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Dunwich Dynamo
12/13 July 2003
This is a 120 mile overnight ride from London Fields, Hackney to the village of Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. This was the 11th running of the ride - more info at London School of Cycling and Greenwich Cyclists.
Eight Wheelers took part in the 2003 edition - here's some of their ride reflections sent to the Wheelers egroup:
Alix | Owen | Gary | David
I hope ya'll don't mind me forwarding this, which I wrote for my friends. I
found Dunwich really hard, but so glad I did it. If you are impressed please
sponsor me www.justgiving.com/120cyclingmiles. I did it for the
Cystic Fibrosis Trust www.cftrust.org.uk and the money is going to
their Advocacy project (not any research involving testing on animals).
My brother has CF... and so do I. We're very healthy and well, we both cycle
and we're pretty darn lucky...! Anyway, I hope you might like my
self-indulgent ramble. And please fling me some cash via the website. (or
via a cheque to 109 B Roman Road, E2 0QN, payable to 'Cystic Fibrosis Trust'
should be ok, or 'Alix Stredwick' and I'll pass it on.)
Many thanks.
Alix
----
Well, we made it!! - I just about did. It was the toughest thing I've ever
done - absolutely nothing comes close. Please sponsor me - I don't think
I'll ever do anything as difficult again www.justgiving.com/120cyclingmiles
A detailed account from my personal perspective is below the dashes, which
is a tad melodramatic (it was a drama!), but here are the main points for
those who don't have time for the full whack!
We started at about 9:15pm Saturday and I arrived about 9:30am Sunday. So
taking about 45 minutes for 'lunch' (at about 3:30am!) plus a further 45
mins total for the other breaks, plus factoring in the, er, slight detour
near-ish the end (Col and I went the wrong way for a bit) my average speed
was over 11mph. Not bad for 120 miles. It was much faster than that at the
beginning; we were spinning along at 20mph for large chunks, but towards the
end I was probably doing nearer 5mph..!
Feeling peeky from the outset, not having eaten or drunk enough before
setting off, and not feeling able to eat enough during the trip certainly
contributed to my poor performance for nearing half of the time, and not
doing many looong taxing bike rides in the preceding 2 or 3 months or so was
also a contributing factor - I am certainly not as fit as I was earlier this
year.
Anyway, feeling incredibly strange and hardly able to get off my bike or
walk (or pedal!) by the end, at least I made it and was able to sleep for
most of the coach trip home!
I'm glad I did it and even more glad that it's meant that some money for the
CF Trust is being raised. If you haven't yet sponsored me the webpage is
www.justgiving.com/120cyclingmiles and I've revised my total aim to
£500 - a much 'rounder' number and £300 has already been reached :o)
----
Dunwich Dynamo - For Masochists Only
(NB some cycling terms are denoted by * and are explained at the foot)
Gary, Steve C, Ken, and Owen met Colin and I and about 100 others at The Pub
On The Park in London Fields, Hackney, at around 9pm Saturday. We each
quaffed a reckless gin and tonic and wondered where Steve B was as we headed
out with a large bunch, rather over-excited and itching to get going.
By lucky coincidence, Steve B joined just as I went past. The crowd was
heading out through the Hackney streets and the first 10 miles or so were a
warm-up of sorts as we weaved our way through bus lanes, traffic queues, the
occasional red light (oops), road works, police blocks and the generally
chaotic east London traffic.
There was no need to check the instructions, as the string of cyclists was
pretty much intact, except for when a group became stuck behind a bus near
Leytonstone. Getting out on to long straight fast roads in Essex created the
freedom to bomb along and the opportunity for Ken and Colin to catch up with
us, and then for us all to sprint to catch Steve C and Owen. I lost hope of
keeping up with Gary after he carried on when a whole lot of people stopped
at a service station for puncture-fixing, fags (for some!) and brief
refreshments.
When we were finally out of London and had turned on to the quieter unlit
roads, the enjoyable part of the ride kicked in. Breezing along at 20mph in
the darkness, in the group's powerful slip-stream, the whooshing of pedals
and whirring of dynamos* the only mechanical noise.... there couldn't have
been a better sight when we banked round a corner and the nearly-full moon
appeared between two fir trees: cue wolf howls and a rush of excitement. We
must have been creating a major tail-wind!
