Orange Brompton Dunwich Dynamo #5

Saturday was Dunwich Dynamo day and as can happen with things you have had in the diary for ages, it arrived quite rapidly. The preceding couple of weeks had been hectic to say the least and there had been little time to devote to thoughts of the Dynamo. 

I had a family event earlier in the day but before this I did manage to give all three of my Brompton bicycles a thorough clean. That done I set off for my family event which I enjoyed for a few hours. Once home I packed the Mini O bag and saddle bag and set off with my Orange Titanium. 

Not far down the road I heard a slight clicking sound. When I stopped to have a look, it seemed as if my rear wheel needed tightening and there was a little play. I am sure that it would have been okay but not wishing to chance it as I had the best part of 120 miles to complete, I headed back. I swapped the bags over and took my Orange Black Special Edition. 

Sadly, all of this meant that I was going to be late. To stand any chance of getting top the start at London Fields a little after the Brompton peeps had left would mean me taking the tube. This was horrific! It was hot and crowded and several routes to Liverpool Street were closed off to me as there were various closures. Eventually, after taking all sorts of combinations of tube lines, I arrived at Liverpool Street Station. 

Geoff kindly said that he would wait for me and we would catch the Brompton crew up but upon arriving at London Fields they were still there. It seemed that Mark (King of the Hill) had taken the troops via the scenic route and as such were a little later than planned arriving at London Fields themselves. 

Our initial pace was purposeful. This year getting back from Dunwich was going to be rather different. There would be no standing in a queue hours before the coach you managed to get on set off. Mark had arranged the hire of a smaller but perfectly formed coach that would be at Dunwich beach by 11:00 a.m. Normally I would be motoring along to try and get there as early as I dared to secure a slot on the earliest coach I could. This year, that was taken out of the equation, so I didn't really care. 

The sight of a Brompton peloton was a sight to behold. For the first few miles were were pretty much together but we did start to thin out. Poor Geoff was left behind for a good few miles after the group continued at a set of lights. 

Riding along I think many of us Brompton riders received compliments from our roadie cousins. Some could not fathom how or why we would complete this on a Brompton. Others asked whether mine had a motor. One nice lady stopped to chat for a good few miles. I told her about the Brompton peeps and the rides we did and also the Fridays. She was interested in both and after saying our goodbyes, she was off into the distance. 

The evening gradually turned into night as the sun did its job of closing shop for the day. The scenery was rather lovely and the variety of colours in the sky was stunning. 

The disco ball light was a talking point for many and definately the must have accessory for next year. 

We stopped at a few places that had stayed open and this also acted as a regrouping point for those that had been further behind. 

Outnumbered by our roadie cousins, I do feel that all the Brompton riders taking part more than made up for it with their enthusiasm. 

The moon was almost full and at one stop we were all busy trying to capture a photo of it as it emerged through trees. In the photo below you can just see Jenny (The Mile Monster) doing just that. 

Apart from packing a good supply of water, I had probably underdone it on the snack front. (This was to haunt me later on). I had a burger at one stop which served its purpose of providing fuel but the best thing about it was the ketchup that came with it. Later on the van than sold the sausage in a roll was very good to say the least. You would have thought that this was enough to have kept me going. 

The early hours were cold, really cold and I donned arm warmers, a gilet and a boil in the bag rain jacket. I am so glad that I decided to take these as even with them all on I still felt the chill for quite some time. 

At about the 101 mile mark with another 12 miles to go before we arrived at the end of the ride at Dunwich beach, I started to slow down. Luckily I was cycling with Andrew who had managed to secure a spot on the coach at the last minute. Andrew told me about his work at the national Theatre - and they really should pay him a great deal more for the incredible enthusiasm he holds for the place - and I started to slow down. At one point I actually felt as if I could quite literally fall asleep while pedalling and had to try and wake myself up. Getting progressively slower and knowing I was in a little trouble, I asked Andrew if he happened to have anything with sugar. He handed me one of those gel things that in addition to sugar, also had caffeine. A few minutes after gulping this down, I felt much better and normal service resumed. 

We met the rest of the Brompton crew at the next stop. After a short while we were off again and again spread out at our various paces. 

The last few miles I took sedately, enjoying the scenery and the sounds of nature. There seemed to be many Yellowhammer birds singing away at either side of the road and they were to serenade me almost right up to the end of the ride. 

I clocked up 114.08 miles with an average pace of 12.2 mph. This was slower for me that previous attempts but it wasn't a race, there was no rush and i don't think I could have gone any faster. 

A few riders had been in the sea for a dip and I retired to a nearby tea room for a breakfast. This was eaten with great enthusiasm! 

