2013-07-20 Sat/Sun - Dunwich Dynamo DD21

Had another great ride. Had a chat to Tim at the pub, I was the guy who lives in Streatham. Love that bike, it's so clean looking.
On the ride to Ipswich I ran into a vintage car rally.

Some very cool rides. Then spent about 15 minutes chatting to a couple about my bike rather than their car!

Had another great ride, not sure if this is my 9th or 10th DD. Thanks to all the organisers, but there were some fucking knobbers on road bikes weaving in and out of the packs at stupid speeds on the Epping road.

Dun run was in some way great and other ways not. Came up to the forum lot in London fields, but was too anxious to say anything to anyone until (probably a shit description but all I can think of right now) a sharkpitted muscular bloke with a sexy voice said I looked moody and said hello and after that I felt far more comfortable, left with a person I'd only met a couple times and never ridden with before, but they are a more "serious" cyclist than me and also on gears and me on fixed, so the gap opened up soon enough. Did almost it all on my own tailing various people. 48/17 was a bad choice, and though I'd happily do it single speed I don't think I'll be doing that kind of distance fixed again. Turned round from the beach pretty soon after getting there to go to Darsham station, and was back in London by half 11 for free :)
Very happy after my first dun run, considering my longest ride before this was about 30 miles!

Hey dude, didn't realise you we're on here! (Ben with the big black Oval).
Yeah 48/17 was a chore at times!
Lovely albeit brief chat with you, story of my last 100km really.

well that was a really nice dunwich, rode the first half with matt (middleofnowhere, ramaye, al and ian conker
first half of ride was dispatched with much haste, maybe too much haste ( yes you matt ) i don't think i could have kept clinging onto his back wheel all ride
our peleton split at the feed station ( nice to see you skully / oliver ) and ian, al and myself rode on at a more leisurely pace
no real incidents of note, no mechanicals which is always nice ... 3 nicely oiled bikes whipping silently through the night is always a pleasure
the last 20 miles or so seemed to go on for a good while with the breaks becoming ever more frequent
the diet of pork pies and flapjacks kept me energised through the night
the drizzle and grey skies over dunwich were an unwelcome sight as people just wanted to stretch out on the beach and be warm and comfortable ... luckily my rucksack contained a fleece jacket and trousers so i just curled up on the beach and had a kip
left for ipswich and the train, i don't know when, rolled slowly through the suffolk country side as gradually the sun came out
jumped on a train at ipswich with no problems what so ever at about 3.30, 20 or so other bikes in the guards van 3 stops to liverpool street
end of.

great ride, nice to meet lots of forumengers along the way, respect to everyone who did it

Also hiya to dicki, middleofnowhere and another in their, at the time, pack of three who I briefly said hello too after the early pub stop!

EDIT two pages later:
and hi to vunugu in London Fields!
and hi to hairnetnic a lot *beardier than for the herne bay 2012 ride (*excuse for not initially recognising).

Easy ride out on Sat morning with Oliver, Skully (and Richard) in to a manageable headwind to Sible Headingham where we met up with the amazing Brenda who organised us (when Patsy and Rob arrived with the raw materials to cook after a 3 hour traffic jam in Sudbery) . All hands then preparing the food and drinks at the feedstop.

From 2230 (when the first guy arrived on a Penny Farthing) till around 0300 it was full on! Amazing number of thirsty hungry people. Many forum caps and occasional shark pits. Managed to briefly speak to/nod at/hug/ JB, Shinkuu Kiss, Ludwick, chainbreaker, Middleofnowhere, rameye, ian(Conker), Mr Drem, and others.

Noticed the potholes which we could see on our day ride out. Some were pretty bad and so wasn't surprised about the crashes and punctures they caused.

Sad also that a bloke had his bike nicked. We were keeping watch on a couple of people who had turned up but too late to prevent the theft (though I think our vigilance prevented other bikes getting stolen as we followed them as they wandered round) . Future DD riders will need to be careful. Shame.

After cleaning up Skully and I rode out through amazing misty Essex countryside to catch the train back from Marks Tey.

I have ridden 4 Dunwich Dynamos, the numbers this year were unbelievable. The weather and the ever growing fame of this fairly tough but doable nighttime ride giving people the chance to challenge themselves, experience a little pain, socialise, create a magical story and earn bragging rights all contributing to 2000+ riders.