Chatting to various people, catching up with gossip, laughing at the madness
with fellow Dunwich newbies, while keeping up a good cadence* and a
concentrated eye on the wheel of the person in front to avoid a pile-up, was
amiable and exciting. Everyone's energy levels were good, we were eating up
the miles. Nostalgic for the peloton*, Owen cruised past and others took the
bait, we took turns to overtake and catch up within the group, which was
still quite large.
But suddenly, after about 40 miles, more and more people began to overtake
me, quite rapidly. My friends sped past one by one, and I couldn't keep up.
I can't blame my bike, because it was running like a dream (thanks to Col
kindly putting it in for a service while I was away last week). I'd received
many compliments for the power of the dynamo light, which I also cannot
blame - it's a top quality German dynamo, therefore one can hardly tell that
it's rubbing against the wheel. (Not a hub* dynamo - that's a future
investment.) Basically my energy seemed to drop away. I began to feel
hungry, which is a cardinal sin in long-distance cycling (eat BEFORE you get
hungry - but it's almost impossible to eat enough when you're cycling that
far and pushing yourself). The inclines seemed steeper, although they were
not 'proper' hills. It began to hurt and the pleasurable aspect melted away,
as did the blinking red tail lights as I dropped back, my spirits as well as
my speed plummeting.
In the blackness I wondered whether I had enough layers with me to curl up
on the verge and go to sleep. (Later on, David also confessed to this
thought!) Would I soon cool down and start to freeze in my own sweat?
(Eurgh.) Would I remain unnoticed? Would the others worry when I didn't
arrive at the end? I tried to banish these thoughts from my head and plod
on, quietly convinced that someone would soon catch up with me, and
presently they did. He was called Charles, worked in Earl's Court, heard
about the Dynamo from a Critical Mass*, had never done the Dynamo before and
was craving a McDonald's! I was so grateful to tuck into his slipstream, but
with disappointment I never felt up to returning the favour.
Just as I was wondering whether we would ever catch up with the others, my
mobile rang. It was Col who'd stopped with David to stuff down some energy
snacks, and was checking to see if I was ahead or behind. Thank goodness....
I quickly caught up and Col made me eat and drink something. I think it was
at this point that I decided that my map-holder would make a handy snack
dispenser, rather like a nose-bag really. Ready-opened Caramel cake bars
would later gloop into the instruction sheet, but at least they were now
very accessible. (Sadly I went off the cake bars quite rapidly and by the
end of the ride had scoffed my entire bunch of bananas!) Charles said his
goodbyes for now and shortly after, I creaked back on to my saddle, Col and
David too (probably without as much creaking though).
We maintained a fair pace (for 2 in the morning with no sleep) and we caught
up with a group nearing the 'lunch' stop. I was grateful for the timing, as
my knees were burning up from the inside. After some umming and ahhing the
correct route was identified and soon we freewheeled to the cafe, kindly
opened specially, run by volunteers and thankfully filled with wholesome
veggie grub and plenty of tea and coffee. I attempted to fill up with rice
and beans but somehow didn't feel like eating an awful lot. This is very
unusual for me. However my tum still wasn't quite right, from being away in
foreign lands last week. (Well, only the Netherlands. Perhaps it was the
cheese? - But don't get me started on their cycle lanes.) I opted for
several cups of tea which did the trick - for a while at least.
Owen and Steve C seemed really perky; frighteningly so. At that point I
hadn't realised their navigational error. Perhaps I wasn't listening, but
the fact that they and 10 others had done a 10+mile accidental detour near
Braintree passed me by. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't realise - if I had
caught on, it would have further depressed me that they would have arrived
over an hour earlier at the caff. I already felt like I'd let the side down,
I wasn't on top form and it was showing. How embarrassing! But I think the
embarrassment was all in my head, as plenty of others in the caff were
looking more than a bit iffy. I spied sleeping bags in a corner; one was
cradling a rather peeky-looking person, and I wondered for a moment what
would be the going rate for sleeping bag rental. (Not that one obviously.)