Our coach arrived before 11:00 a.m. but as the driver needed to have his rest break we didn't leave until 11:40ish. The coach was lovely and the air conditioning made things so much better. With our Brompton bikes placed in Ikea bags and neatly stowed in the storage area we headed off for Stratford. 

I sat next to Geoff but there was little conversation. I nodded off several times only waking fully for the last 30 minutes or so. Even for that I was in a near-vegetative state. Arriving at Stratford just after 15:00 I said my goodbyes and headed into the station to get the Jubilee Line to St. John's Wood. The tube carriage was fairly packed and the journey hot and noisy. Arriving at NW8 I speculated as to whether the people I cycled by would guess that I had cycled over 114 miles overnight on the Dunwich Dynamo? 

This was a lovely adventure. The weather (apart from the cold bit) was great and the absence of wet stuff a real bonus. The Brompton coach home was just brilliant and many thanks to Mark for organising. Also many thanks to my fellow Brompton riders for always making things fun. As always thanks to Geoff! 

Before I stepped through the front door of my house, the date for the Dunwich Dynamo 2023 was released. I sent a message to Mark joking that he could put me down for a space on the coach! I think next time, I really do need to get some more rides in and pack a few more snacks. (I am normally good that doing just that on the many night rides I do but think the swapping over the bikes meant the emergency rations were left sitting on the chair in my office). 

Until next time, stay safe out there people!!

Preparing for the Dunwich Dynamo

It does seem like ages since I participated in the Dunwich Dynamo. The stumbling block has for me always been how one gets home. This year with a coach ticket and Geoff attending I am looking forward to it. 

The Dunwich Dynamo will take place on Saturday, 16ht July into Sunday 17th July and will almost certainly see a few thousand riders on all sorts of bicycles take part. The ride is over 110 miles and I cannot really say (despite the title of this blog) that I have done any preparation at all for it. 

I have yet to decide which of my Brompton bicycles I will take with me. I have completed a previous Dynamo on my Orange Black Special Edition. I might take it again but my Orange Superlight or my Cloud Blue would word equally as well. I will decide nearer the time perhaps.

My only prep it seems will hopefully be a nocturnal run to the coast with Dr John, sometime better now and next week. Apart from that, no preparation of any kind will be done. 

Part of the appeal of this and other night rides is the sunset and sunrise and experiencing cycling along country lanes, where the only sounds that can be heard are those from your bicycle or nature around you. It is quite additive. This year will feature a very strong and sizable Brompton contingent. I look forward to that. The other thing I will look forward to is not having to queue up for a place on a coach that won't depart for hours. This year, thing should be pretty slick. 

Until next time, stay safe out there people!

Orange Brompton to the Dunwich Dynamo 2020!

You might already know from several of my blog posts that I like nocturnal bike rides. I keep writing that 'there is something about them!' Well there really is and I still cannot really explain what that 'something' is to people who think it is beyond crazy to cycle through the night with no sleep. I do however have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with the Dunwich Dynamo.

At some point during Christmas I saw that the early bird coach tickets were on sale. Thinking long and hard about this, I bought one.

Last year was probably the most enjoyable Dynamo - perhaps as I decided to take the advice of Geoff and Mark (King of the Hill) and set off a little earlier. I rode the 2019 Dynamo, with the gentleman that is Geoff and that early start made things better for me.

This year I do not really know whether I will have any other riding companions. I hope that Geoff rides again this year (I think it will his 8th) as one a few occasions I don't think I could have competed it without him. I am very pleased that my dear friend,  Dr John has bought a ticket and will hopefully be able to go but it may well be me riding solo. This I find quite daunting for a ride of over 100 miles. Of course with so many other riders taking part you are never truly on your own however I am sure you know what I mean.

As the title of this blog post suggests, I will be riding on one one my Brompton bicycles. I haven't decided which will go - it's far to early for that - but I feel my Orange Flame Lacquer should really go as it hasn't been before. One certainty is that I will not be riding on big wheels. The prospect of putting my bike into a separate coach doesn't do it for me. Besides, I haven't used big wheels in anger for some time - the Brompton is just so much more convenient and dare I fun.

There are a few rides coming up in the not too distant future and I really must start to get out and put in the miles!!

I have posted links blog posts on the four times I have done the Dun Run if you want to get an idea of what these are like.

2019 blog post

2017 blog post

2015 blog post

2014 blog post

Brompton Dunwich Dynamo 2019 Completed

When I rose early on Saturday morning the Dunwich Dynamo dominated proceedings somewhat. This would be Dunwich Dynamo number four for me.

My first port of call was Compton Cycles. I took the bike in for them to check over the headset and a little play in the rear wheel. (There probably wasn't anything wrong with the wheel but I thought it best to get it checked). Jim at Compton Cycles took little time in giving things the once over and in less than 10 minutes I was on my way again. It is a wonderful shop.

