Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
I'm giving advance warning of yet another AAA ride. As a repeat of something I've run a couple of times in the past, this aims to provide a bit of the Dun Run experience, only:-
a) without 1,000+ other people
b) on the same roads, but with less traffic
c) provide a halfway break without having to queue for 30 minutes for food (which you might then find they've just run out) or the toilets
d) gets you to Dunwich at a reasonable hour in the morning, just in time for an early lunch
e) as per d) but gets you there when the pubs open
f) allows you to easily get a train back home
How can all this be achieved by one ride, I hear you ask?
Simple. The intention is to leave from the traditional London Fields, Hackney departure point, at midnight on Friday 7th June. The pub should still be open at that time for anyone who wants pre-ride refreshments, then we ride through the night, heading for Dunwich. By leaving so much later compared with the actual Dunwich Dynamo, there is far less traffic, so by the time you're out in the countryside, virtually everyone else is asleep. I've got a simplified route for getting out of Hackney, which doesn't involve going through churchyards, or the wrong way down one-way streets which is what usually happens on the Dun Run, and I also use User10571's A414 minor deviation to Moreton, plus I go on the A1120 to Yoxford, but apart from that, and using the 24 hour Tesco in Sudbury for the half way stop, it's near enough the Dun Run route.
The Flora Cafe on the beach at Dunwich opens at 10, and we should be there some time after then. And of course, by arriving at Dunwich on a Saturday, there's no major problem regarding trains. Just cycle back down to Darsham, hop on a little train, to change at Ipswich.
Usual things apply, no-one will be left behind, but bear in mind we're out in the middle of nowhere, so no trains for a bail out. Less than 113 miles, no major hills. What could be easier?
For ride reports from 2010, see here.
a) without 1,000+ other people
b) on the same roads, but with less traffic
c) provide a halfway break without having to queue for 30 minutes for food (which you might then find they've just run out) or the toilets
d) gets you to Dunwich at a reasonable hour in the morning, just in time for an early lunch
e) as per d) but gets you there when the pubs open
f) allows you to easily get a train back home
How can all this be achieved by one ride, I hear you ask?
Simple. The intention is to leave from the traditional London Fields, Hackney departure point, at midnight on Friday 7th June. The pub should still be open at that time for anyone who wants pre-ride refreshments, then we ride through the night, heading for Dunwich. By leaving so much later compared with the actual Dunwich Dynamo, there is far less traffic, so by the time you're out in the countryside, virtually everyone else is asleep. I've got a simplified route for getting out of Hackney, which doesn't involve going through churchyards, or the wrong way down one-way streets which is what usually happens on the Dun Run, and I also use User10571's A414 minor deviation to Moreton, plus I go on the A1120 to Yoxford, but apart from that, and using the 24 hour Tesco in Sudbury for the half way stop, it's near enough the Dun Run route.
The Flora Cafe on the beach at Dunwich opens at 10, and we should be there some time after then. And of course, by arriving at Dunwich on a Saturday, there's no major problem regarding trains. Just cycle back down to Darsham, hop on a little train, to change at Ipswich.
Usual things apply, no-one will be left behind, but bear in mind we're out in the middle of nowhere, so no trains for a bail out. Less than 113 miles, no major hills. What could be easier?
For ride reports from 2010, see here.