What will next years ride be like?

Next year I'm riding down from Leeds then riding back. 600 miles. Doable.

saw loads of these passing me in the opposite direction on my way to ipswich
de dions's a plenty

Well, that was an experience.

Nice to meet noiser and JAH Tim as well as lots of other non forum randoms.

Could have done without the drizzle and the penultimate 10k (the last 10 was piss easy as I could smell the finish!) but after a sleep on the coach, lunch, an afternoon nap, steak, TdF finale, chocolate cake and an early night, I feel pretty good about the whole thing.

Next year I'm riding down from Leeds then riding back. 600 miles. Doable.

Oh Leeeeeeeeeds!

Greetings an love to each and every one....,
Well I've Dun it again.
I've just read through people's match reports so here is a little one of my own.
I do look forward so much to this ride. It goes through Suffolk where I grew up many years ago, so it is like a sort of home-coming thing for me.
I have done this for three years on the trot and so this year was ready well in advance. Lincoln at al @ Brixton Cycles had sorted my bike so there were no last minute panics. I had advance warning that despite the terrific heat in Babylon- don that it was going to be cooler on the coast. Anyway... got down to London Fields at about 8 pm and saw many a LFGSS cap on show. I always do this ride on my own as I can only do something this long at my own pace. So I just headed of with everyone else. As usual one of my DD highlights is the lovely Peter Carter and the Whipps Cross massive cheering everyone along - greetings Peter...
In the first few miles I have this sense of great excitement and also being a little bit terrified. Once past Epping (and I'm not going to diss Essex, Peter...) it soon quietens down, except this year there seemed to be just so many riders. Eg got to I think Moreton and it was a complete roadblock with everyone stopping for a pit-stop. Then again at Great Bardfield - complete roadblock again. I always stop for a rest at Finchingfield as it is quiet, the pub is open and I have by then clocked up 60 miles. Then we really did hit a roadblock at Sible Hedingham for the roadworks. I felt quiet tired at this point, but once you are locked on to following the red lights you just carry on - it is like a drug.
Had another stop beyond Sudbury to check on my family and then felt much better as I set off for the final 50 miles. As I left there it started to rain, so on came the plastic bag over the turban (yes, it's the accessories that make an outfit...) . 4.18 am suddenly the dawn chorus arrives. Then the day arrives and soon the need to lights goes and as the villages come and go you know you are nearly there. I always find crossing the A12 is a great milestone and then the Darsham , Westleton run in is just a pleasure whilst all those memories of a great night in the saddle flash through my mind, along with the need to give thanks that I have been lucky and made it this far (on the ride and in life in general).
The drizzle had subsided by this point, so mercifully in case the fashion police were out and about, the plastic bag came off.
As I rolled in to Dunwich I was met by cheering locals and a full line up of CS Gruppetta riders sitting on the pavement - what a great sight. I then rolled to outside the pub, to be met with a shout of 'do a skid' - the icing on the LFGSS cake - give thanks...
Well done to everyone who completed this ride. It is a magic ride, but it is a long way, so well done....
Also a massive thanks to everyone who said hello as you passed me - shouts like that in the middle of the night keep you going.... give thanks....
Also big shout to Oliver, Skully and everyone else who gives their time and effort for us punters.
I then sat on the beech to think about things - er it was rather bracing, then I was met by my family who came to pick me up. As I saw them appear over the pebble banks, it brings such joy to the heart.
Now I'm not in to times, garmins, gps and all that. But just as a slight nod to that sort of thing. My legs go round 227 times per mile, I did 127.05 miles, so that means my legs went round 28,840.35 times. They have been reminding me of this fact today.
So in conclusion - well done everyone. Never again, see you next year.
Allez TEAM LFGSS.
Peace, love and guidance,
Tim

what an awesome ride.
Not a regular poster but seeing as this year I did the DD on my single speed 50/16 i thought i would.
So pleased I used it this year, made the ride more special and give quite a few of the boys in their team gear and carbon bikes a run for their money. :)

got to the beach at 4.30 and bottled out on the swim as it looked freezing

Managed to snap a spoke at 20 miles just after getting it fixed.
Any recommendations on robust wheels?:)

50/16... Bye bye knees...