On the way to Compton Cycles I heard from Dr John and that he might not make the dynamo as his calf was playing up and he would tell me later. Not long after he confirmed that he was not going.

The rest of the day was busy. I had some family stuff to do as well as plugging every electrical item I was taking with me on the Dynamo into various sockets so that they would all be 100%.

Eventually, the time came for me to leave home and I set off. I reached London Fields in good time and even though I was earlier that the - sort of - official start time of 20:00, there were lots of cyclists about either getting ready, waiting for friends to arrive or just starting early to avoid the crowds.

Geoff had previously said that he would be riding the Dynamo (on big wheels) and like me would be starting earlier. Firing off a message to Geoff we arranged to meet a little further out from the start point. My hope was that I would be able to ride with Geoff as far as Epping Forest (or slightly beyond). To my delight we ended up keeping each other company for the entire 112 miles.

Pressing start on my Wahoo just before the blue iron bridge (sort of official start) I headed off and met Geoff at the Lee Valley Ice Centre.

The official, unofficial start.

It was great to see Geoff again. While I navigated via my Wahoo, Geoff was using the spoken turn by turn directions on Ride with GPS. Both worked well.

Geoff checking the route

As we cycled it gradually got darker and darker. In the distance on the horizon the setting sun threw up oranges and reds and the overall scene was one of great beauty.

Sunset in Essex 

The miles flew by on fairly quiet roads and before we knew it 44 miles were up and we stopped at Finchingfield. A pub was selling cheeseburgers for £5 and I bought one.  It didn't last long as it was pretty good and just what was needed. 

Finchingfield

At Finchingfield I saw one of the many bicycles adorned with lights. I always like seeing them but perhaps as we had set off earlier I didn't see as many as I have on previous rides.

Light bike!!

Pressing on after being suitably refuelled we decided to forgo the stop at the Sudbury Fire Station in favour of one a few miles up the road at Needham Lake. We parked our bikes overlooking the lake but as it was still dark the only thing we could make out were some swans fighting over the best floating spots.

At Needham Market there was a stall selling sausages with onions in a bun. They were wonderful and I seriously thought about getting a second!

The 100 mile mark arrived at 03:57 a.m. and it was the first time I have passed this distance on any bicycle for some time. In fact the last time I did was perhaps the Dynamo back it 2017!

I found the next 8 - 10 miles demanding. I had to stop to take on some fuel before pressing on. The last couple of miles I had a second wind and seeing a Brompton rider in front of me brought out the childish competitive streak in me and I had to overtake him. We reached Dunwich Beach just before 05:15 a.m. We had done it.

Needham Lake

Going over to see if I was able to get my ticket for the coach journey home I was told that they wouldn't be scanning the bar codes on our coach booking confirmations until 06:30 a.m. Luckily they started doing it a little earlier and I got my ticket just before 06:00 a.m. and I had a place on the 09:00 a.m. coach.

I made it!!

Geoff and I parked the bikes up and Geoff sat propped up against a little old beach hut/shed. It started to get colder and I felt absolutely frozen. Geoff was much the same. This lasted for over an hour before the sun made an appearance and started to warm things up again.

Just before 08:00 a.m. I said my goodbyes to Geoff who was going to stop off at a tea rooms for breakfast before cycling onwards to Ipswich Station.

The queue

I sat down where Geoff had and waited for the time to tick by watching the growing queue and the few brave cyclists who took a dip in the North Sea.

Riders arriving

I boarded my coach just after 08:30 a.m. put my Brompton into the luggage compartment and retired to my seat. Wheels rolled about 10 minutes after the advertised departure time and not long after that I remember very little until we stopped at Chelmsford Services for a comfort break.

Once back on the coach I drifted off again for a short while and stayed awake thereafter. Getting to our stop near Millwall football ground was slow and cumbersome due to some rather selfish parking. We got there and once off the coach I got my Brompton from the luggage area, said thanks to the driver and was off to London Bridge Station not too far away. I was home and in the shower well before 14:00 which I was pleased about.

A VERY quiet coach journey!!

I didn't actually feel too bad the next day.  Apart from feeling a little like I needed an early night the next couple of days, I was fine. I think that if I did this next year I would definitely pack a lot lighter. I packed quite a bit of food and water but I need not have. There were lots and lots of locations along the route where I could eat or top up fluids. I would also check the route on my Wahoo as I had a few differences in the official tried and tested route. In all though I enjoyed this Dynamo more than any of the others.

Thank you to Southwark Cycles and Andy who out on the coaches and got us home. Special thanks to Geoff - yet again - who allowed me to tag along. It would have been a very lonely ride without his company and I am not sure that going it alone for 112 miles would have gone down well with Mrs Orange had I not ridden with Geoff.

So, would I do it next year? I think I would have to say the chances are high.