I realised how dehydrated I was and slugged down a load of water. But it got
worse before it got better as the seven remaining Wheelers hopped outside in
the cold to pick up our bikes and get going (Gary shot off again shortly
after Col, David and I arrived - do we smell??). All of a sudden I became
really breathless, my chest hurt, what was happening? It really hurt, was
this a sign of things to come? Perhaps this was the onset of another virus,
another curse-of-the-Mirror* infection. I wondered whether I should call it
a day (as it were) and bow out gracefully, before it got messy. The prospect
of a bed anywhere seemed tempting. We'd done over half the journey, but
still had over 50 miles to go - a long bike ride in itself. "I know this
sounds harsh," Colin said, "but if you need to stop once we've got going
again, SOMEONE will stop with you." Then came the look of impending
disappointment. I thought for a moment... "But I won't LET that someone," I
said. This was out of the question though, and we talked briefly about
whether the caff could put me up. But I couldn't give up now, the
breathlessness was dying down, I was sure I would feel better when back on
my bike, twiddling away with a bunch of friends. It was getting light and
birds were singing, and I couldn't disappoint my sponsors now could I! What
a fraud I'd be.
As soon as we got going I felt much better. A couple of miles in and I felt
tremendous. The breathlessness had gone and my energy levels were rising. I
was able to drink lots of water. I was bombing along. I felt great! Everyone
else seemed to be feeding off the boost too. It was wonderful cycling with
the Wheelers posse together at last (aw....). "I can keep up with the
boys!", I thought. There was just about no need for lights any more and the
sun was rising and warming our faces. Not a single car passed us for hours.
We stopped for a couple of quick munchie breaks, Owen taking a few pictures
to make the most of the awesome sunshine in the early morning before we set
off again at a brisk pace. We passed groups, then they passed us when we
stopped again, cheering each other on with polite "good mornings".
The simple scenery was beautiful. The mist on a lake close to the road was
stunning. The temperature was just right for cycling. The 'hills' were
easily tackled. Until.... about 30 miles later I began to lose it again. A
series of what would normally be considered gentle gradients began to prise
me away from the group. My knees were hurting again, my legs just weren't
working and my breathing was laboured. I just couldn't keep up. And I had no
idea at what instruction stage we'd reached. Oops.
Luckily for me, Col had hung back and we caught up with the others at a
brief pit stop. But then I dropped back again and no amount of water or
bananas helped. The group disappeared and it was just me and Col. We were
still about 20 miles from the end - too far to really slow down. I was
cajoled into upping the pace, and doing well we sped up, faster and faster,
but I didn't quite break the pain barrier this time (I've done it once
before, at Easter, and everything was amazingly easy after that). I began to
think out loud, "but we must have caught them by now... where are they?".
However fast we went, we didn't catch them up.
Then Col's mobile rang, and it transpired that we'd missed a turning. How
frustrating. Nearly three miles the wrong way. I just didn't have the
reserves to go an extra five miles, I thought. I think it just about
finished me off, and I was annoyed with myself for taking no responsibility
for the directions. We had been concentrating on upping the pace. We went
back and caught up with the others who were waiting, but it was a bit futile
because I fell back yet again. This time Ken stayed too, he must have been
totally whacked as he'd done a 50 mile bike ride during the day on Saturday
even before the Dynamo! - what a nutter....
The last 15 miles were incredibly hard. I felt hot, dizzy, totally out of
it, sleep-deprived, in a dream almost. My legs wouldn't work, I was shaking,
I thought I was getting heatstroke again (as I had in Spain on a bike ride
in 2001), although it was only 8-ish in the morning. I started to cry like a
child and I knew I was reaching my limits. I just had to cycle at my own
pace, stop pushing myself and get there in the end. I was going slower and
slower, and the last 3 miles or so were agony. Ken and Col thought I wasn't
going to make it, or if I did I'd need an ambulance afterwards! But we
pushed on and gradually got there. As we trundled up the long undulating
road leading to the beach, we were passed by the incredibly fit (or insane)
cyclists spinning back in the opposite direction.
