest) that makes PBP PBP (I've never done it but I have done quite a few Audaxes) is that it's a big thing for many of the towns/villages along the way, and the locals have grown up with it being a big thing for them. They offer food/drink/beds to riders coming through and are generally interested in the riders. In this country the only interest is from drunks, twats in chavved up hatchbacks and random bonkers local villagers who want to start fights for no reason.

True, it really is nothing like PBP. It's not nearly as long, doesn't require the same kind of orgnaisation or anything. At best it's like a DIY 200k Audax crossed with Critical Mass.

I think the real problem with DD is that it comes across as being a must do thing that is a one of a kind. I'd agree with the first but the second is patently untrue. Dorset Dash, Exmouth Exodus, FNRttC and a fair few other overnighters. Alas people still come from places closer to other rides to attend DD.

If I were in a position to offer a change to the ride, I would suggest running it each month in June, July and August to spread the load (few would want to attempt it three times in a year), but it would take a lot of good will to make this happen.

Of course, if the collective will of the forum wished to recreate the early years experience of the DD, it wouldn't be a great stretch to do it on another weekend. We have the sort of group buying power to run our own coach and support vehicle in place of feed station. Perfectly feasible.

i don't see what all this fuss is about.. it's a great ride all round. why would you want to spread the load and thin the numbers out? what would that do? apart from dilute every aspect of it. if anything, we are safer in high volume - from the drunks, the chavs and the crazy cars.. all of which are really a tiny weeny spec on the whole event. fucksake, i'm affected by drunks and chavs and drunk chavs and crazy arsehole drivers at least once a week anyway - they're everywhere. we can't control these things.

you know.. kids have to wear safety goggles when they play conkers at school these days and that's If they are allowed to play with them.
fucking ridiculous antibacterial wet-wipe society we have evolved into is Killing me.

leave the DD alone.

rant over.

thank you.