I then rolled to outside the pub, to be met with a shout of 'do a skid' - the icing on the LFGSS cake - give thanks...

Sorry about that.

Managed to snap a spoke at 20 miles just after getting it fixed.
Any recommendations on robust wheels?:)

Anyone here^ who even mentions strava and times and averages is missing the point of what makes dd great. edit ahem Uh I should add - in my opinion.

Reminds me of that bit in Peep Show where Johnson is doing Tai Chi:

"It's meant to take 45 minutes, I do it in 10. Stick that up your dojo."

Amazing what you'll see if you take a wrong turn:

Policeman at the scene said that nobody was hurt - the driver was drunk, crashed, got out and did a runner but was caught.

i quite like that.

i'm 6'5" so it might acually work ;)

What a great ride! Definitely joining next year. How did it go for the guy who ended up in that ditch after the long downhill? I hope he is all-right.

Spent a bit of time trying to fix a mates ripped tyre – took me about 9 hours in total to the finish. Had 2 hours to kill when I got to the beach...ended up slightly drunk and mega cold wrapped up in a yellow plastic bag by the finish line...

Big ups to the guy that went in the ditch, the guy who cut up his calf on his crank and of course to my mate who rode 100 miles on a ripped front, (blue Gazelle)Lo-Pro 650c wheel which we fixed by applying a shit load of electrical tape (it grazed the front brake going around).

f£&ck me, glad the c^nt didn't drive down the DD route!

As a massive roadie really enjoyed riding that fixed, 46x16 was sweeet.

The usual 48/18. Rode out with the wife and some mates and managed to stick together as a group the whole way, and was joined by WhatOK for the last 20 which seemed to go on forever as the group faded after a strong first 100.

Sightings included a group of sharkpits at the Epping services who were duly DASd, coldhabour at about the sixty mile mark who I rode with for 10 or so before dropping off to find my group, numerous forum caps, plenty of ladies jerseys, Bothwell who blanky refused to whip skid on the four or five occassions I DASd her, Diki, Rameye and numerous other TNRCers and of course the upturned car.

A curious pain migrated from my knees and gradually spread up my to my thighs over the last ten, and by the time I reached the sea, where some hellish vision of a cycling Dunkirk greeted us, walking was a serious challenge as was keeping my sense of humor. A quick breaky solved that problem following which we resigned ourselves to the horror of the lorries and coaches. You'd have to be nuts to have anything but a pub bike on them - my ride was returned to me with various wounds that look nasty enough to dent ali and crack crabon.

Another victim of the evening was my rear light that was shaken lose after cracking over a rather large hole. About 200 riders managed to avoid it as it lay stricken in the road until the final rider, behind which a gap was large enough to retrieve the light awaited, duly ran the poor thing over smashing it.

At least I wasn't the victim of the plenty of crashes and clipless moments observed so all in all twas a good laugh. 135 miles on the clock including ride out and return journey from Southwark.

was joined by WhatOK for the last 20 which seemed to go on forever

A bit harsh Howard, but I agree that riding with WhatOk can have this effect.

It's because he had the dreaded 'distance to destination' field on his garmin. Like watching a bloody kettle boil :)

Bothwell who blanky refused to whip skid on the four or five occassions I DASd her

Chuckle. God, sorry, I didn't realise at all. I really can't hear anything when I'm riding other than wind noise so trying to DAS me is like trying to high-five a blind man. Four or five times, though, that's got to be some kind of record.

I also DASd a (stationary) ladies jersey at some crossroads somewhere after dawn had broken. I didn't recognise the wearer or her associate but hello all the same.

42x17 for me, but SS not fixed.

I rode with Chung's mate for a bit, sorry Chung, didn't say hello to you, very remiss of me. And then I saw Jah Tim 'giving thanks' in a bush. I called out 'Do a Skid' but he didn't oblige as he had his hands full.

Is Whatok a dickhead?

Sorry just realised what you mean, yeah the last 20 were a slog, especially since I'd misinterpreted a sign saying something like 'Dunwich snacks 1km' as being 1km from the end

Is Whatok a dickhead?

Not at all.

In fact, he's one of the nicest people I've met off of here.