Finally... we made it. At last.... I was close to toppling off my bike. I
could hardly walk! I must admit it was a bit of an anti-climax. Everyone
else seemed to have got there before me. Not too bad though - took only just
over 12 hours. It was good to see the others but talking was difficult. I
just wanted to lie down! Eventually we lay on the beach, and the pebbles
were the most comfortable thing in the world. I drank and ate a bit, dozed
for a few hours out of the sun on a very uncomfortable picnic bench. Then
the coaches turned up around 1pm. I was feeling slightly more human, and my
bike was kindly loaded up for me, along with some crazy bikes - recumbents*,
track-bikes*, tandems, recumbent tandems even. We climbed onto the coach,
and mostly dozed all the way back to Embankment. Most of us took the
riverboat to Canarf Wharf at 5pm, we said our goodbyes and Col and I
twiddled slowly up by the canal to Mile End.
Well, that was it. I didn't do much that evening, and went to bed, slept
soundly and woke fairly early Monday morning! Pretty darned achy and sore.
But now it's fading.
I'll definitely be doing it next year. But not with a dicky tummy, with far
more food inside me from at least the day before, with a large supply of
easily quaffable specialised energy drink, and with more training miles
under my belt. And not coming back from a tiring trip away the day before.
But no regrets!
Thanks :o)
www.justgiving.com/120cyclingmiles
axx
Glossary of cycling terms
*Dynamo - a devise that can be switched to rub on the wheel rim to power
lights (and sometimes other things like mobile phone chargers!)
*hub dynamo - a devise that is built into the hub of a wheel for the same
purpose but doesn't create as much friction
*cadence - the rate of pedal revolutions. Should be as fast as is
comfortably possible and no less than 60 per minute.
*peloton - fast-moving tightly-packed bunch of road cyclists racing/training
together
*curse-of-the-Mirror - ok this isn't a cycling term but did seem apt at the
time. Describes a nasty respiratory virus, of which the Wheelers who
appeared in the Daily Mirror back in February subsequently came down with
different versions, probably due to generally overdoing it and hanging
around in the cold on congestion charge 'C-day'.
*recumbent - you lie back horizontally on the bike, there is a proper
chair-like seat, you steer from below on 'proper' ones. Can be two- or
three-wheeled. They're very comfortable but the two-wheeled ones are strange
to ride at first - like learning to ride a bike again.
*track bike - no brakes, no gears, no freewheel, no lights, let alone
mudguards or pannier racks. Pure bike! Used at velodromes (oval banked
racing stadiums) and also often by couriers as they require little
maintenance.
Alix | Owen | Gary | David
I was just going to say "we did it and it was great!" but ended up
putting down all I remember - any other details seem to have
disappeared in my current sleepy state...
So, eight Wheelers took part in the overnight ride to village of
Dunwich on the Suffolk coast at the weekend. Gary, Colin, Alix
(riding for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, see below), Dave (on his
sister's bike!), Ken (who for some reason had already done a 50 mile
ride earlier in the day...), Steve B, Steve C and myself. We joined
well over 100 other similar minded loonies up at London Fields,
Hackney. After pre-ride g&t's (what were we thinking?!) we headed
off sometime after 9pm.
We seemed to fly upto Epping Forest ridding ourselves of our pre-ride
excitement and nervous energy. By then it was very dark with the
moon still to rise. We were continually greeted (or more likely
abused) by manic beeping of horns from virtually every car filled
with Saturday night revellers that passed us.
Off we went into deepest Essex leaving the city and town lights well
behind. We caught other groups up, others overtook us with everyone
gradually adjusting to a comfortable pace. Every now and then we'd
pass a glowing candle by the side of the road showing us the way - so
reassuring while pedalling through the darkness.
However, it wasn't long after passing through Finchingfield (our
lunch stop on May's 125-er ride and 45 miles into this one) a group
of about 12 of us missed a turning. By the time we'd realised our
mistake we'd actually been travelling south instead of north-east and
were now only a mile or so north of Braintree, ooops! A route back
to where we should have been was devised and off we went probably
adding about 10 miles to our overall journey.
Bizarrely, despite my legs feeling very heavy after four hours of
riding and slowly losing contact with my group along the detour this
was one of the most enjoyable parts of the ride for me. On my own it
meant that switching off my front lights I could just ride along by
the light of the full moon - no flashing red led lights in front of
me and just my faint shadow on the verges and hedgerows keeping me
company - fantastic!
We all met up again at the village hall in Great Waldingfield after
64 miles. By then it was about 3am. A mini oasis had been created
by friendly volunteers - delicious rice and goulash was on offer plus
plenty of other much needed refreshments. After a much needed rest
we headed off out around 4am to ride towards the sunrise.
This was, not surprisingly, another highlight of the ride. The sun
emerged and started to warm us up from the early morning chill.
Clear skies, the brilliant summer colours of the countryside and the
sound of birdsong and whirring freewheels - what more could you ask
for on a Sunday morning?!
So the miles went by with each incline seeming more and more Alpine
like (for me anyway!). Reaching the first sign that mentioned
Dunwich was a great feeling but then those last 8 miles seemed to go
on for ever. I rode in with the two Steve's - we had this perception
of just coasting down to the village and rolling onto the beach.
Unfortunately the undulating landscape across the heathland soon
shattered this and we had to slog away pushing the pedals.
Finally though we were there to be greeted by the happy faces of
other successful Dynamo-ers taking in the sun at the beach cafe. It
was about 9am and after 116 miles (over 126 for those who took the
detour and over 175 for Ken!!!), it was time for breakfast. A few
lazy hours on the beach in the sun, a quick celebratory drink in the
village pub and then we loaded bikes and ourselves onto coaches and
vans for the journey back.
A truly great experience. Thanks go out to all involved in the organising.
Owen
Alix | Owen | Gary | David
I must admit being on a breeze for this ride, feeling stronger than I have
for ages. With no training beforehand either, what happened, I don't know.
I remember very little detail of the first twenty miles, Our Tower Hamlets
gang had a celebratory G+T to start with, absolutely the right thing to do,
next time it will be a double. Alix caught us up and asked what I thought of
the pace we were doing, I said it was a little too fast for me, I was riding
with a small group including Owen (twin engined) Pearson and Steve (half-man
half-blast furnace) Collins. A couple of fasties they were too.
Steve left me for dead pretty quickly, I managed to keep pace with Owen and
7 or 8 others, then we slowed up a bit, only a mile or two per hour , but
that was the important diffence.
We got lost just before the halfway point, adding 14 or so miles to our
total. By the food point I had lost Owen, (I thought he was ahead of me).
I arrived at the feed station buzzing, ate a meal standing up, drank 7 or
eight or maybe twelve cups of tea, and then some of the others arrived. I
was keen not to stay too long there, it was warm, cosy, lots of tea around,
but it was 3 am, I knew that I would slow down if I started relaxing.
Another group prepared to leave, Owen was settling into his meal, I did'nt
want to sit down, knowing my legs would stiffen up, so I jumped on the bike
and set off with another group. We were doing a slower pace for the second
60 miles similar to my and owens earler decent pace, much nicer, it was 3.
30 or so, the sky was lighting up, a golden ochre glow from the horizon
spread across the sky, we all paused on a hill, with a cornfield behind us,
the rest of Suffolk in front of us, and all cheered as the sun broke above
the trees. Dynamos had been off for sometime now, some folk left thier LEDs
on, not sure why.
Our group split again, I arrived at the beach with a couple of othersat 8 am
precisly, had a fry up at the cafe. I had arranged to visit chums in
Suffolk, said my goodbyes, asked other folk to tell my THW chums where I had
gone and set off for another 7 mile trek.
I remember the last 20 miles of the ride being a bit slow, running out of
water, and steam did'nt help. But a very special experience nevertheless.
It was definitely the right thing not to wait too long at the food stop, I
also always carry 3 water bottles as a minimum, the loaf of malted bread and
fruit was good idea too.
If I do it next year, I'll book a place in suffolk for the night, stay over
a week or so and turn the ride into a holiday.
Cheerio
and thankyou gang for being splendid company on the night
GC
Alix | Owen | Gary | David
As everyone has said, this was a brilliant event. Many great moments and
good to see people I had not seen for many years and to meet others for the
first time. I was impressed by our fitness and that we all made it.
A big cheer for Alix for completing the ride when she was unwell and thanks
to Alix, Colin, Ken, Owen, Steve and Steve for the company and making it
fun.
David
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